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Hoops Rumors Live Chat: 6/5/2025
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Luke Adams
1:00
Thanks as always for the early questions, guys. Let's chat!
Pacer fan
1:00
Help me understand why the Pacers will have to pay Myles Turner premium to keep him. Unless Brooklyn decides to offer him a big contract, Detroit won’t be able to offer more than around $19M, no one else has substantial cap room to sign him outright. As I understand the CBA, it would have to be sign and trade for him to go to any other team. If I’m the Pacers, why am I going to pay him $30M+ with little competition who could actually pay him.
Luke Adams
1:03
Typically, in these situations, even if it looks like no team has the cap room necessary to be a real threat, there will be at least one team that finds a way to do it. The Pacers could play hardball to some extent, but they'd run the risk of another team dumping a contract into the Nets' cap room and signing Turner outright before Indiana would have a chance to say, "Just kidding, here's our real offer!" I doubt they'll run the risk of seriously upsetting Turner and/or his camp.
Guest
1:04
Who is most likely Not to be playing in Sacramento next season....DeRozan, Sabonis, or LaVine?
Luke Adams
1:04
I don't think any of them are locks to return, but if I had to pick one to be playing elsewhere, I'd probably put my money on DeRozan. LaVine's contract will be way more challenging to move, and Sabonis probably only changes teams if he requests it (which isn't out of the question).
David
1:05
Who will have the bigger "he can't get over the hump" narrative on his back if SGA or Halliburton comes up short in the Finals?
Luke Adams
1:06
Think it would be unfair to assign either player that label, given that neither the SGA Thunder or Haliburton Pacers have gotten this by far. This season should be considered a success for both of them no matter what happens in the Finals!

But since the Thunder are heavily favored, SGA would face more criticism in the event of a loss.
Guest
1:06
Almost immediately after Koby Altman announced that he intended to keep the "core four" together, rumors began flying that trades were imminent. Garland to Minnesota or Orlando. Allen to Dallas or the Lakers. What's your take?
Luke Adams
1:09
I think that Garland and Allen stuff probably qualifies more as speculation than real rumors. Either way, I think Chris Fedor put it well last week: It seems like the Cavs will probably be more open to the idea of moving one of those guys than they have been in the past, but it still doesn't make sense to do it unless it either:

  1. Makes the team better, or
  2. Is a lateral move that balances the roster and the books a little better.
KATastrophe
1:09
Does Karl-Anthony Towns have enough value to be the centerpiece of a trade for either Kevin Durant or Giannis?
Luke Adams
1:10
I'm skeptical. The Suns probably want to use a Durant trade to get younger and more financially flexible. Taking on the $171MM owed to Towns doesn't do that.

As for the Bucks, I think they'd probably be resetting to some extent and focusing on young talent if Giannis asks out. Doesn't really make sense to stay in win-now mode if you're losing your perennial MVP candidate and your other All-Star is gonna spend the year recovering from an Achilles tear.
Dirk
1:11
All my Spurs friends in other cities keep asking; What are the Spurs going to do? Since no one from the Spurs calls me I don't know. What do you think they'll do?
Luke Adams
1:14
It's a great question, and it starts with that No. 2 pick. There are essentially five paths the Spurs could take with it:

  1. Draft Dylan Harper and see how he meshes with Fox and Castle.
  2. Draft Harper while trading Fox (unlikely, since teams don't generally flip stars who just pushed to get there a few months earlier)
  3. Draft Harper while trading Castle (also feels unlikely, since the Spurs aren't the type of team to immediately move on from a Rookie of the Year).
  4. Trade the No. 2 pick.
  5. Draft someone else at No. 2.

I feel like option #1 is maybe the most likely, with 2 and 3 as the least likely, but I wouldn't rule out 4 or even 5 (or sort of a combination of both that sees them trade down slightly).

The most exciting path would be trading the No. 2 pick in a package for Giannis, but that doesn't feel very Spurs-y to me, I dunno.
GrizzMan
1:15
Would a Khris Middleton signing move the needle in Memphis?
Luke Adams
1:15
Probably not, given his recent injury history. Also not sure it'll even be a possibility this summer -- he seems very likely to pick up his player option, since he's not matching that $30MM+ salary on the open market. Maybe he gets traded and then bought out, but that seems more likely to happen during the season.
Quick shoutout to Cal Poly-SLO
1:16
If you were granted a 5-minute sit-down with Commissioner Adam Silver, with the topic being All-Star Game format ideas, what would you tell him? Are you sold on the ‘U.S. versus the world’ idea?
Luke Adams
1:18
I'd probably just tell him to stick to East vs. West and let it be a no-defense exhibition. I don't really care all that much if the All-Star Game isn't meaningful. I'd prefer that to a super-competitive game where someone tears an ACL and a contending team has its season torpedoed.
Dunlevy
1:19
Am I crazy to think that this Warriors team that was first in defense after the trade, was the best set to muck it up with OKC and just really make it a rock fight series, if not for the injuries to Curry(hammy)/Butler(Booty)/Moody/Podz(shooting had wrist)? We beat them in the regular season better than anybody. Am I nuts?
Luke Adams
1:20
I feel like they could've put up more of a fight than the Wolves did, but the Thunder were clearly the best team in the West this season, so I'm not sure anytime was beating them. The fact that Denver (which had some banged-up players in its own right) took them to seven games was pretty impressive in hindsight.
DJ
1:20
What do you think a reasonable trade for Durant looks like for Houston?  How would he fit with the players who didn't go out in the deal?
Luke Adams
1:22
I like the idea of starting with Jalen Green and Jabari Smith and then haggling over assets like Cam Whitmore, the No. 10 pick this year, future draft picks, etc. (I think it would probably take a couple of those assets, but not all of them).
Me
1:22
What's your prediction for the finals? ___ in _ games
Luke Adams
1:22
I'll take the Thunder in six.
arcman
1:23
Why would dallas trade their #1 pick? That would be a big PR nightmare and its a chance to get fans back on their side. There is 0 chance of that happening.
Luke Adams
1:23
I agree! Unless I've missed something in the past hour or two, I don't think there are any legitimate reports suggesting that the Mavs feel any differently.
Dan’l
1:23
Do the Thunder do anything this off-season? And at what point does the payroll burden get to the point they need to offload salaries?
Luke Adams
1:26
The payroll likely starts to become an issue in 2026/27, when extensions for Holmgren and Jalen Williams would go into effect.

