Klay Thompson is HUGE pickup for Mavericks, Hartenstein makes Thunder FAVORITES in West | Nerd Sesh
[Music] welcome everybody back into nerd sesh as always I’m Carson breber and alongside me is Logan Camden and today we’re going to be doing a quick catch up on everything that’s gone down on day two of free agency focusing on the two big moves of the day that being Klay Thompson to the Dallas Mavericks and Isaiah hartenstein to the Oklahoma City Thunder and we’re going to start with that one Logan we have known for sometime that OKC has had their eyes on the former Nick big they end up throwing him a bag 3 years 87 million how do you feel about his fit in OKC crushed it home run move by the Thunder this is one of my favorite moves uh of this off season so far this is like a dream fit two uh we mentioned this stat last time Oklahoma City was 28th in rebound rate this past season and even bigger than that it just gives him an actual big body in the front court right uh Chad hren was the only seven-footer in their rotation previous to this and the next biggest guy in this lineup was Jay will at 6’9 240 lbs in hardenstein you’re adding a guy who is 7 feet tall and 250 lbs it gives you some extra lineup versatility uh you can run Chad at the four hartenstein at the five in some lineups you have a real legitimate backup five if that’s what you want to do with hardenstein but Point Blank you’re just adding an elite rebounder and rim protector this was the sixth best rim protector inside six feet last season by defensive field goal percentage and guess what you’re pairing with the guy who was right in front of him in that stat and ched hren who was the fifth best rim protector inside six feet by defensive field goal percentage so I mean that is elite elite interior defense hardenstein was also seventh in offensive rebounds per game and so you look at this fit two offensively you’re adding on that end this is a guy with legitimate touch on the inside he shot 69% in the restricted area uh in the regular season he shot 52% in the paint non-restricted area and the playoffs shot 62% there you know I don’t think NBA casuals are going to understand the gravity of this move Carson I saw a lot of people online clowning this move I saw a lot of people downplaying this move this is a really valuable rotation piece this is a really damn good modern Center and he addresses one of Oklahoma City’s biggest needs this is point blank one of my favorite moves of the off season thus far I’m so glad Oklahoma City got him and I think he fits like a glove here it’s a big win hartenstein is so good dude I felt like once Randall went down throughout that playoff run he was the Nick’s third best player after just Jaylen Brunson and OG he does basically everything you want from a big who is not a star right who’s not bringing dominant post scoring or elite floor spacing what have you that sort of offensive volume at such a high level he is as you mentioned an elite offensive rebounder a really high level pure rim protector on top of that has some of the best hands of any big in the league was towards the top of league in terms of steals by all bigs is pretty agile capable of guarding in space offensively one of the best touch finishers in basketball one of the best passing bigs in the NBA like his ability to run handoffs to spot Cutters from the top of the key is very valuable to an offense he brings the dimension of physicality in rebounding that has been desperately lacking in OKC so I’ve said for a while and everybody has said that obviously they need to address the size and physicality and the rebounding in the front Court my preferred path had been go out there try to add a big four alongside Chad you can keep CAD at the five and you can maintain your offensive identity playing Five out playing with Pace having lots of ball handling but there’s only a couple guys who fit that bill and although I think this is a lot to pay for hartenstein I thought he’d get somewhere north of 20 I didn’t expect him to be pushing thir a year you added a really good basketball player to the front Court which you absolutely had to do in one way or another and I do think it provides them with an incredible variety of options just in terms of the lineups that they can Trot out man this on top of adding Alex Caruso in this off season subtracting Josh giddy who was your biggest minus shooter and your biggest minus defender in your rotation there’s just no weak points on this OKC team anymore on either side of the ball and again it’s a little bit of an adjustment in terms of how hartenstein fits in this system because he is a non-floor spacing big but you have the ability in any matchup to still go five out to say okay hartenstein we actually don’t think that we need that size as much we’re playing a smaller team here we want to maintain our quickness we want to get out and play with Pace we want to be able to switch everything even more confidently than we feel we can with you on the floor you can absolutely do that and you can Trot out a lineup with SGA in Caruso or whatever second Wing you want out there Lou dor Aaron Wiggins Isaiah Joe Kayan Wallace JB and chat like you’ve only gotten better in terms of your ability to play five out and you have significantly fixed the biggest hole that your roster had for some specific matchups they’re just the most talented team in the west now and they have the most combinations of any team in the west that to me has to make them the favorite now some guys on this roster still need to progress individually job has to be more capable more consistent as a second Creator than he was in this past Year’s run the spot up shooting and decision-making from The Supporting Cast players needs to be more consistent but nobody else is going up and down the roster with as many really good basketball players as the Oklahoma City Thunder their perimeter defense is Sensational their interior defense is Sensational like you think about what the Cavs tried to build with their sort of two rim protector setup imagine having that with two awesome defensive guards with multiple really high level perimeter Defenders and your bigs are also actually skilled offensively hardenstein can’t shoot but he’s an incredibly skilled touch finisher in passer like that is just an insanely complete basketball team and if you look at some of the specific matchups you take on Denver and to me this now puts you in a really really good spot because