Transcription
What went wrong to you today? A glass of coaching style. Do do you feel like I mean it was anything you could do differently? I guess it rocks him. They had a whole spill in here. So from the outside it did and the outside may be wrong, but from the outside it didn't look like you had your usual energy tonight.
Oh god. Uh Morant is not offered um an extension two years. he was eligible for. Remember, he's got three years left on his contract. Um, he parts ways with his agent Mike Miller in July. A former security person with the Grizzlies and his uncle are leading a have started a marketing advisory um firm. You know, we all know who Jaw is as a player um and what he brings to the table. Uh, but as a head coach in this league, you try to do everything you can, Scott, to eliminate any distractions.
We can live with missed shots. We can live with not having your best game. You cannot live with no effort.
Staff able to talk about what happened Friday and y'all asked that question to them, huh? What about for you? Y'all asked that question. So, y'all know the answer to that. Do you feel like everything's been resolved? Yeah, they told you that, right? Well, yeah, but they didn't hear it from you. Obviously, they can't go and tell y'all something I ain't saying.
[Music] Welcome to Pensara Basketball, our second live of the day. We promise that we will be grinding out content and this is the last live day. We saved the best for last. This is a conversation that we need to have, but we need to have it in good faith. We need to have it honestly without biases objectively, which means I have to address my own biases. Here's my bias. I love John Morant. Surprise. I love John Morant. He's one of my favorite players in the league. He's an exciting player. He's one of the most talented players in the league. And if this was 2021, this is as no-brainer a trade as humanly possible. But this is not 2021. This is not 2022. A lot of things have happened since 2022. And now I have to address a new bias. I don't like the way John Morant's career has gone. But it just so happens that the Toronto Raptors are one of five teams. You can read the description to find the other five teams that are being listed as teams that are head runners to trade for John Morant. Per Vegas betting odds, the number one team is the Sacramento Kings. Number two is the Miami Heat. Number three, the Houston Rockets who have lost Van Vleet for this season. Number four is the Atlanta Hawks who have a disgruntled point guard who might make a one for one swap. And number five are the Toronto Raptors. Why are the Toronto Raptors listed as one of the teams that is favored to get Jarant? Well, simply put, the Raptors may have interest. The Raptors have shown an interest. The Raptors are open-minded. They are always chasing a star talent. Jaw is a mega mega talent upgrade over what you currently have at point guard. And the Raptors just so happen to have the salaries and all their future draft picks in tow. And that might be a very appetizing offer for the Memphis Grizzlies who have shown at least to date that they do not have a great deal of faith in John Morant going forward in the future.
In this live, we will address this thing. We will address this conversation fairly. We will not make wild accusations about who John Mar is because I'm assuming I don't know John. You don't know John. You don't know what the system is. What we can however do is look at what has been happening. We can look at the numbers. We can look at his film. We can look at what is actually happening in his onc court performance. And we can make an educated guess. And towards the end, we will go through a series of questions that I think are fair questions to ask before you try and make a trade for job to Toronto. And these will be pertaining to fit, system fit, media fit, all these things. And then eventually, this is a call-in show, by the way. Shout outs to you guys. I have to be on playback at nine o'clock, but right up until nine o'clock. This is going to be a little bit of a longer live, probably an hour, hour and 20 minutes. We will take your calls and you will make me a trade offer for John. I will be the Memphis Grizzlies. You will be the Toronto Raptors or vice versa if you want it that way. And we can go and real in real time negotiate a trade for John Mar. and I'll educ, you know, I will use my educated knowledge of what I think the Memphis Grizzlies want off the Toronto Raptors roster and we can see if we can make a deal that can make it work for both sides. Obviously, there's a cost benefit analysis to be had with John Morant. But before we do any of that, we need to look at the numbers. We need to look at the film and then we can get to the actual discourse.
So, let's talk about who John is. Let me make myself very, very small. That's not very small. Why do I always do this? What am I doing here? Make yourself small. There we go. Okay. Nope. So, here's what John was last season. Not a great defender. Certainly not the greatest passer in the world. Not a very portable player. Not the easiest guy to squeeze in. Handles a ton of usage. Ton of usage. Right. really still a freak athlete, you know, good on the offensive glass, gets to the line, he is he would be the most talented player on your roster immediately. I think Scotty and Ingram are very, very talented. But in terms of some of the things that I've said in the past to remain consistent, I have said that you need downhill attackers, you need athletes next to Scotty Barnes, this is an athlete. This is a guy who can create pockets of space everywhere. And in the Raptor system, there is a world in which he would also become more efficient. If Ingram has become more efficient, Barrett has become more efficient. Quickly has become, you know, somewhat more efficient in theory, you know, given his load and usage. I think there's something to be said that maybe John Morant could also become more efficient, but he is not an ideal fit for a team that likes to pick up full court, play 94 ft, play a super disciplined style basketball. According to Crafted, his most similar offensive player is ironically a player who is already on your roster and that is RJ Barrett. Now obviously they do it in very different ways. They do it in very different styles. Obviously Morant is the vastly superior athlete and you know a mega pogo stick in terms of an overall impact. It's I it's ironically one of the greatest Raptors of all time and someone you should be very familiar with and that is DeMart Rosen. a high high volume of pull-up jumpers and contested midis and, you know, it's just it's not optimal. It's not a super high, you know, um it's not a very analytically solid style of basketball, right? It is aesthetically pleasing. Um and his overall impact metrics actually put RJ Barrett and Emanuel Quickley as two of his closest comparisons as well, including Pascal Seakov. It's almost like he was meant to be a Toronto Raptor with the number of exaptors that show up in his overall skills comparison. And in terms of, you know, how he likes to play, well, the Raptors like to play fast. This is one of the best transition players in the league. At least in theory and in practice, for most of his career, this has been a transition demon. This is a guy who opens up pockets of space. If you want to think of him like a 6'2 Giannis Antreko, there's elements of that in his game for sure. The rim pressure is absolutely madness. Okay. And yeah, like he's not very versatile. He's very slight of frame. He's not a guy who has been progressing as you might like.
In 2021 2022 when he made his first all-star team, he also made second team allNBA. He also was seventh in MVP voting and he ended up winning the most improved player of the year. That is the year after Brandon Ingram won the most improved player. So you'd have backto-back most improved player of the years. Congratulations. But since that year, it has been a mega regression. If you want to look at his shooting percentages, you want to freeze this after, you can take a look at it. But what I'm trying to tell you is nothing has gotten better and almost everything is getting worse. Okay? If you want to look at his field goal percentage by distance, there is a spike around 2021, 2022 with his paint finishing. There's a spike in his three-point shooting. He has been a really poor three-point shooter for most of his career. Now, I brought this up in our members only live, but I'll say this for you just in case you're missing this. If you have a problem with Scotty Barnes as a three-point shooter, just to let you know, over the last two years plus this year combined, Scotty Barnes has shot better from three than John Mor. This is not what we were expecting when we saw John Morant emerge as a superstar in 2021, 2022. All the talk about he could be the face of the league. As much as the Instagram live, the suspensions, the offc court dealings, his dad, you know, the beef and all that stuff, this stuff has just been a mega distraction. And what it is is an optical illusion that is keeping people kind of distracted from the fact that John has gotten worse like clockwork from pretty much everywhere. Okay, we are seeing the lowest number of attempts at the rim pretty much ever. Okay, this year we're seeing a high volume of long midi twos. Like this is right now 10 to 16 ft, 16 to three-point line. These are shots that he just didn't take as very often. And while Brandon Ingram, you know, just just to let you all know, Brandon Ingram is the most efficient mid-range shooter in the league right now. John Marant is one of the worst. So, could it get better? Maybe. But right now, it feels like a guy who was super super bursty and getting to the rim at will is now having a lot of difficulty getting to the rim.
