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Sports Illustrated NBA Insider Chris Mannix joined the show to discuss the Jaylen Brown/Jayson Tatum drama, Brown’s beef with the C’s, potential trade targets, how bad off he thinks the Celtics are, and more.
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00:00Someone we love having on with us is Chris Mannix from Sports Illustrated,
00:03and he's obviously, he knows all the insides and outs about what's going on with these teams.
00:08He is an insider, his inside gets.
00:10Chris, thanks for coming on, man. We appreciate it.
00:12What's going on, guys?
00:13So, Chris, let me just start off by asking you,
00:16what did you think of Brian Scalabrini's declaration the other day
00:19that Jalen Brown went in and demanded a trade
00:22and had like a list of demands, like all sorts of crazy demands?
00:26What did you think about that?
00:30Didn't expect that from Scalabrini, I guess.
00:33But I guess if you got three hours of radio, as you guys know,
00:37a day you guys talk about something.
00:41Look, and I reported this at the time.
00:45I was told that Jalen Brown did not request a trade.
00:50And in the aftermath of what Scalabrini said,
00:54those same sources came back to me and said that he did not request a trade.
00:58Now, look, they could be lying to me.
01:01Someone could be misleading Scalabrini.
01:03I don't know.
01:04But the people I've talked to that I've known around Brown for a while
01:07said he did not request a trade.
01:11And look, it may be semantic.
01:14He may have made it clear that he wanted a bigger role on a different team,
01:19or the Celtics may have felt the way that Brad Stevens articulated,
01:23that it was just untenable to have two players making that kind of money
01:29who have the usage rate that both those guys have.
01:32So ultimately it may not have mattered.
01:35But as far as I know, he did not specifically request a trade.
01:39Chris, fair or fair or not, it feels like JT's getting a lot of the blame
01:44for maybe the trade of Jalen Brown to the Sixers.
01:48How much or how little impact did Jason Tatum have in the trade of Jalen Brown
01:53to the 76ers?
01:55Well, I don't think he walked into Brad Stevens' office and said,
02:00this is over.
02:01I don't believe that.
02:03That's just not who Jason Tatum is.
02:06He has not been one to meddle in personnel affairs at any point in time.
02:11Even as he was kind of this ascendant star, he's kind of always been
02:15a go-with-the-flow type of guy.
02:17I know he has done in the past.
02:19I can't speak to recent history.
02:21But in the past, when these Jalen Brown rumors have come up,
02:25he has gone to people in the organization and said,
02:27hey, we're better with Jalen Brown.
02:29He hasn't been as public with those kind of positions.
02:33And he's told me this on the record in the past that he wished he was more
02:38public at the time, but he has gone behind the scenes to team personnel,
02:43Brad Stevens and others, and said, we're a better team with Jalen Brown.
02:47Now, all that being said, look, I think Jalen Brown has a legit beef
02:52with the Celtics in that it seems like every single year since he was drafted,
02:56they've either been trying to trade him or discussing a trade for him.
03:01No matter how well he played, no matter how much team success they had,
03:04the Celtics were talking about trading Jalen Brown for Kawhi Leonard,
03:08for Anthony Davis, for Kevin Durant.
03:10You guys know the list.
03:11And they finally pulled the trigger on it in a very public
03:15and kind of embarrassing way for Jalen Brown.
03:18What I wonder is if Jalen believes, and this is something I've talked to people about,
03:25does Jalen believe that even if Tatum didn't want this to happen,
03:30could he have stood in front of it the way that other superstars in basketball
03:35and in other sports have stood in front of trades?
03:38Jason Tatum is the face of the franchise.
03:41He is an in-his-prime MVP candidate superstar in this league.
03:46Those players, their voice matters.
03:48Could Jason Tatum have stopped this from happening
03:51if he went to the front office and said, this isn't happening?
03:55If you want me to stay with this team long-term,
03:57you keep Jalen Brown over the long-term.
03:59I think that's maybe something on the mind of Jalen Brown
04:03as this all plays out, that maybe Jason didn't want this to happen,
04:06but he certainly didn't do anything to stop it from happening.
04:09What did you make of the rep telling ESPN
04:11that Brown's only request was to be treated equally?
04:14What would that have mean?
04:17I mean, isn't he treated equally?