when it comes to guarding n yic which is an incredibly difficult task Isaiah hardenstein is not a great post Defender like you see against Joel embiid right Mel Robinson was the better option there he’s a little bit bigger he’s a little bit stronger but hartstein is a good post Defender so you have at least a good post Defender to throw at niika yic whereas previously CAD has his length but he’s just too slight to uh hang with yic down there and those super physical playoff environments hartenstein can be your primary defender on joic Chet can be on Aaron Gordon roaming which we know if you can do it with a legitimately good post defender on joic that is the best defensive outcome that’s the best formula that you can have having your Elite help Defender constantly there to take away those interior passes to challenge them to challenge jokic’s shots in the paint and then on top of that you have these awesome perimeter Defenders you have athletes who are pests who can double yic and recover like that defensively is a pretty good formula and then whose offensive role play players do I trust more whose Shooters do I trust more like it’s OKC man how many dudes down the roster do you have to go before you’re at like the equivalent of Denver’s fifth best player because you can go a lot of names man I mean there is no question that you go six deep and there’s a big ass Gap right when you’re going SGA jdub Chad Caruso hartenstein Lou Dort all of those guys you’re significantly more confident in as basketball players than Christian Brown stepping up as that fit starter then you go Kayon Aaron Wiggins I’d argue I trust those guys more than Christian Brown that’s eight dudes Isaiah Joe like there’s a real conversation to be had like it’s just getting overwhelming man and now against a massive team like Minnesota they match up better physically of course they’re still not going to be as Stout as huge in the front court but they don’t have to be they just have to be able to compete on the glass to compete in terms of being able to guard two bigs and then they have way more off skill they’re going to play faster they have more creators Advantage goes their way versus Dallas the team who knocked them out this past year if J progresses if you shoot better collectively if Chad plays better he shoots better then you just clearly have more basketball talent and now you have more lineup versatility in that matchup as well it’s just really really impressive we’ve known that they have been sitting in position to ascend as the next great NBA team and I don’t want to throw that out there because with this CBA we are seeing clearly that it is difficult to retain really high-end talent and we have seen ever since the Warriors won their last title in 2018 a new Champion every year and also the Celtics are obviously super talented and as of right now to me they’re still the favorite in the NBA but just with the overwhelming number of young talents and assets future draft picks that OKC has had in cap space they’ve been the team obviously you look at and you say there’s no reason that you shouldn’t be contending for the title this year and uh I feel like I was a little too critical of their offseason approach up to this point when we did our show yesterday reacting to day one for a couple reasons number one I didn’t like the fact that they had declined the team options for Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe because I was like if you can get those guys for 10 million or less okay that’s awesome I thought they would demand more in the neighborhood of like close to 15 million they get Aaron Wiggins on a 5year $47 million extension Logan I think that’s one of the best contracts in the league Isaiah Joe 4 years 48 million that’s not as crazy a value and you do have to be ready to replace those guys down the line once you’re paying jdub big money you’re paying Chad big money but okay great you have them on super favorable contracts you can move those guys very easily and even if this is an overpay for hartenstein in a vacuum I don’t think it’s an overpay for OKC specifically what a great basketball team and I think that they are big big Winners man because they are getting better actively getting better retaining their assets while a team like Denver is letting dudes walk a team like Denver is regressing simply because they aren’t maintaining some of the core players to their basketball identity and OKC is trending upwards in terms of all their individual players at this point to me I think they have to be the favorite in the west do you agree with that I do the key component of that is how young they are and the trajectory like you mentioned like the one issue I might have had with this off SE season cuz I think they’ve crushed it in every other regard Wiggins on that kind of money is an absolute steal um and like you say you have the flexibility to if you need to move off of those guys I think most NBA teams would be interested in those contracts those are great value deals the only thing I may have done differently if I was Oklahoma City was draft the Silva instead of topic just because I would like I’d like one more really reliable front Court guy but even if you’re sliding Jay will now in at the four instead of the five spot it’s like you still have a good big Wing now like that guy can pretty seamlessly play alongside hardenstein like he’s super skilled offensively but even with the top pitch pick it’s like that guy is one of the highest ceilings potentially of anybody in this draft class so why not uh would I have them because it’s not about Denver to me anymore I think Denver is sliding like to me the question is now with Dallas adding clay it’s like is it Dallas or Minnesota that they’re competing with like regardless it’s it’s Oklahoma City it starts with how much better SGA Chad and jayd dub are going to get next season that to me is if they’re going to be number one but again it’s like you can expect that because of how young these guys are and chat and jdub completely underwhelmed in these playoffs like if we get those guys at what they were giving you during the regular season for sure Oklahoma City is the favor they have crushed this off season they’ve added two Elite Defenders at positions of need in Caruso an hardenstein M yeah I think they are and the scary thing is that with all of these other future assets with these young contracts that they have the moment a complimentary Superstar