00:00We'll get some phone calls in the mix and then we do need to shift gears to the Pistons because
00:03I think Trajan can get some things done.
00:05Still waiting to see the other shoe drop from the Isaiah Stewart trade.
00:08We mentioned Kawhi Leonard's name yesterday and there's some reporting he doesn't want to come to Detroit.
00:14Does that change things or would you still take a flyer as a rental?
00:17Before we get to that conversation, Adam and Gibraltar wrap up our hockey talk.
00:21Good morning, you're on 97.1.
00:23Hey guys, good morning, how are you doing?
00:25Good, good.
00:26Good, I mean, I expressed my feelings with you guys, I believe a couple weeks ago when this whole Larkin
00:32thing came out.
00:34I mean, there's no recuperating this relationship anymore, obviously, but you saw what Ottawa did.
00:41And I expressed what Iserman had to do a couple weeks ago.
00:46That's what he's going to have to do.
00:47If he's going to get picks back, he's going to make a multitude of moves to get viable players back
00:53in this lineup.
00:54So, like you said, Brinkett's not going to answer the call unless he knows what's going on.
00:58Like, you can't lose two of your studs in the same offseason and you're wanting to go through a rebuild.
01:05When you've been here for seven years, you haven't made the playoffs in 10 and you haven't really made any
01:10progress to making the playoffs.
01:14So, I mean, that's what Steve's got to do, ultimately, is get those first-round picks or however many you're
01:21going to get.
01:21Go get a viable center.
01:24And you're going to have to do some things this offseason that, you know, you're going to be uncomfortable with.
01:28Like, screw the picks, dude.
01:30Like, you haven't been able to, you know, get value out of them.
01:33And, you know, you always drop in the lottery anyway.
01:36So, you might as well just screw them picks and just get rid of them.
01:41So, I mean, I think that's what he's going to have to do.
01:44But, ultimately, I think the relationship between Larkin and Eisman comes down to one thing.
01:50Eisman's won cups here.
01:52Eisman's legacy is in Detroit.
01:55So, I feel like Eisman kind of has, like, sort of like a self-esteem issue with Detroit.
02:01And he's not listening to his captain, which is why I think Larkin really wants out.
02:07I mean, Steve has, you call it a Teflon coating because of the success he had as a player and
02:13the legacy that he'll always have because of what he did as a player.
02:16And he probably, you talk about repairing the relationship, probably loathes this situation because Larkin is forcing him to do
02:22something uncomfortable.
02:23You know, we mentioned Jason Robertson.
02:25Would you pay more than you're comfortable with?
02:27Are you comfortable getting draft picks back this far into your rebuild?
02:31Probably not.
02:32Like, Larkin is forcing him to do things he does not want to do.
02:36He's not in complete control of the situation.
02:39He has control, but not complete control of the situation.
02:41And with the whole Robertson situation, too, like, that trade makes sense for both sides.
02:47It's just, is Dallas willing to lose Jason Robertson to poor Dale Markin?
02:53Well, I think the answer would be yes.
02:55If you, but Adam, I think they are willing to lose Jason Robertson, as evidenced by they let Jason Robertson
03:02negotiate with the Seattle Kraken.
03:04They're willing to lose him.
03:07So I would think they'd be willing to lose him and get something in return.
03:10To get Larkin back.
03:11Yeah, I think they would be, I think that's a great takeaway.
03:14I think they would be thrilled to get Larkin back at a significant savings for what Robertson is going to
03:19get paid or wants to get paid.
03:21And that's why they're allowing him to seek out outside deals.
03:24I think the hang-up would be, would Robertson come to Detroit?
03:29Would Steve pay what it would take for Robertson to come to Detroit?
03:34I suppose there's also a question, would Larkin okay Dallas?
03:37But we think yes.
03:39Right, yeah.
03:40There's a lot of ifs there.
03:41And I do agree that it would probably be a yes from Dylan Larkin to go to a team that's
03:47going to be in the postseason.
03:48It's a good team.
03:51But you're going to have to have that deal in place before the trade is made.
03:54Right.
03:54Because you can't just sit there and say, well, wink, wink.
03:57No.
03:57Yeah, we'll sign.
