The only thing I agree with is that CP3's minutes should ideally be around 25. But even then, those minutes would not go to Moody but to another ball handler like Podz or Cory Joseph.
Wiggins has been better recently. Moody needs to take minutes from Klay whenever he starts sabotaging the team. With this roster, we’re not winning unless Wiggins turns it around imo and giving him a DNP will not get us there
Weird day of NBA games. Pacers upset Bucks in Milwaukee. But home town advantage hangs on and the Cavs (Raptors), Timberwolves (Knicks) and Mavs (Jazz) all lose to weak teams on their home court. Suns, Clippers and Nuggies all win at home unfortunately.
Rockets just couldn't miss in the 3rd quarter (47 pts total) The Pistons who played large chunks of the quarter had huge minuses, not just JW but Cade, Bogdan, Ivey. JW subbed in early in the quarter for Duren who picked up his 4th. Outside of Cade, the Piston guards are terrible but seem to have free rein from Monty to do whatever they please.
My first thought was: lightning strikes twice, last season's bizarre hot-shooting variance of opposing teams, particularly their scrubs, against the Dubs repeating with Dallas. They beat us fairly easily then shoot woefully against Utah.
Then the "aha!" hit: Utah's big and young.
Dallas is just another team that plays this year's Dubs squad thinking: "they're small and old, no problem getting my shot off" and consequently hits everything with confidence.
The cure for this may be Draymond, or possibly a trade.
My favorite part, which summed up my feelings perfectly when I saw Steph for the first time years ago in oakland, was:
"And then finally on the big screen, you see the team huddle up and then jog out onto the court amongst all the fanfare and I get to see him for the first time. And by him, I mean Him.
I won't attempt to put into words how spellbinding it was. No words to do it justice…"
So far there's no hint that anyone wants to trade for Zach LaVine. He has a huge contract that runs until 2027, with the last year a player option at $49M. He plays no defense. Run, do not walk, from that trade.
Would you do THIS trade (or slight modification) AND with all due respect do not suggest a trade not involving Podz unless ur willing to give up a couple of unprotected 1sts because we’re not even getting to the negotiating table without Podz or multiple firsts in the mix
Absolutely take that trade but 0% chance Utah takes that. Short of offering all the draft capital the Warriors have (3 FRPs, 3 swaps), I don't see a path to acquiring Markannen.
I think the asking price is gonna be exorbitant too. My most optimistic self would be if they could garner some value from Kuminga and/or Moody in addition rather than delving deep into draft picks. However i think the one thing working against any team looking to trade for Markanen is that I genuinely believe Utah would be just as comfortable staying put than dealing him because hes still on the upper edges of their rebuild timeline
Fair enough. Really i think thats what its going to come down to: Markannen for Podz (and all the rest of the moving pieces) and im absolutely with you. I wouldn’t trade Podz and/or draft capital for Lauri. Id trade Kuminga and Moody but the same reason id jettison both would probably be the same reason why Utah would say “Nah im good”
They want picks not rookie guards. They have Agbaji and George, both on rookie contracts already. Both were first round picks and both are good (they especially like the latter, picked a few spots ahead of Podz). Their front court is not that young outside of Kessler, so if they decide to prioritize the 'timeline' they will want a replacement for Markkanen, which is what they would be looking for in the draft. We don't have what they want.
Pascal Siakam’s widely presumed preference is to play out the rest of the season with the Raptors, per @TheSteinLine (https://marcstein.substack.com/p/where-nba-trade-season-goes-from). Siakam wants ultimate control on his next destination, if he doesn’t stay in Toronto. Siakam appears unwilling to sign an extension with a new team.
This means it's in Torontos best interest to trade him for some value back instead of losing him for nothing in fa. We could get him for cheap, whether it be a rental or not figure that out later.
Well, I’m sure he’s better, but by how much? Is he a Podz-worth better? Is he a JK’s-worth better? And remember we’re likely talking about a half-year rental, right?