becomes available right the moment we hear a murmur of Oklahoma City could be right in that competition and completely upgrade in that regard yeah they’re they’re number one to me out west uh moving forward until Denver makes a massive move which I don’t really see on the table or how are they going to be able to make that happen yeah Oklahoma City’s number one until further notice yeah the reason that I bring up Denver is I still do really like the formula with their top four I think there’s a clear drop off from kcp to Christian Brown hopefully Christian Brown can develop some but it’s like the yage factor him just being overwhelmingly the best basketball player on the floor in any of these matchups that really does matter the shot quality that he creates is so so high but like you need Jamal to be great and Jamal is going to be dealing in a series against Oklahoma City theoretically with Lou Dort with Alex Caruso with Kon Wallace with Jaylen Williams with two really high level Rim protectors with SJ tough right well I’m talking about who he’s being guarded by yeah SJ is good as well SJ is awesome as an off ball Defender as well as a low man boy and then they have more offensive players who you trust by a good bit I just think they’re starting to realize the vision this past year we knew you and I felt similarly like this team is so talented it’s so obvious the future is so bright I think chat’s going to be a top 10 player I think jdub’s going to be a top 20 player SGA is already a top five player and you really like a lot of the depth pieces but moving off of giddy for not just the best guard defender in basketball a real positive offensively as well who fits who plays with Pace who can be a secondary playmaker who hit 40% of his threes who’s a great cutter and Alex Caruso fits very much in your drive and kick scheme that was such a massive move in terms of addition by subtraction and just adding an awesome basketball player and as you say Logan they could not be done I would like for them to have one more like big forward as well I don’t think it’s that important at this point Jay will is playable at the four I would have loved for them to take to Silva but I really do like topich I think long term I mean if you had another dude with that sort of offensive skill I could just make them even more ridiculous ully great as a basketball team but like they could still go out and get Larry Mark in if they want man they have every asset they need to do it and you could easily give up L Dort because you already have a bevy of awesome perimeter Defenders and you just maintained a couple of your depth Wings on very reasonable contract extensions it’s scary it is scary how good the Thunder are and at this point I do think the Celtics still have uh the more overwhelming Talent at the top of their roster like that starting five is absolutely ridiculous but OKC would be an interesting matchup there because I do think that they have real quality perimeter Defenders now they don’t necessarily have like a super big Wing but I think that Alo Dort can guard Jason Tatum pretty well they have the offensive skill they have the bench Advantage I would still go Boston I think I need to see a little more consistency from Chad and jdub to have them over Boston at this point point and Boston is obvious just the team that went out and did it in very convincing fashion but OKC to me is the one who is most knocking on the door I think that they had a real opportunity this offseason they have seized it I would have them as the number two team in the NBA at this point know the beautiful thing about being a sports fan there’s only like two days the whole year without a game two with so much happening and so much action that makes just about everyday game day at DraftKings Sportsbook it’s super super easy for first timers to get started try betting on something simple like picking a team to win go to the draftking Sportsbook app select your team and place your first bet it really couldn’t be any easier or any simpler 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three-point shooting was a major issue and a major shortcoming of Dallas in the finals they shot sub 32% from Deep against Boston in the finals and uh this is where I mocked clay to go uh our last couple of free agency episodes so I love the fit and I’ve talked about how he’s going to help Luca and Kyrie score the ball one again with their uh shortcoming shooting the basketball you were adding the second greatest shooter of all time this guy shot 38% off the catch last season he is consistently around 40% and I expect his shot quality to go up even higher playing alongside Luca and Kyrie but the biggest difference to me is that team aren’t going to be able to help off of clay in the same way that they helped off of PJ Washington and Derrick Jones Jr you know OKC was just conceding open three after open three to those guys to help load up and limit Luca and Kyrie offensively you can’t do that anymore you leave clay wide open off of these guys he’s going to wet up right you’re giving him a a warm-up jumper but also on the inverse of that how he’s going to help Luca and Kyrie score in isolation because you can’t do that right I think it’s going to create one uh more one-on-one advantages for those guys to attack and they’re two the best isolation scores in all of basketball so offensively I just think they have completely gone up another level it’s going to fit like a glove and especially when you have two ball dominant guys like Luca and Kyrie that need the Rock in their hands what better compliment did they give them one of the greatest shooters ever who doesn’t need to have the ball in his hands Klay scored what what is it stad 50 points on 11 dribbles like it’s yeah Klay doesn’t need to have the Rock in his hands now I think you’re sacrificing a little bit defensively by losing Derrick Jones Jor right uh that’s probably a point of concern just because you’re only like your guy is going to have to be PJ Washington that’s going to be the guy who’s going to have to go up and clamp the other team’s best offensive player so I think you sacrifice some defensively but I’m okay with that because they have gone up a complete other level um in terms of offense I I think this is a a great value deal for them too and I’m surprised right uh I heard Klay got offered two years 48 million from Golden State and he in turn accepts three years $50 million so it is interesting