Lauren Williams
Appearances
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
Of course. Thanks for having me, as always. It's a pleasure.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
You know, when they initially happened, I know a lot of people were questioning the deal, but the Hawks are a team that didn't have a ton of depth, especially once injuries happen. You look what happened with Jalen Johnson and how impactful his missing these last, you know, this last month and a half has been for the team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
And so adding some savvy veterans like George Niang and Karis LeVert to the rotation really kind of helped to in some ways, add a little bit more playmaking because you have a guy like George who can really shoot the ball. You have a guy like Karis LeVert who can go out and get his own bucket.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
And then you have a guy like Terrence Mann who has been having a bit of a down year, but you're just waiting for him to kind of get that burst that we're used to seeing from him when he was on the Clippers. And so I think in adding those three guys, they kind of stretched their rotation a little bit more and added some much needed depth so they're not
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
relying on and as much as i like garrison matthews they're not relying on a guy who you know has been very inconsistent with his three-point shots as of late so um i didn't hate the deal uh this team was very young and so adding guys who are over the age of 27 is always going to push a team toward uh being more of a contender than the hawks were before
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
Exactly. I mean, those guys are coming off of the bench. And so, you know, it's a key part of those three, those two players that you mentioned in Dyson Daniels and Zachary Risa Shay's development. So it's not hindering it, but it's just adding a little bit more experience for what the Hawks lacked in, you know, some of those clutch minutes that they were relying heavily on Trey.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
And even though, you know,
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
Thursday night's game against the Magic ended with the Hawks in the loss column, you still saw some good things that they maybe would have struggled with at the beginning of the season in just execution and the small things defensively, just because guys like Karis LeVert and George Niang and Terrence Mann are all known for having a little bit more of that defensive punch that the Hawks lacked.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
Yeah, I think the biggest strides that Daniels has made is just really showing off that he can go out and create, not just for others, but he can kind of create a little bit more for himself. I don't think Thursday's game against the Magic was indicative of how good of a stretch he had before the All-Star break, just because...
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
None of the Hawks seem to be able to make a layup on Thursday night, but he's a guy that can attack the basket. He's playing through contact and getting kind of the benefit of the whistle. And those small things are what has helped the Hawks a lot as of late when Trey goes to the bench and them not having Jalen Johnson. So, yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
Um, I think the fact that Dyson is gaining more confidence in, in going to the basket and in making plays for others is a huge step forward. Um, obviously the big thing that he needs to make a jump on is, uh, knocking shots from three down a little bit more consistently, but he's been, he's been doing what the Hawks have needed him to do.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
And if he's going to be a guy that's going to work from the inside out, then, uh, the is maybe a good sign that that three-point shot might fall a little bit more consistently later.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
Well, you think about it. They had Herb Jones. They had Trey Murphy. They had a few really defensive long wings that were hitting shots offensively and really kind of gave New Orleans the leeway or the green light for them to be on the floor a little bit more than Dyson. So the fact that he's able to kind of flourish in this offense with Quinn Snyder, that really kind of...
