Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 Okay, moving on to our last part of the show.
00:03 Before we do, I wanna quickly tell you
00:06 about the All Hornets t-shirt online store.
00:11 This podcast is brought to you by allhornets.com,
00:14 credentialed Charlotte Hornets media outlet.
00:17 And make sure you go check out our All Hornets store.
00:19 It's in the link for the podcast description.
00:22 We have our own logo t-shirts,
00:24 we have some quotable collections
00:26 which you'll be able to see on there.
00:27 Go on there, grab yourself a t-shirt.
00:30 All the money goes back into helping the show.
00:32 So we appreciate your time.
00:33 Chase, I asked you to come with one mock trade,
00:37 locked, loaded, ready to go.
00:39 Your favorite one ahead of the deadline, fire away.
00:42 - So we're gonna be talking a lot
00:44 about the Pistons on this episode,
00:46 but the deal that I came with actually does not feature
00:49 anybody that we have talked about previously
00:51 other than One Mile's Bridges.
00:54 This trade for between the Hornets and Pistons
00:57 sends Miles Bridges and Nick Richards
01:00 to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Isaiah Stewart
01:04 and Marcus Sasser.
01:06 No picks, just a direct two players for two players swap.
01:10 I've really liked this one.
01:12 Like Isaiah Stewart to me is becoming a very real
01:17 like spacing big man.
01:18 And something that I have wanted to see for a long time
01:22 since Lamella broke into the NBA
01:24 is him playing with a legit shooting big.
01:27 Like PJ Washington is a stretch four.
01:30 Isaiah Stewart is a five that can shoot
01:33 for threes from above the break.
01:35 He takes almost all of his threes at the top of the key.
01:39 And this year, especially, he is having like a resurgence
01:43 or not a resurgence.
01:44 He's like emerging as a like real like volume shooter
01:49 at the five spot.
01:50 And the biggest reason for that is taking corner threes.
01:53 His first couple of years,
01:54 he took a total of nine corner threes
01:57 and he was one for nine.
01:59 This year alone, he's 18 of 47 on corner threes,
02:03 pretty much only shoots pick and pops
02:05 from the top of the key or relocates
02:07 and spaces out to the corner.
02:09 He hits at a high rate from all of those spots,
02:11 37% non-corner three, 38% from the corner.
02:15 Real threat to shoot.
02:16 And Lamella has never played with a guy like that.
02:18 Obviously Marcus Sasser solves the backup point guard
02:21 problem is in his first year of his career.
02:23 So you're gonna be paying him like less than $3 million
02:26 for the next three years as a late first round pick
02:29 would just fill that backup point guard hole permanently
02:33 or not permanently, but long-term immediately.
02:36 And you wouldn't have to sign or spend much money there.
02:38 So swapping out Miles and Nick,
02:41 two guys that I think are valuable players
02:43 and are good right now,
02:45 but are also not necessarily guys that you need to keep
02:48 around for the long-term and can extract some value from
02:51 if you felt that was the best course of action.
02:53 And here, I think that is a very, very good trade
02:56 for doing so.
02:58 And obviously you get off of Miles
03:00 and have that free agency problem is no longer your problem.
03:04 And it's solely on Detroit at that point.
03:07 And you get two guys that are signed long-term
03:09 and can be real rotation players for you.
03:11 - Okay.
03:14 I didn't think I love it.
03:16 And I think this is the reason why.
03:18 I'm just not an Isaiah Stewart guy.
03:20 I know what all the percentage would say,
03:23 but I watched the Pistons play
03:25 and every team loves when Isaiah Stewart takes that three.
03:28 And almost kind of like gearing their offense
03:30 to be like, "Sure, Isaiah Stewart,
03:31 you go shoot those threes."
03:33 Like he has a really slow release.
03:35 He only shoots them when he's really wide open.
03:38 So I think like his gravity as a three-point shooter
03:41 is a little bit less than that.
03:43 And like also just defensively,
03:45 I just haven't ever felt he's an impact maker there.
03:48 He's like tough and he's physical.
03:49 So he ticks that box.
03:50 I agree with that.
03:51 And he can obviously space more so,
03:53 but like just kind of feel like you're trading
03:56 for maybe like a better rebounding version,
04:00 but a worse scorer than PJ Washington.
04:03 And like he signed, I think, for 15 mil per year
04:08 for like an upcoming four-year contract extension.
04:10 That like jams up your books a little bit.
04:13 I just feel like then you're,
04:14 I know you could move Washington anyway,
04:16 but like I really like Marcus Sasser.
04:19 Don't get me wrong.
04:20 He's a, you know, for me,
04:21 that's like first round pick value you're getting there,
04:23 but obviously you're higher on Stewart than I am.
04:27 And for that reason, again,
04:29 I've talked about the picks over plays thing,
04:32 and I'm just not a big Isaiah Stewart guy.
04:34 So I can understand what you're wanting to do.
04:36 Add shooting, add toughness.
04:38 I can see it, but I would not like this trade.
04:43 And I think the team would be unlikely to make it
04:46 simply because of adding guaranteed salary
04:50 for two salary slots for the next four years, basically,
04:53 by making this deal feels,
04:56 would be a bit of a risk by this outgoing front office.
