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Hire high-quality, certified pros at angie.com. Hey, Matt, how are you? Thank you for taking the time. Doing well, man. How are you?
I'm very well. I have no complaints at all. I guess right out of the box, we had this trade, and we will have a negotiation, and we will have a Russell Westbrook heading to the Nuggets. What are your initial thoughts? Yeah, so this has been coming for quite a while. Nuggets were kind of keyed in on Westbrook as early as kind of the opening of free agency. Nikola Jokic was a big reason why this deal was going to happen. He's made it clear that he would like to see Russell Westbrook in a Nuggets uniform.
They've gotten along really well through the years at All-Stars, so they have a pre-existing relationship. And I think Jokic really appreciates the way that he plays, and just kind of his general presence in the locker room. Russ, for all of his ups and downs, is beloved in locker rooms. He was beloved in OKC, and in Houston, and Washington, and with the Clippers. The Lakers were the weird exception to that, and I don't know what happened there, but it's not just the other players. You talk about coaches and training staff.
Everybody that's basically not media tends to have a really good relationship with Russell Westbrook. So having him, I think, bring something there. They need a backup point guard. They just needed anybody that could play backup point guard. They had kind of planned on trying Jalen Pickett, who Calvin Booth really believed in as a draft prospect, and that hasn't worked out. So they've now kind of pivoted.
I think Russ, there's going to be the same kind of ups and downs as there always are with Westbrook. But overall, it's a low-cost move, I think, for Denver to get a real upgrade in a position of need. Matt, knowing that they've lost so much since they won the championship in regards to depth pieces, does this move the needle for them at all? They still come in a top-six-ish, top-eight most definitely. Yeah, I mean, I think they're probably higher than that just because they still have Nikolay Jokic, and they did win 57 games last season.
Tied a franchise record, and we're at 20 in Game 7 of that second-round series versus the Wolves. But they've gotten worse, like you mentioned. They got worse when Bruce Brown left, and they didn't replace him. They got worse when KCP left, and they didn't replace him. And Westbrook doesn't replace KCP for a number of reasons. So this is more of replacing and trying to upgrade on Reggie Jackson. They're hoping that internal improvement will get them home in terms of replacing KCP.
There's a lot of belief in Christian Brown. They want to give him first shot at it. But I do think that Denver's going to have to figure out a lot. This is going to be a year where they're trying to figure out who they are again after kind of knowing who they were with last year starting five that won a title. So having to figure out a lot of new stuff, having to change a lot, trying to figure out a lot of in-season while also resting the starters more.
So that's going to be a challenge. They'll win, I think, 50-plus games, but they're going to be a team that you can't just be like, well, they're going to be there in the end. No, they're vulnerable like most teams in the league are at this point.
Matt Moore is joining us from the Action Network. You talk about the team that traded Russell Westbrook today and lost Paul George and is bringing back an aging James Harden and a Kawhi Leonard. They're also moving into a new arena, the Intuit Dome. What are the Clippers doing? Are they in for a rough couple of years here?
What was going on? Yeah, I was honestly pretty bummed by their decision-making this summer where it was very much a half-measures type of deal. Oh, we're moving into this great new arena. We can't have a rebuilding team, so we'll just keep Kawhi Leonard and then let Paul George walk because of the second apron. And it's like, okay, so Kawhi will be there as often as he ever is.
Harden will be Harden, but in a diminished state as he's kind of gotten worse year over year. Last year was pretty good. They had some good pieces from Obama. This Chris Dunn deal is actually pretty good. Chris Dunn gave Utah some good minutes last year, but does this look like a contender?
No. So I just wonder, going back to the decision to extend Kawhi Leonard, why not take that opportunity? If you were going to look at the Paul George situation and go, hey, we're not going to give you whatever it takes to keep you.
We're not willing to go into second apron. And knowing that things were pretty bad in terms of what Paul George was expecting and the difference there, why not get aggressive? Why not move Kawhi Leonard and try and get a young star for you to build around?
Why not try and pivot so that you have something a little bit more interesting than just like, hey, it's still Kawhi. Maybe. I don't really get the point in what they did. They're just kind of like, are they bad? No. It's pretty good.
That should be fine. Are they going anywhere? Not really. Matt Moore here with us from the Action Network. You talk about young talent.
That would have been a good idea for them. We got a lot of young talent out west. You think about Sacramento adding an older guy and a DeMar DeRozan. You think about Houston. You can look at Memphis.
Zach Eady, unfortunately, sprained his ankle today. What team do you think is poised to make a jump next season? Yeah, I don't know if it's a jump because then they finished number one in the Western Conference, but the Thunder just stacked. Getting Alex Caruso and Isaiah Harden signed without having to give up a single first round pick is just wizardry.
I talked to a few executives the night that all that went down. There was a combination of disbelief and frustration of just like, how does Preston keep doing this? How does he take this team and get better in those specific areas? I honestly don't really know how to put a number on where OKC is going to be at if they're healthy next season based off of how good they already were. That doesn't mean they're going to win the title. But regular season, they're going to be an absolute beast to deal with, I think, in the Western Conference. I do like the Kings quite a bit. I think DeMar DeRozan is a pretty good fit for the regular season playoffs, which they'll have some questions about.
I think they're in kind of a weird position. I've got my eye a little bit more, honestly, on some of the East teams, but you mentioned the young guys really love what Houston is doing right now. Talk about them trading for Kevin Durant. They're going to continue to be in the market for a big superstar, but you look at that bench unit. Cam Whitmore, Tari Eason, who's a defensive beast, Allen Thompson, who I loved as a draft pick, and now putting Reed Shepard with that group, who's been great in summer league. That second unit for the Rockets reminds me of the Baby Bulls from back in the 2000s with so much talent, and that's their bench unit.
