5 most intriguing moves in NBA free agency & Pistons hire J.B. Bickerstaff | Good Word with Goodwill

5 most intriguing moves in NBA free agency & Pistons hire J.B. Bickerstaff | Good Word with Goodwill

welcome to the good work my name is Vincent Goodwill senior NBA reporter for Yahoo sports we are part of the ball don’t lie podcast get us wherever you get your podcast we’re also on YouTube so if you’re looking at us on YouTube you see the face of the man sitting right next to me across the way the great Sam AMC Sam is in Sacramento or Sacramento adjacent of course he’s a senior NBA writer for the athletic and of course he’s one of the wrers on the Athletics NBA show Sam how you doing man Vinnie Goodwill what’s up brother it’s funny you say we’re side by side you know that’s remote obviously it feels a little strange not to be side by side with you I feel like we hung out for the last two months on the the the playoff path but appreciate you having me brother hey man look we a lot of bottles of wine were uh don’t be spilling the tea come on now talking about it ain’t tea That’s wine that’s an expression but we just lock in a work all the time what do you mean we would never engage in those sort of you know activ debauchery no no debauchery no debauch no chicanery no pictures of this none of that no no definitely no tampering because tampering doesn’t happen in the NBA right of course not right nope nope nope so we’re going to start off with some of the five most intriguing moves of free agency we know that’s why everybody is here free agency began yesterday at 6: p.m. and for some teams it probably began before that that’s why they waited because they did not want the NBA coming down on their ass for tamper and that’s why you only saw some teams sign their own players for the first five or so hours and then you got to see some of the movement the biggest movement happened overnight Paul George leaving the LA Clippers to sign a 4-year $212 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers does this just feel like a perfect fit from that standpoint let’s go to Philly first does this feel like the perfect fit for a 76ers team that is trying to chase the Boston Celtics trying to get over the hump of getting out of the second round they haven’t gotten out of the second round since 2001 with Allan Iverson and that group this just feels like stylistically as Paul George is the either the second or third best player with maxi and Joel embi like how do you see the fit no I love it um it’s funny my my uh apologies to the host here because you know I was late to the show today right Vinnie and the reason was I was trying to put a few thoughts and words together on this deal we kind of knew it was coming last night admittedly I probably should have written this column preemptively you know what I mean but but I I just got done writing my thoughts on Paul George and and to your question I do like it a lot I did highlight Daryl mury in my column because after this year where he and James Harden had this debacle between them the Optics were bad for both sides um Daryl found himself you know he’s pretty quiet at the February trade deadline in terms of the assets they got in the Harden deal with the Clippers kind of keeps the powder dry at that point which surprised some people and then the whole entire time there was some chatter that he had his eyes on somebody in particular now to be clear I do not have total Clarity on if Paul George was that guy the entire time but I do find it interesting because he waited waited waited hits the summertime and you talk about high stakes Benny like Daryl found himself in an All or Nothing Game in my opinion like the Plan B if they did not get Paul George like I don’t know what it was I mean I’d heard a little chatter about Klay Thompson somebody like that but that’s not the type of guy who is gonna make Joel embiid happy and and I think you know continue this embiid era in Philly and I honestly think not not to be hyperbolic but man if they don’t get Paul George you know we saw they went 11 and 20 without Joel midseason when we saw that as great as Tyrese Maxi is as a young Talent you know he he needs help can’t carry a team by himself uh that’s a long-winded way of saying yeah I think Paul is a great fit certainly you can kind of raise know kind of eyebrows and question marks around the idea that when he’s 38 years old they’re going to be paying him a ton of money that’s what the Clippers didn’t want to do um but the other like kind of mafioso part of this to me is for Daryl to say goodbye to James Harden who pushed his way out and then fill the vacancy by ruining the Clippers plan to keep those three guys together is uh is pretty wild so uh you know it’s a pretty crazy finish here it’s MAV Alan in a way and I’ve heard and I’m sure you’ve heard too that Daryl has been lusting after Paul George since about midseason sure you know and and that the Clippers knew that Philly was going to be coming for Paul George in the summer if you know things hadn’t been you know consummated right right this is what I part of this makes me feel a little squeamish and maybe squeamish isn’t the word but you know whole concept of loyalty and the should the clip have done the trade to get Paul George there because they gave up Shay and all the picks and everything else and this is a failure and all that like we can touch on that but I tend to believe when kawh Leonard signed his extension I want to see if you rock with me on this one do you tend to believe Sam that the Clippers came to all three of those guys and said this is how much money we have for the three of you because we cannot get to the second luxury tax apron which eliminates every single mechanism that we can use to make our team better no signing trades no aggregating salaries you can’t even sign really sign guys off of the scrap Heap in in the March buyout period right do you s tend to believe that the Clippers came to them and said this is how much money we have you guys are going to have to split this up amongst yourselves and this is how much we’re going to offer you and Paul was the guy to be like ah I’m not with this plan 100% yeah absolutely and and what’s weird is you kind of like I get that with negotiations there’s always a timing component meaning that like you got to wait till the 11th hour to see who blinks but it kind of feels like you know if this is really how this is going to end with Paul and the Clippers maybe one of the sides should have just said no trust me like we are not changing our stance you know what I mean like because that’s really all that happened they never made progress the Gap was still really big and and the underlying kind of belief system on both sides just never changed you know Paul and it’s his right certainly basically said like I want the the full boat I want the four-year mechs and and you know the whole league knew that because his Camp was going around talking to all kinds of teams basically every Contender every Big City Market trying to see you know what it might look like and all across the board the message was four years full money like that’s the the beginning of the conversation from there it’s can you handle whatever a signing trade might look like to give stuff back to the Clippers none of those scenarios play out um the Clippers in turn and you already kind of highlighted this you know they they just the way it was put to me by someone with the team was like now they get to it’s funny because you lose Paul George that is a negative but now they get to function like a regular team again you know like from a roster construction standpoint because