They are different types of players. If we were to trade for Siakam, you can't play him at the same time as Kuminga and any of Dray / Loon / TJD - too many non-shooters. The only trade that makes sense is for JK and salary filler. We need Moody as insurance for Klay / Wiggs derpitude.
Yeah, if they make a big move for one of the players whose name we've heard so far, Lauri's my guy. The biggest case I can see against him is that his skillset isn't really scalable to higher usage—arguably a problem given the dearth of ballhandlers and playmakers on our roster, but 25 pts on limited usage is likewise arguably a good thing if you picture him in the role of a 7-ft Klay.
One other name I've never seen mentioned in connection with the W's—for obvious reasons, but still I wonder if Dunleavy would kick the tires as a pure talent grab: Donovan Mitchell.
Ugh. I hate Mitchell’s game, and I think he’d be terrible on the Dubs. For sure, he’s a “bucket”, but seems selfish. Mainly though, he’s small and not a defender.
Almost certainly nothing. But their current roster is weird in that they play two tiny guards and two giant bigs, so one way they could move forward after a Mitchell trade would be rearrange things and get more traditional wings on the court. Kuminga and/or Moody could conceivably be part of that plan. But I do agree, it's hard to see a realistic scenario where W's have the best offer.
Knicks starting lineup has changed a lot in the past few months. They used to have Mitchell Robinson or Jericho Sims at C, Hart or Barrett at forward, and Grimes or Quickley at guard. Now their starting lineup is: Brunson, DDV, Anunoby, Randle, Hartenstein.
I was curious about how a "meeting of three ways" led to our modern meaning of trivial. Merriam-Webster has this:
When English speakers adopted the word trivial from Latin trivialis in the 16th century, they used it to mean just what its Latin ancestor meant: "found everywhere, commonplace." But the source of trivialis is about something more specific: trivium, from tri- (three) and via (way), means "crossroads; place where three roads meet." The link between the two presumably has to do with the commonplace sorts of things a person is likely to encounter at a busy crossroads. Today, the English word typically describes something barely worth mentioning. Such judgments are, of course, subjective; feel free to mention this bit of trivia to anyone and everyone who crosses your path.
Kerr said he can’t find minutes for Moody.
But I looked at the rotation and there were 28 min sitting right there next to A. Wiggins.
Then I saw 33 next to C. Paul.
If you move Wiggins to a more appropriate DNP and reduce Paul to a more sustainable 25, then Moody could have all the minutes he can handle.
If they trade Kuminga, they can find minutes for Moody
The only thing I agree with is that CP3's minutes should ideally be around 25. But even then, those minutes would not go to Moody but to another ball handler like Podz or Cory Joseph.
Wiggins has been better recently. Moody needs to take minutes from Klay whenever he starts sabotaging the team. With this roster, we’re not winning unless Wiggins turns it around imo and giving him a DNP will not get us there
Wiggs and CP both played extremely well in that game. It'd have been extremely difficult for him to out produce those minutes last game.
Heartfelt piece of writing that made me feel real good! Thank you for sharing!
Weird day of NBA games. Pacers upset Bucks in Milwaukee. But home town advantage hangs on and the Cavs (Raptors), Timberwolves (Knicks) and Mavs (Jazz) all lose to weak teams on their home court. Suns, Clippers and Nuggies all win at home unfortunately.
Clippers are really clicking and rolling.
Pistons get clobbered by Rockets 136-113. Current losing streak is 1. JW -24 in 16 minutes with 5 fouls (ouch!)
+1 in the 32 minutes without JDub, tho…
Rockets just couldn't miss in the 3rd quarter (47 pts total) The Pistons who played large chunks of the quarter had huge minuses, not just JW but Cade, Bogdan, Ivey. JW subbed in early in the quarter for Duren who picked up his 4th. Outside of Cade, the Piston guards are terrible but seem to have free rein from Monty to do whatever they please.
He shot an efficient 100% from the field though
Mavs got Kyrie back, but they're performing worse than they did a couple of nights ago against the Jazz.