Now, y'all know that I like plus minus and box plus minus and estimated plus minus. So, take a look at John in 2021 2022 the season that I pointed to 6.1 that's all NBA. 6.1 is all NBA. And with the way this was tracking 0.3 negative 0.4 6.1 feels like a mega outlier. 5.7 felt like a little bit of a step back. At that point in 2021 2022 there were already shades of slight regression in his game but nothing too concerning. And there was a real belief in 2022 2023 that maybe Jarant was ready for that eight box minus pop. That would be face of the league stuff. That's closeish to Sha Alexander a couple years ago. If we go any further than that, 10 12. This is like prime Joic, prime Embiid, prime Giannis stuff. He didn't quite get there. 6.1 plus minus is kind of like 20 2001 Vince Carter. That's kind of the level that he topped out at. And the regression has been so much faster than Vince cuz Vince never touched his 2001 highs ever again, right? The athleticism faded. He started becoming more of a jump shooter. The defensive activity fell. I think you need to consider that regression can happen in a small sample size. It can like a couple of years of lull flatlining can happen. Scotty took a little bit of a step back in his analytics last year. Some people were very quick to point that out. But a 4year, five-year regression is very concerning, especially for a player who is a late bloomer, which he was. He was a zero-star recruit. Worked super hard at Murray State. Led the conference in assists. Led the NCAA tournament in assists, I believe, won conference player of the year. Became the second overall pick. To go from zero star recruit to second overall pick is a mega jump. Now, the question is, did he peak in 2021 2022? If you're the Toronto Raptor and you're thinking about trading for him, you need to answer that question for yourself. Has he peaked or does he need to change the scenery? Or is it that the system in Memphis is not designed for him? because they don't love they don't love pick and rolls under uh, you know, Iselo the new head coach coming from Europe there's a lot that's been made of oh John Morant needs a big to run pick and roll with he's a pick and roll back you know point guard he needs that I'll actually make you I'll I'll convince you 100% I think by the end of this live that the system that they're running in Memphis is actually tailor made for John Moran he's just not good right now.
If you want to look at the scoring the scoring stats the season that I alluded to where he was seventh in MVP voting, 39.6 points per 100 possessions. Right now it's 31.3. And if you're thinking, well Rob, maybe he's taken way fewer shots. Not really. Not really. I mean, he's gone from attempting nearly 30 to 27.6. That should not result in an almost 25 like a 5 to 6% reduction in shots attempted. The the real reduction here isn't as an efficiency. And you can see that right there. 53% effective field goal percentage was never that efficient. Let's just be real, okay? The greatest players in the league are closer to 55, 56, 58, 59. So 53 was already on the low end of kind of average in terms of efficiency, but he did so many dynamic things with the basketball. He put so much pressure on the rim. He had such a fantastic uh, you know, effect on his teammates, such a collapsing effect on the defense that we kind of can ignore the fact that he was never really a great shooter. And frankly, as a as a guard who's shooting 34% from three and you know, like kind of mediocre percentages, 76% from the line, you're not going to be super efficient. Let's just be real, okay? Guys like Fred Van Vleet shot way better than that from three, way better than that from line, and they weren't efficient. So, yeah, Job was, you know, doing a really good job of finishing his twos at 53%. But overall, the effective field goal percentage of 53% is not a superstar level effective field goal percentage. that is lower than what RJ Scotty and BI are doing right now. And he's had some phenomenal teammates. Don't get it twisted. Desmond Bane, right? Desmond Bane, Zack Edy last year. That's a great, you know, pairing there. Jiren Jackson Jr., that's an all-star and a defensive player of the year. The Grizzlies have had stacked rosters around this guy. So, the regression is really on him. A lot of it is on him.
Here's a complicating factor. This is his contract. $39.4 million owed this year and then he has two more years and 86 $87 million left on his contract at which point he becomes an unders free agent. There is some, you know, mention of him him and his, you know, people starting a new agency. Is this a player who's even going to want to stick around in Toronto? Do you want to take that risk that if it does work out, he could leave for nothing? I don't know. I don't know. But I would confirm with his people 100% before making a trade that he actually wants to be here.
Have the Memphis Grizzlies been successful with Jarant? Yes. And I think success can sometimes mask regression. Now, the season that I alluded to where Jaw was awesome and finished seventh in MVP voting, that is the season that they were 56 and 26 and really came onto the scene. They were first in their conference, sorry, first in their division, which was awesome. They continued to be first in their division. the next year, although they took a little bit of a step back, 51 and 31. Then they had a disastrous year of 2755. And then last year it was 48 and 34. But honestly, 48 and 34 is a little bit misleading because they were pretty much second in the Western Conference last year and then they took a mega tumble and then if you remember they made it through the play tournament they ended up facing OKC Thunder and then they got blown out blown out blown out and then John Marant got hurt in the game that they were actually winning and then they proceeded to lose the series. So the point here is that John Mar has had relative success but has he ever led his own team in win shares? Now, please remember there's a year where Chris Buché led the Raptors in winshares. I'm not saying it's a perfect number. I'm not saying it's a perfect analytic, but through the years that Jaw has been there, the players who've led this team in win shares are Yonas Valenunis, Yonas Valenunis, Desmond Bane, Jiren Jackson, Desmond Bane, Desmond Bane, and currently Cedric Coward. He just isn't a great analytics player. And and I get it. And and and Jaw is going to be a big split for the analytics community. I I I I know it. His game is not analytically derived. He takes a lot of really tough shots, but the talent is unquestionable. And in order to really ascertain the talent, I think we need to go to the film for sure.
So, let's look at some of the film. Okay. So, here's what John Morant can do. And this is talent. This you cannot teach this. These are these are instincts. You look at this outstretched defender's arms. The fact that Morant is able. Do you see how accurate that pass is? If Emanuel Quickley tried this exact pass, it would hit the sideline announcer, the mascot, and Navatia in the head before it got to this guy's arms. This is talent. It's not processing. It's talent. It's hand eye coordination. It's balance. It's talent. He is one of the most talented basketball players I have ever seen in my life. it unquestionably. Look at that pass. I mean, these are highlights, but you understand what I'm saying. You can So, don't judge the people who say, "Oh, we should trade for John Morant." They're not They're not wrong necessarily. They just might be a little bit lagging behind because this is not the player that we're seeing this year. Look at this pass to Brandon Clark. Just beautiful, right? Just the no look. Nobody saw this coming, right? You put athletes, you put defenders around this dude, he will carve up the defense, nobody could stay in front of this guy. This is like Allan Iverson, okay? This level of speed, this level of athleticism, this level of balance, handle, coordination, hand eye coordination, shooting ability, vertical pop, this [ __ ] is like nuts. Look at that hang drop. Oh my god. Like, you really are talking about one of the most talented players in NBA history. And if you think I'm lying, you're crazy. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with his jumper. He has a really long wingspan. The fact that he can shoot as well as he does. And again, look at the look at the ability to just sort of slow down that dribble. Just instincts. His instincts are so natural. If you've ever played basketball, I've played a ton of basketball in my life. You know a natural hooper when you see one. I am not a natural hooper. I am a practice hooper. I know the difference between a natural player and someone who is naturally gifted at basketball and myself. I am a practiced person. I have to try the same dribble combination 5,000 times before it sticks. There are certain people where the ball just sort of glides off their fingers. And Jaw is a naturally gifted hooper. Everything comes easy to Jaw. Okay. again, division, all of it. This doesn't mean that he's necessarily a smart player. He's just instinctually designed to play basketball. Whatever was written in his genetic code, from God or from his parents, everything in his genes, from the large hands, the long arms, the lanky dribble, everything is basically designed to be a basketball player or a really great football player. He's an athlete. Okay, this is a natural athlete.