and even us in the media Vinnie you know this the second apron reality is still relatively new and I don’t think I guess speaking just for myself like we do a good enough job just yet of of helping the fans understand like what the hell we’re talking about here because it is just like it’s absolute you know hell for front offices to be in the second apron you might as well just clock out and go home and see how the team plays on the court because you lose damn near every tool available to make the team better and that’s where the Clippers were stuck like yes we want this Superstar Trio but no we don’t want to be handcuffed in that way and and Paul obviously had other things in mind I mean I don’t know how you feel as a as a side thing you know seeing James Harden take a two-year deal at you know well well below his max number um is something I didn’t necessarily expect considering again you know the way he left Philly demanding the kind of full boat contract that Paul ultimately got so um I think the Clippers probably have mixed emotions today um they had a lot of nice things to say about Paul on the way out but um you know they still have a decent team too yeah I think James in in this kind of dub tells into Klay Thompson where you wind up taking less elsewhere because of the equity that you had with your current team or the current employer employer being darl myy for Harden where you have all this equity in with this guy and you’re expecting to cash in on that Equity whereas if you go somewhere else you’ll take less because they’re giving you what they have like Golden State probably I’m I’m sure we can all agree golden state is probably offering Klay Thompson more than the non taxpayer and midlevel exception which is $12.8 million but it’s about how you feel it’s about how the money makes you feel and for Paul George the money made him feel something with the 76ers that the money wasn’t going to make him feel with the LA Clippers being home wasn’t going to matter playing with you know playing in front of family and friends playing with you know kawi Leonard trying to get this thing turned around as they open that new building uh in October of this coming year that didn’t make him feel anything and now he’s going to this pressure cooker in Philadelphia where basketball-wise I think he fits right yep I think from the standpoint of being the wing that can okay now you’re guarding Jason Tatum now you’re guarding Jaylen Brown you know what I mean and then they have to guard you like now you can see clearly everybody’s chasing Boston or at least the ideology of Boston and that’s where Paul is is coming in at from the Clipper standpoint you’re right they can Now operate like a much more cleaner and efficient and creative team it doesn’t make them better but I didn’t think that the the operation was going to work anyway and Sam at some point and I’m going to close it out here at some point we’re going to have to have a conversation about how bad this CBA is for the players it looks really good because you look at the numbers Tyrese Maxi signed for 200 million Paul George going to a new team signing for $200 million cleanly into C space but the the things you don’t see I feel like is the way at the CBA is screwed the players or the players screwed themselves because you’re losing continuity you’re losing all these mechanisms to keep your team together the money is still out there but it just looks and feels different no that’s fair I mean these are not ideal examples but the first two that come to mind and they’re two kind of old heads you know Chris Paul getting waved and he’s in a good spot signing in San Antonio I know we’re going to make the rounds and talk about free agency but um you know that is to a degree uh that’s a CVA move um you know the Warriors could have had other options but just couldn’t you know stare down that that first or second apron that move happens Russell Westbrook you know Ops in now this this is a little more unique because the Clippers I think are are just ready to be out of the rust business but like you know the idea that uh that he opts into a $4 million deal and they’re still thinking about luxury tax um is uh is something to consider so I agree it’s it’s hard to wrap your head around because the numbers are so massive so in a vacuum that is great for the players but uh but but I think your point about kity is is well taken yeah and for Philly they’re not going anywhere if Joel and B doesn’t stay healthy like they can do all this other stuff and tyus Maxi is a revelation and a great player in place with so much joy and happiness and I’m really happy for him you know especially because he delayed signing you know this ex this contract this rookie extension so that Philly could have a cap space to bring in another the guy and all that type of stuff but don’t don’t matter what Paul George or Maxi does if Joel embiid ain’t healthy Paul George can be your third best player he can be your first best player if he’s your second best player it’s a little tricky now we’re going to the Clippers James Harden soon as six o’clock hits 2 and 70 player option on on year two and they also signed uh Derek Jones Jr 3 and3 we talked about the Clippers a little bit but considering they’re going to lose Russ and James I guess SL up a spot like he’s going to be the number one guy during those games that kawh Leonard misses because kawh Leonard I’m tell y this now he ain’t playing on more than 60 games you can forget that he’s playing I know man you see those pictures of him in Costa Rica he’s looking healthy ready to rock you know maybe maybe it’s a new kawhai but yeah you’re probably right look if I’m the Clippers I’m like bro you planning the Olympics on those knees yeah that’s a that’s a that that’s a weird one how do you how do you view just the Clippers now just they’re completely not without just without Paul George but now James Harden has a more prominent role Russell Westbrook is going to slide out do you see them as sort of trying to recalibrate themselves or are they taking like a full step back being without PG um I mean I I’ll I’ll say recalibrate because honestly you know the results of the trio being together were what they were they they won what was it two playoff series in in five years uh three maybe you know and I understand it’s funny our our friend and colleague and Legend David Aldridge had tweeted something yesterday about basically saying like yes you can criticize the move the Clippers initially made but he was giving Steve balber credit for going for it um you kind of you know cleverly called it a baller move for bomber and I get that but the result and you know in theory that is the way you should attack team building and certainly bomber’s ability and willingness to go for it is uh is is just like no other it just hasn’t paid off so but they you know they weren’t a great team last year I almost wonder they’re certainly not going to be as good but like I’m very curious to see okay does James Harden step up to the plate at this late stage of his career and realize you know again we talk about Legacy all the time and it’s not a legacy conversation it’s more of just like a like okay what’s the last taste you know you’re going to have in your mouth about James Harden and his career um because if you mail it in and you got Kawai sitting and you got James looking you know like like just a MJ at the final stages with the Wizards which is probably a compliment I don’t know I threw Michael under the bus there but uh that’s probably more a compliment to James than it is to Mike that’s what I’m saying yeah mik Mike and the Wizard’s uniform was better