My first thought was: lightning strikes twice, last season's bizarre hot-shooting variance of opposing teams, particularly their scrubs, against the Dubs repeating with Dallas. They beat us fairly easily then shoot woefully against Utah.
Then the "aha!" hit: Utah's big and young.
Dallas is just another team that plays this year's Dubs squad thinking: "they're small and old, no problem getting my shot off" and consequently hits everything with confidence.
The cure for this may be Draymond, or possibly a trade.
Luka was 6/20? If only he could've shot that poorly a game earlier 🙃
Luka sees the Suns or Warriors and immediately becomes prime mj with a 3pt shot.
❤️ this article!
Applause to Chasing Rings! Well said!
My favorite part, which summed up my feelings perfectly when I saw Steph for the first time years ago in oakland, was:
"And then finally on the big screen, you see the team huddle up and then jog out onto the court amongst all the fanfare and I get to see him for the first time. And by him, I mean Him.
I won't attempt to put into words how spellbinding it was. No words to do it justice…"
🥲
Siakam for CP3 & GP2.
Why would the Raptors do that? Maybe if you add 2 first rounders.
Siakam says that he's unwilling to sign an extension with a new team. So he's gonna be a rental at best.
Same with CP3.
I just put it out there because I'm bored. I don't expect the Dubs to get Siakam or Markkanen. Pipe dreams, I think.
Zach Lavine for Chris Paul/GP2
Zach Lavine is overrated, pretty sure this trade makes us worse
So far there's no hint that anyone wants to trade for Zach LaVine. He has a huge contract that runs until 2027, with the last year a player option at $49M. He plays no defense. Run, do not walk, from that trade.
Waaaaaay worse.
Alright Lauri Markannen FOR
Jonathan Kuminga
Brandon Podziemski
Kevon Looney
Top 10 protected 2026 1st round pick
Would you do THIS trade (or slight modification) AND with all due respect do not suggest a trade not involving Podz unless ur willing to give up a couple of unprotected 1sts because we’re not even getting to the negotiating table without Podz or multiple firsts in the mix
That's a super easy yes tbh, I'd do it with the pick unprotected too
Absolutely take that trade but 0% chance Utah takes that. Short of offering all the draft capital the Warriors have (3 FRPs, 3 swaps), I don't see a path to acquiring Markannen.
Ainge wants 5 picks.
Don't cut a deal with Danny Ainge, period.
Think Utah would say no. They’d demand 2 more picks at least. And want reduced protections.
I think the asking price is gonna be exorbitant too. My most optimistic self would be if they could garner some value from Kuminga and/or Moody in addition rather than delving deep into draft picks. However i think the one thing working against any team looking to trade for Markanen is that I genuinely believe Utah would be just as comfortable staying put than dealing him because hes still on the upper edges of their rebuild timeline
No on trading Podz.
For a top-30 level player? Absolutely trade Podz.
Fair enough. Really i think thats what its going to come down to: Markannen for Podz (and all the rest of the moving pieces) and im absolutely with you. I wouldn’t trade Podz and/or draft capital for Lauri. Id trade Kuminga and Moody but the same reason id jettison both would probably be the same reason why Utah would say “Nah im good”
Given that Utah loves their white players, you’re probably right that Podz has to be in the trade… but… that’s a hard one.
They want picks not rookie guards. They have Agbaji and George, both on rookie contracts already. Both were first round picks and both are good (they especially like the latter, picked a few spots ahead of Podz). Their front court is not that young outside of Kessler, so if they decide to prioritize the 'timeline' they will want a replacement for Markkanen, which is what they would be looking for in the draft. We don't have what they want.
What a beautiful article, CR. Thank you for sharing.
Pascal Siakam’s widely presumed preference is to play out the rest of the season with the Raptors, per @TheSteinLine (https://marcstein.substack.com/p/where-nba-trade-season-goes-from). Siakam wants ultimate control on his next destination, if he doesn’t stay in Toronto. Siakam appears unwilling to sign an extension with a new team.
https://twitter.com/esidery/status/1741917873260331514
Ha he just tanked his trade value!