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
what's the word I'm looking for, prioritizes the pass, really prioritizes attacking the basket or kicking out to guys outside. I think that's kind of what has helped him kind of flourish a little bit more. And maybe that's what has given a team like Australia to say, hey, Quinn, maybe we should bring you aboard to coach our national team. Though nobody is going to comment on that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
I have no idea what's happening with that. But I mean... You can't hide or you can't lie about the
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
Yeah, I think Zach's upside has just been... I don't know. I think his instincts and the fact that he has not shown any fear in continuing to try to get to the rim is a good sign. You think about him, he's only 19 years old. When he came in, he was... Pretty skinny, pretty small. And he's trying to attack these seven footers who are probably have like 50 to 60 pounds on him.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
I mean, the fact that he doesn't have that fear is a really good sign, in my opinion. And the type of buckets that he's trying to get, I think also kind of lends itself to him. him being the guy that has a high basketball IQ that the Hawks kind of need. And so I'm very impressed with just that poise that he's shown as a 19-year-old.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
And the thing is, really, you can see kind of that progress over the course of the season that, as you mentioned, the efficiency wasn't really there at the beginning of the year, but as of late, it's kind of started to pick up a little bit. You think about that 30-point game he had against... Cleveland, you think about a couple of performances that he had against New York.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
And so I think he has a lot of upside. I think the big thing for him to really reach his potential, and I know the Hawks are really big about not putting ceilings on guys, but for him to truly reach his potential, I think it's just continuing to add some strength to him. He's still only 19. And I think just maybe being a little bit
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
more vocal with trying to... You never want a guy to bait for fouls, but just being a little bit more vocal in terms of the type of contact he's playing through. Because there's so many times you see him kind of get jostled around when he's attacking the basket and he's not getting the benefit of the whistle like some other players are.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
You can call it the rookie whistle, the lack of rookie whistle, I don't know. But he's only averaging about 2.2 free throws per game through 50 games. And that seems... very crazy. That seems very crazy considering how much he's been trying to get to the rim.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
Shout out Billy Hartman from Hawks PR. There you go. Who was that? Hey, hey, hey.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
This this team is has been very hard to nail down as far as getting somebody to go on the record about who the core is. And so they are very, at least on the record, very focused about that. You know, it being a team effort, but you can kind of look to the types of players that they've acquired and drafted over the last few years, and they've really prioritized that sort of long athletic wing.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
And so if Trey were to go on the trade block this summer, I don't think it would completely surprise me. But I think the big thing is that he seems to have really bought into what Quinn Snyder is trying to do with the team. And if you look at how he played last season compared to how he's playing this season, how unselfish he's been. I mean, he currently leads the league in assists per game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
And just the fact that he's not taking some of those weird... long threes that we're used to seeing him do. They've happened on occasion. You think of the game winner against the Jazz. You think of Thursday night, he had a logo three. And so the fact that he's kind of trying to evolve as a player lends itself to what the Hawks' mission is in this current front office. So...
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
If anything, I could see him opting out of that player option that he has in that final year. But if anything, just what I'm observing, it seems like he's locked into what they're trying to do. And I think I would give it probably one more year before I really say the future is murky, but I'm... I don't know. I don't want to put words into people's mouth.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
This is all just complete and utter speculation, but just based on what I've seen and observed and listened to what Trey has said when he speaks to us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
Yeah, I think the biggest weakness is they really should be adding some more depth at the five. You think about the injuries that have happened. Clint was down for nine games with back spasms. Larry Nance is out for potentially the rest of the season, even the postseason with that knee injury that he suffered against Orlando a couple games ago. And Onyeka has been playing out of his mind, but...
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
They really do need a solid backup big if they're really leaning into Onyeko Kongu as the starting center. It's just offensively, the production at the five off the bench has not been great. And that's just not Clint's strong suit. He's great defensively.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
They've missed what he's been able to do defensively, but offensively, they really need that extra punch in the paint, especially when those shots haven't been falling from outside. They need somebody that they can go to, maybe lean on Trey's Strength as a pick and roll facilitator a little bit more.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
But yeah, I think that's the biggest weakness that they currently have is that they don't have a backup big for the future. If we're really leaning into Onyeka as that starting five.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
Well, I mean, they still are waiting to see if that Sacramento pick conveys. I mean, that's still TBD. It's protected one through 12, I believe. And then they have a pick from the Lakers that they got in that DeJounte, Murray, Dyson, Daniels deal yesterday. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
Exactly. So it's, it's not, but at least this draft is not the same as last year's. There's just a lot more depth as far as, you know, the talent that's in this draft. So it's not a perfect situation to be in, but they're not totally out of it next year as far as draft picks go. Um, and they did get quite a few draft picks back in that, um,
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
It is, but that's just their luck. They get the first overall pick in a draft that nobody's really sniffing around too closely, and then they're kind of in murky waters the rest of the way.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
Okay, six.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
And this is after the trade deadline. The current roster.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
Are we counting the new guys as well?
