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Bobby Marks predicts an extension for Trae Young and the Wizards. He joins Grant and Tobi to detail what it could look like.
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00:00and welcome on our favorite national NBA guest to talk all thing Wizards and NBA playoffs with
00:05Bobby Marks joins us now from ESPN Bobby it's great to have you back on in the district your
00:11piece on your free agent rankings top 20 players for 2026 and some of your predictions for the
00:16offseason was awesome so I actually want to start locally with the ways and what you had to say
00:20about Trey Young you've concocted an extension here looks like three years 130 million 40 million
00:27salary next season replaces his 49 million player option walk me through this is there any reason
00:34not to do that now I was kind of hoping no extension do you think it's a lock that they
00:39extend him
00:40well I don't know I mean listen I think there's I think there's a lot of different directions you
00:44can go with with Trey I think certainly he could opt in and then you could potentially navigate
00:51something during during the year he'll have you'll have up until next you know June 30th of next year
00:57to do it to do a four-year deal or as I as you wrote as I wrote you know
01:01you could you could lower
01:02that number potentially to go from 49 to 40 or high 30s and then the trade-off with him doing
01:09that is
01:09to add some guaranteed years here so there's listen there's a lot of there's a lot of different
01:14directions as far as with that I think you know I think the days of a max player you know
01:21him and
01:21Anthony Davis I think are probably uh are probably over uh just based on on where they are at this
01:27stage of uh of their career here so yeah I mean I think uh if you want to just play
01:32it out you can do
01:33that too I think there's certainly risk when it when it comes to that but I but I do think
01:37you know
01:38probably where he is he's probably you know a 38 to 40 million dollar player right now I mean I
01:43think
01:43some of the things that made it attractive when they acquired a guy like Trey Young and Anthony Davis
01:47is the fact that they weren't tied to them long term so what do you think of Trey Young as
01:52a player
01:52at this point so that you're giving him three years so he's going to be here for the foreseeable
01:56future do you think he's someone that can still be a big part of a team that hopefully is starting
02:01to make a push for the playoffs here soon you should I mean you guys went through three years of
02:07building through the draft and it's you know you guys you've seen what happens you know I think
02:12I think eventually you you know you have to get talent on the roster and I think you you did
02:17with
02:17with Trey and and certainly Anthony Davis and then you get the number one pick and I think you're at
02:22a
02:22different development stage um than where you were you know where you were a couple years ago he's still
02:28a he's still a really good player I know uh you know what the number said last year was when
02:33on and off and when he didn't play in Atlanta here but I think uh certainly you know he's one
02:38of the
02:38better passing guards here and I would I would just kind of caution that if you do want to just
02:44play out the year you know there's 17 18 million dollars that are going to have significant cap
02:49space next offseason which is in 27 to go out and and and find him with that and everything so
02:55I do I
02:55wouldn't I would be stunned with uh if if you know you basically he's plays out the year on an
03:01expiring contract 9.8 assists per game in his career for Trey Young you point out in your piece
03:07trails only Magic Johnson and John Stockton in NBA history pretty amazing playmaker and creator
03:14offensively which is what the Wizards have coveted I was listening to Michael Winger talk to Ryan
03:19Russillo in an interview recently and they were talking about free agency basically and as someone
03:24who ran a cap and ran front offices I want to ask you about this you know where I'm going
03:29with this
03:29but it was basically like the idea was Winger was saying yeah cap space is great but it's risky
03:35like you just don't know and he didn't say the quiet part out loud which is I'm running the
03:40Wizards front office I don't know if guys want to come here or not you hope so but we've been
03:44here
03:44and done this I remember when they thought Kevin Durant was coming and then they ended up having to
03:48give the bag to Jan Mahimi and Andrew Nicholson yeah yeah what do you make of like I like the
03:54idea of
03:55what's behind door number three over keeping Anthony Davis around keeping Trey Young around but maybe I've got
04:00to recalibrate on that because the bird in the hand might be better than this mystery player that may
04:06or may not ever come here I think for me to go on TV and talk about cap space it's
04:12awesome to be in a
04:14front office not so much I think it's I think there's I think there's all there's certainly
04:19caution in there I think that's why we've seen the ability of I think the last couple years we've
04:23had 60 players sign extensions this offseason we've got three teams that have cap space that's a big
04:29reason why you know we wrote this article today it's kind of what I would pay these guys based
04:34on and some of them were really the unrestricted free agents and it probably hurt some of these
04:39agents heart a little bit as far as what these numbers would be but yeah the real the reality is
04:44that last year we saw one player change teams in free agency that signed for more than 20 million
04:51dollars per year and that was Miles Turner and that was because Milwaukee used the wave and stretch