than you think who’s I know that’s and that’s where history is getting the best of us who’s the worst you know alltime great late like who who was the poster boy that’s that good one maybe like Patrick in a Sonic uniform orake elijan in a Toronto Charlotte you know yeah who in Charlotte who’s in Charlotte Tony Tony Parker oh that’s right Tony Parker was in Charlotte yeah that’s a good one that might that might be the most recent one that’s a good one there Sam so I just think is James gonna you know he’s had moments the last two years where he was really damn good he’s just not consistent and you know had a late regular season stretch with the Clippers that was really odd because he stopped shooting the ball and and looked terrible um so you know what’s James going to do what’s kawhai going to do I like the Derrick Jones Jr pickup a lot um we obviously just watched him all the way on the finals run and yeah and youth athleticism versatility um two-way play you know lob threat obviously like crazy on the break so I think that’ll be fun you know um I don’t know I mean the arena component for the Clippers just adds such a unique thing so and this is a West Coast deal but you got to really understand like it’s such a big deal for the Clippers to not be in the same building as the Lakers anymore and they’re going to Englewood they’re literally like a Stones throw away from the Forum um you know the same block I mean not the same block they’re a block away right right it’s right next to it and and it’s just got all these like what I I love this stuff like this Lakers Clippers rivalry and like this you know what we’re not only going to move out of your house because we all know it was the Lakers house first at Staples and crypto but you know we’re going to go live at your old pad back when you had you you know the good times so that was supposed to be the plan you know what I mean Steve Balmer was kind of doing his hostile takeover of of the basketball World in LA and this team is just not capable of doing that you know right now not to make it all about La but like I’m still taking I think the Lakers over the Clippers as currently constructed um you know I think it’s somewhat close but well you know they don’t I think this is the Clippers team we’ll see how they look and it’s really really at the end of the day it’s all about Kawai like is he is he going to be available is he going to be the MVP level guy that we’ve seen or is he going to be load management guy I think if you’re asking in this NBA if you’re asking if a guy can be what he was three or four years ago you already got your answer you know what I mean like like it looks like kawh Leonard it sometimes feels like Kawhi Leonard but those old guys being able to do it night after night when it really matters like we’re always ask saying the question or asking the question if this team is healthy if this team is whole the reason that we’ll never get the answer to that question is because we got the answer to the question because they won’t be whole because these dudes is old like this is no this is no there you go now you now you’re taking that’s my nickname for Marcus Thompson bars because he’s like he just throwing stuff out there but you I’m sure you agree with me on this one Sam this league is no longer a place for these old dudes like yeah get your money right get all of your money you’re going to make more money on the back end of your career because of the way the CBA is but when it comes down to winning the Lakers ain’t doing no winning the Clippers ain’t any team that’s led by an old dude Golden State Lakers Clippers it looks and feels like Muhammad Ali but he took his ass out there and fought Larry homes and and and it was painful that’s what it looks like for these dudes now for these teams now it looks like kawh Leonard it looks like LeBron it looks like Steph every now and again they can rev it up but they can’t do it for 82 games and you can’t do it for four playoff rounds that’s that’s kind of where I’m at with all of these old ass teams and that was the takeaway of the the postseason right was round by round it was old head out old head out by Kevin Durant you know by this guy that guy Steph Curry LeBron couldn’t even get into the dance you know what I mean so you’re right as in aside man we we just pulled something amazing off like we’re disparaging Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali in the same you dispar Michael Jordan you did that I dis mam feel better now that you brought you know Mr Ali into conversation that that my fault but you’re right I mean now that that’s where not to go back to Philly for too long but that’s where the Philly thing you know is so imperfect because it’s like you know again my my Paul George get there he’s getting old that’s my point he’s 34 y you know and Joel is 30 going on 40 because of his health history um and that’s where the questions I actually talked to someone recently who was just in Philly not they’re not a Philly person but they were in Philly and they had had the radio on right and and said like man like all the talk radio is actually not who are we going to get for Joelle to help him out it was why can’t we just get Joelle out of town like that and I I don’t want to like you know this is thirdhand info about sport CH radio in Philly but the vibe that they came out of Philly with was like because of the health stuff because of all every that everything that comes with the Joelle experience that that you know some fans clearly were ready to move on and that’s where for Philly you had to like no nobody thought they were going to put him on the market that’s not the road you’re going down so Paul is the best option available but to your point old does not work in today’s NBA it just doesn’t you know we see Steph Curry playing at an absolutely Elite level LeBron playing at an elite level these are all NBA players but they still are not able to to get it done um so yeah it’s a young man’s game young look look young man’s game for one last point on the Clippers and you brought it up when you talked about uh David Aldridge’s tweet which I saw also you do that deal 100 times out of 100 for kawwai and Paul George individually they didn’t hold up their end of the bargain but for the Clippers in 2019 the only sniff of relevance that they had was the Chris Paul Blake Griffin Doc Rivers ER which is now an FX TV special right now like like that was the only sniff of relevance that they had we now look at the Clippers as a credible franchise run by serious people and you can say whatever you want about how you know they only made it to the Western Conference Finals one time it was without kawh Leonard it was in that you know weird 21 you know playoff run but the Clippers are now going to be in conversations for free agents as time goes on because you can look at them now and say this is a franchise run by serious people tyou is there like it I think it it ends up being a net positive for the franchise it’s a net negative for the individual players because they did not hold up to you know individual where they were at that point kawh Leonard was a Finals MVP when he got there you know from Dragon Toronto there Paul George had was a top three MVP guy from his day from his uh season in Oklahoma City so you looking at like man they got it they got it those two guys got it and they didn’t hold up there into the bargain that’s their fault not necessarily the franchise now speaking of old guys Chris Paul yep yep yep yep going to play with big Vic I is Chris Paul going there to tell big Vic don’t go into that strip club go go home and work out like like can you imagine