00:00Which was the Philadelphia 76ers landing Jalen Brown in a trade with the Boston Celtics that sent back Paul George
00:08and a couple of first-round picks.
00:10This was a stunning deal met with a lot, a lot of pushback because Paul George had been seen as
00:19an awful contract.
00:20There was an understood notion that getting off of PG's contract could cost the Sixers a first-round pick, which
00:29would then potentially suggest that the return for Jalen Brown was actually just one first-round pick and two seconds.
00:38Now, we'll talk through this deal. I think Boston likes Paul George clearly more than everybody else views Paul George,
00:49but just what was your biggest takeaway, Coach, especially as you've had a couple of days to sit with the
00:56Jalen Brown-Sixers-Celtics-Paul George swap?
01:02Initially, when Shams reported it, I thought it was NBA Centel.
01:06Like, I was like, someone got his phone. Russian's got him. He's been hacked.
01:11Because forget the fact that Jalen Brown got traded. Jalen Brown got traded to arguably your third-best rival.
01:23If you think about the three biggest rivals for the Celtics, you're thinking, you know, Lakers, Knicks, 76ers.
01:30So, you trade him. So, I'm like, oh, hey, Paul. Like, who's going in a deal? Maxie? Hedge Cole? Like,
01:39what? Paul George?
01:42But, wait, is this the Indiana Pacer Paul George? Or is this the Paul George that just literally was almost
01:51unplayable in the playoffs?
01:55I've tried to think about what this means. And, number one, it's obvious that Jalen Brown is going to be
02:02a huge distraction in that organization.
02:04Because you don't sell him off, especially to a team in your division, unless you really have to get rid
02:11of him.
02:11Number two, does Jalen Brown have the value around the league that maybe he thinks he should have?
02:19Obviously not, because if you've got a better package, Kevin, you're not setting him to somewhere in your division.
02:26And then it's the Paul George thing. I'm trying to be optimistic for Boston.
02:31No team shoots threes more than the Boston Celtics.
02:36So, as a catch-and-shoot, three-point shooter, I'm like, I guess I get it.
02:46It's the fact of them sending him to Philadelphia, the fact that I also feel like, and we'll get to
02:56some point,
02:57the second apron is literally destroying the league.
03:02It's destroying the league because players are getting moved, teams are getting broken up,
03:08and honestly, I think players are not getting the value of money that they probably could,
03:14because everybody's scared of this apron.
03:17I want to say this. I want to see what happens under the next collective bargaining agreement.
03:23Because if I'm the Players Association, the one thing I'm getting rid of is that second apron.
03:28Because the second apron, Kevin, let's be honest, it's not a hard cap, but teams are operating like it is
03:36a hard cap.
03:37Yeah, they certainly are.
03:38And there's so much here for Boston and the decision-making, this idea that PG's deal will expire sooner than
03:46Jalen Brown,
03:47and there's no thought you'll have to extend PG relative to Jalen Brown.
03:50But there's two elements, because there's a world where you can spin this for Boston in terms of PG's fit.
03:58And next year, if you look at how they spent the regular season, basically Tatum will be Jalen Brown,
04:03and then PG will be this upgrade, and it'll work out in the regular season.
04:08But this is very simple.
04:11If this was Jalen Brown's trade value, then go land Giannis.
04:21That is, you cannot defend being that close to landing Giannis, not landing Giannis, seemingly by your own doing.
04:32They didn't strike out, it seems like they stepped away from the plate, and then proceed to make this deal.
04:41Okay, that's one.
04:43The other piece is, Paul George, over the last five years on average, placed 20 less games per season than
04:52Jalen Brown.
04:53Jason Tatum, in the final game of the Celtics season, was unavailable.
04:58I am not comfortable with Joe Mazzula running Jason Tatum out there for 39 minutes a night, workhorse style,
05:10asking him to get them back to 55 wins.
05:14Just like I wasn't comfortable with Jason Tatum coming back from injury in the way that Boston did the whole
05:21thing,
05:21and guess who couldn't finish the year available and led to this whole catastrophe?
05:25And I'm not saying that was Tatum's fault, but they, so, this is to me where, at times, Boston, they
05:33want their cake and they eat it too, right?
05:36Like, guys, the Giannis deal was there, you messed it up.
05:39And then you made a move here that was, your evaluation of Paul George is pretty much the only way
05:50you can justify it,
05:51but still, people are in an attempt to defend you thinking, oh, don't worry, they're going to reroute PG.
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