But this is 2023 jaw and suddenly things started to change and you're going to see it because again and I and I always worry about natural hoopers and vertical pop athletes like guys like Steve Francis, you know, guys like to to a lesser degree Vince Carter, you know, when he was young before Vince developed the full package of his game, the jump shooting, the the footwork, the post work, I was worried. And you worry about guys like that because they rely so much on their twitch, their burst, their speed. There's no one that can even touch their shot because they get so high on their release. So my question always becomes, what happens when you take a step back? Now you can't get that separation. Now your game is going to come down to mind. Right? Now your game is going to come down to skill. Now your game is come down to repetition. And now, as natural a hooper as you are, you're actually going to have to do a lot of practice. And Allen Iverson regressed pretty fast because Allen Iverson was never a great jump shooter, right? If you watch 2001 Allen Iverson going up against the Los Angeles Lakers, he was a blur. No one can stay in front of him. They put Tyoo on him and they said, "Oh, Tyler is going to shut him down." Tylu didn't do [ __ ] Okay? He stepped right over him. But once that twitch goes away, the game gets exposed. And right now, this right here, this shot over the outstretched arm of 2023 Joel Embiid, who is still in MVPish form, this vertical separation that he's gotten his whole life, his ability to ascend above players, this is no longer there. So instead of 28 in off the ground, he's getting 20 inches off the ground. And those 8 in get you blocked. Again, the talent is all still there. The skill work is getting exposed though because you're no longer able to just do everything 100 times faster than everyone else. It also shows that you're not working on your game because your free throws, your three-point shooting, your open catch and shoot three-pointers, your touch around the rim is all evaporating. This isn't just a normal regression of an athlete. Players don't typically regress as athletes when they're 22, 23 years old. They actually get better. Talked to a lot of skills trainers and a lot of athletic trainers and they say guys are actually at their most athletic when they're 25, 26. So exactly in 2023 when Jaw was about 23 24 that's when he should be getting better. In fact he was getting worse. And this is just a really bad game obviously that I'm choosing. But I'm choosing to show you that those explosive finishes aren't as explosive anymore. Now they're offbalance. Now they're sort of under the rim a little bit. Just jump shot here. Now this is 2025. Flash forward to current day. This is John Marant this year. He's going to make one of these and it's going to be terrible. But this is the John Marant that we're seeing this year. This is open. A good shooter can make this shot. This guy barely contests it. Just a miss here. This is open. This is an open jumper. Okay. Jimmy Butler barely even touches this miss. Open again. Almost open. Kaminga makes a late contest and apparently too much of a contest because he misses the rim by six feet. Okay, this is the John Morant that the Grizzlies are trying to trade you right now. He is at a very expensive regressing asset. He doesn't play a lot of defense. And by the way, just look at that shot right there. Does this seem like a good shot to you? Can't even see the rim. And it somehow goes in by miracle. That's the one that went in. The the the 360 shot is the one that goes in. This is crazy. What are you doing? This is early in the clock. What are you doing? Well, what you're doing is missing the rim. At one point, John Morant had more airballs than made three-pointers. This is the guy that y'all want to give up first round picks for.
Okay, now let's talk about this in a really honest way. John Moran, let's talk about each individual thing. And if anyone wants to call in and make a trade, let's talk about it. System fit. Now, I want to talk about the system in Memphis and I want to talk about his system fit here. Number one, the system fit in Memphis. They don't use run they don't run a lot of pick and roll. So, how does the how does how does space work? How does offense work in Memphis? Well, basically, everyone reacts to the guy with the basketball. So, if John Mor drives left, the entire court sort of moves around him. They don't come to the they typically don't come to the ball handler to set the screen and then create the separation on the pick and then try to create a two-on-one going downhill. No, instead what will happen is John Morett will isolate on the left side of the floor and then the low man in this situation will actually just cut across and go to the right side. And if his man does not chase him to the other side, well, if his man does chase him, that opens up the driving lane for Jaw Morant that we needed in the first place, thereby serving the exact same purpose as the pick and roll. If the man does not vacate, then Jaw has a simple skip pass to the corner because the guy is wide open. And that guy, by the way, is either Santi Alama or Jiren Jackson or someone like that. The system works because everyone can drive, everyone can shoot except for Jaw. Everyone can shoot except for Jaw. The system does not work right now because of Jaw Moran. In fact, a lot of times last year, the Memphis Grizzlies were better with Scottie Pippen Jr. on the court. The Memphis Grizzlies were also better at times with Desmond Bane. There are a lot of stretches of basketball. This is not just this year. So, don't let anybody fool you. I've been watching the situation unfold for a while. There's a lot of situations last year where people questioned, "Is this team better without John Morant?" This these questions have been going on for two years. So, in terms of the system fit in Memphis, miss me with the [ __ ] that they have run a system for him that doesn't that doesn't suit him. No, actually, in theory, the system that they're running should be the greatest system in the world for him. It doesn't work for him because he isn't as good at reading the court as his talent would have you believe. So, some of those instinctive open passes that he makes, some of those prefixed reads where, you know, he's driving and then he catches the back door lob, those things are simple reads. Hm. Court mapping is a completely different s subject. A guy can make a flashy pass. It doesn't mean he's a court mapper. Rafer Austin, Jason Williams. There's a lot of guys who didn't read the court super well, but can make a lot of flashy passes. I think the flash and the sizzle, you know, it's like, is it sizzle or is it stake? You know, is it substantial or is it a is it is it a mirage? And I think John Moran's passing to me, it caught me. I I got duped. So, two years ago, I have a friend of mine who is a professional scout uh for a Western Conference team, and he and he and I were having a discussion about John Morant specifically. And I mentioned that I thought John Morant was one of the best passers in the league. And he sent me 16 gigabytes of footage of John Marant in crystal clear for 4 4K making some of the dumbest reads in the history of the world. It changed my life. It was 16 gigabytes. I'm very thankful to him for turning me on to that because I realized in that moment that I was an idiot, that I had thought that this guy had elite court mapping when in reality he has elite highlights. He is not a great court mapper. He is not a great decision maker. He very often does not see the advantage. He very often hangs on to the ball too long. He very often misses wide openen passes. And very often what it's going to come down to in in Isel's system is if you can't spot the advantage, you can't play in that system. So this is the truth. Okay. And in terms of the Raptors, the Raptors demand the exact same thing from their players that the Memphis Grizzlies do. It's a read and react offense. Players have to adjust to each other. It's random offense. This is not a system that is designed for John Mar. If you want to play John Morant, you're going to have to change the way you play or you're going to get a player who's going to be very unhappy here and very unproductive.