03:58And then all of a sudden he gets here and he's like, yeah, I don't want to stay here.
04:01Right.
04:03248-539-9797.
04:05By the way, do I sound hungover?
04:07We've gotten multiple texts today that are accusing me of being hungover today.
04:11I don't.
04:12Maybe it's just how this mic comes across.
04:15I don't hear it, but I don't know.
04:17Now I'm listening for it.
04:19I think the day drinking was so early enough that any hangover you had would have been last night.
04:24Right.
04:24We tapered off.
04:28Anyway, let's talk Kawhi Leonard.
04:32John, there was the report that he doesn't want to be a piston.
04:36Does that change things?
04:37Would you still trade for him as a rental?
04:39It wouldn't be my number one choice because while he was all NBA, he was top 10 in MVP voting,
04:49so he's still got game.
04:52Even though he's advanced in his career.
04:56You don't want to call him old.
04:58I think there's still a number of seasons where he can be very productive, especially if he's not, quote unquote,
05:05the guy.
05:06The guy here is going to be Cade.
05:07If he is the supporting cast to Cade, I do think that would be a case where, hey, the wear
05:13and tear maybe is not as much.
05:14You can load manage him a little bit more.
05:17But if he doesn't want to be here, the question is, do you believe if you go with Kawhi Leonard,
05:24that gives you the odds-on favorite to be NBA champs in that one year?
05:29Because it's what he did in Toronto.
05:31Could he do it here knowing that he's not going to be a part of the equation in 28?
05:38Well, I would think you're giving up less to get him in that world because there's no extension coming with
05:42the deal.
05:44Assuming he would play hard for the one season, and he did in Toronto even though he didn't want to
05:48be there,
05:49hell yeah, I'd add Kawhi Leonard.
05:51I don't know that he makes you the prohibitive favorite, but I think he puts you in the NBA title
05:56conversation.
05:57He is a guy who was top 10 in the MVP in voting.
06:00He defends, he shoots, he can create.
06:03He is an optimal number two at this stage in his career to Cade Cunningham.
06:08So would I do it?
06:10Yeah, I'd still bring him in.
06:12Now the other thing I want to know though is what's it cost to get him?
06:16And people have said the shady deal he did with the Clippers and the outside compensation,
06:21assuming he's not going to get suspended by the league.
06:22That's the other concern I'd have.
06:24But if he's going to play for the Pistons for one year, yeah, I'd bring him in.
06:28Right.
06:28And with all of that, I did hear that there was speculation that the league might not even approve a
06:35trade
06:35until they have finished their investigation and come out with whatever their findings are on that.
06:43So, you know, okay, we don't know that that was plan B because plan A was obviously Austin Reeves.
06:51Yeah.
06:52That's not a possibility.
06:53Was plan B Kawhi Leonard?
06:56Because multiple people have said they're going to go big game hunting.
07:00And I know that we heard yesterday that it was, you know, Kawhi Leonard, you know,
07:06a number of other names were thrown around.
07:10And what then is plan C?
07:13Right.
07:13What is the shift?
07:15If for Trajan Langdon he said, well, we can't get Austin Reeves because we knew we were going to give
07:20him a contract.
07:20He was going to be here for four or five years or whatever, may finish his career here.
07:25But then we were going to shift to Kawhi Leonard because we could extend him
07:28and have him for a couple of years and not just have one bite at the apple.
07:32But two, three bites.
07:32Yeah.
07:33And now if that's off the table, I'm assuming they've already checked on Trey Murphy.
07:38And for whatever reason, they're not interested in what the Pistons are offering.
07:42Yet.
07:42Yet.
07:43But as soon as, if this becomes a situation where Trajan Langdon says, well, okay,
07:48we want to explore other options outside of Kawhi, does it change the offer to New Orleans?
07:55To the up the ante.
07:56Yeah, to up the ante and say, well, we really, we want to get this done.
07:59We want a guy that's going to be here and could give us a chance at a title this year,
08:04but also in the coming years.
08:08248-539-9797.
08:10And again, this reporting is coming from Jake Fisher on Mark Stein's substack.
08:14These are incredible NBA people saying Kawhi doesn't want to be in Detroit,
08:17wouldn't sign an extension here.
