Bill Simmons: "What's the price for this guy? I mean, you have the the ongoing Simmons experiment, the Kyrie piece, the trade request, the take-backsies, like, this is not a guy who has been in a stable situation. And he's still going out there and making you go 'Wow, he just did the drop-50-points-no-sweat thing.' He's 34 and will be making the a max when he's 37, but we are having a who-cares-about-the-future moment in the NBA. And who knows, he might even still be MVP-level then"
Ryen Russillo: "We were talking before about how the Celtics were real close this summer to moving Jaylen Brown. The Celtics sit second in the East while the KD-Kyrie Nets are 13th."
BS: "That package, the Celtics thing is that they just lost Jaylen until close to the All-Star break. I've said before on this pod that I just want the 2 J's in my life for the next 10 years. They're still winning games without Brown in the lineup. Do you mess with the chemistry? It's not like a Ewing Theory situation where they've been better without Jaylen, they were good with him and good without him because of their depth. If the Nets want all of that and a ton of picks, I'm not sure that I go for that."
RR: "Like, is this a situation where you can say, 'Well, you just got your second trade request of the year from your star, where's your leverage Sean Marks?' That summer trade request thing wasn't just a fluke. KD isn't happy here, the Nets have one win all season over a .500-plus team. One win!"
BS: "I think no one's talking about the leverage piece. That part makes it interesting. What's the best package you think Marks has heard since this was reported? Desmond Bane and two firsts?"
RR: "I mean, I love Bane this season."
BS: "Me too, he just does things. The analytics are really strong on him. But KD, who's in for sure? Phoenix needs him, they're barely staying out of the play-in. New Orleans *is* in the play-in and could put together a Godfather offer. Memphis could move up their timeline. Do the Raptors push in their chips again? I don't know."
RR: "I was talking with a front office guy, and he's hearing the Nets might hold onto him. He's got a four year deal. But if he doesn't want to play, like, what are we doing here."
BS: "And what are they gonna do with Kyrie if they move KD? A guy who can't even sell shoes anymore? When you're losing endorsements, you're out there. Let's take a break, then we're talking the Red Sox seeing Aaron Judge for the next seven years."