So, let's move on to the next thing. I promise you I'm being unbiased. Contract. This is not a hefty contract, okay? Like, if we're being honest, 39 million for John Morant, 32 million for Emanuel Quickley, Tomato tomato. It probably on ticket sales alone you can justify the Jobar contract more than the Emanuel Quickley contract. It's not a terrible contract at all. Uh maybe you could worry about the fact that if it does work out, you only have him for two years after this year, but I mean you cross that bridge when it comes to I don't think the contract is a really big concern for me if I'm being honest. So let's clear that hurdle out of the way. I mean obviously a player like this who made AllNBA is going to have a max contract. You're not getting John Morant on $20 million. Like, let's just not be stupid here. You know, it's not Malik Monk. But at the same time, if your if your goal is to try and get John Morant or whatever the hell you think John Morant is, go trade for Malik Monk. Honestly, he's a better shooter and probably do exactly what you think John Morant's going to do for you anyways. But overall, I don't have a really big problem with the contract.
Good guy, bad guy. Now, John has taken an absolute beating in terms of his reputation around the league. I think a lot of people believe that he's a bad dude. I don't actually believe that. Now, I don't really know why I don't believe that. So, this is something that maybe I have to question in myself is why don't I think John Morant is a bad guy? Well, for starters, seems like his teammates have really always loved him. He always seemed like an energy giver, at least before this year. He always seemed to get along with the community. I've seen tons and tons of interviews with him, uh, loads of fan interactions with him, and all of them present him as a generally downto-earth, humble guy. Now, he is probably a good guy, okay? Probably he's probably a good guy. This is not a guy who's going to try to bring guns into your locker room and shoot one of your players, okay? As much as the Toronto media would probably fear that to be the case. This is a guy, however, for whatever reason, and I don't want to psychoanalyze people that I've never met because a I'm not a psychoanalyst. Number two, I'm not a psychiatrist. Number three, I've never met the guy. But from my outside looking in appearance on this, and Jaw is significantly younger than me, so I will say this, I grew up in the neighborhoods that probably some people would call ghetto, right? And there was a time around when I was 14 or 15 that I thought that maybe having a gun would be cool. That, you know, carrying weapons is cool. That dealing drugs is cool. Not because it's actually cool, but because everyone that I looked up to did those things. I think something weird can happen when you become really rich. is there is a presumption that when you become rich that you're soft. And so you'll sometimes see athletes try to be gangsters. And it's weird because you're not a gangster. I mean, if you were a gangster, be a gangster. Keep a gangster. I get it. But you didn't grow up like that. So it's a little bit like, you know, 8 Mile when you know Eminem is kind of like ripping apart those dudes and he's like, "This guy went to a private school." Yeah, that might as well be John Mar. Like, I'm not saying John Mar didn't have a hard life. I I really don't know his life, honestly. Again, I don't want to presume that this dude had an easy life or a hard life. Everyone's got their struggles. But what I'm saying is it seems to be a maturity thing. The league tells you to stop doing this thing with the gun and the IG and you do it twice. That is a that is a teenager mentality towards life. That is what I would do when I was 14 years old. At 14, however, I was not a professional athlete being paid $45 million to represent a franchise. I think MLSC and Rogers and the Raptors and Bobby Webster are very, very cognizant of this idea of image, public image. And I think the Toronto media is possibly one of the worst places for John Morant to be. Not because he's a bad guy, not because he's a good guy, but because he is the type of guy where every action and microaction will be misinterpreted, reinterpreted, lensed through the biased media of whitification. That's a word that I just invented. And I don't want to make this about race, but Jaw is absolutely African-Amean. And he has a way of talking, a way of dressing. He does the gritty. He dances. He's a very prideful person. And if this Toronto media is going to have some, you know, opinions about him, it's very likely going to be a very, very bad [ __ ] storm. And that's again, not saying anything about Jaw being a good guy or a bad guy. He's probably a good guy, but he's also a very immature guy. And I don't think that necessarily fits very well.
What about the dark fit? Just so happens the Toronto Raptor have a head coach who kind of coached this guy, was an assistant coach. I think this could be a good thing for for for Jaw. If he were to be traded to Toronto, he would have a familiar face here. I also think, if I'm being honest, the team kind of fits him. Scotty, BI, provided neither of those guys are going the other way in a trade because they're not. This Jaw is their guy. Jaw is kind of like he's a Scotty Barnes person. He's a player who used to at least play with joy. He likes to dance. He likes to be goofy. He talks his [ __ ] He's a vibe. Jaw is a vibe. Unless you're an uptight, you know, suburbanite, in which case he's a problem. Oh my god, turn down the rap music. But for real, Jaw Jaw's a fun dude. And provided he hasn't lost any of that fun funness, he could find it and he can start shooting well again. I actually think BI and Scotty would really [ __ ] with Jaw. For real, I do. I I really think a lot of the guys on this team would [ __ ] with Jaw. I feel like Jaw would have a really really great time with the Toronto Raptors roster. In fact, I think it might actually help both sides for the good. I think this roster is just full of a lot of workmen like people. And I think being in this situation might be really good for Jaw. I also think maybe it's worth noting that Darko is a very stable, loving, caring father figure. And I don't say this disrespectfully to Jaw's own father, T-Marat. I'm not saying that, but I'm saying everybody needs a father figure or a mother figure occasionally. I had a mother, but I also had additional mother figures in my life. That's not to disrespect my mother. I had a father, but I also had father figures in my life that were my coaches, my teachers. And I do think Darko is the type of person who can help young men who lack the ability to trust trust. Again, he's connected with someone like RJ Barrett. Now, RJ Barrett is a far cry from a bad dude. RJ Barrett is the ultimate good dude. RJ Barrett has never been caught in, you know, doing anything wrong or whatever. He's never been suspended by the league for brandishing a gun. RJ Barrett is very, very well-raised. But still, RJ Barrett mentioned that when he got to Toronto, he had some issues with maybe trust. He didn't know if a guy could really care about him like this, that a coach could really care about him like this. And then, you know, he finally found a way to connect with Darko. So, I understand, you know, this this idea that maybe Darko, given his previous relationship with Jaw, this team, the unity, there's a version of this that works out so beautifully for the Raptors, you're almost like, "Wow, I can't believe we got him for this little."
So, if there is a if there is a reason to do this, it is clearly the talent, the price, and ultimately Darko. Darko and this team. And that brings me to the value buy. Where are you going to find a talent this talented a player this talented who hasn't had any significant like we're not talking like okay he's had significant injuries let's not lie to ourselves but right now is not injured is not you know touchwood coming off an Achilles tear or something like that this is not Damen Lillard this is not Tyres Hallebertton this is not you know I mean there's there's a world in which he has a second career and it's a beautiful one he changes his game he adapts his game he gets in the coaching staff you're not getting superstars for less than what you can get get him for right now. And you're buying at the absolute dip. This is low. This is very low, right? Like he has a lot of lingering injuries. He's obviously had a lot of durability concerns. He plays kind of this high-flying, you know, way of basketball. Maybe part of the reason he doesn't attack the rim as much as he used to is partially because he kept getting injured. So that's part of it, too. But again, in the playoffs, I've seen this guy show up a lot. I've seen him be mega talented. He's done more in the playoffs than Brandon Ingram or Scotty Barnes or RJ Barrett have ever done. So again, there is a world in which if all it took was Emanuel Quickley, this might just be an okay deal and like worst case scenario, you attach a first round pick and get off of him in a year, like is this is this crazy to say like if that's all it took, if it took an IQ and a heavily protected first round pick, would you do it?