though like I know the state tax has come into play so like he’s probably actually making comparable money because uh Texas is way more LAX with their taxes but the perear deal is you know significantly different but I love this I’m happy for clay I think he compliments Luca and Kyrie really well and I think Dallas needed to make a major upgrade offensively because they were just too limited uh in terms of scoring around luk and Kyrie I love this deal I think that it is a big win for the Mavs my favorite fit for clay was Denver offensively that doesn’t happen another loss in the column for Calvin booth and the Denver Nuggets this off season really feel like they need to upgrade that position offensively but I thought that because it’s like what a great motion-based offense right there’s so many actions going there is uh so much incentive for off ball movement I thought clay would fit in really nicely there but Dallas is a pretty darn good option as well the reality is just at this stage in his career he can’t be your second option offensively like basically every team in the league needs a shot Creator at that spot and Clay is not that and unfortunately he’s limited enough as an athlete at this point to where like you are getting Z Z Driving Rim pressuring ability from him obviously never been a key aspect of his game but his Rim rate has gone down like dramatically in recent years so he takes a lot of tough jumpers when he’s supposed to be your second option and that can be frustrating it can take your offense out of rhythm and when his defense has dropped more to average as opposed to Stellar as it was earlier in his career it was not a good situation for him with golden state but I think he’s going to have a significantly better season in Dallas and they absolutely needed excellent spot-up shooting alongside these guys you mentioned how it let them down in the finals against Boston they were 31% on wide open threes and you see just the disrespect that was given towards these shooters in various Series in various different ways OKC was blitzing and they were just saying okay anybody else beat us with a four on- three Boston was putting their bigs on wings just to say we don’t want these guys involved guarding the pi and roll with these vertical threat lobs we want to take away those easy lobs switch everything with Jason Tatum and we feel like we can put Kristoff’s Pingus and drop coverage and he can just completely leave Derek Jones Jr above the break he can leave PJ Washington above the break and now Luca is playing one on Two And he can kick out to those Shooters every day of the week we don’t care we don’t think they’re going to punish us that Dynamic does completely change with Klay Thompson one of the greatest Shooters in basketball history and he’s still an amazing amazing shooter man so on top of just that pure floor spacing there’s the ability to explode which the Mavs really just needed the burden night after night on Kyrie and Luca was so significant and that’s the other thing it’s like when Boston was able to guard those guys straight up pretty well not overh help and you don’t concede like just easy lobs easy Corner threes you’re not getting any level of offensive punch from The Supporting Cast clay isn’t going to be a Creator but he’s just such a great shot maker that he can explode on any given night and you need somebody you certainly want somebody who can consistently give you that punch of 15 plus a night they did not have that I think that clay absolutely brings that and I hope that he injects a little bit of movement into this offense because that’s the difference between Denver and Dallas right Dallas is a more stagnant offense it is more predicated upon very isolation heavy basketball stars do your things everybody else stand around and watch klay’s a really good spot-up shooter so hey he’ll be a really valuable offall player just doing that but I hope that they also do weaponize his gravity when he is moving without the ball because that is going to open things up for the entire offense that’s a great way to Spring him free for more quality looks it adds another layer it adds another dimension to a Dallas offense that is really good but has been pretty one-dimensional up to this point it’s been about Luke and Kyrie please do everything for us everybody else try to knock down your open jumper it’s a win getting an offensive Talent like clay and this is a good value deal you talk about figuring out the defensive combination I kind of hope that they start Naji Marshall because you look shocked over over clay yeah I think that that makes him a significantly better defensive lineup and that’s not to say that Clay is a bad Defender because he’s not he’s a fine Defender at this stage but I do not want him taking on primary point of attack matchups nor do I want PJ Washington doing that I mean PJ Washington cannot be the guy you’re throwing at guards right he’s just not quick enough nor is Clay Luke and Kyrie are not equipped for those matchups Naji is a 95th percentile isolation Defender man I mean he moves really well 67 with a 7-1 wingspan his versatility to me goes all the way from those smaller guards to those bigger forwards that to me is the value of bringing in a guy like that Klay can play more than him clay clay can play 28 minutes a night and Naji might only play 20 but I think you want to stagger the minutes with Clay where it’s just him and one of the star guards I think if you have all three of them on the floor at once it’s a little problematic for your perimeter defense and we know that the defensive side of the ball was what Dallas hung their hat on for a lot of the postseason last year Clay’s explosive I absolutely think he should be playing big minutes for this team but that specific lineup combination I don’t know that would start with I really like Nai Marshall I I do like that signing I like Derek Jones Jr too but Nai really good Defender more reliable shooter brings a little bit more playmaking juice and I think that’s a really really good lineup overall for Dallas I just think that they’ve improved significantly because you look at what they did last year and as impressive as it was clearly right they were not stacking up in terms of basketball talent to Boston nor did you think they were as talented as OKC they were as talented as Denver now OKC’s only gotten more talented so that Gap does remain in terms of pure talent but Dallas has improved