04:57provision on Damian Lillard to build a roster with cap space outside of your own free agents it's
05:03extremely extremely difficult I do not envy what Rob Palenka and the Lakers are going to have to go
05:09through this summer if they do not run this group back here so I as I you know so I
05:13agree with what
05:15Michael and the group did as far as going out and get you know pre-free agency we call it
05:19get and try
05:19in January AD in February here because let's face it if they don't do those two deals they're probably
05:26staring at 80 million 90 million dollars and not uh you know a high level free agent group
05:32talking with Bobby Marks here on Grant and Danny Toby Altizer sitting in for Danny what do you think
05:37happens with Anthony Davis I mean that that's been a big discussion around here is is he even going to
05:42play for the Wizards you're mentioning maybe they even have to consider a contract with him as well
05:46what do you think ultimately happens there you know it's interesting AD is extension eligible
05:52uh as of August 6th he can extend for four more years basically you take the player option away
05:59and then add four to that so it'd really be three years of new money I I think I think
06:05you have to
06:05you know you know temper it a little bit the days of a four-year 275 million dollar extension is
06:11not
06:12doesn't exist anymore for him he's you know 33 years old we know the durability issues here I do think
06:17if it makes sense where there's a compromise from both sides and I know you you could make the
06:23argument well we haven't seen him on on the court yet that is certainly fair and I think that's
06:27something you can entertain um you know during uh during the regular season here I don't think it's a
06:32you know sense of uh urgency there
06:36Bobby Marks of ESPN talking all things Wizards NBA we'll get to the national landscape in a second
06:42one more on the Wiz they hit the lottery people are still yeah thrilled about what lies ahead for
06:48them here I think it was viewed the moment they won the lottery when we were all in shock
06:53that they won the rights to AJ DeBonsa and it doesn't really seem like that's actually
06:58the reality of it both because maybe there's more due diligence to do here and maybe it's
07:04Peterson or something else but also maybe it's the asset that you want where sure Utah wants to
07:09come up from two and get DeBonsa and you move back and get Peterson and and something else how do
07:14you
07:14view the top of the draft board is it DeBonsa and a gap or is it closer than that no
07:22there's no this
07:23isn't Victor this is not Victor and it's probably not even Cooper flag last year uh I think there's
07:29I think you can make a case for two numbers for both players at number one uh with AJ and
07:35uh certainly
07:35and Darren and I think there's two really good players that are right behind him with uh with
07:40Boozer and Cale Wilson of North Carolina you know we were we did the night of the lottery or the
07:45data
07:46lottery and we you know we went heavy on them and I'm like waving my hand I'm like there's other
07:49guys
07:50out there you know it's like there is a really good there is a really good big four of this
07:55of this
07:55group here so I think I think you have to be careful I think you know the next five weeks
07:59or you
07:59know up until the draft they're going to go through every process they've you know they'll bring both
08:04guys in they'll evaluate them on the court they'll meet with ownership I think you have to go back
08:09to the to the tape a lot as far as watching AJ at BYU and I think Darren at Kansas
08:14and back to high
08:16school and figuring out kind of what's the best fit I said it on TV last week during the combine
08:21I think
08:21it would be important to have your own players there when either player comes through so if it whether
08:27it be AD or Trey or some of your younger players as far as interacting to see how that fit
08:32is with uh with
08:33that group and everything like that so if they stay at one or if you move back to two I
08:38think you're going to
08:38get a really um I think you get a really good player there if they do get offers if there
08:46is calls
08:46coming from Utah Lee hey is that realistic B how far back would you be willing to go what could
08:52they
08:52add and go back past two you wouldn't I wouldn't go past two no okay so let's say it's the
08:59jazz
08:59coming up for the Bonsa and their owner by the way is a BYU donor who got them to BYU
09:03they have
09:04relationships so there's some truth I think maybe to the interest there let's say you go back to
09:08Peterson what could you get in that trade that's a good question I mean I think it's a matter of
09:15how
09:15how much separation is there between the two players if you kind of see them neck and neck
09:20uh I think you know certainly the the asking price is probably you know you you would certainly probably
09:26want to ask for a lot as far as uh whether it be a future first whether it be a
09:30player um you know
09:32certainly you know Ace Bailey's been mentioned a lot we've heard his name a lot I think I think we
09:37saw a couple years ago I mean more than a couple years ago Boston moving back from one to three
09:41they
09:42wound up getting Tatum Fultz goes to Philly they wound up getting a future first out of that deal
09:47here um so yeah I think it's it's a matter of um you know how if you do want to
09:52move back a spot how
09:53you how do you evaluate both players I think if you have AJ on your board and there is some
09:58separation
09:58between the two players with Darren or maybe potentially Boozer and or something like that
10:03maybe you figure you can get Cam Boozer at three or two you know I think there's ways to do
10:08I just