big Vic looking all the way down and having to take now you’re bringing stre clubs into it can we stop calling it big Vic Vinnie that’s a little okay big slim I’m sorry that’s a good point good point good point big slim is the official name of Victor wanyama on on this podcast but I mean this is a lot of teams toward the end of Chris Paul’s career he you know was due $30 million from the war Warriors just as a reset uh they could not come to agreement on some type of home for Chris Paul you know he wanted to collect his money they couldn’t find a trade they couldn’t find a home for him so they you know outright you know released him and he goes and signs for one year and $1 million with the San Antonio Spurs and we’ve been talking about hey who’s Big Vic gonna get to play with him he got old ass Chris Paul I like it I don’t know how you feel um Chris had more good moments with the Warriors than people are giving him credit for last season that second unit was really steadied in a way that it certainly hadn’t been with young Jordan p in that position the year before um of course be age being a major part of this health got the best of him and that’s why by and large his Warriors tener will be seen as unsuccessful but I like it for a couple reasons you’re right I mean Chris Paul late in his career has just become a little bit of a mercenary just jumping around not always by his own choice obviously um this one feels right because it it’s got a lot of upside when it comes to the Chris Paul Optics like the bar for Success it’s a little bit similar to what he had in Oklahoma City I think think that yeah moved there and and people always forget man he does deserve a lot of credit for this Chris goes to OKC and everybody assumed that the first thing he would do is push his way out and you know what he did he got in a room with the entire Thunder team and told them my feet are here I am here and I’m here to play ball and I’m here to lead I’m here to to help however I can and he did and they almost beat the rockets in the playoffs you know in the bubble that year ironically enough that would have been a hell of a a little revenge tour so I always like Chris’s chapter in OKC because it’s a small Market it’s it’s not a sexy place to live and and he just made it work you know what I mean so it’s got a lot of themes that are somewhat similar now to San Antonio um not glamorous but but certainly a stored franchise and and honestly like part of of what makes me happy about this is that I I have not enjoyed the late tenure of Greg papovich in San Antonio you you you have a lot of days where you just feel like I don’t know man pop he deserves every every dollar he got another bag recently but you know last season um some of the vibe around the team just kind of made you wonder is is he still the same guy is he still locked in is he is he the best coach for for wemy if I’m being honest with you there was some question I think about you know just we talk about timelines all the time like coaches and players don’t need to be you know within the same decade or two but but but you’re looking at this 50-year gap between these humans and just kind of wondering like can they connect yeah Chris Paul I think is actually gonna help yeah I think he Bridges the Gap um now Victor by all accounts is not the kind of guy that you really need to talk too much about staying locked in he seems just incredibly mature for his age and but I’m sure there’s plenty of wisdom that he can pick up from Chris I hope for Chris’s sake and the Spurs sake that that Chris is able to stay healthy enough to make an impact uh and I could see them depending on what the rest of the roster looks like you know in these next couple weeks and months you know just just being an interesting team that that finally win some games because I know I was in the minority Vinnie last year on this topic but like of course I voted for Vic for Rookie of the Year everybody did but it took me a minute to get there just because it was hard to just about halfway through the season I’m a little bit of a sucker for like first of all incredible defensive player but then you’re looking at the overall body of work on the defensive side of the floor and and it wasn’t there they’re a very bad defense now I know the onoff were just insane in terms of when he was on the floor and the bar was so high when it comes to you know Vic and who he’d been compared to you know you’re you’re legitimately talking about a LeBron type level coming into League I expected you know a little more winning right out the gate not not a ton but but enough where you just kind of say this guy moves the needle from the jump um so I feel like Chris you know is going to help in that regard um and I like it I I think it’ll be a good move no I I think Chris Paul is no longer you know the jokes are the jokes but Chris Paul no longer drives winning the way that he used to he might have been you know during his day especially for his size in that period of time the single you know greatest driver of wing during that that period Stephen Curry is like three inches taller than Chris Paul that’s why I don’t put them in the same height category uh but he can influence winning and one of the big things that we saw last year one of our own Collective media frustrations watching watching Victor wi Bama last year was Devon Vale Kellin Johnson hey give give Vic the ball like throw it up to him now you have a guy that’s literally going to put him in every great position possible they’re going to run that pick and roll Chris Paul is still an incredibly effective efficient player at this stage he’s going to get to his spots he’s going to get to the elbow and he’s going to make sure that big Vic gets the ball so I I do think that that that will help especially with pop being a little bit older and does he have the energy to be chasing these kids around all the time and being if we’re frustrated imagine how frustrated he is yeah as a I know we got to keep it moving but a quick side note yeah yeah um I think from a culture standpoint the Spurs need somebody like Chris they really do that locker room um you know and I I don’t I’m going to share a story that that you know maybe the Spurs wouldn’t want me to share but media wise last year the Spurs were really challenging you know what I mean and specifically it was so much hype on Victor that a lot of his teammates um struggled with the idea that the vast majority of the time that you are interviewed by reporters you’re going to be asked about Victor and so there there were some choices made from an accident standpoint where the Spurs started trying to like Shield his teammates from having to you know do the type of Media stuff that they are obligated to do and like bending over backwards to try to make young people comfortable in this really unique environment when they were you know playing with a a Transcendent talent to me that type of stuff is like you know if you have Chris Paul in the locker room you know telling a young guy like listen like this is how you handle the media just do this just do that like he’s been through everything he’s seen everything yeah that kind of voice because let’s be pop doesn’t have the energy or the inclination to have that kind of a conversation Chris can fill in the gaps and that kind of way I think no I think you’re absolutely right and like you said 50-year gap between pop and wimon Yama Chris Paul is probably right Square in the middle in terms of the age because Chris will be 40 next year so it’s almost like he’s almost almost like you’re splitting the baby not quite splitting the baby but very close enough to