NBA Flashpoints From LeBron To Wembanyama

We run through the NBA’s loudest storylines, from LeBron’s contract uncertainty to Kawhi’s stalled Raptors trade and what each move could do to a player’s legacy. Then we pivot to Wembanyama’s team-first extension, the Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro dust-up, Ja Morant’s image comments, and our early 2026 Rookie of the Year expectations. 
• LeBron James free agency buzz and mid-level pay talk 
• How another LeBron title could shift GOAT debates with Jordan and Kobe 
• Kawhi Leonard trade delay and why the investigation matters 
• Raptors roster fit ideas with Kawhi, Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett, DeMar DeRozan 
• Victor Wembanyama extension details and the $51 million sacrifice angle 
• Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro conflict and what it means for next season 
• Expectations for Bam’s offense next to Giannis and Heat pressure 
• Ja Morant’s image statement and why winning changes narratives 
• 2026 NBA Rookie of the Year race projections and role-based expectations 
• AJ Dybontsa vs n Peterson vs Cam Boozer vs Caleb Wilson debates 
• Darius Acuff Jr. opportunity on a rebuilding Kings situation 
• Keaton Wagler as a long-shot if the Clippers stay competitive 
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Transcript

Welcome And Quick Housekeeping

SPEAKER_00 0:00

What's up everybody? It's your favorite show's favorite show, get a bucket. I'm your host, Trey and as usual. Hope you're all having a wonderful, wonderful day. Today we're going to talk about a couple NBA topics to talk about. But before we do that, please make sure to hit that like and subscribe button. Comment tell anyone who's anyone about the show. Trying to get the ratings up a little bit, you know, just a little bit. And if you wonder where you heard this before, that's because you've been listening with me Monday through Friday at 11 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. So I greatly appreciate your support. Now, we're talking about, like I said, a couple of things. Let's start it off the break. The

LeBron’s Market And Legacy Stakes

SPEAKER_00 0:26

LeBron James sweepstakes. Point in time, he ain't signed nowhere yet. But the craziest thing about that, because I actually did not expect him to sign so soon. You know, he's a diva. He likes to take a sweet time. I get it. You also got to make a pretty big decision, right? The craziest thing about it is he's looking to get like a mid-level pay. Like that's kind of that's very crazy. Off top. I'm not gonna act like I'm the biggest braun fan. He's cool, though. Don't do not get me wrong. Like, if you say he's outside the top 10 all the time, that's a little crazy. But I at least think Buddy deserves more than three meal. Like more than three mil, ladies and gentlemen, but that's all I'm seeing him potentially get offered. So that's again, very crazy. And when we talk about the GOAT discussion, right? Let's say if LeBron does win a championship with whatever team he decides to team up with, how will that affect his legacy? Will he be the finals MVP of that team? When we talk about the GOAT discussion, right? Oh, Jordan's never been the robin to anyone's Batman. So what happens if that happens to LeBron James? That's how he gets his sixth title or fifth fifth title, I'm sorry. I'd be curious about that. And then when we talk about Kobe, are people gonna tie him or put him, surpass him with Braun? Because he has that fifth title. Because some people still don't, ladies and gentlemen. I know a lot of people say, oh, Braun's the GOAT or Braun's number two. No, some people don't have Braun behind or don't have him ahead of Kobe. So again, I'm curious how this move will ultimately affect his legacy for people in these discussions. But again, until we figure out where he goes, I have no clue where he goes. I could tell you where I might want him to go, but when he actually makes that decision, I'll actually tell you all whether or not I liked his decision personally. But again, he ain't gone nowhere, so we'll sit tight.

Kawhi Trade On Hold In Limbo

SPEAKER_00 2:12

The next person we gotta talk about, you could arguably say is like his well, one of his rivals. But Kawhi, this Raptors trade is on hold because they're waiting for the investigation to be resolved. Like, I ain't gonna lie to you, that's kind of annoying. Because again, I was wondering when, no, not when, if his issue had been resolved, if this investigation had been resolved. Imagine if it don't work out, and this trade just goes back and he has to go back to the Clippers. That will be a crap show. I'm telling you that right now. Because I've been imagining Kawhi Leonard, Scotty Barnes, RJ Barrett, those are quality forwards. But DeMar DeRozan just got waived by the Kings, right? Like he's no longer on the Kings. So he could actually go back to the Raptors. Remember, that is his that's his team. Even though Kawhi won the championship, that's his team. Imagine seeing Kawhi, DeRozan, Scotty, and RJ. I think that could look pretty interesting. Scotty's already shown to play power forward. Kawhi's already shown he can play small forward, but they can also interchange if need be. RJ has been able to run a little bit of point, and DeMar DeRozan has shown he can playmake during that MVP season that he had not too, too far ago. All they would need is a big and a point guard to make some things shake, some shooters to put around them, and they may have something. Ladies and gentlemen, I like what the Raptors could be building up. But again, this investigation is holding up some things. So, Kawhi, I'm gonna need you to ship. Yeah, I'm I'm gonna need you to shape up, or else you need to ship out. And it's crazy because you technically not even you, you aren't even on the team yet, champ. Like you it's so frustrating sometimes dealing with Kawhi, I promise you. But that's enough about him, though. We've seen him, you know, have some issues all the way back to the Spurs days.

