Episode 074 - Overreactions After Three Games

Chris and Paul overreact after the first six days of the NBA regular season and share some thoughts on teams that they’ve watched and teams they need to, beginning with the Detroit Pistons and ending on the San Antonio Spurs, before discussing the recent sports media news.

Trade Deadline Fallout

Mark D. Smith/USA TODAY Sports

Remember on the podcast when Chris and I predicted that the NBA’s trade deadline would be weak and underwhelming? That was fun. Never before have I been so glad to be so wrong, as the transactions flew at such a frenzied pace Thursday afternoon that even the Woj-cyborg showed signs of short-circuiting.

Good lord.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) February 19, 2015

In total, 37 players were involved in trades on Thursday alone and about a dozen draft picks changed hands. Here’s my best account of rationalizing and breaking down each trade in the chronological order in which they broke, in the hours leading up to Thursday’s 3pm (EST) trade deadline - outside of that last half hour to 20-minute stretch that closed out the activity, when my head might have momentarily exploded. Most of the information has been referenced from SBNation’s concise trade listings, and I’ve used the always clutch Pro Sports Transactions for any future draft picks that were moved.

The Give and Go: Best/Worst Transactions

USA Today Sports

The Give and Go is a quick back and forth between Paul Mitchell and Chris St. Jean about a relevant subject in the NBA at that moment.

Paul: It was just a few weeks ago that we bemoaned the lack of trades in the 2014-15 NBA season. Since then we’ve had a few Celtics trades, a high-profile release that’s turned around the season of the Detroit Pistons, and a number of potential contenders who have upgraded their teams for the second half of the season (AKA the “Western Conference arms race”).

This week’s Give and Go question will be simple: Which team’s transaction(s) do you like the most and believe upgrades them for a playoff push? Alternately, which move still confounds you?

Episode 048 - 2015 Catch-Up & Western Conference Playoff Teams

Chris and Paul catch up after a busy holiday season and an even busier NBA season. They start with the Detroit Pistons and the Josh Smith release, then spend the rest of the podcast talking about Western Conference playoff teams (Houston, Clippers, Portland, Memphis, San Antonio, Golden State, Phoenix, and New Orleans) before finishing up with the Celtics, Marcus Smart, and plenty of Jeff Green trade ideas. At about 1:10 they switch to pop culture talk and list some of their favorite movies, TV shows, and albums of 2014.

Episode 043 - The Return of Basketball

Chris and Paul finally have basketball to talk about, and discuss some observations from the opening two nights of the NBA season.

# 27 - Phoenix Suns

photo credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

What I’d Do:

K.J. McDaniels - Clemson

6’6” (6’11” wingspan!!), 196 lbs, 2/9/1993 (21 years old)

Paul George:     6’9” w/     6’11”     wingspan.

Tony Allen:     6’4” w/     6’9”     wingspan.

To me, K. J. McDaniels is the ideal size as a wing defender and that's his specialty.  This is a perfect fit in Phoenix (Mitchell already wrote about Phoenix and their situation here at # 14 and here at # 18). It’s probably unlikely the Suns keep all three first rounders, but if they do stash a guy like Capela at 18 it raises those chances.  Assuming Eric Bledsoe returns, I can just imagine Bledsoe, Dragic, and McDaniels going full 1990’s Arkansas ‘40 Minutes of Hell’ on the league.  

The upside is that McDaniels, although inconsistent in college, has the upside to develop that outside shot.  He could be the ideal 3 and D guy in this draft if that shot develops.  He’s a good finisher, great free throw shooter (which makes you think he has promise) and defends well for his size.  He played mostly 3 in college but could probably play and defend either wing position in the pros.  I think he just gives Phoenix lots of defensive versatility on the perimeter.

What They Will Do:

Even if they stash a guy at # 14 or # 18 they could end up moving this pick.  Chad Ford has them taking Capela here at # 27 (he has them taking Rodney Hood at # 18) and the Heat stealing McDaniels one spot before.  So much has to do with who is available at this point in the draft.  There are rotation players to be had though.  A lot might depend on how they feel about some of their free agents as well.  It seems P.J. Tucker may be headed to a new home.  If they don’t think they can get a Bledsoe deal done, that may change, and it would drastically alter their draft day strategy.

Crazy Draft Day Trade:

Phoenix has the roster flexibility here to do some crazy things.  This is really crazy:  A Greg Monroe - Eric Bledsoe double sign and trade.  I’m not even sure that’s a thing under the CBA (although I feel like it is possible under the rules, but almost impossible to get done).  I could get behind that.  That would tie up some of their cap space, but they’d have plenty of other assets to make another move if they want to.  Monroe might be better suited for a slower paced team, but a franchise big would be a nice catch for Phoenix.  

As far as Detroit, I feel like SVG would love Bledsoe.  Although, I am actually a bit curious to see Brandon Jennings for one year under SVG.  I feel like he could make some strides.