it from an age standpoint moving on to Denver they lose another big piece in losing kabus cwell Pope three years $66 million again we’re talking about luxury Tech second aprons teams that have built up you know starting fives Championship organizations and they have to lose guys like that due to financial concerns because you got Porter on a $200 million Max you’re still going to have to pay Aaron Gordon I think he’s going to be up after next year Jamal Murray’s up for a super max that he has not yet agreed and of course you got the best player in the world Nia joic kcp winds up getting lost in the shuffle and he goes to an Orlando team that is ready to take off he’s going to be their vet and every team needs a vet and I think that is a great fit for him and a great fit for them but I think for Denver man this is another piece of that puzzle that’s being Stripped Away no it’s not good um you know they’re they’re kind of cheat code or at least the the thing they hoped was going to be their cheat code was you know knowing that they would lose guys like Bruce Brown like canavis Cabo Pope that that you know they would rack up as many firsts and seconds as they could and and try to build through the draft the Christian Browns and Peyton Watson’s and Julian strs and and now though the stakes are just that much higher you know those guys Brown in particular has had really good moments but all of a sudden you know it’s time for these Young Bucks to grow up really really fast that’s the only way these nuggets are going to be able to to kind of keep up with the Joneses um and it it’s there’s no other way around it but to say that it’s been two tough Summers for the Nuggets front office and again a lot of it like you said is is CBA inspired uh I I don’t know I mean there’s different moves you hear about along the way that you know you could relitigate and say maybe they should have done in fact you know one I kind of hit on the other day that that never really got any traction but like you know they absolutely analyzed the Paul George situation and knew that that there was a scenario in play where he would enjoy playing in Denver but that was going to happen have to be signed in trade that was going to cost him uh Michael Porter Jr Zeke Naji and to be honest my understanding is that part they were straight with fine we’ll give Paul the full Max uh but then you start talking about some draft capital and extra stuff and they’re very reticent to to lose what they have in the cupboard they have this kind of ethos that they they don’t want to go down the road of Milwaukee and Phoenix and just give everything up and be paying the price for many many years to come so but you can see the point being that like the different ways that they are trying to to not lose traction during this niika yic era where you know Calvin booth has been really their GM has been really outspoken about how seriously he takes it to maximize you know this incredible player that they have and and they anticipated like when they won the title you know it’s crazy how narratives changed so quickly very quickly yeah we thought okay this could be a four or five year run for these nuggets uh you know then Minnesota’s kind of built to beat them with Tim Conley their former GM doing that work you know that obviously ends up happening uh and Denver is just in a in a challenging spot for sure yeah David Stern’s nvba was is different than Adam Silver’s NBA where Stern’s NBA was very much about the dynasties and the runs and the continuity between teams and not just continuity between players and teams but continuity between fan and teams and being able to see the same teams with the same cast of characters maybe some alterations here or there now it’s almost like you have to ref familiarize yourself with every team every season because there’s so much turnover now that it’s hard to marry yourself to a fiveman unit so to speak and that’s just I think that’s a function of the new ownership that you have it’s a function of the money but it you lose a little bit of something I think you lose a little bit of like I like I said the term Sweat Equity and you know kcp being critical element of that Denver team you know changes the math for them and you know we talked about Golden State a little bit but now Stephen Curry’s final years with the Warriors they don’t look pretty he’s looks like every bit of excellent player but it doesn’t look like they’re going to maximize that because of some of the moves that they have and haven’t made uh since winning the title in 2020 to uh but we’ll be right back with Sam amck after we pay some bills we’re going to talk about Isaiah hartenstein going to Oklahoma City and the Pistons hiring JB bicker staff we’ll be right back back on the good word here with Sam Amic from the athletic Sam Isaiah hartenstein which I did not know was a member of a certain tribe he leaves the New York Knicks the New York Knicks could only afford basically to pay him I think it was like 4 and 110 he goes to Oklahoma City three years 87 million if you had thought the big man was dead let me tell you it is alive he is alive that is $29 million a season for a guy that average what like eight and seven this year I think he’s really good mind you I really think hardenstein is actually really good I think he’s better than his numbers but I think Oklahoma City actually going in and getting the guy who makes them not as light in the ass anymore that’s big for them like Chad hren won’t be getting his ass kicked anymore as much because hartenstein is there no I love the pickup I mean you know compartmentalize the price tag for a minute that’s a different discussion basketball-wise uh Sam prey is just putting on a clinic lately you know what I mean and you can argue I get it a lot of people are saying overpay but you know it’s a little bit like you get to the end of the month you got you got the extra income you have you know what I mean and and the Thunder had it and and you know they have an incredibly cheap team for now yeah um you know and this is a luxury where you can go ahead and and do a deal like this and and maximize what appears to be a pretty special opportunity we saw last year that they were legitimately contenders and and we all kept sleeping on them just because you know it seemed like they’re all average age of 16 years old you know it was just wild but they are here they are for real and now they have a guy who can fix the problem that was front and center in the post season when they got destroyed on the glass I think he does it in an athletic enough versatile enough way that you know it does not preclude them you know from the five out scenarios that they love so much um you just got to find a way with Mark back out pulling the strings you know to to stagger um properly and and just kind of have a good balance but I was always in that camp that felt like you know you can’t just keep leaning into to five out and acting like you know that that elephant in the room is going to go away you had to find a way a sophisticated enough and and kind of nuanced enough way to fix that I think he likely does it um not to mention you know coming off a postseason run with the Knicks where and you talk about just good old fashion stuff like competitive Fabric and motor and spirit you know Isaiah was uh I think is it Zack low who who does like the he used to do the all Luke Walton team you know like just these like role players who you enjoy watching you know Isaiah would be on everybody’s short list so and you you mentioned Chad I mean you know Chad does a lot of things incredibly well um I think Isaiah is going to make Chad’s life