So I think there's a lot of reasons for optimism for at least an exciting season from Houston coming up. Matt Moore, joining us from the Action Network. You're listening to the JR Sport re-show on the Infinity Sports Network. You talk a little bit about a summer league and some of the talent that we've seen. Alex Sarr has had a rough go. Bronny James, it took him until last night to get going.
Zach Eady has been busted up. You know, people were killing Victor Wibanyama early last year in summer league. How much do you draw into what some of these prospects are doing? I think it's so contextual, because there's so many guys that will look great in summer league because it is an open run, essentially. You've practiced with guys for four days, and if your athleticism and control of the game looks great, that's really promising.
Now, I couch that with, that's exactly how Scoot Henderson looked at me last year. He looked like an NBA pro every single game of summer league, and I had really high expectations for him, and it just didn't translate. But then there are times when it does, where Paulo Bancaro was just a monster in summer league, and then he wound up winning Rookie of the Year. I think it depends on the team that you've got.
I think it's how you fit in. How much does the role that you get to play in summer league mirror what you have to do in the regular season with the staff around you? I think so much of it is these guys have very specific goals, whether it's the guys down the roster trying to prove something and make it into the league, or whether it's the team doing things like, hey, we don't really care if you shoot.
We really want you to work on playmaking and rebounding. Those kind of things that they're working on in summer league are not going to translate to guys always looking great, and some of the things where guys just get to do whatever, that's not going to happen for them in the league. So it's good to assess the athleticism and how much control they have, but I think you should never go too far one way or the other based off of summer league. Well, Matt, who do you think is best positioned to win Rookie of the Year?
It's a good question, man. I like how Zachary Ricochet looks with the Hawks as the number one pick. He looks under control, which is going to help him, but he also doesn't look like a guy that's going to put up big numbers. Obviously, off of his summer league performance, Reed Shepherd is going to be a big name, but I also love Shepherd to begin with coming into the draft process, and most of the consultants I know that work with teams, a lot of them had Reed Shepherd number one on their draft boards. So to me, Shepherd seems like the guy that has the most ability, but he's got to earn the minutes on a Houston team that's got a lot of guys in front of him.
So we'll see kind of how that kind of shakes out. The other one I think is kind of interesting is I like what I've seen from Ron Holland from the Pistons, and Matas Bizelles has just been do-it-all for a Bulls team that I think is really going to emphasize going young. I think they're eventually probably going to position themselves to try and get Cooper Flagg, but Bizelles and Holland are two other guys I think have looked pretty good in summer league.
Summer league is going on. What are you looking forward to in a couple of weeks in the Olympics? I think the Team USA is a lot more fun than I think I expected it to be, just because sometimes these guys just throw the talent together and expect it to work, but especially that second unit, I just love the way that second unit plays together. With Devin Booker and Anthony Edwards, when he staggers with that unit, and he will with Kevin Dureus back, with how Bam Adebayo and Anthony Davis get to play together.
And then I really like the minutes when they let Tyrese Albert play point guard and actually distribute, because he's such a great passer. Obviously, watching LeBron at age 40 be this good is still such a treat, and watching him next to Steph is a cool experience, but I actually kind of like the way the little things with Team USA are working out. But, that said, I do think that there will be some challenges. They handled Serbia without two of their guys pretty comfortably. They got by Australia. But there's teams like Germany that I think are going to be able to give them a real run, depending on what happens in the group stages. Should be interesting, but also only interesting to a point, because Team USA really should roll. Hey Matt, we expect Team USA to walk away with the gold. We're going to blink, and it's going to be October.
I'm not trying to rush it, but I can't believe we're already on July 18th. When the NBA season is upon us, what are you looking forward to the most? I'm looking at some of the younger teams and some of the bad teams looking to get better. I'm excited about some of these teams like the Charlotte Hornets with Charles Lee, who seem to be really trying to change the culture there. Was disappointed by some of their free agency stuff, but overall Brandon Miller has been really good.
I think there's a lot of optimism there. I'm all in on the Pistons. I think this is the year the Pistons finally get it together after last year's disastrous nightmare of a season. Cade really turned the corner last year, and so getting to see him with actual NBA players like Tobias Harris and Link Beasley I think will help him. So I'm looking forward to those kind of young teams, and then Memphis getting back into that Western Conference picture where you still got so many teams that are so good. The West is stacked, and so every single night is going to be a real battle.
Can't wait to see how it plays out next season. Hey Matt, thank you so much for the time. Where can people follow you and all of your work written in the podcast, everything on the Action Network?
Tell us. Yeah, you can find it on the Action Network app. Best way to track everything is just go download the Action Network app. You can also catch me on Twitter or X at HPBasketball. Hey Matt, thank you so much. Enjoy all of the basketball.
It doesn't seem like we get a break from now until I guess next June. I'll take it, man. Thanks so much. Have a good one. Look around. What do you see? Cars? Lots of them. And guess what? They're probably on AutoTrader.
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Find it. AutoTrader. It's been a three-year wait, but the Olympics are back, and the CBS Sports Podcast Network has you covered with everything happening in Paris. It's a new era for the U.S. women's national team, and Attacking Third will tackle all the women's soccer action. First Cut will keep close tabs on golf, while Beyond the Arc will follow the U.S. men's basketball team on a quest for another gold. And We Need to Talk Now will provide comprehensive coverage of women's athletes at the Olympic Games. Follow and listen to all CBS Sports Podcasts for free on the Odyssey app and wherever you get your podcasts.