Now, what about the changes? Right? Look, John Morant has to change. He has to change his attitude. He has to change his maturity. He has to change his leadership style. He has to change his commitment to the game, his commitment to his craft, the off-c court distractions, changes of scenery can be very, very good for that. Right. So, a change away from Memphis, which I mean, no disrespect to Memphis at all, but I'm assuming that after 6 years in Memphis, he has an established lifestyle in Memphis, a group of friends, a place that he likes to go. And maybe the places that he's been going and the people he's been hanging around with aren't the best for him. Well, what's better than what's further away from Memphis than Toronto? For real. Like, this is about as far as you can get. this across the border. This could be the fresh start right now. There's also the fact that you have a very young impressionable team that is probably going to look at him like he's [ __ ] John Mor. Okay? So, there's always a chance that if he doesn't change, your entire team could change because he's so dominant a personality. He's so charismatic a leader. even if he's not the right leader, even if he's not leading the right things, is this the type of player who would come in and agree to a Scotty Barnes team? Or is this the type of person that scoffs at the idea of Scotty Barnes led? What? I'm the last guy introduced. I'm the mega star here. Is this a person who understands his own regression? Is this a person who wants to buy into team? Is this even a person that wants to win? Is this a person who wants to win? Or is this a person who's just concerned with their next contract, their offc court deals, and frankly is just kind of done with basketball? because you really don't want to be buying into a player who doesn't care about winning. And honestly, one of the things that shows me that he doesn't really care about winning is his regression and his defense. And that's scary to me. So, if it is a trade that you want to make, you better get a 100% all clear from your sources. Okay.
Does he fit with Scotty? I've already mentioned it. He does. He totally does. is the perfect type of player to put next to Scotty other than the fact that he really can't shoot right now and he's never really shown an ability to shoot. So maybe that's kind of like the weakness in him. He's not nearly as bad a defender as sometimes people make it out in terms of the reputation. He's not a great defender. He's a slightly worse defender than Emanuel Quickley who people are pretty sure is a terrible defender. So no, he's not DaVon Mitchell. No, he's not Drew Holiday, but also he's not Trey Young. Okay, he's not Trey Young. I've heard plenty of people suggest trading for Trey Young. And Trey Young comes with all the headaches that John Morant does with the exception of one thing. He is a much better passer, much better playmaker, and a way better shooter.
Is the decline real? Is the decline real? You know, I remember uh when the Raptors traded Vince Carter, there was a real feeling that that regression that he showed in that year, the final year with Toronto was a sign that he was about to fall off a cliff. And then he got to New Jersey and gave you three, four years of solid all-star production and the Raptors got Aaron Williams, Eric Williams, and Alonzo Warning who didn't show up. It was a terrible trade. Would the Grizzlies make such a trade just to get away from John Mar? Is this a situation like DeAndre Aton where they're willing to just pay him to go away? Like where they're just like at this point our offers are so limited for him that the the reputation is so bad that we are willing to just eat contracts just to get away from this guy that we believe that our young players like Cedric Coward and and Gigi Jackson and Zack Edy like we just don't want him around these young players anymore. And if that is the case, why do you? Why do you? If they don't, why do you? I think you would have to be delusionally optimistic that what has happened with Jaw is not entirely of his own doing, that a change of scenery could really help him, that his regression in terms of skill is more due to injuries and shot variance than an actual disregard for basketball. But I don't think a player regresses for four straight years on accident. I've seen a couple of players do it in their prime. DeAndre Aton is one. And if you follow us on the panel, you know 100%. I would rather leave Toronto than see DeAndre Aton be a Toronto Raptor. I don't think it's quite as severe with Jaw where he just, you know, wants to uh, you know, get his money. I just think right now he's very distracted. And look, I I've seen players get distracted before. Gilbert Arena's got very distracted. very distracting. There are plenty of players who've gotten paid and just decided, I've kind of lost my love for the game. You want to try to help John Morant find his love for the game. That's the only way you say yes. If you believe right now that he is unhappy that things have happened in Memphis with ownership, not offering him a contract, with the coaching staff, maybe him not getting along with the coach. Granted, he's a big part of the reason that the previous coach got fired, but let's ignore that. You would have to buy into this idea that all of this is situational and not integral to him. That the decline in athleticism is maskable. That his processing can be amended. That his shooting form and shooting decline can be amended. that in your space and
pace offense that he will be better utilized in this offense, which utilizes a little bit more pick and roll with, you know, Yaka Purle. And that Yaka Purle plus Jarant can create the type of gravity to open up Brandon Ingram, RJ Barrett, and Scotty Barnes.
But make no mistake about it, if you make a trade for John Morant, this will be Jarant's team in terms of imaging, in terms of how the league sees you, in terms of how you're packaging your team, in terms of your contract structure. He'd be your highest-paid player. He'd probably be your last guy introduced. It kind of, he's definitely the first guy everyone thinks of when they're going to think Toronto Raptors. He, you may not want him to be the face of the franchise, but he is a big enough star that he would automatically become the face of your franchise because Scotty and Brandon Ingram and RJ Barrett have never touched that level of stardom.
Quite frankly, if we're just talking pure height of popularity, height of notoriety, Pascal Siakam hasn't touched that level. Very few players in the last 25 years have touched the level of notoriety of a John Morant or a Zion Williamson. And sometimes that can be a bad thing, too, because your team probably shouldn't be defined by a guy who's done some of the stuff that he's done.
Why no, honestly? Because you think that he is culpable and perhaps the guy who created a lot of the mess because you see Tomas Elo's system and you see the overlaps between your system and his system and say, "Well, if he's failing in that system, he'll surely fail, fail in ours." Because you see a young roster that is very impressionable and think that maybe John Morant is just too much of a headache because what Mike Malone said in the earlier clip when we did the intro of, as a coach, you want to limit distractions as much as humanly possible. That John is a walking, bleeding, flaming distraction and always a potential wild card to be a distraction because you feel that maybe, just maybe, he's going to want more of the offense to be catered around him, then you're willing to accommodate because you don't want to be a heliocentric team and you've just gotten Brandon Ingram to buy into this more egalitarian role and Ingram isn't being ball-dominant and Scotty's not ball-dominant because you care about winning and because you don't want a situation like John Morant does on Instagram Live where he waves a gun before Game 1 of the playoffs because you don't trust him.
That's why you say no. Because you believe that his decline in shooting is not fixable. Because you believe that the decline in free throw percentage is due to a lack of work. Because you don't want to take a $40 million gamble on a player that isn't working as hard as he could be right now when the weight of an entire franchise is on his shoulders because you don't care as much about the talent as you do about the reputation and partially because he doesn't fit into your defensive scheme.