a little easier and take some of the heat off him um so I like that move too for sure I mean you think about it you sign him for three years you don’t have to worry about paying Jay dub for another two years you don’t have to worry about paying Chet for another two years like it it lines up especially when when I know we’ve been talking about luxury tack aprons and you know how restrictive they’ve been and we’ve been simultaneously talking about this TV deal and how it affects we’ve been talking more about what the TV deal means for TV more than it what it means for teams and with the TV deals coming in remember the cap Spike of 2016 people it was a cap Spike this one there will be more money flushed into the system but it will be more flushed in incrementally so the cap will go up over the next couple years maybe like 10% here 10% there you know whatever the projections are so Oklahoma City will actually be able to afford some of these guys that they’re paying where $29 million seems like really exorbitant but because it’s not a Max it’s not complete tied to the cap where it’s just going to go all the way up as the cap goes up I just think it’s a great move for them and look man sh is Alexander he doesn’t need all the space in the world to operate like he takes contested shots jdub takes contested shots Chad hren is skinny dude who’s going to wind up making space because he’s skinny dude you know that like that’s that sort of thing so that’s going to be interesting and you said five out apparently our friends at No Cap room they C their news section five out I’m not going to C them because you know we don’t do that here that that would be plagiarism uh so John C this the outlet so we just passing quickly up court and the first topic here is JB bicker staff after being fired from the Cleveland Cavaliers lands with the Detroit psons replacing Monty Williams and they did not have to bribe him they did not have to offer him a exorbitant amount of money three times but they gave him a 5year deal don’t you wish somebody would us for that kind of cash don’t you wish somebody would bribe us for that kind of cash please bribe me okay please nepotism me like whatever that thing is give it to me all right I will take it and I will do well with it but I like the move for Detroit because it feels like you didn’t go for the big splashy name and you got a coach with some level of experience when you have a young team and a new president having a new or firsttime head coach didn’t feel like that was something that that franchise needed no I agree again it’s uh like in a vacuum I mean JB’s very good coach it’s a solid move I think developmentally um he’s a better fit than Monty one of the things that I never understood about the Monty hire in Detroit was that you know his superpower in Phoenix was the ability to connect with some of the stars out there and and to be a culture Builder but it was to take a program that was already on the way up uh to the next level I think JB has had more experience in his Cavs life uh you know bringing the Darius garlands of the world up and and you know even the Jared Allens guys like that so I like to hire it’s still hard to just look at it and you know you and I will never be in a seat like Tom Gores where the cash uh is what it is but like my God the price tag to to make a switch with uh with Monty Williams it just you know I mean you can’t you can’t undo what was done before so the the past doesn’t matter in terms of whether or not JB is is going to be effective in that job um but admittedly it’s it’s just going to take me a minute to just get it out of my head like what the whole Monty Williams chapter was I think multiple things can be true Monty Williams is a good coach who had a bad year with a bad team right right I think all of those things can happen I think like you said Monty Williams connecting with the veteran of Chris Paul the veteran of Devin Booker like that sort of thing works for him asking him to figure out Killian Hayes who clearly is no longer an NBA Pro that’s a problem and some of the lineups that he threw out there man but it was like almost a function of wait is the roster this bad or is he just trying to show us how bad the roster is like it was like you go from winning 17 games without K Cunningham to get in basically a full season of K Cunningham and winning 14 games nobody in their right mind would say that Monty Williams did a good job but it was also a bad roster that being said Kade gets us Kade is on the way it’s not official yet but your colleagues at the athletic my boy James Edwards and Sham shiria like closing in on a 5year $226 million Max it’s almost a foro conclusion you know on on a Ricky scale deal and they bring back Tobias Harris two years $52 million he feels like the right vet at the right time for them yeah he does and he’s motivated um you know it’s funny because Tobias remains just you know one of the more divisive players in the league he’s one of those guys that they got you know it’s kind of like everything with him was through the filter of his contract didn’t matter how well he played everybody you know was convinced that he was overpaid and he probably was but um that is where we you know sometimes fall short media wise in evaluating the game is like Tobias harrry is still a really good player um and so this feels like you go into a spot where they need his leadership they need his production uh and he probably will have a chip on his shoulder because I think you know you look at that Sixers roster right now they still have some money now granted not enough to hit tobias’s type of number but like they made a choice to we’re getting out of the Tobias Harris business they had tried to move him for years um and so this is his chance I think to have a good chapter in Detroit uh and again I like it um you know I think that that team I mean listen they still got a long way to go when it comes to long way to go sound yeah I mean you and I have we’re Spirit Animals Vinnie when it comes to like our home Market you know having the team in our backyard that just finds new ways now I’m in Sacramento the Kings have gotten a little better recently but uh a whole lot of years watching these franchises stumble their way through um so we’ll see where it goes in Detroit May 26 2008 you know what that day is Sam a last playoff win the last playoff win for the Detroit Pistons yeah yeah game four Eastern Conference Finals Pistons Celtics I was in the building as a one of those you know you had like extra writers yeah Sam cuz you were an extra writer at a point where you’re not on the beat but the newspaper sends everybody all hands on deck do this feature run these quotes all that type of stuff like that’s what I was in 2008 funny as as a similar note uh when I we covered the Timberwolves Maverick series I kept having flashbacks or even before the Timberwolves nugget series um flashbacks to the Western Conference Finals in is it 03 when when kg um is well Weber miss the shot Minnesota thank you thank you thank you memories failing me there 044 semis my bad 04 semis yeah it was the last time the Timberwolves had won a playoff series that was I believe that might have been my first like was one of my first NBA games I ever covered but I was like the fifth guy on the roster fifth person from the Sacramento B newspaper uh but yes like Detroit Minnesota Sacramento that is your short list of of you know organizations that went a very long time without much postseason success and the Pistons are top 10 franchise you don’t think about it because sure you know they’ve been bad for so long you haven’t won a playoff game in 16 