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
Oh, okay. Um... I'm going to go just taking a shot in the dark here now. I'm going to go with five.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
Okay, so I misunderstood the question.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
I was thinking just the season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
I'm going to do number three.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
Dominique Wilkins. I don't know.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
Let's go with Doc.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
Yeah, no, I'm blanking. I'm blanking. I'm having performance anxiety right now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
I would have to guess Clint.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
That was my guess. I went against my gut. Really? I should have gone with my gut.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
Okay, eight.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
I'm going to guess Nash, Steve Nash. Okay.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
Damn. So that means we have two more?
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
I went against my gut. I was going to say Russ.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
Wow. I'm overthinking it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
I feel like it's like 26 or something like that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
Is it interesting at all? No, because I'm losing.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
Number five.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
I'm going to go with Stat Stuffer.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
What a nickname. So who's the gardener?
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
I knew that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
See, I knew there was a baby Durant. So you made up the Gardner.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
I was like stat stuffer.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
I was like, it could not be that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
Thanks for having me, guys.
The Athletic NBA Daily
6 Young Players on the Rise + Hawks keeping Trae Young? | Slam N Jam
I like that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Ja, ich bin sicher. Und er scheint es in Portland zu lieben. Er holt alle Art und Weise Farbe raus und wie er es tut, wie er ein paar Instagram Reels von ihm schießt, er holt Farbe raus. Also Shout out to Jeremy Grant. Er macht einfach sein Ding in Portland. Meine Statten diese Woche.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Unless you've been living under a rock, you know the Lakers have the best defense of the last 15 or so games in the NBA. Everybody knows that. But do you know the second and third best teams on the defensive end over the course of the last 15 games? It's the Brooklyn Nets at number two. And it's the Portland Trailblazers at number three. Uh... Das macht mich an die Nets und den Blazers zu fragen.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Es ist cool, du hast diese kleinen Runden hier. Aber was machen wir? Du hast es über die Nets vorhin erwähnt. Aber wenn du dich auf und nach dem Roster anschaust, wer ist der eine Spieler, der du denkst, dass er in zwei Jahren auf der Nets-Team sein wird? Can you name anybody?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Listen, they're starting like Killian Hayes and Zyre Williams and Keon Johnson, just kind of like this all-star group of guys that truly disappointed the teams that drafted them. It's... One, it's cool. I think you found a good coach. I think that signals like, hey, great, you found a good coach for your franchise. This definitely feels like the original Glue Guys Nets team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
But boy, they need some guys that can really come in and help them. And you're typically not going to find those guys at like 8, 7, 8, 9 or wherever they're going to pick in the draft. That's not usually where you find those kinds of guys. And so... Es fühlt sich so an, als ob sie die Richtung gewonnen hätten, aber sie gewinnen immer noch.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Shout out to Kate Cunningham. I'm going to go with another guy from that draft class, Josh Giddey. Josh Giddey, since the trade deadline, is averaging... I should have picked him last week, Andrew.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Post-All-Star bounce. I know, for real. 19 points per game, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, shooting 52, 62, 86. Und obwohl die Schussprozesse sicherlich nicht weitergehen werden, ist es einfach gut, dass sie sich an Josh Giddey und andere junge Jungs verabschieden und sie in diese Besatzungen nehmen. Und was beeindruckend war im Februar, war, dass Josh Giddey tatsächlich ein Plus 8 war.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