10:08think you you can't be cute with it I think it's the one the one thing you don't want to
10:12do is move
10:12back in the draft and pick a player that you know that you know you're basically kind of stuck with
10:17going national here Bobby I feel like we've had this discussion plenty but uh what's going to
10:21happen with LeBron it's a good question you know he was um he did a podcast with Steve Nash this
10:29week
10:29and he went through like I I think I saw it on TV you know what it was June or
10:34July or August and I was
10:35like well wait a minute if he's if he's still thinking about August he's not going to be on the
10:38Lakers that ain't gonna happen because he basically has this big cap hold that's you know that's
10:44holding against the cap and they can't um they can't go on sign players until they figure out his
10:49future here I I think there's a couple ways you could look at it there's the you know the run
10:54it
10:54back option as far as with um you know bringing the same group back and him at a lesser number
11:00in the
11:00article today we had him at one one year 30 million dollars and that would allow you to still
11:05have the flexibility to run it back here I think if you're looking elsewhere it becomes a lot more
11:11complicated as far as from a financial standpoint just because there's not a not a ton of cap space
11:17um you know out there and everything like that so you're looking at the veteran minimum the non-taxman
11:23level which is at 15 million dollars so I think he'll still play um I think the big question
11:28will be where is it it sounds like you do think there's a actual chance that he's not a Laker
11:35and
11:35he's not a Cav though that he could add another team to the back of the basketball card I think
11:42it's a matter of what he wants to do I mean he's made almost 600 million dollars in his career
11:46so I
11:46don't think we're at a point where it's about you know breaking the bank on the next contract I think
11:51it gives whatever it gives him the ability to win a championship or considering that he's been in LA for
11:56a
11:56long time and his family lives there uh you know I don't know if you know I don't know if
12:01him going
12:01to chase a ring somewhere in San Antonio for example wouldn't you know you know you know
12:08appeases him as far as for that here but I think listen if the Lakers say to him hey we're
12:13going to
12:13go in a different direction which they haven't um and we're going to use this cap space to go
12:18chase these three players and this is kind of what you have for him I think everything should be on
12:23the
12:23table Bobby I'm curious what you thought of these playoffs and obviously we have some really good
12:28conference finals matchups and also from like a front office perspective is there anything that
12:32you're seeing with the way these four teams that are left have been constructed that maybe you could
12:36see trending in the next couple of years depth depth matters you better up depth if you want to go
12:42far in these playoffs I think you see it in OKC with Jalen Williams injury and then you've got you
12:48know Keeson Wallace and Isaiah Joe and Jared McCain and like there's a litany of guards there um Alex
12:56Caruso you know San Antonio too uh the ability to sustain Victor not playing or are Dylan Harper not
13:03playing I think that's that's probably my biggest uh my biggest takeaway is there here is that um to build
13:09a
13:09roster to sustain these playoffs um you've got to you've got to add depth it was something that was
13:15an Achilles for the Knicks last year and they bring up you know they signed Jordan Clarkson Deuce McBride
13:21hasn't extended more minutes um Landy Schaumet's been really good Mitchell Robinson plays more so
13:26to get through it you got to have you got to have guys um you know coming off your bench
13:31Bobby Marks is on social at Bobby Marks 42 you should check out his piece on ESPN.com which is
13:37fantastic of
13:38course you watch him on ESPN's television coverage last one for me is is on Wemby and what we saw
13:44in
13:44game one and I know that there's been a second game since and SGA bounces back and scores 30 and
13:49the Thunder even the series but I'm still kind of buzzing based on that first game and Wemby I'm
13:55afterwards going full Jordan like yeah I took that personally that was incredible theater first who
14:00wins this series and and does Wemby have a chance to become the face of the sport by the time
14:06this
14:06postseason's done oh I think he certainly does I mean certainly them getting out of these um
14:12out of the conference finals would certainly help his case I think you know when I watch him play I
14:18I mean the amount of times I like chuckle to myself on some of the plays that he makes uh
14:23certainly
14:23offensively and and defensively and his impact and it reminds me like when we were young we used to put
14:29that nerf hoop on the back of our door and we used to pretend we can dunk and do all
14:32these different
14:32things and it was it's like watching that right like how easy and effortless it is for him um
14:38so I think listen he's only in the third year of his career which is remarkable um and they will
14:45continue to get better I mean the scary thought is that I had a piece earlier in the week is
14:49that
14:49between them and Oklahoma City they have 50 draft picks between them in the next eight years
14:54so they will continually reload the these two uh really good rosters well Bobby appreciate the
15:00time the Wizards fans are buzzing so excited exciting time for that and the conference finals
15:04have been great so always great to chat with you sounds good appreciate it I love talking to Bobby
15:09Bobby Marks is the best
15:10you
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