Dallas has uh caught up to a Denver and like I do think that they have cemented themselves as one of those top four teams out west some people thought there was going to be a dramatic fallof I’ve seen some people write off the whole run because they’re like yeah they’re not actually that talented having a third option offensively like this adding a quality three and D wi like Naji Marshall adding Quenton Grimes for thj who was unplayable too I really like what they’ve done on the wings I really do I like the Grimes acquisition too and I see what you’re saying I mean it’s just nice to have that kind of Versatility maybe you do maybe you give Naji 20 minutes maybe you play clay 30 right it just kind of depends on what the flow of the game if klay’s clinging jumpers you say hey clay not gonna play you tonight buddy we’re going to run with nii and you know Quin Grimes if he’s hitting shots maybe you give him some extra burn but it gives you that versatility and this is 100% upgrade they had to make I just don’t think like you mentioned I I don’t know if the run is that replicable if you don’t get some extra Firepower like that right like we just kept waiting for PJ and Derrick Jones Jr you can’t overstate how important those guys were to this run in terms of getting hot and having big games at the right time and crucial situations PJ hitting countless big shots and when they needed him to and clamping up defensively I think they’ve gotten better and that’s what you just have to do every offseason man that’s the objective you’re always going to lose ass you’re always going to lose important rotational pieces it’s important to replace them and replenish and uh they did that I do think it’s a big loss for like teams like La I think it’s a massive loss for Golden State you know like it’s a huge blow for Golden State right like cler number two now you literally have Carson who’s Golden State’s second best shop maker right now on the roster who’s their second best like shot Creator or just Kinga that’s a problem MH that’s a problem man yeah I think that this is a disastrous situation for the Warriors you get back a couple seconds her Ray and it’s not about not resigning clay I don’t think that things were going well with clay in Golden State again he was overtasked as a number two option it was pretty ugly this past year but their inability to add any sort of win now value for asset after asset is just so thoroughly disappointing man they can’t compete in the PG sweep Stakes they turn down the opportunity to add Zack LaVine just for Chris Paul and Andrew Wiggins maybe there was going to be draft Capital attached but that was like the basis of the deal Chris Paul who they end up cutting who they traded Jordan P for who listen was playing awful basketball this past year but at least there was the dynamic shot creation there and CP like was still one of your better basketball players this past year man like I wouldn’t want him on that contract I certainly would not but cutting him outright is still tough to stomach because at least he brought some stability to the second unit he injected some ball handling some playmaking the offense ran at least with some smoothness and now you look at the roster and it’s just an absolute shambles dude I mean it is a joke we’ve been talking about this team lacking in a number of ways with Chris Paul and Klay Thompson on the roster right lacking in terms of the shot creation alongside Steph completely lacking in terms of the shot making alongside Steph lacking in terms of the size and athleticism in the front court and up and down the roster and like you’re just continuing to regress you’re continuing to lose good basketball players for close to nothing and they add DeAnthony Melton and I like DeAnthony Melton right he can defend he can shoot he can playmake I think if that’s a solid deal you got to be in the market for a big fish man and they’re targeting Lowry marinan they’re in the Lowry marinin sweep Stakes I hope and pray for the Dub’s sake that OKC is thinking you know what we’re good we don’t need to do that anymore we got hartenstein that’s our fix in the front court and that the market isn’t as hot as it probably should be the Spurs people are talking about in these conversations I would love a front Court of marinin and wemi I think that that would just be fantastic the dubs can offer basically all their picks but like they don’t have the sort of shiny young asset to attach that an OKC would also maybe their picks aren’t expected to be quite as high as San Antonio’s just in the next year or two but honestly it probably will be you don’t think Utah would be interested in kaminga I don’t think the dubs would give up kaminga I don’t think the dubs would give up kaminga for anybody man and there in lies the problem Logan I mean that’s been the problem forever but at this point as much as I love the fit with a Lowry Markin and he injects size and he’s an amazing shooter he’d be such a great fit in this system right he’s one of the best off ball stars in basketball that makes him so intuitive in the Warrior system moving without the ball curling off of screens he’d be a great rebounder he’s a capable Defender but he is the one guy who it’s like you have to really give up your future we’re not just talking kaminga we’re talking like four firsts right he’s a much better player than Zack LaVine but you don’t have to do that for Zack LaVine and that’s where the Warriors have just painted themselves into a corner man they should trade Steph Curry that’s just 100% what they would be doing if they were thinking of sound basketball mind and if Steph doesn’t want to go I get it dude you owe everything to this guy he’s the best player in your franchises history but it would be best for both parties you’re not getting close to winning a playoff series I don’t think you’re getting close to the playoffs man I mean everybody around you is either continuing to get better or was already way better than you you were the 10 seed last year and now you have lost Chris Paul and Klay Thompson and you brought back the Anthony Mountain so like best case scenario you’re in a slight deficit to where you were at last year and you needed to get way way better I think they are major Losers of this off season and I get it they’re not going to be in real contending conversations you have to try to go out there and win basketball games when Steph Curry is still on your roster they have shown a