wenn er für die Chicago Bulls auf dem Platz ist, was ich nicht erwartet habe. Seine Spielberechtigung ist wie immer beeindruckend. Aber die Art und Weise, wie er spielt, könnte es für die Bulls ziemlich schwer sein, dieses Sommer. Ich denke, dass sie eine Entscheidung zwischen ihm und Kobe White machen müssen. Kobe White ist im Sommer für eine Kontraktextension.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Und Josh Giddey ist für eine Extension selbst. Er wird ein restriktierter Freie Agent sein. Und ich denke, dass sie eine Entscheidung machen müssen. Aber Josh könnte diese Entscheidung ziemlich einfach machen, mit der Art, wie er最近 gespielt hat. Josh hat tatsächlich besser gespielt als Kobe White von drei, wenn man sich die ganze Saison anschaut.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Josh hat 38 Prozent von drei auf der Saison gespielt. Wow. Wow. Das macht Sinn, aber wenn es zu 30 ist, denke ich, dass das ein bisschen schwer ist, für Giddy zu verabschieden. Also bin ich wirklich gespannt, was das aussieht. Aber ich denke, du wirst wahrscheinlich das zu ihm oder Kobe White verabschieden. Ich denke nicht, dass du beides tun kannst.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Ich denke, dass es wirklich die Chicago Bulls Kappschicht verursacht, wenn du beides verabschiedest. Und so bin ich wirklich gespannt, was das aussieht. Und ich hoffe, dass sie tatsächlich etwas tun. in really just committing to a direction, like just commit to Giddy and Modest Bezellis and maybe some of the other young guys and just move forward. Trade Kobe.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Vooch is going into the final year of his deal at 21 million, which is like very movable. I think there are definitely some teams that are interested in him at the trade deadline this year. And so I think the Bulls, Es ist auch wichtig zu erwähnen, dass sie seit dem Handelsabschluss nur ein Spiel verloren haben und das war gegen die Sixers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Sie haben nur ein Spiel gewonnen, das gegen die Sixers war, was ich glaube, wirklich wichtig ist. Aber ich hoffe, dass sie weiterhin an eine Richtung anbieten. Denn man könnte ein ziemlich breites Zukunft mit Giddey und Bouzelis sehen. Und dann, wenn sie jemanden haben, den sie in diesem Draft liebten, und dann bist du nächstes Jahr einfach schrecklich.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
And then you're in the running for the number one pick in the next year, which I think puts you in a pretty favorable position if you're Chicago. So I think just the hope here is that like, yeah, maybe you extend Giddy, you trade Kobe, you trade Vooch, just commit to a direction because they have been in the middle for too long, picking in the middle for too long.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
And if you can actually commit, this doesn't look as bad as it has the last few years.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Es gibt einen Weg, den Dunk-Score zu fixieren, und es ist wie... Das ist eine tolle Idee.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
My moment of the week was Anthony Edwards against the Lakers. He'd already been teed up in kind of this like weird, like double tech, like after the buzzer moment that just felt a little bit unnecessary.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
And then he got teed up again where he, it's funny because like there's been so much talk about Chris Finch and the way that other, like especially the Thunder were officiated and stuff like that, where Ant like He clearly just pushes off fully against Gabe Vincent as he's falling down. He falls down. I don't know what he said to the official.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
It didn't look like it garnered a tech, but he ended up getting it. I have no clue what he said to the official, but I'm sure he said something. And got teed up, got thrown out. He... Didn't leave the court in a timely manner. I think he threw the ball into the crowd. There was just a lot going on there. It was his 16th attack, which means that he'll be suspended for the next game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
And I was just looking back at his technical foul history. In the year before, in 79 games, he had 15, so he never didn't get suspended. In the year before, he had 13 in 79 games. And then he had like single digits in the years prior. And so it's just like this, like this, not a, it's not a good trend for Ant.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
