Welcome to basketball Home.

The entire basketball universe just feels like it's vibrating right now.

It really does.

You've got the inaugural NBA Cup drama hitting its peak.

The trade market is I mean, it's hotter than I've seen it in years.

And that's before we even get to the college game where you have these massive upsets and potential draft breakouts happening.

What feels like every single night.

It feels like more than just a normal December tune up period.

Oh absolutely, this moment feels critical, and I think it really comes down to two things, desperation and asset management.

You're seeing teams just pushing every single chip to.

The middle of the table, and then you have others showing the patients of a dynasty in the making exactly.

It's total split.

And that's our mission for you today.

We're going to cut through all the noise.

We are going to isolate the moments that are truly shaping the season, from.

The future of some of the league's biggest MVP candidates to the young players who are literally rewriting history as we speak.

So let's just jump right in.

Let's start with the seismic situation.

Brewing in Milwaukee.

I mean, the story that could honestly reshape the entire.

League, the future of Giannis and to Kombo.

The Bucks are in what you can only describe as a crisis.

They're struggling, sitting at a deeply disappointing ten fifteen.

And in the East.

Yeah, for a team with their expectations, that's that's a disaster.

And now, to make everything worse, Giannis is sidelined for several weeks with a calf strain.

It's just a toxic combination of poor play and bad luck.

It's the moment of maximum anxiety for that fan base.

And look, the record and the injury, those are just the symptoms.

The underlying illness here is this feeling of organizational instability that's been there since they won the title back in twenty twenty one.

And we're hearing now that Giannis and his agent Alex Ratsis have already started discussions with the Bucks about his future.

There's a real feeling around the league that you know, the writing is on the wall if this slide continues.

And this is where it gets really interesting for every other team, because if Jiannis does decide he wants out, we have a pretty good idea of where he wants to go.

We do.

There have been these long standing reports that his preferred spot would be the New York Knicks.

And we heard about those failed trade talks that went on for weeks back in August between Milwaukee and New York.

And that history is so important because it establishes the Necks as a really motivated, well prepared suitor.

But this is where the Bucks crisis gets even deeper because of the cost of their past ambition.

Explain that Milwaukee has been in this perpetual all end mode for years now to try and keep Giannis happy, you know, to satisfy his desire to compete right now.

But that meant they had to mortgage their.

Future completely and the cost of that ambition in terms of what they had to trade right now is just staggering.

It severely limits their options.

So what can they actually offer, I mean, what does their asset chess look like?

It's basically empty due to the Stapien rule and past deals.

The books only have one a single tradable few your first round pick one, and it's so far out it has to be in either twenty thirty one or twenty thirty two.

On top of that, they have zero second round picks available to trade.

That's that is just stunning.

So what does that mean?

Practically?

It means if Giannis demands a trade, they can't easily build a package of future picks for a star in return.

And on the other hand, if they want to make a big move now to try and fix the roster, they are terrified of giving up that one last valuable.

Pick, that one life raft is.

They're only one.

They already spent so much this past summer trying to keep him happy.

You know, they wave Damian Lillard, they signed Miles Turner to that huge one hundred and eight million dollar contract, all to put pieces around Giannis.

If that doesn't work, they have no easy way out.

It's the ultimate mind.

They're just paying the price for past decisions.

And yet, with all this noise, Giannis is apparently trying to rally the guys.

Yeah, and you have to admire his leadership there.

We've heard he met with his teammates recently to stress the importance of focusing on basketball and not let all the distractions get in the way.

But does that team meeting even matter if the problem is just fundamental like a lack of depth or the fact that your star player is hurt.

Well, it matters for morale, for focus, but you're right, it doesn't solve the structural issue.

He's telling them to control what they can control.

And the pressure is only going to get worse.

Oh way worse.

The trade restrictions on players sign this summer left on December fifteenth.

If the Bucks keep losing, you can bet the conversations about a Gianna's trade are going to escalate fast.

It's a five alarm fire absolutely.

Speaking of escalating trade talks, let's pivot to the West, specifically to Dallas, where the Anthony Davis market is suddenly heating up after they've fired their GM Nico Harrison.

