@carljungjeezy He functions as one. Defensively, he, Bridges and Anunoby are positionally interchangeable. They just align based on matchup needs. But offensively, Hart is pretty definitively the 4.
English
Sam Quinn
53.5K posts
Sam Quinn
@SamQuinnCBS
@CBSsports NBA reporter. Contact at [email protected]
New York Katılım Ağustos 2013
709 Takip Edilen24.3K Takipçiler
This is my ultra aggressive backup center idea for the Knicks:
Offer the Bucks a 2032 swap and a 2033 unprotected first for Kel’El Ware.
CAA guy. Two cheap years left. Ultra-talented. Get him in a winning culture, try to develop him into the long-term 4 once Hart ages out.
English
Minnesota got closer to OKC and San Antonio, I think. They didn’t get to their tier or anything, but they fundamentally reimagined their team based on a specific theory of challenging those exact opponents and gave themselves the upside to compete with them.
Guy Lafleur 🏁🐍💜💛@Selfmade8790
@SamQuinnCBS Just wanna make sure it’s said that no team on the west bracket made strides to get closer to OKC and Spurs I know the Lakers are the only team we are contractually obligated to say these things about
English
The issue for me is less "not being as good as those teams" than it is "not being as good as those teams with no remaining flexibility to keep improving." That's why I was against the Walker Kessler move. It cost them their space AND their picks.
There was no clean path here, I'll admit that. I would've given Kessler a max offer sheet and dared Utah to match. If they had, I'd trade for a center elsewhere. If they hadn't, I'd still have picks left to trade for a wing. I just feel like, when you're as all-in as the Lakers now are, the bar is higher than the team they have.
English
@SamQuinnCBS In all honesty, though, what moves could they have made to put them in the same tier as those teams?
English
I don't think many people are saying this roster is a downgrade. It's probably roughly the same as last year as a regular-season group. The negativity relates to their ability to compete with OKC and San Antonio in the playoffs with very few resources left to improve with.
Lakers Lead@LakersLead
Everyone is saying this roster is a downgrade and that the Lakers will be fighting for a play-in spot. By that logic, if Luka leads the Lakers to 50+ wins and a top-3 seed, he should be the MVP. But we all know when he averages 37/9/8, he'll finish 7th in MVP #Lakerstax
English
Yossi and I sneaking in a quick stream while he hangs out in the media room in Vegas!
- Wemby's extension and the future of star discounts.
- Gary Trent... huh?
- Notable contract structures in free agency.
youtube.com/live/BMGNOHD4V…
YouTube
English
Yossi and I sneaking in a quick stream while he hangs out in the media room in Vegas!
- Wemby's extension and the future of star discounts.
- Gary Trent... huh?
- Notable contract structures in free agency.
x.com/i/broadcasts/1…
English
At the minimum you can always create spots easily enough.
Football Chopz@Pchopz_
So any team that adds LeBron also needs roster spots for Bronny and Love? Feel like the Cavs are the only team left with that sort of flexibility
English
One day I want to make like a 20-minute video essay on that contract. It is utterly fascinating.
The Mavericks played Dirk at center the previous year because their roster was just Steve Nash and 100 scoring power forwards. Then they let Nash go to sign Dampier.
Joshua Hutchinson@hutcho180
@SamQuinnCBS Ill always love the Erick Dampier 7yr deal with Dallas.
English
Jerome James is the standard bearer here. Full mid-level for a 29-year-old who had never averaged 17 minutes or six points per game. The entire contract was seemingly based on one good series against the Kenny Thomas-Brad Miller front court.
Nate Duncan@NateDuncanNBA
If judging it purely on its merits, is 4/$64m for Gary Trent Jr. the most absurd deal in NBA history relative to the market if judging at the moment the deal was signed?
English
Trent is the outlier here. Grimes is fair market value.
Lakers Legacy@LakersLegacyPod
$16M a year?! Makes Quentin Grimes’ deal look like a bargain (I thought it was a bargain as it stood FWIW; I just know a large faction of fans did not agree. Lol.)
English
Putting it $4 million below the Early Bird max is the funniest part of this. No, look, we negotiated!
Yossi Gozlan@YossiGozlan
Anytime you have the chance to pay Gary Trent Jr. $64 million over four years — $4 million less than the maximum allowable with his Early Bird rights — you just have to do it.
English
Seems like everyone is thinking the same thing here. I am fascinated to hear if/how the Bucks try to justify this deal because you’ve gotta imagine there will be questions.
Sam Vecenie@Sam_Vecenie
The NBA should probably take a look at what is a truly nonsensical contract here given that Trent just averaged 8 PPG and shot 39% from the field in 22 minutes per game last season.
English
I am supportive of the idea of the Wizards emphasizing on-ball reps for the young guys. That’s what they should be doing!
Giving Trae Young of all people a max contract is incongruous with that vision. You get Trae Young to run a billion pick and rolls every night.
Sam Quinn@SamQuinnCBS
Trae Young has never averaged more than two catch-and-shoot 3 point attempts per game in his career. His career high in points off of cuts for a season is 39, per NBA.com tracking data. Young really only generates value when he has the ball in his hands.
English
Trae Young has never averaged more than two catch-and-shoot 3 point attempts per game in his career. His career high in points off of cuts for a season is 39, per NBA.com tracking data.
Young really only generates value when he has the ball in his hands.
WizardsMuse@WizardsMuse1
REPORT: Trae Young will be playing off-ball to give AJ and Kyshawn touches (Via @JoshuaBRobbins) "The Wizards vision for Young includes him playing off ball and allowing AJ Dybantsa and Kyshawn George to handle the basketball" THE WIZARDS ARE ALL IN ON AJ AND KY 🔥
English
$15.2 million is above the mid-level exception, if only slightly. Who on Earth did they need to outbid with this?
Bobby Marks@BobbyMarks42
Trent Jr. signed back-to-back contracts with Milwaukee in the prior 2 seasons thus establishing early bird rights. First year salary is $15.2M.
English
Gary Trent got the eighth-highest total contract of 2026 free agency so far.
Only Trae Young, Austin Reaves, Walker Kessler, Ayo Dosunmu, Tari Eason, Isaiah Hartenstein and Coby White got more.
Pretty much every metric paints Trent as a negative last season.
Sam Quinn@SamQuinnCBS
Gary Trent was a pretty surprising minimum-salary free agent two years ago. Last year he more or less played at the level of a minimum-salary player. Now he’s one of the most overpaid role players in the NBA.
English