And I think that one thing that we just need to remember about Ant, and he's kind of showing this, is like Ant is still really young. Und ich denke, dass wir immer darauf achten, wie der nächste Typ, wie wer der nächste Typ ist. Und Anthony Edwards wurde so gezwungen, dass er sogar sagte, dass ich es nicht will. Das war ein Teil von dem, was LeBron sagte. Aber er ist nur 23 Jahre alt.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Wie, das ist ein Typ, der noch nicht in seinem Ursprung ist. Er ist noch in dieser Vorurteilszeit und wir sind. zwei oder drei Jahre entfernt von ihm zu werden, wie ein Typ, der in seiner frühen Präsenz ist.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Und so wie für mich, wie dieses eine, zeigt, dass es nicht ein sehr guter Trend für ihn ist und dass die technischen Fehler aufhören, aber es ist auch so, dass dieser Typ noch einen langen Weg zu gehen hat. Und ich denke, dass wir ihm ein bisschen Gnade geben müssen, als er sich durch diese Teil der Karriere bewegt.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Und er hofft, dass er ein bisschen mehr wachsen wird in den nächsten paar Jahren für die Timberwolves, weil sie weiter versuchen, sich um ihn zu bauen. Er ist immer noch ein toller Spieler, aber es ist immer noch viel Wachstum, der gebraucht werden muss. Und ich denke, für Spieler wie diesen. Ich denke einfach, dass sie noch mehr Gnade haben, als sie durch diese Momente wachsen. Das ist gut.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Aber es ist auch einfach etwas, was man für Amp anschauen kann. Denn es gibt niemanden, der wirklich so viel Texas-Saison gehabt hat. Und es ist einfach etwas, was man für ihn anschauen kann, als er hier verabschiedet wird. Ich wundere, wie das aussieht. Er ist verabschiedet ohne Geld. Wie wirkt das auf ihn an? Das ist eine Frage, die ich mir vorstelle. Ist das ein Wachstum für ihn?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Oder ist das nur ein Trend für Ant, als er älter wird und mehr gegründet wird? Also nur etwas zu beachten für Ant, weil er die Liga-Hothead wird, wenn es um Taktik-Fouls geht.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Someone's got to take the mantle.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Yeah, you look at the league this year, Ant has 16, Draymond has 11, Contavious Caldwell-Pope has 11, Dylan Brooks has 11, Trae Young has 10, and everybody else has single digits. Isaiah Beef Stew Stewart has 9, Jason Tatum has 8, Josh Hart has 8, John Morant has 8, Luca has 7. 7, that's pretty good for Luca. Then like Miles Bridges, Chris Paul still in the top here with 6.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Yeah, that's interesting. But yeah, I just think that's an interesting trend here as this kind of just kind of ticks up for Ant and something to watch for. Something else to watch for is just how bad the Suns are. And we're going to talk about them right after this quick break.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Wir haben unseren Mann Sam Cooper von der Timeline Podcast. Ich versuche sogar, diese Frage zu stellen. Aber Sam, wie geht es dir?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Ja, es ist nicht großartig gewesen. Aber wenn du dich zurückdenkst, wie du dich über diese Mannschaft fühlst, was war das überraschendste, was sich passiert ist?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Für den Thunder würde ich sagen, dass meine Meinung ist, dass sie Kevin auf diesem Vertrag nicht wollen. Ja, okay. Und was sie geben müssen, um dort zu kommen, muss eine Kombination von Hartenstein und Dort und Draftpicks sein. Und ich denke, once you're already there, I think it's just like a flat out no.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
I don't think it's impossible that there is like a Thunder Kevin Durant reunion at some point, but I would rule it out under this current contract. That's just what I would say about that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Ja, das macht alles Sinn. Einer der Gesprächspunkte diese Woche war Coach Buds Verlust, Ryan Dunn zu spielen für ein Team mit einem Bottom-5-Defens. Dunn hat 26 Minuten in vier Spielen dieses Wochenende gespielt. Dunn hat die Saison heiß angefangen, aber er ist kürzlich gefadet. Was sind Ihre Gedanken auf die Art und Weise, wie seine Rookie-Saison sich entwickelt hat?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Let's just torture you just a little bit more, Sam. Can we get you to feel a little bit worse?