Yeah, the Mavericks are facing a huge decision with Davis.

He's thirty two, he's on a massive contract, and he's already missed fifteen games this season with another calf strain.

So when Harrison got fired, the trade speculation just took off immediately.

Yeah, and his agent, which Paul jumped right in.

He met with the interim GMS Michael Finley and matt Riccardi, basically demanding clarity.

He asked the big question, right trade him or extend him?

Biggest question in sports, and the MAVs front office, which is kind of in its own state of confusion, just chose to keep their options open.

They're going to wait and see.

And Davis playing well since he came back, probably helps him.

It helps his trade value for sure, it had dipped earlier in the year.

So given the mess in Dallas, which teams are lining up to make a play for him, I'm hearing its three teams in the East.

The East is wide open, which makes a guy like ad so valuable.

First up, you have the surprise of the year, the Detroit Pistons.

First place in the East at nineteen to five.

Nobody saw that coming.

Nobody, and they see Davis as the guy who could push them from a fun story into a real legitimate title threat.

So what would a Piston's package even look like?

How do they do it without gutting that young core they've built.

That's the beauty of their position.

They could get him without giving up a Caid Cunningham or a Jalen Duran.

Yeah, a package around Tobias Harris, Isaiah Stewart, Marcus Sasser plus a protected first that gets it done financially and on the court.

It's a great fit.

Davis wouldn't have to play center with Duraan there, and Kaid would just open up everything for him.

But the risk is huge, isn't it.

He's thirty two, injury prone.

You're tying your franchise to an aging star.

It just flies in the face of everything Detroit has been building.

That is the exact tension.

It's that classic battle, instant gratification versus long term sustainable building.

Okay, who's next?

The Atlanta Hawks the Hawks.

At fourteen eleven.

If they get involved, the trade most likely involves Kristaps porzing Is going back to Dallas.

That makes sense, especially with how well Onyeka o Congo was playing.

They just don't need Porzingis in that front court anymore.

It's a much cleaner star for STARSWAP.

And the third team, the Toronto Raptors.

The Raptors are another surprise, setting fifteen ten, fourth in the East.

They have some of those inflated contracts that could use to match salary.

A deal would probably start with Quickly or Barrett plus jacopoultal on draft picks, but that.

Feels really risky for a team that wasn't even supposed to be here yet.

It's incredibly risky.

You're buying into what might be fool's gold success and taking a massive swing on a star with a lot of red.

Flags, and that whole scenario sacrificing your future for right now.

It's like the ultimate lesson in modern NBA history.

It really makes you stop and think about the dangers of going all in.

This is the central tragedy of the league.

Really, gms and owners, they love that phrase all in.

It sounds decisive, it sells tickets, but history just screams caution.

We are seeing a pattern of just catastrophic failures.

So let's run through them.

Let's start with the classic cautionary tale, the twenty thirteen Brooklyn Nets.

The asset failure there was monumental, but the process failure was even worse.

They traded for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, these aging superstars.

Seen as this ambitious move at the time, and they won one single playoff series before both guys were gone and the picks they sent to Boston they turned into Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown.

The team that gave up the stars got a championship Corps in return.

It's the gold standard for mismanagement, and yet nobody seemed to learn.

Look at the Clippers in twenty nineteen, paying that historic price for Paul George.

They had to get him to convince Kabita Leonard to sign, so they gave up three of their own firsts, two more from Miami, two pickswaps, and a budding superstar named Shi Gilgess Alexander Sga.

And that whole era was just marred by injuries and drama.

And where's Sga Now?

He's an MVP who led OKC to a title.

The Clippers paid the price for the exact opposite.

Result, and then the Nuts did it again in twenty twenty one with James Harden.

I mean, that was just asset suicide for their own first for swaps, young players, all for that ill fated Big Three.

They got to Game seven of the Semis and that was it.

That was it.

And then Harden forced his way out, and then Philly traded for him.

He gave up two firsts and Ben Simmons, only for Harden to force his way out of there too.

He shows that trading for a quick fix often brings more chaos than it solves.

And maybe the most spectacular recent failure is the Phoenix Suns oh.

Man in twenty twenty three.