So, I don't know if after all of this, I've laid out a fair case for yes or no. But what I can say is it's a good question to ask, isn't it? John Morant is a hella talented player. You would be hard-pressed to find 10 players who are more naturally gifted and more naturally talented, more naturally athletic than him. As I mentioned before, his handle is smooth, his game is smooth. And if you just watch 10 minutes of John highlights, the best of John, you would probably be convinced that he's one of the 10 greatest point guards of all time.
But I encourage you to watch the lowlights, too. I encourage you to look at the data. I encourage you to think about this critically because if you do think about this critically, you'll arrive to the conclusion that I have, which is that I probably will not trade for John Morant. Even though I know it would be really, really exciting and I know it would lead to a ton of coverage and I know that ESPN would finally give us some games and I know that we would be a more watchable team and probably a lot more exciting and these lives would get a lot more people and all of that stuff and because I know the price is really cheap. I know it. But as an investor, I found that sometimes when something is too good to be true, it probably is. And that's how I feel about John. That the team that buys into him is buying into a mega, mega, mega risk. And it's not just an injury risk. It's not just a regression risk. It's not just an off-court risk. It's not just a system risk. It's not just a locker room fit. It's a lot of risks.
And the truth is that even if it did work out and you wanted to say, "Oh, we should have done it because it worked out there." You still can't go back and remove the fact that there is a very strong possibility that it won't. And the way I like to make decisions and the way I like to look at past decisions that I've made is not what I should have done, but rather based on what I knew then, should I have done it based on that information? And based on what I see in John's tracking data, based on what I see in his film, based on what I see in his data, I think that this is a mega risk that the Raptors really don't need to take right now.
There are better players to chase. And while they may not be as sexy or as talented or as popular as John Morant, a player like Lauri Markkanen, who you know is also on a really bad team, is also very, very overpaid, probably, and might cost you a little bit more, fits your system and your culture way better. And no, I'm not just saying that because he's not waving a gun on IG Live. I'm saying that because this is a player who's actually gotten better over the last three years and four years, and that's something he really prides himself in. This is a player who actually makes life easier for Scotty Barnes and Brandon Ingram. Two players that, you know, are not chopped liver, right?
So, Vegan Grass saying, "Ja doesn't seem serious about winning." So, that all said, I leave you with two minutes. If someone wants to call in, let me drop the link here. If you want to make me a deal for Jarant, I'll open up the trade sheet and I will happily negotiate a deal with John. It might be really fun, or it might not be really fun. I don't know. But I'll negotiate from the from the Grizzly side. You negotiate from the Raptor side if you want to call in. If nobody wants to call in, I'll just assume that I've done a good enough job in the last 50 minutes to convince you this is not a trade worth exploring.
Also, there's only one game in the NBA today, and that is the Phoenix Suns versus the Cleveland, uh, why do I keep saying Cleveland Cavaliers? The LA Clippers. The Clippers are not playing, uh, you know, James Harden. They are not going to be playing, uh, Kawhi Leonard. The boats are out and so that's the only game in the NBA tonight. It happens at 9:00 and I will be on playback at 9:00. I have done the panel today from 11 to 2:00 p.m. I did a live on Sandra Meli, which by the way, I don't have a lot of time to listen back to it. I'm very proud of it. I love that it was succinct and it smoothly moved through. And we did this live and now we're going to do a playback. So, my yesterday promise that today, you know, starting today, I'm going to grind as hard as possible for this mortgage thing. Um, I worked really hard today and I hope, I hope these lives were good. I, I hope, you know, I've made some compelling videos and done some good basketball work today.
Also, I want to give a big thank you to Cindy. Uh, one of our, you know, members, one of our members sent me a really generous e-transfer this morning and I was just like, you know what? I'm gonna make two lives for this woman because, uh, that was very nice. That was a very nice thing for her to do. Uh, Edmo saying, "Very thorough analysis, Rob. Great work." I'm glad, man. I'm very, very glad to hear it. Also, welcome to member. I just, uh, there was a member that I welcomed earlier, but we have a super chat here. I work. Huh? I worky. Jaw will mess up spacing and point of attack defense. I agree. So, shout outs to Mother Effing Jones. Okay, we got Nolan in in the in the studio. Nolan, what is up? You would want to make a trade for John Morant.
>> Here's the thing, Rob. Uh, I think in my like own personal opinion, I think it's more likely, and maybe this isn't a strong opinion amongst like NBA people right now, I actually don't think Jaw will get traded. I think it's more likely that something happens within the coaching staff, either firing happens or something like that before Jaw gets traded. Because if you trade Jaw, what like you're not building around Jaren Jackson. Jaren Jackson is an amazing player, but he is probably the second or third best player on your ideal championship team. And I don't think building around him is a smart idea.
>> It's just kind of like a 2.0 of what the Raptors were trying to do with Pascal and it just does not work. Um, so I think if if you traded Jaw away from Memphis,
>> I mean, you're betting on guys like Cedric Coward to take that leap and that's just I don't know at this point in time.
>> He is. He's amazing, but I just don't think that that's a smart bet right now cuz he's still a rookie and we have no idea if he's going to take he'll probably have a a sophomore slump next year regardless of what he does the rest of this year. And um, I don't know. I like Cedric Howard too. I just don't think it's smart for Memphis to trade Jaw. And I don't Jaw seems to have problems with the coaching staff, not necessarily Memphis. And I think that is a key reason why I think it's more likely Jaw probably doesn't get traded because he wants to be there. It's just a coaching staff thing. Um, but if I had to compose a trade with the Raptors
>> Mhm.
>> I would assume there's only one
>> right now.
>> Okay. Um, you're Memphis.
>> Mhm.
>> What I would say, am I am I So, am I trying to pitch to you as if you're Memphis right now?
>> I am Memphis.
>> Okay. Okay. Um, well, I'm calling as Toronto and I'm saying, "Listen, we
>> say Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Y'all say the extra Tino.
>> Did you just say Toronto?
>> No, I said Toronto.
>> Oh, got you. Got you. Got you. Got you. Got you. Okay, cool.
>> I'm calling from Toronto. All right,
>> cool.
>> And I'm telling you that I see your problem with John Morant. Um, and I would like to take it off your hands.
>> Cool. And in return, I would like to propose we give you uh Emanuel Quickley to make the money work. Emanuel Quickley also is a um he's having a tough year, but you can you can relate that back to injuries of last year. Hasn't had enough repetition yet, trying to get into the groove of things. Emanuel Quickley, we've seen when he was in New York, he he is a promising player and he's not very old and his contract
>> when you look at it from a long-term perspective. It's not incredibly damaging. There are way worse contracts in the league than Emanuel Quickley and Emanuel Quickley is a pretty pretty good player, right? So, I'm offering Emanuel Quickley to you. On top of Emanuel Quickley, I am also offering Grady Dick's services. Now, thus far, Grady Dick is has not been as impactful of a player as we anticipated him to be. However, Grady Dick is still a guy that with enough repetition and with the right training staff can become an elite shooter in this league. So, I'm proposing I give you also Grady Dick. Um, and then I'll throw in I'll throw in uh this year's pick as well.
>> Unprotected.
>> Let's say it's Yeah, you know what? I would throw it in unprotected because I think that there's a chance that this situation with Jaw goes really well and we win a lot of games and that pick isn't as valuable. However, maybe it doesn't work out. Maybe it's not as good as we think it's going to be. So perhaps that might turn into a lottery pick for you if things do not work out well.