04:19Like, he was the highest-paid player in NBA history
04:22right before Jason Tatum became the highest-paid player in NBA history,
04:25which is right before, like, Nikola Jokic
04:28becomes the highest-paid player in NBA history.
04:29Like, this, I don't know what different treatment
04:33he would have wanted.
04:36Like, if he's talking about, like, from a basketball perspective,
04:41you know, Jalen Brown's a great player,
04:42but in the fourth quarter of games,
04:45I think nine people out of ten in the NBA
04:47want the ball in Jason Tatum's hands.
04:48Like, that's just the way it goes.
04:50He's the guy.
04:52So, I don't know what, I don't know what that means.
04:55Like, they financially compensated him.
04:58He was all-NBA, second team.
05:00He was sixth in MVP voting last year.
05:03I mean, he was the face of the franchise last season.
05:05I'm not exactly sure what more they would be looking for,
05:10given how the Celtics have, you know,
05:12with their actions, behaved towards Jalen Brown.
05:14So, what do you think of these two teams?
05:17Now that, I mean, you've only had, like, several games,
05:20but you've had a glimpse of what the Celtics
05:22without Jalen Brown looks like
05:24and a glimpse of what this new Sixers team looks like.
05:26What's your opinion on the ceiling for both of these teams?
05:30I think the Sixers have a championship ceiling.
05:32I do.
05:34They've started better than I thought they would.
05:36I thought the first couple of weeks
05:37and couple of months, even, would be a struggle
05:39as they tried to incorporate kind of two new alphas.
05:42I wondered, you know, I wrote this,
05:44that Nick Nurse might be, you know, the first coach fired.
05:46You know, with, you know, two guys
05:49that have no history with them coming in.
05:50You've got Jason Kidd potentially out there
05:52as a replacement coach.
05:54But it's been going great for the Sixers up until this point.
05:59Like, they're not shooting the three all that well.
06:01They still have some lapses offensively.
06:04I think they're in the bottom 10 in the league right now
06:06in offensive rating.
06:08But it's been pretty good for them,
06:10and I think they're only going to get better as a team.
06:13The Celtics, I think they're in some trouble.
06:16I do.
06:17I think offensively, there's just not enough shot creation.
06:22Like, Paul George is capable of going off
06:23like we saw him go off in the opener,
06:25but he's a jump shooter now.
06:27Good defender, good jump shooter, can make an open shot,
06:30but he's not a shot creator.
06:32Derek White's not a shot creator.
06:34Shireman Ugo, not shot creators.
06:36Jason Tatum and Peyton Pritchard
06:38are the two most prolific shot creators that they have.
06:42And when, like, against the Nets,
06:43when Pritchard doesn't have a great night,
06:45like, you're now putting all the emphasis on Tatum.
06:48Like, say what you want about Jalen Brown,
06:49the analytics, the inefficiency, all that crap.
06:53He can get you a bucket in the half court.
06:55Like, you need a bucket when the shot clock's breaking down,
06:58he'll make a mid-range jumper for you.
07:00They don't have that like they need to succeed
07:04at the highest level.
07:05So they're still a playoff team.
07:06They're still a top four, top five team
07:08in the Eastern Conference.
07:09But when you get to the playoffs,
07:13you know, you're going to need Jason Tatum
07:14to be the best player in each series
07:17that you're playing in by a lot,
07:19I think, for them to advance.
07:20Hey, Chris, I'm curious what you think
07:21of Mitchell Robinson's role so far.
07:25It's incredible.
07:26You know, he's the prize kind of free agent signing
07:28this year.
07:30The Celtics are worse in rebounding
07:32on both ends of the court
07:33when he's out there on the court.
07:35Can you explain that
07:36and just what you thought of that signing
07:38Mitchell Robinson?
07:40Too small a sample size for me
07:42to worry about it right now.
07:44Like, Mitchell Robinson is
07:45your perfect 20-minute-per-game guy.
07:49Probably not going to play
07:50in every back-to-back,
07:51not every three game and four nights
07:52because his body's been a little brittle.
07:54But he's a rebounder.
07:56And he's a shot blocker.
07:57And he's been that every game
07:59he played in with the Knicks
08:00over the last six, seven years.
08:02I think he's going to be fine.
08:03You know, he's a Joe Missoula type of guy.