They trade four firsts swaps two starters for Kevin Durant.

Then a few months later they doubled down spend the rest of their draft capital on Bradley Beal.

That Big Three experiment.

It lasted sixteen months, one playoff series win before they just admitted defeat, traded Durant and waved Beal.

It's the definition of a high risk, low reward gamble fueled by pure impatience.

But there have been successes.

There have been two clear all in moments that worked, and that's what keeps owners chasing this.

You have to mention them because they're the fuel for the fire.

The Lakers twenty nineteen deal for Anthony Davis, it was historically steep, but it got them a championship in twenty twenty and.

They had Lebron which helps a lot.

And the other clear win was the Bucks twenty twenty deal for jew Holiday paid off immediately, got Janis to sign his extension, and delivered the twenty twenty one title.

So the lesson seems to be that those moves only work when you already have a stable foundation and you just need that one final piece exactly.

But desperation and arrogance they often trump logic, especially now when draft picks are more valuable than ever and.

Teams are trying to gauge their own ambition by watching how these NBA Cup quarterfinals played out.

Do these results make teams more or less likely to go all in?

That's the key question, right.

Let's shift our focus there, starting with the Orlando Magics huge win over the Miami Heat.

Magic win one seventeen, one oh eight.

They're heading to the semifinals in Vegas, and the.

Star of that show was Desmond Bane.

He was absolutely incredible, just validating the Magic's decision to trust their own guys.

He had thirty seven points, six rebounds, five.

Assists, and this wasn't a fluke, not at all.

It was his third thirty seven point game in his last six.

It just proves what his teammate Palo Banchero said, He's more than just a shooter.

He's a real scorer who can create his own shot.

And the Magic did this without Franz Wagner, who's out for a while with that high ankle sprain.

Wendell Carter Junior really stepped up.

He did fourteen and ten.

Their resilience is a huge sign.

If you're Orlando's front office, a win like that tells you that you don't need to chase Anthony Davis.

You need to keep developing what you have.

On the other side, the Heat slump gets worse.

That's four straight losses.

Now, what's the problem there.

It's tactical.

The Heat are the fastest team in the league and opponents have figured it out.

They're intentionally slowing the game down, playing zone and just clogging.

The paint and it's completely killing their offense totally.

It forces them to rely on outside shooting and they just can't hit anything.

They shot eight of thirty three from three in that game, only two makes after halftime.

That is a major red flag for the playoff.

They're being tactically exposed.

Absolutely.

If a team can dictate the pace against you like that, you're looking at an early exit.

Meanwhile, the Knicks also punched their ticket to Vegas, beating the Toronto Raptors one seventeen one oh one.

So now the Knicks will face the Magic in the Semis and Jalen Brunson just dominated thirty five points, led five nick starters and double figures.

Even with Karl Anthony Town's questionable they just look solid.

For the Raptors, it's a frustrating end.

They were banged up with r J.

Barrett and Emmanuel quickly both.

Out Yeah, and their struggles really put a spotlight on Jacob Polt and his lack of offensive rhythm.

And coach Darkar Rajakovic had some interesting things to say about that.

He did, and it was fascinating.

He basically said, it's not a question of touching the ball more.

He said pol needs get his rhythm back by doing the fundamental stuff, rebounding better, cutting down on turnovers.

So he's not just saying get me more shots, No, he's saying, you earn more touches by being more efficient with the ones you already get.

And for a team like Toronto that needs an easy scoring option, they need his interior presence.

And then there's the team that's just perpetually stuck, the Chicago Bulls.

It really does feel like basketball groundhog Day with them.

That's the perfect way to put it.

They continue to start so slowly, burying themselves in the first quarter.

Every single game.

We just saw it again against the Warriors, and that was without Steph and Draymond.

They give up thirty eight points in the first out, rebounded at eleven to six.

Let the Warriors shoot eight for thirteen from three.

They were just lost from the opening tip.

So what is their identity or do they even have one.

They don't have an offensive identity.

It's just hero ball.

And the deeper problem is structural.

They have eight players who could be free agents at the end of the year.

Copy White said, the team needs to stick together, but how can they when the front office has given them no reason to believe this group will be together past February.

