Sam Amick

Another team that I hit on was Houston. Now, admittedly, man, Houston's always a tricky one because – They feel so good about what they have now, where they're going, that their message had been, we want to see this group through at least until the summer. But leading up to the deadline, there were some indications that they were kicking the tires on Kevin.

Now, admittedly, when we wrote our piece, You know, they were messaging immediately, like, I don't think we're, you know, a home for KD. So that is a case where the dynamics are interesting. GM Rafael Stone is there, Coach Ime Odoka. I definitely get the idea that, you know, I think there's just people in the room talking about this. But Houston became part of the conversation.

Now, admittedly, when we wrote our piece, You know, they were messaging immediately, like, I don't think we're, you know, a home for KD. So that is a case where the dynamics are interesting. GM Rafael Stone is there, Coach Ime Odoka. I definitely get the idea that, you know, I think there's just people in the room talking about this. But Houston became part of the conversation.

Now, admittedly, when we wrote our piece, You know, they were messaging immediately, like, I don't think we're, you know, a home for KD. So that is a case where the dynamics are interesting. GM Rafael Stone is there, Coach Ime Odoka. I definitely get the idea that, you know, I think there's just people in the room talking about this. But Houston became part of the conversation.

Now, if you look at the summertime, and we'll see how Phoenix plays the rest of the way, I think it's 100% fair game to say, you know, You know that the the monitoring of Kevin Durant is now on a whole different level with people wondering, you know, what's going to happen there.

Now, if you look at the summertime, and we'll see how Phoenix plays the rest of the way, I think it's 100% fair game to say, you know, You know that the the monitoring of Kevin Durant is now on a whole different level with people wondering, you know, what's going to happen there.

Now, if you look at the summertime, and we'll see how Phoenix plays the rest of the way, I think it's 100% fair game to say, you know, You know that the the monitoring of Kevin Durant is now on a whole different level with people wondering, you know, what's going to happen there.

They just – the Suns, they're pretty – I mean, so far, they've never signaled a willingness to get off of Devin Booker. So, yes, and I'm glad you mentioned that, Zena. The idea was that Houston was going to essentially do like a routine check-in on Devin because it's widely known how much they think of him.

They just – the Suns, they're pretty – I mean, so far, they've never signaled a willingness to get off of Devin Booker. So, yes, and I'm glad you mentioned that, Zena. The idea was that Houston was going to essentially do like a routine check-in on Devin because it's widely known how much they think of him.

They just – the Suns, they're pretty – I mean, so far, they've never signaled a willingness to get off of Devin Booker. So, yes, and I'm glad you mentioned that, Zena. The idea was that Houston was going to essentially do like a routine check-in on Devin because it's widely known how much they think of him.

Devin is the type of guy that, largely because of not only talent, resume, but age, that his age is much more in line with what they're trying to do. And like I'd written a couple times, the Durant thing was unlikely because same idea with James Harden previously is that they're trying to keep the timeline on a certain track. But yeah, Booker not available.

Devin is the type of guy that, largely because of not only talent, resume, but age, that his age is much more in line with what they're trying to do. And like I'd written a couple times, the Durant thing was unlikely because same idea with James Harden previously is that they're trying to keep the timeline on a certain track. But yeah, Booker not available.

Devin is the type of guy that, largely because of not only talent, resume, but age, that his age is much more in line with what they're trying to do. And like I'd written a couple times, the Durant thing was unlikely because same idea with James Harden previously is that they're trying to keep the timeline on a certain track. But yeah, Booker not available.

Don't believe the Durant discussion even happened. And now Houston is perfectly content moving forward to see what this group can do.

Don't believe the Durant discussion even happened. And now Houston is perfectly content moving forward to see what this group can do.

Don't believe the Durant discussion even happened. And now Houston is perfectly content moving forward to see what this group can do.

Guys, stick around. We're going to take a quick break. And when we come back, I'm going to ask Sam about the Lakers and if he agrees that they're now actually championship contenders. So the Lakers shocked and have kind of muted Super Bowl week by trading for Luka Doncic Saturday night. And they weren't done. They picked up Mark Williams, good young center from the Hornets.

Guys, stick around. We're going to take a quick break. And when we come back, I'm going to ask Sam about the Lakers and if he agrees that they're now actually championship contenders. So the Lakers shocked and have kind of muted Super Bowl week by trading for Luka Doncic Saturday night. And they weren't done. They picked up Mark Williams, good young center from the Hornets.

Guys, stick around. We're going to take a quick break. And when we come back, I'm going to ask Sam about the Lakers and if he agrees that they're now actually championship contenders. So the Lakers shocked and have kind of muted Super Bowl week by trading for Luka Doncic Saturday night. And they weren't done. They picked up Mark Williams, good young center from the Hornets.

They get this, you know, floor spacing, like vertical spacing, big to pair with Luka Doncic. They are serious contenders now in the West just by adding Luka Doncic. But now they've got this perfect fit. And offensively, I think they're going to be a pretty big load.