04:58 - No, I totally agree.
05:00 It doesn't necessarily line up with what I think
05:03 that they will do, but if I were, you know, in charge
05:06 and could- - Yeah.
05:07 If you were new GM in place-
05:09 - This would, yeah, right.
05:10 Like this would definitely be one of those things.
05:11 Like to me, Nick makes $5 million,
05:15 Isaiah Stewart makes 15.
05:17 I like genuinely think- - I'm just bringing
05:17 Nick Richards as well.
05:19 I wouldn't even do this for Mars Bridge just straight up.
05:21 I'm not- - Really?
05:22 - Yeah.
05:23 - I think that, yeah.
05:24 Maybe I think this is probably just
05:25 because we have much different-
05:27 - Which is fine. - Valuations of the players.
05:29 - It'll happen. - Absolutely.
05:30 That's part of the game.
05:31 But I personally, like,
05:32 I think that $10 million increase in salary
05:34 between Nick and Isaiah Stewart is worth it.
05:36 Like, I just don't think Nick long-term,
05:40 especially when Mark comes back
05:42 and is somebody that hopefully is playing
05:43 like 30 minutes a game.
05:45 Like, I just don't think you're getting enough
05:48 out of that spot in the rotation
05:51 or like enough versatility out of that spot
05:54 as you could or as you may need going forward,
05:56 especially if you're re-signing many of the players
05:59 that are still here now.
06:00 Like, I think Isaiah Stewart's physicality, spacing.
06:03 I probably like his defense a little bit better than you do.
06:06 The rebounding especially is gonna be a huge thing.
06:08 Like, I just think that's a better fit
06:11 and just gives the Hornets more versatility going forward
06:14 than like having two seven-foot run and dunk bigs
06:17 that don't switch, don't shoot, don't pass, don't dribble.
06:20 - He's only played 30% of his minutes at center this year.
06:24 - Yes, well, see, that is true.
06:26 He's been playing a lot of four with Detroit,
06:28 which I think would help even further.
06:31 He wouldn't have to be a four
06:32 'cause Detroit has, like, their roster is like 75% centers.
06:37 So I think he would be like purely a five
06:39 on pretty much any other team.
06:41 But Detroit has Jalen Duren, had Marvin Bagley.
06:46 They still have James Wiseman, Donilo Gallinari, Mike Muscala.
06:51 Like, they literally have like 50% of their roster
06:54 as centers.
06:55 So I think part of that is due to him
06:58 being kind of pigeonholed there.
06:59 But maybe that's why he's shooting more.
07:01 Like, it's 'cause as a four, you need the space
07:04 and it's kind of just- - It will be, yeah.
07:06 - Maybe added like another layer to his game
07:08 where now as a five, he's like a legit pick and market.
07:10 - You don't get centers hanging out in the corner, right?
07:12 - No.
07:13 - Which is, that's why his three-point shooting
07:15 from the corner has improved this year.
07:18 Okay, my trade.
07:21 And I've stolen this one from an upcoming Stinger episode
07:26 I have covering the Oklahoma City Thunder,
07:28 which will be out at some point this week
07:30 before the trade deadline.
07:31 Gordon Hayward is getting traded.
07:37 Thank the Lord.
07:38 Gordon Hayward, Anish Smith to Oklahoma City
07:42 in return for Davis Batons, who is 17 million per year
07:48 and he is next year too,
07:49 but only 5 million of that's guaranteed.
07:51 So you can waive him in the summer,
07:52 essentially paying 5 million.
07:54 So he's not quite an expiring,
07:56 but he's not taking bad money on for next year.
07:58 He's kind of somewhere in the middle.
08:00 Alexey Pokasevsky, he's an expiring 5 million per year,
08:05 just in here simply for salary matching purposes,
08:08 as is Trey Mann.
08:10 Although he's actually got two years left in his contract
08:12 and there's a little bit of duplication
08:13 between Trey Mann and Nick Smith Jr.
08:15 as like kind of undersized two guards
08:20 who like to do a lot of pull-up shooting.
08:23 So it's not a talent play here, but for me,
08:26 the other thing is you're getting with this deal
08:28 is two second round picks.
08:29 2025 second round pick by Atlanta,
08:32 2026 second round pick by Golden State.
08:35 You give Oklahoma City, one of the youngest teams,
08:39 who've got a chance to win it all this year.
08:41 Two veteran players, Ish Smith,
08:42 championship DNA last year with Denver,
08:45 was great role model on that team.
08:47 Can go and do that again with Oklahoma City.
08:50 You give them Gordon Hayward, a skilled wing scorer
08:53 who can like really play in the half court
08:55 when things grind down and slow down in the playoffs
08:58 and gives them some real playoff experience
09:01 to a team that lacks it,
09:02 but is obviously incredibly talented.
09:05 And they didn't give up a single,
09:08 not even a first round pick
09:09 or a single rotation player at the moment.
09:12 And they're able to massively upgrade
09:15 with that Gordon Hayward position
09:17 and that Ish Smith in that role.