You hit the nail on the head.

It's tough to preach that when everyone's playing for their next contract.

It's just a state of purgatory.

Moving west, now, let's talk about a team that has a very clear identity and maybe the most dominant player in the league right now.

Shaq Gelgis Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

They are on an absolutely historic pace.

They're challenging the Warriors all time win record.

That's incredible for such a young team.

It is projections have their best case scenario at seventy seven wins and there are odds listed that they'll even get to seventy.

And the engine for all of it is SGA's insane consistency.

His streak of twenty plus point games is now at ninety five, ninety five consecutive games.

That's I mean, that's Wilt Chamberlain territory.

It is Will territory.

He's only trailing Wilt's record of one hundred and twenty six from the early sixties.

He has basically eliminated the idea.

Of an off night and the individual awards just keep calming.

He was just named Canadian Athlete of the Year for the second time.

This is after a season where he was League MVP and Finals MVP.

And get this, He's only the fourth player in NBA history, with Kareem, Michael Jordan and Shactus to win the scoring title, MVP, A Championship and Finals MVP own the same season.

When you put his name next to those three, that's the level of dominance we're talking about.

He's a generational talent.

He is.

And speaking of players making a leap, we have to talk about Denny of d in Portland.

His breakout season is one of the biggest surprises in the league.

In his sixth year, he's just exploded, averaging career highs what twenty five point eight points and six point three assists.

Yeah, and he's on track for career bests and three point and free throw percentage too.

But it's the company he's keeping statistically that's really jaw dropping.

Go on.

He is one of only four players in the entire NBA averaging over twenty five points, seven rebounds and six assists.

The other three Luka Dancic, Tikola Jokic, and Giannis Antitukempo.

That's the statistical company of primary playmakers.

And he's getting to the line too.

He's fourth in the league in free throw attempts per game.

It shows his game is all about aggressive, physical drives.

Now, so what's behind this?

Is it just that he's getting more chances on a bad team.

It's more than just usage.

It's refinement.

He's relentless, but he's also unselfish.

The most fascinating thing is that his scoring is actually serving his playmaking.

He's not getting tunnel vision, he's forcing defenses to react to him, and then he's finding the open man.

Stick with the West, let's talk about that.

Rich Paul Media Blitz he had some pretty shocking things to say about the Lakers.

Yeah, Rich Paul made his podcast debut and he did not hold back.

He confirmed Lebron as finishing the season with the Lakers, so no trade, But then he followed that up with a really critical analysis of their roster.

And his take was brutal.

He basically questioned their entire ceiling as a team.

He said he personally does not believe the Lakers are good enough to be contenders right now.

He doesn't think they can make the Western Conference finals.

And what was his reasoning.

He thinks their slow style of play is just going to be easily defended in the playoffs.

He believes they don't have enough shooting or secondary creation and that they'll just stall out against the league defenses.

For an agent of Lebron's stature to say that publicly about his client's team, that is stunning.

It speaks to a deep frustration.

And on a separate note, we have to acknowledge the end of Lebron's historic streak two and ninety seven consecutive games with ten or more points.

That streak ended this month just an incredible testament to his consistency.

On the injury front.

Some good news for them, Marcus Smart was cleared to practice.

Yeah, he's hoping to play in the upcoming Cup game.

A healthy Smart would be a huge defensive moves for them.

And finally, in the West, this bizarre situation with Chris Paul and the Clippers.

A stunning removal is what it was called.

After a three hour late night conversation with an executive, he was off the roster.

Reports are that his demanding leadership style was clashing with coach tylu.

And Paul says he's at peace with everything.

That's what he's saying.

But the interesting part is the Knick's reaction.

They've been a target for him for years, but they seem to be resisting the urge to trade for him.

Which is a surprisingly patient move for them.

It is.

The word is they like their current up tempo style and Paul's deliberate pace might disrupt that.

Yeah, the smart play here is to wait, don't trade anything of value, just see if he clears.

Waivers calculated move.

They're avoiding that all in trap we were just talking about.

Yeah, and that brings us perfectly to the college game, where we're shifting from the veterans to the future stars who were just taking over.

