00:00What's up, everybody? My name is Trey. Welcome back to Better Days Sports. And in today's
00:04episode, we'll actually be breaking down some NBA trades, giving them some rankings. And
00:10in this video specifically, we'll be going over the Los Angeles Clippers trading Zubox
00:15to the Pacers for Benedict, Mathren, Isaiah Jackson, two first round picks and one second
00:22round pick. Now, this is one of those trades that looks expensive on paper. And I'm not
00:29saying that it wasn't expensive. But when you actually look into where the league is going,
00:36I think both of these teams made the right decision for this. Now, why exactly, I guess,
00:42does this trade matter? So for the Indianapolis Pacers acquiring Zubox from the actual Clippers,
00:50at first glance, you're going to say, oh, the Pacers overpaid for a starting center, not like
00:58an all-star level center, a very good starting center. He's confident, solid. I would argue
01:06that the East is starting to change a little bit in terms of the 76ers have Joel Embiid back
01:14healthy-ish. Whenever he plays, he's putting up like 30 a game. He's a monster when he plays.
01:19The New York Knicks have both Robertson and Cat, so both big four and five. And the Pistons now have
01:32an all-star center. So centers are becoming a commodity in the East more than we have seen as
01:41of lately. Normally, the East is comprised of big wings, LeBron, Jason Tatum, Jalen Brown,
01:48or just absolutely dynamic scorers, Tyrick Maxey, Jalen Brunson. And this is a move, I think,
01:54for the Indianapolis Pacers that they had to make out of necessity, not only because the East is
02:01changing so much with getting centers, but it's also going to help them so much going forward because
02:07of their star who's coming off a major injury. Halliburton tore his Achilles in the finals.
02:13And coming off of that, I would argue that they're not going to play nearly as fast as what they've
02:19played in recent years. They're not just going to be completely run and gun, get up and down the floor.
02:23And I feel like the Zubox signing or the Zubox trade that they did allows them to slow the game
02:31down a little bit, give him the ball on the block, and allows Halliburton, which first year off an
02:37Achilles tear, is probably not going to be his super dynamic, I already look like I'm super healthy,
02:46I'm running gun again. He's going to take at least a year, in my opinion, to kind of get back
02:50into full
02:51form. And having a guy that you can go to on the block that can slow the game down and
02:56allow Halliburton
02:58to win with his IQ, not necessarily being the fastest up and down team in the league,
03:03I think bodes extremely well for their future, protecting their all-star player while also
03:10getting a very solid center who is going to allow you to compete in the East when everybody else is
03:17moving towards centers. And probably the thing that I want to get across specifically when it comes to
03:23this trade, this isn't the Indianapolis Pacers completely abandoning pace because that's really
03:28what they built last year on is run and gun. We have a ton of very competent players at every
03:35position. We have an all-star in Siakam. We have Halliburton who, some of y'all are going to hate
03:41it,
03:42but he looks like a young Magic Johnson. Calm yourself. Not saying he is Magic, but he's definitely
03:50playing the same style of basketball in terms of he's getting the ball to the people at the right
03:55time. He's allowing other people to get easy shots and easy buckets based on his playmaking. And not
04:01only that, but he has definitely stepped up his offensive game when it comes to creating plays
04:06for himself and not just other people. So now with Zubak, this gives him the option to slow the game
04:12down. And then, hey, Halliburton, you're still one of arguably the best point guards in the league
04:18when it comes to your vision and playmaking ability. So we're going to run through Zubak.
04:22We're going to slow the game down. And at any point in time where we get a rebound, we get
04:26a fast
04:26break, you can continue to run. We just don't have to do it 24-7 and do it the entire
04:31game.
04:32Now, on the flip side for the Clippers, the Clippers are clearly getting younger, getting off of
04:38James Harden as well as Zubak, bringing in Garland. Now they're bringing in Matherin. They're bringing in
04:43Jackson and they have future picks and flexibility. They're retooling their roster, but not necessarily
04:51rebuilding. Here's what I mean. Kawhi is playing at such a high level. You want the basketball to be
05:01in Kawhi's hands. You also don't want the entire burden of this offense on Kawhi because we all know
05:10Kawhi Leonard's health history. And one injury turns into a whole season of him not playing back
05:18to backs, only playing once a week, getting into the playoffs, not looking completely healthy,
05:23looking a little shaky. And that's something that the Clippers can absolutely not have
05:27specifically this year. And getting Garland, who says he's healthy, getting Matherin, who is a young
05:35dynamic scorer and arguably was outside of Siakam, the Pacers' best player this year with Halliburton
05:41being hurt. Jackson gives you an athletic freak who's going to play his role, going to rebound,
05:49going to play defense. And then you also got flexibility in picks to where you know that since
05:55you have an older roster, you also have flexibility now in the future. If you really want to make a
06:00run
06:01at Giannis or if you want to trade Kawhi and get an absolutely boatload of picks, you can rebuild
06:07quickly, in my opinion, without absolutely having to tank for multiple seasons because of the picks
06:13that you got back for this. Now, not every trade is super flashy. And this is definitely one that a
06:18lot of people kind of scratch their head around and say the Clippers were doing so well coming off
06:22these last 20 games or so with Kawhi being MVP level Kawhi for the first time and
06:30really since like the playoff run with Toronto. And this is a trade for both teams that makes a lot
06:37of sense. The Pacers now have a reliable center that Myles Turner has left and got the bag from
06:44the Bucs. But it also gives them the flexibility to not only play with pace but now play in a
06:48half
06:48court offense and allow their young star to get back to full health without having to over-exert
06:55himself. And hopefully, because of that, we'll be able to put him on immense restriction,
07:00allow him to come back in a way that he's not going to get injured or feel like he has
07:04to get
07:05acclimated back to this team immediately because they're trying to be in a win-now mode. And for
07:09the Clippers, getting younger, getting picks, and getting legit hoopers, I think is always a good
07:18thing. Sure, like I said, neither of these players that were traded are Hall of Fame level. You're not
07:26saying, oh, Zubox is going to get you to win a finals now. Oh, Matherin on the Clippers next to
07:31Kawhi is going to be this two-headed monster. That's not necessarily what we're saying, but I feel like
07:36this trade for both teams really fits solidly. I'm giving the Indianapolis Pacers N-A because it fits the
07:44timeline. It makes sense. Look what the rest of the East is doing. This trade makes sense. I promise
07:49you it does. I know it looks like an overpay on paper. Zubox is going to fit seamlessly into the
07:54system. And for the Clippers, look, let's get some young, athletic, exciting players around Kawhi,
08:02exactly like what Toronto did for them. And with Kawhi playing so well, this might be the young,
08:08athletic core that can really take you on a run in the playoffs, maybe even into the
08:14finals if Kawhi can really come into his bag as an MVP level player this season. But leave your
08:21comments in the comment sections down below. Did you think that the Pacers gave too much
08:26for Zubox? Or do you like this team? Now, the Pacers, that is. Like I said, I'm giving the Pacers
08:34an A. I'm also giving the Clippers an A. I like this trade for both sides. But leave your opinions
08:38down in the comment section down below. Also, if you're new to the channel, make sure you hit the
08:41subscribe button and notification bell to be notified every time I post a video. And I will
08:45see you in the next one. Peace.
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