>> Interesting. Okay. So I am not using spot tracks uh trade machine because they don't have the player that I actually want to trade for and but this machine which is ESPN's trade machine doesn't have the draft pick. So we'll just have to pretend that the draft pick is attached. So, your offer to me is Emanuel Quickley, Grady Dick, and this year's first round pick.
>> Okay. So, I will make you a counter offer.
>> Okay.
>> I don't want Grady Dick.
>> Okay.
>> And I don't want your pick.
>> Okay.
>> I'll take Emanuel Pickley off your hands.
>> I think he is horribly overpaid.
>> Horribly overpaid. And I believe that you're trying to trade him to me because he is horribly overpaid. We are even eating four years of a contract. You are taking three years of Jarant. Jaw is a much bigger talent, much bigger marketing draw than Emanuel Quickley. You're going to have to give me something a lot more than Grady Dick and a first round pick. So, what I would like from you is Colin Murray Boils and a 2029 lottery protected first.
>> See, at this point, I would hang up the phone. I'm not giving up Colin Murray Boils. He is my He is a first-year player and just through the few games we've seen him this thus far, he seems as though he is a long-term piece. So, I am unwilling to trade Colin Ray Boils to you. Um, however,
>> let me let me try another one. Okay, you don't want to give up Colin Mary Boils.
>> How would you feel?
>> Okay, let's let's uh try to How would you like some picks backing? How would you feel about giving me I'll give you two future firsts of your choosing. You give me Scotty Barnes, I'll give you Jaw John Morant in two firsts.
>> Not trading Scotty Barnes, too. That's off the table. If we're talking about our trade right now between the two of us, I will I'll tell you what my untouchables are.
>> My untouchables, Scotty Barnes, um Brandon Ingram, Colin Murray Boils.
>> Oh, come on, man. Taking your three best players off the table trying to get my best player. Come on, man. You can have any combination of any of the other players. I am not.
>> Okay, hang on. Hang on. Hang on. I know you're telling me Scotty Barnes is untouchable. Well, what if I gave you John Mar plus Zack Giddy >> plus at first?
>> Still not doing it. Still not doing it. I believe in Scotty Barnes too much to do that trade.
>> You know, he shot 27% from three last year, right? Okay. Uh okay. Uh okay, fine. [Music] If I'm doing this deal around Grady Dick and Emanuel Quickley, then I need three first round picks back. They can be heavily protected, but I need three firsts. I'm giving you a dude who's going to sell out your arena and spike your ch like the off-court value alone is is more than what I'm taking. I'm taking a dude who's, you know, barely an NBA player in great dick and I'm taking a manual quickly who who's frankly sucks. So, I don't really see why I'm giving you a franchise level talent, but I'll do it for three first round picks.
>> I So, let's let's try to renegotiate here. As I've stated, my untouchable players, Scotty, Brandon, and Colin Boils. I am not attached to the idea of of giving you Grady if you're not interested in him. Is there any other players on my bench anywhere that interest you at all?
>> Is there a discussion to be had?
>> I would I would like Jacobe and Jamal shed. So if you give me Emanuel Quickley, Jacobe, Jamal Shed, two firsts, three seconds, we can do it. Um, how much is uh how much is Aldama making?
>> Santi Alama uh is making $18 million. He cannot be traded right now because he just signed an extension.
>> Okay, fair enough. Fair enough. Um, so what? Sorry, what was the trade again that you offered me? The counter. Uh, I will give you John Morant for Emanuel Quickley, Jacobe Walter, Jamal Shed, two firsts, uh, which would be 2026 top three protected this year. Uh, 2028 top eight protected and I'll take two seconds. You choose whichever ones.
>> Okay. I have a counter to that trade.
>> Okay. If if I give you that package, would you be willing to include Jaylen Wells in that package?
>> Not a chance.
>> No. Okay.
>> No, because Jaylen Wells is uh worth more than Jacobe Walter right now.
>> Fair.
>> Significantly.
>> If I were to include Cedric Coward, would you move Scotty Barnes?
>> No, I still couldn't. I still couldn't move off Scotty for Cedric Coward. Um,
>> if I included Zack Edy plus Cedric Coward, could you include Scotty Barnes?
>> More tempting, but still would be no.
>> Okay. All right. So, my deal is firm at this point.
>> Um,
>> fair enough.
>> My my my deal is firm. I I want Jaw plus uh Jamal plus Jacobe. Sorry. I want Emanuel Quickley plus Jamal plus Jacobe plus two firsts plus two seconds and you get John Morant. And I believe I'll probably have to throw in a minimum contract guide that you can just wave to make the salaries work.
>> Okay. Um if if that is your offer and it's firm.
>> Mhm. Um, if that's what you want from me, what are you willing to throw me back um in a trade? Because to me, I feel like that is
>> John Morant.
>> It is John Morant. Yeah.
>> But his value right now is very diminished and I feel like I'm overpaying at that point. So, I feel like as though
>> I I don't think we're going to be able to make a deal today. Thank you so much. Enjoy enjoy Emanuel quickly for the next four years. Sorry.
>> Oh crap. Bye
>> bye.
>> Ag, what's up?
>> Boy. Oh boy. Listening to that was uh that was good. That was very interesting.
>> Is it fun? It's fun.
>> Yeah, it's good. It's good. It's good. But um
>> I'm actually live auditioning to be a general manager of a team. All right, let's go. What's up?
>> But I will say, I mean, I was just getting so frustrated listening to your ridiculous demands. I think you as a GM, you're rinsing people. And I have to put a stop to that right now because that's crazy. We're talking about a guy who's shooting career lows across the board. 14% from the three-point line. He's shooting 38% from the field. His PR is 15. That's five points lower than his career average. I mean, this guy is on a decline like I've never seen. So, we're actually doing you a favor by offering you by offering you No. No. I'm
>> Emanuel. Quickly.
>> No, no, no. Listen. No. I think I'm doing you a favor.
>> No, no, no. Here's the thing because
>> here's the thing. Okay, I'm trying to be serious here, but um what I'm saying is this. Okay.
>> Yeah.
>> I think that your the way you feel about the place that you work matters and clearly John Morant doesn't want to be there anymore. There's just too much going on. His game has completely fallen off a cliff.
>> You're kind of making my point. You're gonna you're gonna get a guy. He's going to be resurgent. I'm going to look like an idiot. I have to come away with this with a really good package. So, are you unlike the other guy willing to give me Scotty Barnes?
>> Absolutely not. And I will completely block your number as GM. I will block your number if you ask me.