Let's start with that juggernaut number two, Michigan.

Michigan is an unstoppable train right now.

They're nine to zero after just overwhelming Villanova eighty nine to sixty one.

They didn't just win, they suffocated them, snapped Villanova's seven game win streak.

It was a total defensive masterclass.

They held Villanova to season lows and points in shooting percentage, and the key was that front court duo of Ademara and Moriz Johnson Junior just protecting the paint.

And they had that one stretch where Villanova just couldn't score.

For the final six minutes and thirty two seconds of the first half, Villanova was held scoreless.

Michigan went into the half up fifty three to twenty three.

That kind of defensive pressure just breaks at team's.

Will, and the offense was all started by the freshman point guard Belliott could do.

Cadeaux was sensational eighteen points, four assists.

He just controlled the pace from the very beginning.

He was responsible for seventeen of Michigan's first twenty four points.

He sets the tone for that entire team now Let's.

Switch to another incredible performance, the record breaking comeback by number ten BYU, led by the eighteen year old phenom Ajdbansa.

This was his statement game BYU was down twenty two points to Clemson in the second half.

That's a guaranteed loss.

Usually, but he powered them to a sixty seven to sixty four win at the Buzzer, the biggest second half comeback in their history.

He completely put the team on his back.

He scored twenty two of his twenty eight points in that second half.

He was either scoring or assisting on thirty four BYU's final forty five points.

He's just decided they weren't going to lose.

And there was that crucial sequence at the end that really showed his leadership.

Oh yeah, four possessions left, they're down three.

That bands just took over a drive and dish for a dunk, a pick and roll for a lob, then another drive that led to the game winning three pointer for Robert Wright.

Third.

It showed his scoring creates his playmaking.

It's why his coach trusts him so much in the clutch.

So with all this hype, you have to ask, what are the question marks for NBA scouts.

You have to balance the excitement, of course, and.

He does have some.

He can be a little too reliant on one on one play.

He struggled a bit on catch and shoot jumpers, which is a concern for playing off the ball.

In the NBA, and his defensive numbers are surprisingly low.

They are.

He's averaging less than one stock that steals and blocks per game against good competition for a guy with his size and athleticism.

Scouts want to see him be more disruptive on that end of the floor.

It's just not generating enough plays with his physical tools.

Okay, let's run through some other big results from the college world.

In the Big Ten, Illinois beat Ohio State eighty eight eighty and Keaton Waggler for Illinois had twenty three points.

That performance has suddenly put him firmly in the NBA draft conversation.

We'll get to him in a second.

And we saw some huge offensive explosions.

De Paul beat Morgan State ninety two to forty nine, forcing twenty turnovers.

Kentucky routed NC Central, but the real story was the three point shooting right.

Chattanooga hit twenty one threes in a win.

Lamar Wilkerson hit an Indiana record ten three pointers in a rout of Penn State.

Just unbelievable shooting displays.

So let's look even further into the future.

Let's talk twenty twenty six NBA draft prospects.

Who are the top guys scouts are watching well.

Darren Peterson, a top guard, just came back from an injury.

The key with him is effortless creation.

He just glides to his spots.

His shot making is so fluid, and he's comfortable playing off the ball, which is huge.

And what about the forward Wilson?

I hear he's rising fast.

He is.

He's separating himself because of his insane motor and bounce.

He leads the country with twenty eight dunks in six games.

But beyond the dunks, he's showing flashes of high IQ passing and an expanded shooting range.

His offense is catching up to his already elite defense.

Let's talk first round intrigue.

Any guys projected to fall to contenders like the Bucks.

Dary Scuff Junior is projected to Milwaukee.

The pro comp for him is Stefan Marbury Okay, a creative shot making guard who is physical at the rim.

The early concerns about his size or faith because he just keeps shooting with confidence and making plays.

And there's a big men prospect, Chrisina Junior.

Yeah, projected to the Hornets.

He's six foot eleven athletics, so you see an easy fit.

The concern is he settles for perimeter shots too often, then needs to be more of a defensive playmaker.

And what about the international guys.

Neil Klesef Dallas, a six foot nine zound Ohs forward projected to OKC.