complete complete inability to do that they have mismanaged asset after asset they have shown organizationally the wrong mindset in terms of toggling the two timelines they have overpaid the wrong players and now here they sit they’re going to be a bad basketball team next year Logan a bad basketball team for Steph Curry who’s going to be 36 years old this season that just breaks my heart man it’s not fair and and it sucks and he really really would be better off in a different basketball situation the Warriors would be better off trading him for a hall of a for of assets that you could still get cuz he’s still a top 10 player yeah I I just feel bad for Steph to man it’s I mean they’re not even gonna get Goga baz man he resigned with the magic there goes your fix it Center well you just sit here man and it’s like the Warriors just have like no Avenue to being competitive next season and again in the front office just is showing no urgency or or desire to do that what’s going to happen man Brandon pod zimsky and Trace Jackson Davis turn into monsters Jonathan kaminga turns into a star magically like you’re exactly right bro they should trade Steph for six or seven first round picks or whatever the hell they can get man a young ass set find a sucker that will overpay for Steph that’ll give you everything and more you let Draymond like you know draymond’s the next Domino that’ll fall and you just move into a rebuild that’s what doesn’t make sense if you were waiting on the rebuild to happen why are you holding on to Steph why are you holding on to these win now assets it’s a timeline thing man I’m I’m sick and tired and I just feel bad for you guys man I feel bad for warriors fans like this is a a really sad Fall From Grace man from the greatest basketball ever played with KD’s Warriors to a miraculous title run that really does look miraculous at this point considering we all of those guys have fallen from mhm to hear where this is not a team I would make to take to make the playoffs there were points last season where I was like damn this team is not that far away man I think they’re a legit Contender and now we are here at this point in the offseason where this is not a serious basketball team no this is not a serious basketball team whatsoever and no it’s just embarrassing man it is embarrassing I have no idea what the front office is thinking not a serious basketball team without another star on the roster man I mean it’s just a complete completely undo burden on Steph to carry every single night with multiple non-shooters on the floor without a single other highle ball handler on the floor who the hell wins like that man I mean nothing else even matters and if you’re still valuing Andrew Wiggins you’re worried about the Levine contract I don’t like the LaVine contract he’s not going to help you win the title right absolutely not but my God you have to try and okay they say that they’re trying for Larry marinan now maybe they are but when have any of these rumors ever actually materialized guess what Logan they didn’t get Pascal seum why they wanted their draft picks they didn’t get Bradley Beal why they wanted their draft picks they didn’t get ogn and Obi why they wanted their draft picks a team that was trying to contend around a superstar in his 30s wanted their draft picks it’s inexcusable to me I’ve said it over and over again but it’s organizational malpractice and uh if I were a betting man do I think that they’re going to Larry marinin away from the Utah Jazz probably not I really hope that they find a way I think it would be an amazing fit I think he’s an amazing basketball player but I just don’t think that’s going to happen man if we look at the history of how these things have gone in recent years if you love Jonathan kaminga that much Jonathan kaminga who has real flaws as a basketball player that would take a long time to Iron out for him to be a legitimate Star level guy good for you man see how that works out for you hasn’t gone great so far but I do like to Anthony Melton I want to shout out to Anthony Melton I don’t want to downplay him dude okay cuz I like the guy but man can’t be your move of the off season can’t be your move of the offseason after how last year went but you know what else can’t be your move of the offseason Logan adding Tobias Harris because nobody wants to do that two years 52 million to the Detroit Pistons going home to Detroit the man continues to get paid Logan how did he do it I’m so sorry Angelo um I’m sorry I’m so sorry Kofi uh those are the only Pistons fans I know because said anything about this is he alive no they uh he posted I saw he posted on IG uh the Pistons hanging the banner and it said didn’t pay Tobias Harris the max so that’s a win man they didn’t give him all of their money they only gave him some of their money I was trying to explain to Angelo uh somebody had to pay him and that’s what sucks is like the teams with cap space unfortunately like the Rockets signing Fred Van vet and Dylan Brooks last season like somebody with cap space has to pay these guys it turns out the Pistons have a lot of it um Tobias Harris sucks I don’t have many nice things to say about Tobias Harris uh he sucked in Philadelphia when he was getting paid $40 million he was missing jumpers I think he’ll do the same here in Detroit but hey you’re not paying him 40 million you’re only paying him 25 million so I guess there’s some sort of silver lining in that I suppose yeah listen I actually like it for Detroit you’re so far away dude you won 15 games you had one of the worst offenses I’ve seen in my life having a legitimate shot maker and that’s not to say that Tobias Harris is Right close to a star- level basketball player but guess what he can knock down 35 to 39% of his threes he’s a big forward who can attack some mismatches who can score some I mean it’s just having simple skilled offensive basketball players means a lot more for the Detroit Pistons than it actually should and cap doesn’t mean anything to them at this point I just want to see Kade put in a position where like he can play actual NBA basketball because I do think that he’s really talented and uh he has just been put in a brutal brutal situation so I like it for Detroit you’re not getting somebody better than Tobias right no Star level players coming to play in Detroit and you’re GNA have to overpay whoever you wanted to bring in and this isn’t that bad of an overpay and it’s a short-term deal