years you don’t have to right to call yourself anything but they are a top 10 franchise they have three championships they have more appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals since the playoffs expanded to 16 teams than anybody except for the Boston Celtics believe it or not more appearances in the NBA’s final four in the Eastern Conference than anybody except for the cel Celtics and yet they look like this Tobias har spent all these spent a few years in Detroit he was part of that playoff team in 2016 he was traded to the Clippers as part of the Blake Griffin deal you’re right we view Tobias through the lens of his contract a player who he also now view through the lens of his contract Zack LaVine in Chicago we forget there’s a good player behind that but people only look at the money and oh he’s overpaid and the Chicago mess and everything else whoever gets him assume because the Bulls are going to get off maybe they have to put some first round picks with it but whoever gets him I think is going to be in a really good spot assuming that he’s healthy he took a he had a procedure right before the trade deadline but I think he’s fully healthy now so I think on the vein of Tobias Harris the contract I think Zack LaVine is right in the next line of bad contract so to speak but there’s a really good player and whoever gets him is going to get lucky I I like the take I’m admittedly surprised Vinnie uh I as you know like no I mean you know you’re in the minority on that one you know what I mean like not like because you had like Zack LaVine Team USA version you know kind of made some Believers out of some people and then next thing you know it was back to Chicago and and and we’re all guilty of recency bias but that stretch midseason when they started winning games without him you know that was really bad for the Zack LaVine Optics and I think honestly that plummeted whatever Market might have been there for him at the time um because yeah now it it by all accounts you got to be attaching stuff to Zach you know incentivizing teams to take him again in my neck of the woods I mean the Kings have certainly kick that idea around but but don’t seem to be in love with it uh and I don’t know where I stand on the question of you know is he going to be a winning player in his next stop I’m very curious to see what that looks like I think if you have like a set culture like because he doesn’t want to come in you know and I know Zach a little bit actually I know Zack more than a little bit I know Zach pretty well he doesn’t want to come into a place and if you got a good culture I’m going to come in and destroy it like I don’t I think there’s a people pleaser inside of him that people don’t necessarily see just because of what has happened in Chicago yeah he’s got his flaws you know like defensively you’ve got to challenge him you’ve got to sort of appeal to the ego part of him of taking the challenge but all that aside you don’t find many guys who can score at all three levels who can shoot the way that he can shoot and who’s a pretty good distributor pretty good on ball Defender like guys like that don’t grow on trees and I think had golden state made the move for him our buddy Chris Haynes former guy Yahoo now at Bleacher Report and Turner he reported Chicago offered Golden State you know they wanted Chris Paul and Wiggins for Zach and Golden State said no I was shocked although In fairness to Chris and I hopefully I’m not wrong on this my interpretation of the way that felt like the way he put it out was a little bit confusing but I I are we sure it wasn’t either or it sounded like it might have been an either or scenario in terms of that package which matters because yeah abely does getting off of Andrew and Chris and saying no to Zach doesn’t make a lot of sense I um hopefully I’m not wrong again I think it might have been an either or thing yeah yeah maybe so I’ll have to go back and yeah you know how sometimes we have to um not read too much into our aggregator friends because yes you know we we’ve all been victims of being aggregated the wrong way exhibit a uh our buddy with olive skin and feet of clay you know my brother in Christ uh Joe moula uh but we don’t have to get into that I just I knew that was going to get I knew that was going to get s look man I just can’t help it you got to make you got to get these jokes off while you can uh the Wizards of course the team that can’t get right they signed Jonas Valen tun is three years $30 million I feel like they signed him to trade him they signed him to trade him to a playoff Contender for like draft picks and draft Capital at some point during the line cuz I still feel like he’s a very valuable Center but oh yeah when you got you know alexar who probably isn’t ready to play full-time center right it it just feels like oh we just we we signed him in free agency we’re going to pay him he’s going to be a good vet for us and then at some point for a veteran team like we’re going to ship him off and we’re going to get a couple draft picks for him yeah I agree with you there uh I was kind of bummed by that one just being honest just because I like Jonas’s game a lot like I watched again I keep going back to the Kings when the Pelicans just owned the Kings all season long I think what did it wind up being there were five and0 or six and0 yeah yeah yeah against him with the playin stuff and mid was inseason tournament yep and they just it was Ownage to the highest degree and honestly is as great as some of the other guys were CJ McCollum had a bunch of good games like Jonas was probably the MVP of that matchup and he just took it to his uh his Lithuanian brother Mr sabonis and and it was just wild to watch and he is an old school big who you know we don’t have a lot of guys like that in the league anymore so like but those that was relevant basketball on the Pelicans there’s not going to be a lot of relevant basketball on the Wizards so for his sake there’s never relevant basketball with the Wizards yes I can hear Mr Aldridge in my mind now screaming about the wizards but yeah like so for his sake hopefully uh he gets moved along as a quick side thing too Vinnie since I know I’m the one putting on the today before we get out I need I need your quick thoughts on one topic can I have like the final word the good word with Vinnie Goodwill at the end here what you got take no go keep going I’m I’m throw it in at the end I just I need you know okay all right this this is this is I’m very curious what where Sam’s going to go with this but for the Pelicans it’s funny that you mentioned valent Tunis I have a saying for a guy who goes and takes another guy to the Woodshed at the same spot it’s called C the limo C limo for Mr sabonis make sure he gets his ass to the arena on time because I’mma wear his ass out that’s what that’s what he does to sabonis and then sabonis sends a limo for Anthony Davis Anthony Davis yeah now the bigger question for me is and it’s weird how some guys just dominate some guys and then can’t do anything else and it has nothing to do with Talent it’s just all about either mindset matchup whatever it is now I’m looking at New Orleans and I’m saying Zion Williamson that group there traded two first round picks to the Hawks for de jonte Murray who’s going to it seems like he’s going to stabilize he’s not a natural point guard but it feels like he stabilizes things a little bit more what are they gonna do with Brandon Ingram I I think he’ll move um you know there there’s some chatter now to be sure about Brandon uh we’ll see where that goes but you know it it doesn’t seem like um a a contract you know kind