The comp is Hato Tokoglou because of his scoring and playmaking.

The question is whether his one on one game can translate against NBA athleticism.

And you mentioned Keaton Wegler earlier.

A fast riser.

Wegler is suddenly in the one and done conversation.

He was totally off scouts radar.

He's got great size for his position, a smooth stroke, tight handle.

The only real question is his lack of explosion, but he's so shifty he gets to his spots anyway.

Let's wrap things up with some big stories from around the basketball world, starting with a true icon.

Ado Wilson being named Times Athlete of the Year.

It's a massive achievement that just cements her status as one of the best in all of sports.

She said she feels like Thanos after winning so much, which is a perfect way to put it.

And the history she made in twenty twenty five is just it's unparalleled.

She's the first player in WNBA or NBA history to win a Championship, Finals, MVP, League MVP, and Defensive Player of the Year all in the same season.

On top of that her cultural impact with her book and her new Nike sneaker line, She's changing.

The game, switching to a very different kind of story.

The ownership drama with the Phoenix Suns is getting ugly.

It's a complex legal battle.

Minority owners are suing the majority owner, Matt Ishbia, accusing him of financial misconduct, basically using the team as his personal piggybank.

And now they're making a legal move that could actually dilute his majority stake exactly.

It's complicated, but they claim Ishbia failed to fund his part of a two hundred and fifty million dollars capital call, and under the team's agreement, they believe that failure allows them to buy his shares at the price he set.

So what would that mean it could drop his eighty three point two percent steak all the way down to thirty two point seven percent.

If a judge rules in their favor, they could potentially seize majority control of the franchise.

It's a huge power play.

Moving to another serious legal issue, Miami's Terry Ruzier pleaded not guilty to federal charges.

Yeah, he pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.

These charges are tied to an alleged illegal mafia linked gambling ring.

And the specific allegation related to basketball is really serious.

It is prosecutors alleged he provided non public injury information, specifically that he told a co conspirator he would fake an injury during a twenty twenty three Hornets Pelicans game, and he did leave that game early with foot discomfort.

And what's his status with the NBA now?

He was released on a three million dollar bond and the NBA has him on indefinite leave without pay.

Okay, let's talk a couple of interesting roster moves.

First, the Warriors and their new Dutch connection.

Yeah, they waived Alex Toohey to sign Malivi Leons to a two way deal and they're hoping lightning strikes twice.

They had huge success with another Dutch player, Quentin poe Most, who was an older, unheralded prospect who became their starting center.

So what makes Leon so intriguing.

He's six foot nine with a seven foot wingspan, was a two time defensive player of the Year in college, and he shot the ball really well in the G League.

For a team like Golden State that always needs size and defense, he's an exciting project.

And finally, let's end with a small silver lining for the struggling New Orleans Pelicans.

Yeah, three twenty three, they need one, and it's the emergence of their rookie Derek Queen.

He was a controversial pick, but he's showing why they invested in him.

He just had his first triple double thirty three points, ten rebounds, ten assists.

What makes his game so unusual.

He has this unorthodox skill set.

Coaches trust him to handle the ball and run the offense even as a big man.

His teammate Jose Alvarado called him a matchup nightmare because he can beat you from the perimeter or bully you in the post.

He's a foundational piece for them even if the team is struggling.

We have covered a massive amount of ground today, from those franchise altering tras talks around Giannis and ad to break out stars like Desmond Baine and deniov Dija, to the future we're seeing in guys like Dabansa and Cadou.

And what stands out to me, especially when you look at the historical failure rate of those all in trades, is how stability and sustainability are the first things that get sacrificed for a quick win.

We heard Rich Paul question the very foundation of the Lakers even with Lebron.

Which raises a really crucial question for the league right now.

It does in this era of maximum player movement and asset depletion, and with all this evidence that most of these all in gambles just fail, can any NBA franchise truly build a lasting, sustainable championship culture anymore?

Or are we just destined for a league of high risk, fleeting super teams that flame out after a season or two.

Is long term thinking just extinct?

Something for you to think about is that trade deadline gets closer and closer.

We'll catch you next time.