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Aber ja, dementsprechend ist es nicht so viel. Ja, ja, ja. Nur um dich noch einmal zu beurteilen. Diese Ära des Sonnenbasketballs wird nicht freundlich erinnert. Aber wenn du zurückblickst, würdest du sagen, dass es einen hohen Punkt dieser KD-Beal-Erfahrung gab?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Ooh. That's a great question. The last Suns rookie to play 900 minutes. The Suns don't like playing young guys.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Oh mein Gott. Ist es Cam Johnson? Ist das der letzte?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Ja, weil sie basically drei Jahre lang ohne jemanden aufnehmen, richtig?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Ich gehe mit sieben. Ich denke, es gibt hier einige sneaky Leute.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Es gibt eine offensichtliche Person, aber es fühlt sich so an, als wäre es nicht sie. Er ist nicht die Antwort, aber ich weiß nicht, wer es wäre. Ich würde sagen, DeAndre Ayton, aber es fühlt sich so an, als wäre es falsch.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Good job, Andrew. It felt like low-hanging fruit. It felt like, okay, it seems like it could be that guy.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Alright, we got a tie game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Okay, I think Big Panda is Bradley Beal. And... I think, I don't know about the first one and the last one. I think Big Meal is a nickname.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Blank Check and Blue Magic. Okay, I'll say Blank Check.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Aber er hat schon lange mit einem Team gespielt. Ich glaube nicht, dass er es hat. Keiner spielt mit einem Team mehr. Ich weiß. 500 ist viel. Oh Gott. Es gibt zwei, die ich... Es gibt wirklich drei, die mit Schmerzen so viel gespielt haben, dass ich nicht weiß, ob sie genug Spiele gespielt haben. Oh, Giannis.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
That's a lot to play with one team. Oh, Dwight Powell?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Wow, Bam's played 500 already. Oh, yeah. That would make sense. What a game. So, Andrew, you pull it out at the end. Great job. What a match. I was wondering, like... Ja, Marant und Zion. Ich glaube nicht, dass einer von ihnen genug Spiele gespielt hat. Aber diese Jungs haben mit ihren Teams verliebt.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Schau, das fühlt sich niedrig an. Das fühlt sich niedrig an. Hey, hör auf den Timeline Podcast zu hören. Sam, wir freuen uns, dass du da bist. Und wir hoffen für dich den Rest der Saison, Mann. Just pray that the rest of the season just goes so quick that you just even just forget about this season. But thank you so much for coming on.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Ich bin eigentlich sehr interessiert, darüber zu sprechen. Sie sind eine Mannschaft, über die ich nicht in der Western-Konferenz gesprochen werde. Niemand hat sie für etwas erwähnt. Und ich denke, dass sie in vielen Fällen unterwertet sind. Es ist eine gute Mannschaft, wenn alles richtig geht. Hey! Ja, Detroit ist gut. Das ist ein gutes Basketballteam. Das ist einfach wild.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Okay, vielen Dank für all diese 5-Star-Reviews. Ich bin sehr dankbar dafür. Dies kommt von Mike Erie aus Irland. Er sagt, großartig. Hallo aus Irland. Ich mag die Art, die Diskussion leicht und informativ zu halten. Bleibt es los. Vielen Dank für diese Review. Wir freuen uns sehr darauf. And our last review comes from Zany East. It says, five stars slamming and jamming.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
I like my Saturday morning waffles, but I love my Saturday slamming jam. Shout out to Andrew and Alex. Thank you so much for that review. Again, if you leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, we'll read it on the show. Thank you guys so much for tuning in this week. We will have another episode next week talking about the Clippers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Hope you guys enjoy the basketball and we'll talk to you guys again. Next Saturday.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Oh man, unsere BetMGM-Line of the Week, brought to you by our friends at BetMGM, is the Western Conference Champion Lines here. Now, you do have the Thunder at a minus 120, you have the Nuggets at a plus 500. And then you have two little surprise guys here.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
We have the Lakers at plus 650 and the Warriors at plus 1000 with just as much disrespect heaped upon the Grizzlies at a plus 1300 and the Rockets at a plus 3500. Al, thoughts on these odds here? I think that most people would agree with this, but when you look at the standings, this does not mimic the standings.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