I honestly like it I think it was the right course of action GoGo batad Logan stays with the Orlando Magic W for the magic but they got to play him they don’t play him exactly he was great in Wendell Carter Jr’s absence last year man play the man you paid the man now you got to play the man you guys aren’t ready for the Goa batad discourse but you got to like the guy he’s got good hands he’s a pretty good rim protector he’s a pretty good rebounder got pretty solid touch feel I like Goa batad he’s a quality simple backup big who the Golden State Warriors could have used now I did see this while I was looking for if Kofi had tweeted anything shout out Kofi yaboa for those who don’t know friend of the show about the Pistons I was trying to see if he had said anything he did quote tweet this from NBA Central Klay Thompson’s Antics behind the scenes have been equally exhausting as Draymond greens per Jay Dumis reports clay has been equally as exhausting behind the scenes in quotes it’s not as loud it’s not as loud because it’s not you stomping on someone’s chest if he’s slamming stuff on the bench and silking and doing that on the court how do you think it is in practice the quote continues but I think that makes a lot of sense man like clay has had a lot of problematic moments just in terms of his disposition with the Warriors particularly over the past year there have been comments in the press conferences and it’s been realized on the court takes bad shots takes the offense out of flow like I understand a lot of people are going to be very emotional and sentimental about all the incredible things that the splash Bros and the Warriors always did it’s always going to be framed as the splash Bros who was always the second best player on those teams Logan it was Draymond Green the great Draymond Green we know that but it had come to an end nothing great can last forever the Warriors honestly should still be in a better place than they are at because of asset Miss management but winning that title in 2022 should probably not have been possible considering the age of their core guys just the talent of that roster at the time uh the injuries that they had been through that was an incredible cherry on top but this past year was rough and I do think that clay was very much complicit in that a thousand perc and it’s a it’s a pride and ego kind of thing and I’m not saying clay isn’t uh justified in how he feels it’s hard for any athlete it’s like a a golfer that has it forever and it’s just hard dealing with the fact that you’re not the same guy anymore and it’s got to be frustrating the fact that Klay can’t move as smoothly as he used to he can’t defend like he used to he can’t even really get downhill or create for himself in the way he used to and it’s just uh it’s something that a lot of athletes have to deal with man when you get past your Prime and the it’s never pretty it’s never the only athlete I’ve ever really seen age super gracefully as Tom Brady but that dude’s a alien you know he’s yeah he’s off tv12 which we all know is just roids he’s off the anavar he’s off the he’s off the T he’s off HGH I was about to say man they got that human growth hormone man they got him he’s all Juiced up Clay so maybe that’s a takeaway do roids you’ll be back better than ever I mean they’re all the rage these days I hear they work so go ahead clay do what it takes he’ll be better off in Dallas I think he’ll be happier there I think it’s a better basketball situation and uh for the dubs guess you had to move on but you’re screwed you’re kind of screwed no matter what at this point hope you get Larry Markin in somehow probably not going to happen all right folks there you go quick little recap of day two of free agency hope you enjoyed if you missed everything that we said yesterday go ahead and check out our reaction to that you can find all all of our full shows on our YouTube channel and across all audio platforms and you can follow us across social Tik Tok Instagram nerd SES to uh see trivia from the shows you can also follow us on Twitter at nerd SES and you can check out our merch atth volume. comom you can also join our Discord the link to that is at the link tree across our social media bios so with that as always I been Carson braber I have been Logan Camden and this was nerd sash
The nerds react to Day 2 of NBA Free Agency! They discuss how Isaiah Hartenstein makes the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder the new favorites in the Western Conference, and how signing Klay Thompson helps Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks as they attempt to return to the NBA Finals. They also shred the Golden State Warriors for failing to put a competent team around Steph Curry.
0:00 Hartenstein to OKC
17:12 Klay to Dallas
28:30 Will Warriors add Lauri?
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40 Comments
I think we’re also forgetting how hurt Luka was and how healthy OKC was. Even in the regular season, OKC barely missed games while Mavs had all of their guys miss 25-30 games each. I don’t know how Dallas took out a healthy OKC team and got better and you guys still have OKC making the Finals over them.
luca kyrie defense is still suspect all boston needs to do is attack those 2 then u all saw what happened after that lol attack those 2 at all times thats why it doesnt solve anything to beat the teams caliber like boston
Rob Dilly makes Wolves favorite in West.
1. Mavs 2. Wolves 3. OKC
Thunder made the biggest jump and that’s not considering what their rostered guys from last season accomplished. To me the TWolves are more of a contender than the Mavs
Ousmien deng has so much potential as well
My predictions for next szn
West:
1. Mavs (okc)
2.okc (mavs)
3. T wolves
4. Nuggets
5. Grizzlies
6. Pelicans
Rest don’t matter
East:
1. Boston
2. Sixers (Knicks)
3. Knicks (sixers)
4. Orlando
5. Cavs
6. Bucks
Rest dont matter
Overall:
1. Boston
2. Mavs (okc)
3. Okc (mavs)
4. Knicks (sixers)
5. Sixers (Knicks)
6. T wolves
7. Nuggets
8. Grizzlies
9. Orlando (pels)
10. Pels (Orlando)
11. Cavs
12. Bucks
I think the closing lineup CAN be luka ky naji klay at the 4 and lively klay can hold his own against forwards way better than guards at this stage so I think luka ky and klay can play together but naji HAS to be the POA in those lineups. Maybe grimes if Naji is out
This new MAVS team can run it back against Boston. We got WAY better!
Naji and Grimes will fill in the defensive holes.