08:19Text coming in.
08:21People comparing trading for Kawhi Leonard to trading for Blake Griffin.
08:25Again, your thoughts on that.
08:27Oh, they're completely different.
08:28I think the, the, where they were in their health, their career, their age.
08:34I don't even know what their ages were.
08:35If it's, if that's the only similarity, but again,
08:38Kawhi Leonard last year finished what?
08:40It's seventh in MVP voting.
08:43Blake Griffin wasn't coming off a season like that.
08:46So yeah, the text says, Pistons picking up Kawhi would be another classic Detroit move.
08:49Picking up a dead body like we did with Iverson, McGrady, and Blake Griffin.
08:53That's Adam and Warren.
08:54No, Kawhi is not a dead body.
08:56That's the thing I would push back on too.
08:58And by the way, Blake wasn't a dead body when he arrived here.
09:01No.
09:03But the key difference is Blake was the only star on the team when he got here,
09:07and then he got hurt.
09:08Right.
09:08And if Kawhi comes here, he's not the star.
09:12He's a star.
09:13Co-star.
09:14Yeah.
09:14Yeah.
09:15But he is not the star of the show.
09:16That's Cade Cunningham.
09:18So when, when Blake Griffin first arrived in Detroit, he was 28 years old.
09:24He played 25 games.
09:26And then the full season in Detroit, he played 75 games.
09:28He was an all-star.
09:30He scored 24 points per game, seven boards, five assists,
09:33arguably one of the best seasons of his career.
09:35And then his body started to break down.
09:38But he got a full, healthy year out of Blake Griffin.
09:40Yeah.
09:412-4-8-5-3-9-97-97.
09:44Let's get to Phil in Lake Orion.
09:46Phil, good morning.
09:47Hi.
09:48Good morning, guys.
09:49I was looking at the free agent sheet, and a name that popped out was Peyton Watson.
09:58He's a 3-and-D player, and I think he would cost you a lot less.
10:03And his age is, I think, 23, 24 years old.
10:07He led Denver when Jokic was out.
10:11I think he was putting up, like, 25 and, I want to say, 6 rebounds or something like that.
10:17So I think that would be a restriction for the agent, and he would cost probably around $30 million a
10:25year, I want to say.
10:27Is Denver just going to match?
10:30Well, I think Denver is in Cal purgatory, and if you put that high enough, I don't think they can.
10:42It's not a name I had seen many people bring it up, to be honest.
10:44That doesn't mean it's a bad idea.
10:46No, and that's where it's up to Trajan Langdon to find who that player is that can come in,
10:52and if it's Kawhi and they only want him for one year, then so be it.
10:56If it's, you know, Trey Murphy, and they're willing to give up assets to bring him in and extend him
11:03as well.
11:04Like, there are a number of options, but it's up to Trajan Langdon to mine all of those options,
11:09find the best one for the Pistons.
11:12Why are we sold on the Pistons going big game hunting?
11:14Just because a couple national guys think we have the opportunity to do so.
11:19It's just for clicks.
11:22Should we not want them to?
11:24It says, show me where Trajan has made a huge move.
11:27I expect a guy like Powell as their, quote, big move, and that's where this ends.
11:33I'm a little confused why you would need to dump Stewart to add Norm Powell.
11:38Right.
11:39I think he was an add that you could have made with Stewart here,
11:42unless they just wanted to move on from Stewart.
11:45Well, that's what, the more the day went on yesterday, I wondered.
11:48I'm like, are they concerned about his knees, the lift?
11:50Are they concerned about suspensions with the style of play?
11:52Maybe that's part of it, but they didn't have to do it when they did it on the heel,
11:56on the eve of free agency, unless they were really planning something significant.
12:01I don't feel like Norm Powell is a significant move where you start altering, you know,
12:07your cap this way.
12:08Right.
12:09And would Norm Powell make this team better?
12:13Yes.
12:15But it does seem like an underwhelming move with the fact that they've cleared up so much cap space
12:23to go out and get somebody of more stature and a bigger contributor.
12:33Yeah.
12:34248-539-9797, phone calls, text, we've got Cookie Jar coming up at 735, it's 97.1.
12:39Hey.