That doesn't mean the Thunder will need to break up their core, but guys like Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe might become a luxury they can't afford at that point. Possibly Hartenstein too. Wouldn't shock me if the Thunder trade a guy like Wiggins or Joe before 2026 to get ahead of that issue (they'll have less leverage a year from now when other teams know they're more eager to shed salary).

One thing that I keep forgetting about the Thunder is that they still have a 2024 lottery pick, Nikola Topic, who hasn't played a game for them yet. Curious to see whether he emerges as a rotation player next season or eventually becomes a trade chip (this season obviously showed they can win without him, but he could help replace some lost depth in future seasons).
Draft pick values
1:27
I feel like people talk alot about how OKC/SAS can just win any bidding war for a player, but they have both expended a lot of the picks outside their own going forward. I feel like an OKC first in the next 7 drafts will never be higher than 25th and most future picks that arent their own are protected. Should we still think some of these teams have "super" packages for stars
Luke Adams
1:31
I think you're right to some extent. Both teams still have an excess of picks and could put together pretty strong packages for most players, but they're not quite as loaded with those draft assets as a small handful of other teams (Brooklyn, Utah come to mind).

But it's worth considering how quickly a team's fortunes can change, especially under this new CBA. If the Thunder offer up their own unprotected 2031 or 2032 pick, a trade partner won't be thinking "That pick will be probably be No. 27." They'll be thinking, "Anything could happen by then!" So those far-out picks still have plenty of value, even for teams well positioned for the future.
GrizzMan
1:31
Luke, use your psychic powers and give me the odds of Ja Morant being traded this offseason
Luke Adams
1:33
I'm always wary of being too quick to rule out any trade possibilities, since it doesn't take long for a player to go from untouchable to on the block. But the Grizzlies have publicly stated they have no intention of trading Morant and his value is probably down right now due to his injury issues. The time doesn't feel right for a trade. So I can't go higher than maybe 15-20%.
Knicks Fan
1:33
2 part question: Do you think the Thibs firing was justifiable / Would you have done the same? 

Also, the Knicks are looking for a coach with a flowing offense and less standing around watching iso. They need a coach that thinks outside the box (like Rick Carlisle playing his 15th man Bradley to counter Robinson). They need a coach that isn't so stubborn to start second halves and end games with the same starting 5. They need a coach who doesn't chase away free agents because they know they'll get only 10 minutes off the bench and potentially kill their career. Who is their best chance for this sort of coach?
Luke Adams
1:38
I find it very difficult to speak with any authority on coaching decisions, since I have no clue what's going on behind the scenes or how Knicks players/staffers really feel about Thibodeau. I thought he did a pretty good job in New York, but I also believe there's something to the idea of a "new voice" helping to get the most out of a team. I'll admit I was surprised by the move, but that doesn't mean it was the wrong one.

As for potential replacements, I wouldn't mind seeing James Borrego get a shot at a roster with some real talent. Micah Nori, Chris Quinn, and Johnnie Bryant would be interesting first-timers.
Dunlevy
1:39
The more I look at it the more I think I have to sign Kuminga to a contract and keep him till at least mid season. The base year makes it almost impossible to trade for a player that will come close to the production he provides unless a team gives him like 45M.
Luke Adams
1:40
I do think we might be headed this direction unless the Nets have legitimate interest -- or if the Warriors and a team with interest in Kuminga can figure out a three-team sign-and-trade.
Tsai
1:40
After the reported ask at the deadline, are we really trading Cam and 19 just to get 9 in this draft?
Luke Adams
1:42
Well, it's worth noting that the reported ask didn't get met. Often in that scenario, the price eventually comes down.

Also, if the Nets had found a team willing to give them a couple future first-rounders for Johnson, those picks easily could've both ended up in the late-teens or 20s. Using him as part of a package to get a lottery pick might actually be the best way to maximize his value -- as long as the Nets hit on the pick.
Kevin in HTown
1:42
What are the odds that Dillon Brooks is traded this off season?  With the rumors that VanVleet will be back, I think the Rockets need to move on from Brooks to open up playing time and salary space for their younger wings.
Luke Adams
1:44
It's possible, but I assume if the Rockets make a major move, it'll be for a big-time offensive player, in which case I prefer the idea of making Jalen Green the primary salary-matching piece and keeping Brooks around for his defense.
Yaakov
1:45
Am I wrong that the Spurs would be better off growing naturally then making another big move?
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