09:19 For me, like the only reason this wouldn't happen
09:22 is if Oklahoma City find like a better player
09:25 to use that Davis-Breton's contract on, right?
09:28 So that is the only way
09:29 that I don't think this makes sense for both teams.
09:32 What do you think?
09:33 - I definitely like-
09:36 - It's an easy sell for the Hornets fans, right?
09:37 Because you're giving away expirings for picks.
09:41 Like it's hard not to like this for the Charlotte Hornets,
09:44 but I guess my question isn't what do you think?
09:46 It's, do you think this is realistic?
09:48 - I definitely think it's realistic.
09:51 'Cause I think like,
09:52 if you, like you said,
09:54 the caveat that the Thunder can't find like a better option
09:58 to move that Davis-Breton's contract,
10:01 I kind of think there's a way
10:02 you could get a first round pick out of them for that.
10:04 The Thunder in this upcoming draft
10:06 already have five draft picks.
10:08 Like they have to move off of those at some point.
10:10 They don't have the roster space to draft five rookies,
10:13 three of those which would be first round picks,
10:17 or they have four draft picks in 2024.
10:18 Three of them would be first round picks.
10:20 They don't have the roster space
10:22 to add three guaranteed contracts
10:24 and then one second round player.
10:26 So you kind of like would be able to just be like,
10:29 why don't we just take this pick off your hands?
10:31 You get a half season rental of Gordon Hayward.
10:32 You get off the Davis-Breton's contract,
10:35 which is two years, 17 million.
10:37 You get two roster spaces open next year
10:40 for either for new players
10:42 that you want to sign off the market
10:43 or to replace them with more rookie contract guys.
10:47 Like you're doing them many favors here.
10:49 Like giving them a good player,
10:51 relieving their salary books,
10:53 giving them more roster space to work with.
10:55 They still get like,
10:56 they still have like retain much of their pick value.
11:00 Like you wouldn't have to trade like,
11:02 you know that 2025 Miami pick that's protected.
11:06 Like the 2027 pick from Denver and the Clippers.
11:09 Like those could be really valuable down the road
11:11 because these teams are good now, not in 2027.
11:14 Like if you ask for their 2024 Utah pick
11:18 that's protected one through 10,
11:19 like probably gonna land like between 11 and 18 or so.
11:23 Like that's not an overly valuable pick.
11:25 I feel like you could definitely get that
11:27 for what you're giving them in that regard.
11:29 And like, that's a very specific scenario,
11:32 but because Gordon Hayward otherwise
11:34 is not gonna fetch a first round pick.
11:35 But if a team like the Thunder,
11:37 I really think there's a way to like extract that.
11:40 Even if it may seem like overvaluing him,
11:44 there's a, I think there's a way to do it.
11:46 - I mean, just having a first for Gordon Hayward
11:50 and injured Gordon Hayward at that just seems,
11:53 it just seemed a little bit too good to be true.
11:55 - I completely agree.
11:57 - A little bit more realistic,
11:58 but they like, you could say that with any Thunder trade,
12:02 you've gotten a first, just make it a first.
12:05 Any deal you wanna make, you can make that argument.
12:07 So yeah, it's interesting.
12:10 I mean, there are also ways where you could like
12:13 do a PJ Washington in this.
12:14 So you take out Poku and Mann
12:17 and you just do PJ for Bertons
12:20 and then maybe you do a first then.
12:21 So then you're adding like,
12:23 not just a good player for this year,
12:24 but somebody who's under contract going forward
12:26 on a declining contract,
12:28 who can fit in as like a stretch four as well
12:30 and can play some small ball center.
12:32 That's another option is you can do this shit.
12:34 There's some interesting, I think machinations
12:36 in terms of the OKC and Charlotte as trade partners.
12:40 And you never hear from the Thunder
12:41 as like leaking trade stuff.
12:43 So you don't think,
12:44 oh, we've not heard the Thunder being interested.
12:46 They generally do make a small upgrade
12:48 at the deadline doing something.
12:50 And I think the Charlotte Hornets make sense
12:52 as a good trade partner for them.
12:53 Okay, well, I think that's everything for the show
13:00 for this week, Chase.
13:01 We will be back next week.
13:04 We're not quite sure when yet.
13:06 We might be recording on Monday,
13:08 but then if we publish Tuesday,
13:11 then it's gonna be out of date very quickly
13:12 'cause that's the trade deadline day.
13:13 So we're not sure what we're doing,
13:14 but we're gonna be back talking post trade deadline
13:18 very, very shortly.
13:21 Make sure you stay with us.
13:23 Should be an interesting time.
13:24 Could be a lot more changes
13:26 coming to the Charlotte Hornets roster.
13:27 And I can't wait because right now this team,
13:31 they're just not playing hard
13:32 because I think half the team thinks
13:35 they're not gonna be here in a week
13:37 and they are only human.
13:38 And that's the kind of stuff that happens.
13:40 So Chase, thanks for joining me today.
13:43 Good talking to you.
13:45 And we will speak next week at some point.
13:48 - Pleasure as always.
13:49 Thank you everybody for listening.
13:51 We will talk to you again soon.