I think that you could talk yourself into the Lakers, even pre-trade, you could talk yourself into the Lakers. If LeBron and AD are healthy, you have so many inexperienced teams here at the top, they could still find their way there. But the Warriors looked dead in the water. And now with Jimmy, who really didn't even have a great game last night, it really was Steph, like you mentioned earlier.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
But you just can't count them out. If the Warriors are in tight games, let's say they... durch das Spiel machen und sie sind in tiefen Spielen mit wem auch immer diese Teams am Top sind. Wollen diese Teams wirklich in den Crunch-Zeit gehen gegen Steph Curry und Jimmy Butler? Das ist eine furchtbare Proposition.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Nun, diese Teams werden super nahe tiefe Spiele spielen und sie werden ein bisschen über ihre Hände rebounden müssen. Aber das ist ein Team, das ich denke, sollte ziemlich schrecklich aussehen, als ein niedrigerer Seed für viele dieser Jungs.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
You'll see when Anthony Davis possibly has surgery here in a few weeks. You'll see what a risk this was. Yeah, it's wild. I still can't believe it. Even just sitting down and watching, I've watched a bunch of these Laker games, but it just feels... Still insane to see Luca in a Lakers jersey. It still just blows my mind that it happened.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
And he hasn't really even played that well thus far for the Lakers. But you can see it start to happen where it's like, oh my gosh, I cannot believe they did this. Mein Quote kommt aus einem Laker, LeBron James, der sagte, warum willst du die Füße der Liga sein, wenn alle Spieler, wenn alle, sorry, wenn alle Leute, die unser Spiel auf einem Tag-zu-Tag-Basis betreffen, SHIT auf jeden.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Natürlich habe ich es nicht gefragt. Ich fühle Ant. Ich verstehe. Das ist seltsame Energie, wenn es um das geht. Und ich dachte nur, es ist gut, das einfach zu erkennen. Ich dachte, es gibt ein paar LeBron-Quoten, die ich wahrscheinlich als meine Lieblingsquote der Woche lesen würde. Aber ich denke, es gibt eine Menge Wahrheit dazu. Und einige davon sind einfach aus sozialen Medien geboren.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
But the game is really fun and the game is really good. They talked about it on the NBA Daily yesterday with Law Murray about how diverse the game actually is when you actually start to unwrap it a little bit. But it's not covered that way and people don't talk about it that way.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
And the people that represent like the NBA media often characterize the league in a very negative way, which honestly, I've watched a ton of basketball this year and I've enjoyed so much of it. Und ich denke, dass es so viel mehr positive Dinge zu sprechen gibt auf einem Tag-zu-Tag-Basis mit diesem Team oder mit dieser Liga, die einfach passieren muss.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Und deshalb gebe ich LeBron viel Kredit dafür, dass er es sagt. Und ich denke, es ist wahr, dass die Liga einfach in einer positiver Lage gesetzt werden muss. Ich denke, der Basketball ist unglaublich. I think night to night there's always something to talk about. I'm kind of amazed by it. As we have done this NBA Daily Project, that every single night there's something good to talk about.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Or there's something fun to talk about. The league is in a good place. And to characterize it in any other way, I think, is wrong, one. And I think it's doing a disservice to the players and a disservice to the teams. This has been a great year for basketball on the court. And it's been fun to talk about the off the court stuff.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
Willkommen bei der Saturday Slammin' Jam hier auf der Athletik NBA Daily. Heute sprechen wir über die Western Conference Risers, unsere Spieler der Woche und Sam Cooper spricht über die Lowly Phoenix Suns. Aber zu Beginn, Al, erzähl mir über die Top-Story dieser Woche.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Durant Trade Destinations + West Risers | Slam N Jam
But I think if you're just tuning in on a night-to-night basis, you're going to find something that's fun and entertaining. And I think that we just need to start to shift that. As an NBA media, because we are doing a lot of people are doing a disservice to the game, which I just think is kind of sad. So I commend LeBron for saying this.