of resolution is about to happen there and it feels like it’s it’s a matter of of just where he goes not if that’s probably how I’d handicap it yeah that’s probably it so now Sam I’m going to give you the floor to ask me whatever you’re going to ask me and I’m bracing myself I have no idea where you’re going with this no it’s just another NBA topic but I mean what kind of guy comes on somebody else’s pot and then grabs the mic that was pretty pretty ballsy of me if I’m be honest uh no I want your thoughts on Jimmy buckets you know Jimmy Butler well and I just find his situation interesting we I thought this was was going to be the summer uh where something would happen with Jimmy you got Pat Riley you know putting on his kind of Godfather hat and and and having a few Choice words for Jimmy a couple months ago publicly seemed like that was going to set the stage for a divorce uh you know now the reporting of course is that Jimmy’s not going to sign an extension with anybody and appears destined to play out the last year of his contract just how do you see that situation I think Jimmy la like this it’s going to be bleeped out Jimmy is mind himself like I just think he’s trying to get himself to a spot where mentally all right I got to play all 82 or something close enough to it like he knows the reputation that he has is that you know I’m a really good player in the regular season but when March hits and April hits I’m turning it up and I’m turning into a Hall of Fame player like that’s what the numbers say the the advanced metrics say about him is that he’s so much more abnormally better later in the season and into the playoffs I think he’s just trying to mentally motivate himself there is a shelf life on Jimmy cuz he can exhaust you he can wear you out whether it’s the emo Jimmy stuff and you know what I mean some of the stuff that he says but I don’t know if the Miami Heat will go and get a better player than Jimmy Butler you see they uh extended bamama bio for the the Max on a three-year deal you still got these questions about Tyler hero you know where does he fit and I still think Miami is a dumping not a Dumping Ground but they’re still lurking for the the next star that is unhappy like they lost out on Damen Lillard and I think a lot of this conversation changes if they got Dame but with Jimmy it’s look every three years it’s gonna be something you you know what I mean and he’s at a entering a later stage of his career where he’s well he knows that teams are going to have questions about his health and his availability the same questions we have about kawh Leonard and Paul George all three of those guys came into the NBA around the same time Jimmy came in an 11 Paul George and kawhai came in or Jimmy and Jimmy and kawhai came in in the 2011 Draft and Paul George came in in the 2010 draft all those guys are around the same close to the same age and they have the same sort of tread on their tires with the knees and different injuries like Jimmy’s just in AC quiet taste man I just looked at him man I just cheated uh I me Jim 35 yeah Jimmy’s 35 he’ll be 35 in September y um so I mean that’s you know like you said got some tread you were the one making the valid point early you’re like this is not the old man’s game so um his trap and and not to be funny about it he’s a Libra man them Libras is different dudes I would agree as a Libra myself Libras are borderline Geminis as I say that as my best friend is a Libra and he’s probably gonna fuss at me when I say that like what you trying to say about me I’m just playing dog but yeah Jimmy’s a little different but that ladies and gentlemen is the great Sam AMC he’s also the vice president of the uh Pro basketball writers association I feel like I need to put that out there because uh he does a lot of great work just gets me like hate mail right there like you know you know it’s it’s look anybody getting hate mail it’s me look I’ve G after I’ve said LeBron and nepotism That ain’t cool I got the religious right on my ass like I’m trying to figure out what next you beefing with everybody Vinnie come on now I know who should I piss off next old people you already did today the whole pod was about old people suck that’s what I heard that’s that is true thanks to producer John and the entire team who works hard behind the scenes on this podcast Jake and Dan will be back on Wednesday for No Cap room and I’ll be back after the holiday weekend so Deuces enjoy your fourth of July and until next week everybody be safe [Music]

Vincent Goodwill and Sam Amick from The Athletic catch up on NBA free agency after the first day of movement, including Paul George leaving the Clippers to sign with the 76ers.

00:00 – Introduction
01:40 – Paul George signs with 76ers
12:10 – Clippers sign James Harden & Derrick Jones Jr.
21:50 – Chris Paul signs with Spurs
29:30 – Kentavious Caldwell-Pope signs with Magic
34:00 – Isaiah Hartenstein signs with Thunder
38:25 – Pistons hire J.B. Bickerstaff, sign Tobias Harris
48:50 – Where will Brandon Ingram be traded?
52:20 – What to expect from Jimmy Butler?

On this episode of the Good Word with Goodwill, Yahoo Sports senior NBA reporter Vincent Goodwill is joined by Sam Amick from The Athletic to rundown all of the news coming out of the first night of NBA free agency.

The guys start things off with the biggest news, that Paul George is leaving the Los Angeles Clippers for the Philadelphia 76ers. The guys talk about the fit for George in Philly, and explain how losing one of their biggest contracts could end up being a silver lining for the Clippers as they open their new arena.

Speaking of the Clippers, they re-signed James Harden for less than the max and also signed Derrick Jones Jr. as an athletic replacement for Paul George in the starting lineup. The guys talk about where the Clippers go from here and how concerned they are about Kawhi Leonard playing for Team USA this summer.

Chris Paul, fresh off being waived by the Golden State Warriors, signed a one-year deal to join Victor Wembanyama in San Antonio. Sam likens this year with the Spurs to CP3’s previous one-year stop with the Oklahoma City Thunder and explains how Paul could help bridge the age gap between Wemby and Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich.

The guys talk about Kentavious Caldwell-Pope signing with the Orlando Magic, but mostly they talk about the Denver Nuggets losing talent since winning the title last year and the restraints of the new CBA.

Isaiah Hartenstein was the best free agent center on the market, and he’s a perfect fit for the Oklahoma City Thunder, who signed him early this morning. Sam Presti continues to put together an incredible roster that should be ready to compete for a title right now.

As Vince works us into “The Outlet”, where we talk about non-free agency news, the guys spend some time talking about the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons hired the recently-fired J.B. Bickerstaff as their new head coach, are working on a max extension for Cade Cunningham and signed free agent veteran forward Tobias Harris. They have a long way to go, but that’s an excellent start for a new rebuild in Detroit.

While talking about Jonas Valančiūnas signing with the Washington Wizards, the guys end up discussing Brandon Ingram on the Pelicans and where he might end up in a trade.

Finally, Sam wants to know from Vinnie what he thinks we should expect from Jimmy Butler going forward. What kind of year will he have? Is there still a chance for an extension in Miami?

#nba #nbafreeagency #paulgeorge #losangelesclippers #philadelphia76ers #jamesharden #chrispaul #victorwembanyama #detroitpistons