>> Make me an offer. Enough enough yammering on. I I am very very well aware of John Mar's declining numbers. Okay. I am also aware, by the way, that he was all NBA a few years ago. And that's not something I can say for any player on your roster. No offense. Okay. Not a single All NBA player on your dumbass team. Just want to let you know that. Not one. Not a one. Zero. Zero. Nobody has finished top 10 in MVP voting. John Morant, for your ticket sales, your greedy ass ownership with Trump's tariffs. Dude, you could probably spike because of how obsessed your fan base is with highlight culture. You could probably spike. Oh, he hung up on me. Dope. I got rude and he hung up on me. Cool. You could spike your ticket sales by pro probably 30%. Your greedy ass owner would absolutely do it. Okay. So, did he hang up on me or did he just get disconnected? Damn, that's that's that's that's cold. I like it. I like it. You know, it's good. He hung up. That's good. You know, I was being rude. I was like He's like, "Fuck this." Okay, that was fun. That was That was good. I like these I like these trade calling shows because honestly like I I I think I role play pretty well when it comes to this stuff cuz obviously I would I would I would I would cry so many like my girlfriend is the only person in our house that actually uses the um, you know the p the the tissue paper. I don't ever use Kleenex. Like I don't know why. I just don't I feel like I would use Kleenex a day if Scotty Barnes got traded for, you know. Uh Christian, you got to you got to connect your devices. Also, I have like five, six minutes before I got to run to the other live. So, yes, we have Christian. What's up?
>> All right. I was just I was just going to throw my offer at you real quick before you go.
>> Shoot it. What's up? Are you willing to give me Scotty Barnes?
>> Hell no.
>> Okay.
>> Uh so, uh so yeah, your boy Emanuel Cookley. Um RJ Barrett.
>> Okay.
>> Grady Dick.
>> Uh at this point we are completely [ __ ] in terms of salary >> cuz I am now taking $65 million of salary for 40 million. So you're going to have to stay back until you just call Pope.
>> Oh, can can we take back uh what's the uh center there? the backup center there.
>> You can take Brandon Clark back.
>> Yeah, that's why I meant Yeah. Brandon Clark. Yeah. Does it work that way?
>> I take back too much salary. So, at this point, I'm You're taking 51 million and I'm taking back 65. So, you need to take like at this point, I feel like I'm giving you Jock Land. I'm actually doing you a favor. Like, now I'm just giving you really good players. Like, Brandon Clark's a decent player. Jock Landell is a really good player. Like, I don't know. Like, I don't have a lot of dead weight salaries. So, at this point, like I feel like I need to give you conte. So, I'm going to take it's the only way this trade can work. And even still, I'm actually allowing you to dip underneath the tax. And you get you kind of get a serviceable wing who's better than Grady Dick right now.
>> I'll be even willing to throw in at least just one pick in there, too.
>> Okay.
>> So, what do you think?
>> Which pick? this year's pick.
>> What's the protection?
>> Well, y'all are going to be good though.
>> Exactly. Yeah. So, I say top 14.
>> So, lottery protected. Uh, okay. How about this? Lottery protected this year. Uh, no, wait. Top top 20 protected this year, unprotected next year. So if it doesn't convert this year,
>> we it's unprotected next year.
>> It becomes unprotected the next year.
>> Top 20 this year.
>> Yeah. Top top 20 protected. So hold on. Let me just make sure that I'm not screwing this up somehow cuz I'm I'm tired right now. So top 20 protected. Yeah.
>> Yeah. Top top 20 protected. So if it's within the top 20, you keep it this year and it becomes unprotected next year. The only way I get it this year is if it falls outside the top 20. Yeah. Actually, top 18. I'll give you top 18 protected this year. And if it doesn't convey this year, it's unprotected the next year.
>> I believe in the trio of of J, Brandon Ingram, and Scotty so much that Yeah, I'm cool with that. Like I really think it'd work out because I just think about like I just remember watching like uh Emanuel uh quickly like running these transitions and like imagine that was Jaw instead of quickly in those situations.
>> How much better those situations would have turned out?
>> Well, I'm really glad that we got a deal done because I agree to this deal. Um, not because I necessarily think Quickley is a great player or anything, but because it kind of allows me to get off of the Contavius Cwell Pope contract, which is kind of just burning, you know, holes in my in my salary book right now. Plus, you know, I could see the value of Grady Dick with Tomas Eselo, like our coach. I I think like Grady could actually fit into our system pretty well. So, it's a it's a nice, you know, redemption thing. Um, can we also have Jonathan Mo?
>> No. No. I need to keep all the defenders I can withdraw on the team now.
>> Okay. Yeah. So, and and and and that first round pick is definitely going to become y'all are not going to be uh top. So, it's kind of like a hoodwink thing. So, like y'all y'all are not going to be a top 20. You're not y'all are not going to be a top 10 team. So, that's going to become an unprotected 2027 first. And, you know, that could be a nice rebuilding piece for me. And if the Jarant thing fails and Brandon gets injured or whatever, um I'm sitting on probably like a top 10 pick.
>> Oh, yeah. So, yeah, I mean I I see the value in this.
>> I like it for the Raptors, too, cuz like in this trade, technically you're getting a bad defender, but you're losing all your worst perimeter defenders as well, too.
>> This is fair. Um Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I
>> Now you're sur Now you're surrounding him. You're surrounding that back jaw in the back court with like Shed, Jacobe, uh Abaji.
>> Yeah. I think this is like I mean honestly like I I always thought when Jaw got traded like it would be for like three first, four first, but
>> you know like IQ's a decentish player. RJ's playing like really really good basketball. Can the other way? That's
>> I don't think they're going to go for picks this time. I think they they want to stay at least a little bit competitive. I would think so because they already got the picks with the uh with the trade they did earlier this summer. So I think they try to get better players, good young players in my opinion. But yeah. Right. Okay. You have a deal. I I I would shake on this if if I'm Memphis. Now, respectfully, as Toronto, I would have different thoughts about this. I probably wouldn't want to include that pick. I'd have all sorts of trepidations about trading away RJ Barrett, but I understand it. Jaw's a huge, huge talent. It's a It's a gamble. I get it. Anyways, man, thanks for calling in. Appreciate you.
>> All right. No problem, man. Have a good night.
>> Yeah, have a good night, man. Peace. All right. All right. I'm glad we got a deal done. That was pretty cool. Uh, give this video a like if you would like to uh do more of these. I I love it. I I love this idea of being able to negotiate in real time. And because I think that I'm being pretty sensible and fair to both sides, I hope that you're getting like a pretty good idea of what a deal like this would actually look like. And maybe this is a deal that Memphis would actually take. Now, I'm obviously agreeing to it because I think this is a deal that Memphis would take. But that's also maybe a testament to maybe a reality check to how far John Morant's value has really fallen around the league that a deal like this can actually get done for John Morant. So yeah, uh this is a little bit like uh you know there was a the trade last year for Desmond Bane, right? Everyone was just like, "Oh my god, Desmond Bane going for this many first round picks. They should have just gotten John Morant." And then, you know, people were just like, actually, Desmond Bane is more valuable than John Morant right now. And Desmond Bane [ __ ] looks like terrible in Orlando. So, context matters. This is a huge, huge, huge gamble for the Raptors if they were to make a trade for Jarant. Obviously, I think I've laid out my thoughts on who Jaw is, what Jaw is, the concept of Jaw, the enigma of Jaw, the personality of Jaw, the good and upside and downside of Jaw. So hopefully at this point, you know, you can make an informed decision and let me know what you think about in the comments. I'll talk to y'all later. I got to take 10 minutes just breathe and then I'm going to jump on playback at 9:00 and cover the Phoenix Suns and the LA Clippers with Players Choice. Uh it is watch playbacktv.com/playerschoice. So if you want to join us on Players Choice and watch the only game in town tonight with me, you can definitely do that. And it's a vibe. It's loud. It's funny. Check it out and give this video a like. And again, when you give this video a like, little bouncy ball, it bounces. Peace.