Guys Dallas is about to spank the league now that we got so many great players upgrading SF with three new players in Klay, Naji and Ajinca now word comes out through a forum I attend that we also signed the leading shot blocker in NCAA MENS BASKETBALL over the last 2 seasons and he is on our summer league team. Oh plus we got Grimes who was the #1 POA defender for NY as was Naji as well from NO. I personally think Naji is an upgrade over Dereck Jones Jr.. Killing teams with offense and or defense is possible now. We have 3 centers and we are 2 deep at every position and some we are 3 deep. Our team is 15 deep as soon as the rookies take that step up to the professional level. Ajinca faced the #1 pick in the draft in France and outperformed him in their matchup. Looks like he is a find and Jamarian Sharp is looking like a larger bigger Mutumbo that we stole as an undrafted free agent.
1st team
Luka Klay Kyrie PJ Lively
2nd team
Hardy Grimes Naji Kleber Gafford
3rd team
Exum Ajinca Lawson OMax Sharp
15 deep
playoffs over and Luka still playing and somehow all we hearing is he still injured but also not a trash defender 😭
Blowby man strikes again
Very strange edit at 15:53. Why bother with that? Lol love your stuff though…
Is Steph a top10 player? I don’t know. I am surprised that you guys are looking so frustrated about the Warriors team or front office. This team should not trade too much of their young players or draft assets to acquire any old or unsure stars assets. Just accepting the fact that your time has past, this Warriors team has given us way too much great memories, it’s time to gradually say goodbye to them, which is what supposed to happen
Thunder are going to one hell of a defensive team, but so much of their offense will depend on Chet and JDub progressing further in their development. Mavs is safer bet to win West, but OKC's ceiling is just insanely high. If they add Lauri it is truly GG WP by Sam Presti.
Okc was literally losing to Dallas by 20 in both the games they won in the series lol need sesh looks to much at numbers when coming to certain conclusions.
For okc that have a answer for every offense and defense with this roster, if jdub can take another leap okc is going to be dangerous!!!
I feel bad for josh green. Such a good player. He deserves better then the hornets
MAVS-THUNDER West finals would be outstanding. AND Thunder over Wolves in 7 in Semi's would be cinematic!!!
lol mavs arent going to piss off klay by making him come off the bench. he is definitely going to start. how do you think the mavs lured him to join them? they can just sub him after 4-5 mins.
Steph has 4 rings. I think he'll be fine
So sad for the Knicks to lose Hartenstein!! 😢😢
OKC got themselves a GREAT center. 👍👏
These moves by OKC should make one of the stars want to come here for some icing on the championship cake.
losing Klay Thompson does not make the Warriors worse. Playing Klay Thompson made us worse all year last year. The off-season isn't over, it's weird to judge their off-season when it just started. You all just haven't adjusted to his current value. You said he's not a bad defender – yes, he absolutely he is. He's a cone. anyway
Mavs (and the rest of NBA) fans aren't gonna be happy when they can't get open 3s on the perimeter and will struggle to get any clean shots inside, OKC will legitimately be the best defensive team and one of the best offensively
Those writing off the Mavs run are dumb. Mavs are now loaded from top to bottom. Luka will have something to prove to yall after just leading the playoffs on pts rebs assists stl
Mavs team with a whole season to gel will get better.
Klay can still shoot.
Can’t defend though on one leg.
Him and fat Luka as point of attack defenders is a disaster waiting to happen 😂
klay's offensive skills does not mesh well with Luka's style
🔵🌩️🌩️🌩️🌩️🟠
TH🌩️NDER🆙
The Thunder now have 6 of the Top 20 low usage role players in NBA(Caruso.Dort.iHart.iJoe. Wallace.Wiggins) which allows their Big 3 to max out their potential. Chet & JDub are both MIP candidates. With Topic, Dieng & 5 potential 2025 1st rd picks(Yes 5!); there is no team better set up to acquire their biggest need at the Trade Deadline…and btw Daigneault finished 1st & 2nd in Coach of the Year voting in last 2 seasons. You couldn't construct a better team on 'NBA 2K'.
Ok so there are two players which are defensive liability for the mavs Luka and Klay their line up sucks
The guy on the right is clearly using heavy drugs. Even had the dude on the right attempted to interrupt his diatribe, those wild eyes guarantee he wasn't stopping until his brain clutch kicked in…hard to take him serious strung out like that.
I think Mavs fans are going to be disappointed with Klay a lot.. he’s still formidable but the Mavs need to change their style of play. Dallas added a house hold name but I don’t think it necessarily solved their problems. Yes I know they made it to the finals but I wouldn’t be surprised if even with Klay they take a step back.
Mavs are just better than OKC. Mavs beat OKC with a hurt Luka and two starters they picked up at the trade deadline LOL! The entire team was hurt most of the year and they got to the finals without a full offseason together. OKC doesn’t stand a chance against the Mavs PERIOD!
The problem with not starting Klay is I’m sure promising him a starting spot was part of the pitch.
Get chet in the weight room
Thunder in 6 against Mavs Redemption ARC win to go fight the final boss Boston in the Finals next year.
OKC got to be the most overrated team in the league
Mavs got absolutely embarrassed in the finals, yet these clowns are acting like they are prime Warriors.