This means it's in Torontos best interest to trade him for some value back instead of losing him for nothing in fa. We could get him for cheap, whether it be a rental or not figure that out later.
Siakam tanking his trade value to spite Ujiri’s moonshot demands?
Pfft…I’d rather have Lauri anyway
This. I admit I haven’t watched a ton of Siakam but I’m not convinced he’s a huge upgrade on Moody (if given consistent playing time).
What
Like just at a glance and only somewhat cherry picked:
True shooting : MM.589 PS .583
PER: MM 14.1 PS 18.3
TRB%: MM 9.5 PS 10.4
VORP: MM 0.3 PS 0.8
I just think Siakam is being overvalued and I don’t buy for a second that he’d move the needle this year.
Well, I’m sure he’s better, but by how much? Is he a Podz-worth better? Is he a JK’s-worth better? And remember we’re likely talking about a half-year rental, right?
That's all fine, but in no way is Siakam not a huge upgrade over Moody (right now)
If he's a big upgrade over Moody (he is), he's a bigger upgrade over Kuminga
They are different types of players. If we were to trade for Siakam, you can't play him at the same time as Kuminga and any of Dray / Loon / TJD - too many non-shooters. The only trade that makes sense is for JK and salary filler. We need Moody as insurance for Klay / Wiggs derpitude.
Yep.
I want Markkanen, too. But what would we have to do to get him? I feel we need to trade one of our starters (not Draymond or Curry) to do so.
Yeah, if they make a big move for one of the players whose name we've heard so far, Lauri's my guy. The biggest case I can see against him is that his skillset isn't really scalable to higher usage—arguably a problem given the dearth of ballhandlers and playmakers on our roster, but 25 pts on limited usage is likewise arguably a good thing if you picture him in the role of a 7-ft Klay.
One other name I've never seen mentioned in connection with the W's—for obvious reasons, but still I wonder if Dunleavy would kick the tires as a pure talent grab: Donovan Mitchell.
Ugh. I hate Mitchell’s game, and I think he’d be terrible on the Dubs. For sure, he’s a “bucket”, but seems selfish. Mainly though, he’s small and not a defender.
What could we offer for Mitchell that Cleveland would seriously consider?
Klay, podz, jk, 2 frps. Not saying I do it, in fact I wouldn't for a smaller 2 guard that doesn't play much defense usually does not work out.
Almost certainly nothing. But their current roster is weird in that they play two tiny guards and two giant bigs, so one way they could move forward after a Mitchell trade would be rearrange things and get more traditional wings on the court. Kuminga and/or Moody could conceivably be part of that plan. But I do agree, it's hard to see a realistic scenario where W's have the best offer.
Knicks starting lineup has changed a lot in the past few months. They used to have Mitchell Robinson or Jericho Sims at C, Hart or Barrett at forward, and Grimes or Quickley at guard. Now their starting lineup is: Brunson, DDV, Anunoby, Randle, Hartenstein.
Hot damn, DDV is shooting 45% from 3…I had no idea.
He scored 38 earlier this week, and was 7/11 from three
Wasted DDV's prime
Beautiful 🥲
Wow, NY with a decent lead on Minnesota at home (94-80 early in the 4th as I write this).
I forgot it was a holiday and there would be early games.
I was curious about how a "meeting of three ways" led to our modern meaning of trivial. Merriam-Webster has this:
When English speakers adopted the word trivial from Latin trivialis in the 16th century, they used it to mean just what its Latin ancestor meant: "found everywhere, commonplace." But the source of trivialis is about something more specific: trivium, from tri- (three) and via (way), means "crossroads; place where three roads meet." The link between the two presumably has to do with the commonplace sorts of things a person is likely to encounter at a busy crossroads. Today, the English word typically describes something barely worth mentioning. Such judgments are, of course, subjective; feel free to mention this bit of trivia to anyone and everyone who crosses your path.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trivial
In Threesius we Trust