08:06Like, that's...
08:07Joe's going to love
08:08every minute he's out there
08:09because he's a presence
08:11on the defensive end.
08:12And as the season goes on,
08:14he's going to gobble up rebounds.
08:15And you're seeing, like,
08:17the Knicks badly miss Mitchell Robinson.
08:19Like, they're not getting any good minutes
08:20out of their backup centers right now.
08:21They're going with Drummond.
08:23They're going with, like,
08:23James Wiseman is getting minutes now
08:25in New York.
08:26Like, they really miss Mitchell Robinson.
08:28He's a good locker room guy.
08:30People like him.
08:31I thought that was an excellent signing.
08:32I do, and I still think that.
08:34Regardless of what the numbers show right now,
08:36I think they'll level off
08:38and they'll be a much better
08:40rebounding team when he's out there
08:41than when he's not.
08:42If you're right, Chris,
08:43and the team realizes, you know,
08:45they're in some trouble, you know,
08:46in terms of the playoffs
08:47and championship caliber stuff,
08:50what are the chances
08:51they would be aggressive
08:52at the trade deadline?
08:53Any big fish out there
08:54they might think about?
08:56Well, you know,
08:57I think they will be active.
08:59And I mean that, you know,
09:00Brad Stevens made the point
09:01at his press conference in July,
09:03like, we've got these picks.
09:04Like, these are assets to use.
09:06And we know Paul George,
09:08you know, half the season through,
09:09all of a sudden he's a year and a half
09:10left on his contract.
09:12He's an expiring contract.
09:13Like, if you can get
09:14a player or players
09:16that makes you a more
09:17formidable playoff team,
09:19that's something you've got to explore.
09:21Now, I don't know,
09:22I can't point to one or two guys
09:24as a difference maker right now
09:25because it's too early.
09:26Like, 26 teams in the league
09:28fancy themselves
09:29playoff contenders.
09:30Probably 20 teams
09:31think they can win
09:32a first-round series.
09:33It's the way the parity
09:34has gone in the NBA.
09:36But, like, you look at the Pelicans
09:37and you say, like,
09:38can we get our hands
09:39on a guy like Trey Murphy
09:40who's a 3-and-D type of guy?
09:42Herb Jones,
09:43who, in and out of that rotation,
09:45he's a guy that I might want
09:46in a Celtics uniform.
09:47I don't know if those guys
09:48are certainly not needle movers
09:50offensively or shock creators
09:52that I was talking about before,
09:53but I think that's what
09:54they're going to be on the lookout for.
09:55You know, somebody that can
09:56create his own shot
09:57in the half-court
09:58because in the playoffs,
10:00you guys know,
10:00like, these games,
10:01they slow down to a crawl
10:03and you need guys
10:05that can get you a bucket
10:06in the half-court.
10:06All right, so, Chris Mannix,
10:08what is going on
10:09with Miami right now?
10:10It's like, I'm looking at,
10:11like, Giannis' number.
10:12Obviously, they haven't won
10:13a game yet,
10:14but I'm looking at...
10:14They only won last night.
10:15Sorry, they won the first one.
10:16That's right.
10:16They won the first one last night,
10:17but it's kind of wild
10:18because Giannis is averaging,
10:19like, you know, 27 points
10:21and 11 rebounds,
10:22but he's, like, at the bottom
10:24of the plus-minus in the league.
10:26Like, I guess he's, like,
10:27a minus 61 through five games.
10:29He's about as bad as he can be.
10:32What's going on down there in Miami
10:34and why isn't it working?
10:36I mean, I think I'm right
10:38about, like, very little,
10:39but I said all along
10:41this was not going to work.
10:42Like, this roster,
10:44it doesn't make any sense.
10:46Like, they gave up everything
10:49to get Giannis,
10:50which I guess, like,
10:51if you're Pat Riley
10:52and you're 80-something years old,
10:54you're not looking to do,
10:55like, a lengthy rebuild.
10:56Like, you're taking a big swing.
10:57Like, you're swinging.
10:58I get that.
10:59They're Miami.
10:59They always swing for the fences.
11:01They never try to lose.
11:03And Giannis is still a great player.
11:04We're seeing that.
11:04He is a dominant force
11:06when he's out there.
