JotCast | Hoops Rumors Live Chat: 12/8/2025

Hoops Rumors Live Chat: 12/8/2025

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Luke Adams

2:00

Welcome to today's chat, all! Thanks for the early questions. Let's jump in...

ManWithaDream

2:01

What realistic trade scenarios could send the Knicks Giannis without gutting the team?

Luke Adams

2:05

"Realistic" depends on what sort of return the Bucks would be seeking in a Giannis trade. If they don't mind the idea of prioritizing win-now pieces (sort of like the approach the Spurs took to the Kawhi trade back in 2018), Towns + a player like OG or Bridges for Giannis/Kuzma could be the general structure, with the Knicks also giving up the swaps and draft picks that are still tradable.

If the Bucks want to rebuild, a third team would probably need to be involved to take on the Knicks' veterans and send out draft assets.

Either way, I'm not sure the Knicks could build the sort of package that would truly appeal to Milwaukee.

Jay

2:05

How do you see the Clippers situation working itself out? At some point they'll stabilize and are only 3 losses back from the play-in.

Luke Adams

2:10

I know the Clippers have lost some depth, and a few of the guys that are still healthy haven't been as good as they hoped, but I'm still kind of shocked that a team that has had Harden/Zubac available for most of the season and Kawhi healthy for the past few weeks has been as bad as the Clippers have.

Yes, my guess would be they start turning things around at some point, and a play-in spot in the West definitely isn't out of reach -- the competition for those spots hasn't been as stiff as we would've predicted before the season.

But this situation is starting to remind me a bit of last year's Suns. Even if it seems like the talent should be enough to overcome a slow start, the longer the losses keep coming, the less likely that bounce-back is.

The schedule doesn't really ease up for the Clippers before Christmas -- they've got Houston, Memphis, OKC, the Lakers, and Houston again in the next couple weeks.

Guest

2:10

How does the G-League waiver pool work? How do they determine it the first few weeks, is it by teams worst records from previous season? Is there a certain time when it switches to this season's worst records?

Luke Adams

2:12

I'd need to double-check to see if they changed it as part of the new CBA, but the G League's waiver system is quite different from the NBA's.

The initial order is determined by a random drawing rather than by last season's record. And the order changes when a team makes a claim (they get moved to the back of the order, like they would in a fantasy league) or when a team loses a player to an NBA call-up (they get moved to the top of the order).

Tarunafish

2:12

Does Jonathan Kuminga have any trade value? Can the Warriors get a first round pick for him?

Luke Adams

2:17

I think he'd have some value, but not the sort the Warriors would hope. He's a classic change-of-scenery guy, and I do think he'd play better in a situation where a team makes him more of a priority within its offense and where he's not burdened by 4+ years of history. He's also still just 23 years old -- younger than some of this year's rookies!

Still, teams will only pay so much to roll the dice on a guy who's in his fifth year and is having his worst shooting season yet. Could the Warriors get a first-rounder? Maybe, if it's protected and if they're not getting much else of use in the deal.

But they'd probably be looking at sort of a poor-man's version of the Giddey/Caruso deal from the 2024 offseason (ie. trading a young player who doesn't fit with them going forward for a veteran who could contribute right away). I don't think Kuminga would return a player as valuable as Caruso.

Somewhere down in texas

2:17

What can the mavs do to get more room under the hard cap? Move AD? Klay? Would they get anything of value for either?

Luke Adams

2:20

I mean, it's possible an AD or Klay deal would reduce the Mavs' salary, but getting more space below the hard cap would be a secondary goal in any trade involving a player of that caliber.

If just creating a little cap flexibility is the goal, it would make more sense to maybe find a taker for Brandon Williams (or even waive him -- his salary's not fully guaranteed yet!). Trading Exum would also be an option, but I doubt any team's taking him without a second-round pick attached.

As for whether AD or Klay would have value... Davis definitely would, but not nearly comparable to what they gave up for him (obviously). Klay, I would guess, would be neutral-to-negative at this point, since he still has another year left after this one.

Mike Dickinson

2:21

This is best case scenario for the Celtics, right? Playing like a playoff team, Walsh and the other young guys coming into their own, all without Tatum. When JT comes back, this team is going to be deep!

Luke Adams

2:25

Yeah, this is exactly what you hope happens when your superstar player is out with an injury -- other guys step into larger roles, thrive with more responsibilities, and learn how to win without him. I had thought entering the season that this could happen with the Celtics and Pacers, but Boston has definitely handled that star absence better than Indiana has (to be fair, the Pacers had a whole bunch of other injuries to deal with too).

I'm very curious to see what this means for Tatum's timeline. I expressed at the start of the season that he probably only comes back in 2025/26 if the Celtics are competitive without him. This has been a best-case scenario, so it wouldn't surprise me if within the next few weeks we start getting some new reports about Tatum pushing to make it back for the second half.

Julis Randle's Younger Brother's Mom

2:25

Do the T Pups have any legit shot at Ja, Lamelo, or Trae? Darkhorse for Giannis?

Luke Adams

2:27

I don't see them as a serious player for Giannis for the same reasons that it'll be tough for the Knicks (lack of tradable draft picks).

The point guards are more attainable without those picks, since various concerns (injuries, defense, off-court stuff, etc.) will limit their value. Having said that, the Wolves can't make a deal for a max-salary player without including at least one pretty valuable player. The package would likely start with Randle and DiVincenzo. Are the Wolves a better team with a player like LaMelo Ball in place of that duo? I'm not so sure.

RonD.

2:28

Two questions about the Hawks, if I may. 1) If they want to trade Trae Young (which I recommend strongly, as he is one-dimensional at best) who could they get as a point guard? 2) How long are they going to tolerate the Kristaps Porzingis situatio? (one game on...xxx games off) Thank You!

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