00:00Earlier this offseason we did coaches on the hot seat, today it is players on the hot seat.
00:14And this one can mean different things at different times.
00:18But for the most part it is players who are facing pressure for either trades or just
00:25potentially leaving their team or whatever it may be.
00:28So it's going to mean different things for different players as this list goes along.
00:33So coming in at number 5, it is Kevin Durant.
00:36It already kind of sounded like he was on the block anyway.
00:42Like there was at least a couple of moments in the offseason where I was, well they could
00:47package these picks together and go get this guy.
00:49They could package it and da-da-da-da-da.
00:51And for the Phoenix Suns, this year there's a lot of pressure on them.
00:54We talked about that.
00:55We made the list for teams facing the most pressure this upcoming season.
00:59When you are spending the amount that they are spending and you have these three guys
01:03at the top of your roster, there are going to be high expectations.
01:06And quite frankly last year, they came up extremely short of those.
01:11And so if this is another year where it is starting to kind of not go that way, or not
01:18go their way, excuse me, I think that Phoenix could make a move and try to recoup some of
01:23the stuff that they gave up in a Kevin Durant deal.
01:25And there are a lot of teams who are looking pretty good, who have some draft picks to
01:29move, who might fancy themselves one Kevin Durant away from being a title contender.
01:33And so I think that if Durant and the Suns don't get off to a very good start this year,
01:40I think there could be Kevin Durant on the move.
01:43For this next one, it's not so much that I think he would get traded, but this is more
01:48a perception thing.
01:49I think if this year doesn't go well for Trey Young and the Atlanta Hawks, that I don't
01:54know if Young gets moved out of Atlanta, but I do think he gets moved down a tier or
02:00two in conversations.
02:02I think we have kind of run out of patience in the Trey Young game.
02:06When we tried bringing in DeJounte Murray, it never worked.
02:09It never came close to working.
02:11And so there was that blip there where they made it to the conference finals, and there
02:15was a lot going on against Philadelphia that led them to that point.
02:18But since then, it hasn't looked remotely close to what we saw from that team.
02:24And this year now, there isn't a, oh well there's just this other guy who needs the
02:29ball as my cat jumps in.
02:31You know, there isn't this other guy who's chiming in and taking a lot of the spotlight
02:37or whatever.
02:38I'm forcing that metaphor because there's a cat jumped on me for those who are listening.
02:41But I think that for Trey Young now, this is, and it was before, but it is so clearly
02:47his team now, that if it is another year of mediocrity out in Atlanta and for Trey
02:53Young, and it is another year where he is getting his stats but the team is not playing
02:57winning basketball, then I think he kind of moves down a tier or two in a lot of the discussions
03:04about NBA players.
03:06At three, we already talked about him if you're listening to the full episode, in Players
03:10Who Will Decide the Season, but it's Jimmy Butler.
03:12When Pat Riley comes out and calls out your contract situation in the offseason, pretty
03:19good chance that the seat that you're sitting on is a little bit toasty.
03:24And so I think that, pardon the Miami Heat pun there, but I do think that if Jimmy Butler
03:30wants to stay in Miami, then he and this team have to get off to a very good start.
03:36I think there was a lot of frustration with Jimmy Butler talking some smack when he was
03:40hurt last year, and just with how everything ended in Miami, and we know Pat Riley, little
03:48bit cutthroat, little bit ruthless when it comes to those sorts of decisions, so I think
03:52the pressure is on Jimmy Butler to come up with a big time here.
03:56At two, Darius Garland.
03:59It seems like for now, the situation has settled out in Cleveland, but we saw last year, Garland
04:05got hurt, and this team did well.
04:07And now, you have Donovan Mitchell signing a contract extension, and we know in the NBA
04:12that doesn't necessarily mean he's going to stay there the whole time, but it at least,
04:17I think, moves him down the list of people who might get moved.
04:20And it puts Garland right at the top.
04:22And so if this four-man unit of Allen, Mobley, Garland, and, sorry, Mitchell, is going to
04:29work, it kind of has to work now.
04:32They have, I think, again, run out of runway for this to be a thing, and I think that this
04:37is going to be a year where there's going to be pressure on him to go out and get the
04:41job done.
04:42At number one, it's Brandon Ingram.
04:44This one's tricky, because it feels like if they could have moved him, they would have
04:48by now, but it's a weird contract situation, because no one disagrees that Brandon Ingram
04:55is a talented player, and probably, honestly, from a talent standpoint, a max-level player.
05:00But he also doesn't really seem like a guy who, if you give him the max, he's going to
05:04elevate people around him, and you're going to be fine.
05:07Like, he feels like the max on a bad team.
05:09Which is, it's weird.
05:10So I think there is pressure on him to go out and show that he can mix his talents,
05:19sorry, it sounded like someone was inside, but they're yelling from outside, that he
05:22can mix his talents and be very, very good, and also be a part of a winning basketball
05:28team.
05:29So, I think there's a lot of pressure on Brandon Ingram to show all of that this year.
Comments