11:07But to say they're going up
11:09against the grain
11:10is an understatement.
11:11Like, they...
11:13In the NBA,
11:14you generally want to have
11:16a three-point shooter
11:18as either your four or your five.
11:19They don't have that.
11:20Giannis, you know,
11:21you look at his numbers,
11:22like, you know,
11:23he's actually shot less threes
11:25as his career has gone on.
11:26You almost never see that.
11:27Bam Adebayo has looked lost.
11:29I mean, I didn't see all
11:29of last night's game,
11:31but he has looked lost
11:32in that offense this season.
11:34Davion Mitchell is a good defender,
11:36but he's not, to me,
11:37a starting-level point guard.
11:38Klay Thompson is more of a bench guy
11:39at this point.
11:41On top of that,
11:43they're playing a style
11:44that doesn't make any sense.
11:45Like, if you're Miami,
11:47if you're Miami
11:50any team with Wembe on it
11:52is the best defensive frontcourt
11:53in the league,
11:54but, like,
11:54you have an elite
11:55defensive frontcourt.
11:56Bam is an elite defender.
11:58Giannis is an elite defender.
11:59Davion Mitchell is an elite defender.
12:01Wiggins has proven
12:01he's a good defender.
12:03Like, I thought Miami
12:04would come to this season
12:05and slow this game down
12:07to a crawl.
12:07Like, you want to win games
12:09in the 90s,
12:09you know,
12:09throw back the Alonzo
12:10morning era.
12:11Like, you want to
12:12grind games down.
12:13Instead,
12:14they're like top ten
12:15in pace.
12:16Like, they're playing
12:17a high-possession game.
12:18I don't understand it at all.
12:21They don't have the personnel,
12:22to me,
12:23to be a successful team
12:25playing high-possession basketball.
12:27I would slow these games down
12:29to an absolute crawl
12:30and slug it out
12:32every single night
12:33and hope that Giannis
12:34can get us enough points
12:35in half-court offense
12:36to win some of these games.
12:37Because I don't get it.
12:39I don't think it's going
12:39to measurably improve
12:41over the course of the season.
12:42He would have fit
12:43in Missoula's system, baby.
12:45That old Giannis,
12:46that Trey would have gone through.
12:47Don't mock that.
12:48Again, guys,
12:49again, a shot creator.
12:50Like, Giannis is a shot creator.
12:51We've seen that in Miami.
12:53Like, it's kind of a
12:55nebulous phrase in a way.
12:56But, like, you know,
12:57you need guys
12:57that can just get the ball
12:58and go in the half-court.
13:00Giannis is doing that
13:01in Miami.
13:01He has been outstanding
13:02in Miami.
13:03Yeah, it's great.
13:04It's amazing, like,
13:05how well individually
13:05he's been playing
13:06with that team
13:06just until last night.
13:07They just couldn't win
13:08and his plus-minus is,
13:09honestly, it's like,
13:10you're the bottom
13:11of the league right now.
13:12All right, well,
13:13I would say one more thing.
13:14I would say one more thing.
13:15Like, in the,
13:16like, Clay Thompson's
13:18still a good player
13:18and I think he could be
13:19a good sixth man
13:20for a lot of years
13:21in the NBA.
13:22But in the history
13:23of, like,
13:25getting guys on contracts,
13:26like, I can't believe
13:27I got this guy for X
13:28when he was making Y.
13:29I would say, like,
13:310.5% of those guys
13:33tend to, like,
13:34live up to the expectations.
13:35Like, whenever you get a guy
13:36for a cheap contract
13:38at any sport,
13:39they never,
13:40by midseason,
13:41like, oh, yeah.
13:42That's why.
13:43That's why I got it.
13:43That's why he was available
13:45for that money.
13:45Listen, Chris,
13:46Shaq on the Celtics
13:47was amazing
13:48for the month and a half
13:49that he played
13:49until he got injured.
13:51It was worth every penny
13:53of the, what,
13:54like a million bucks
13:54I think they paid him.
13:55All right, well,
13:55Chris Mannix,
13:56great stuff.
13:56Love having you on.
13:57Thanks for coming on with me.
13:58We appreciate it.
13:59You got it, guys.
13:59Thanks for coming on with me.
14:00Thanks for coming on with me.
14:00Thanks for coming on with me.