Wembanyama Takes Less For Winning

SPEAKER_00 4:02

Uh, speaking of Spurs, by the way, uh, Victor Wembenyama got a $252 million extension. I don't think that's surprising. No, that's cool. I think everybody expected to see this from him. But here's what you did not expect. Because in a world where greed is a big thing, Wimby actually showed he's willing to sacrifice for the team. He took less money to build around him. He could have had $303 million, ladies and gentlemen. That's $51 million difference. That he just said, you know what? I'm cool. Y'all find some players to build around us. And that's so decent. But it's not just decent for the organization, it's decent for him because he understands the long game, the legacy aspect. You need good players around you. And what that might mean is you may need to sacrifice a little bit. To be clear, $252 million can get you a bunch of stuff. You can get a lot of stuff with that. Even factoring in taxes and agents and all that stuff. You're looking at a pretty penny. So again, shout out to Victim Women Yama and the Spurs for knowing how to draft the right people. Because again, he's taking less so that way hopefully he can win more. Let me say that again. He's taking less individually so that maybe he can get more and also give more because you have more players around you, the easier the game gets and the easier you can display your talent. So kudos to Victor Women Yama, one of them ones. I'm not gonna lie to you, I'm expecting MVP and depoy from him this season, especially after what he showed us. And if not this season, definitely next. But it's gonna be coming up before long, ladies and gentlemen. So definitely stay tuned because Victor, Victor Women Yama, we may need to go ahead and put him in the top five. We gotta wait and see a little bit more from him personally, but he's right there at top five for me, ladies and gentlemen. But that's enough about Victor Women Yama, because I just wanted to give him kudos as well as the Spurs, and I just

Bam And Herro Drama Gets Real

SPEAKER_00 5:54

did that. Bam Atabayo, right? I talked about Wimby being a good teammate. Bam Atabayo. Well, I guess technically he's still a good teammate. Because he hit Tyler Hero. But Tyler's no longer on his team. That's the crazy part. Now, I was wondering what was said, and I just found out. I don't know if this is true or not, ladies and gentlemen, but apparently, word on the street through the grapevine, Hero said that Bam Atabayo is overrated. Now, if that's true, right, we've seen Jordan Poole get his tail beat by Draymond Green because Jordan Poole probably said something a little bit disrespectful. And it might have had similar sentiments that what Tyler Hero said. Just just just calling Spade a spade. And hear me out, right? When we have athletes chiming the way they do, you know, they're gonna talk, right? But sometimes you're gonna have to back it up. Sometimes you're just gonna have to back it up. There's still grown men, ladies and gentlemen, end of day. So for me, what this says is this Bucks vs. Heat game will be pretty interesting. Like next season, oh, that thing about to be spectacular. One of my boys told me that Tyler Hero is about to drop 40. I don't see I mean he's gonna have the attempts. Especially if wait, is KPJ still there? Is Ryan Rollins still there? I don't know. That could be a little interesting. But ladies and gentlemen, I just wanted to bring this up. One, Bam might be a little bit better than we realized. He might be taking more, not pressure. He might be taking more crap and saying, I don't like this. And next season he's gonna turn it around. Because I'm not gonna lie to you, ladies and gentlemen. I have heard that Bam is average. More so on the offensive end. Defensively, he's been considered elite. But maybe he's taking that offensive and now he'll showcase next season that he's a little bit better than what he's shown offensively, especially having Giannis on the team, too. You kind of have to do that anyways. Because again, he the Heat do have title expectations. At least going to the playoffs second round during their first season. Next season, you got you, you, you got title aspirations, and realistically, you've got title aspirations here too. But ladies and gentlemen, you got to make sure that Bam Adabayo is holding himself accountable offensively. He has good talent. He's a very versatile player, but he has not shown the best of his abilities too. So again, I need him to make sure that he's showcasing his talent across the board. If he can, then he'll be stellar. If not, then other people are gonna continue to make these statements, and I'm gonna be wondering about his confidence. Because if you get, if you let Anti Hero get under your skin, that's a little bit tough. But again, we just gotta wait to see what happens with that, okay?

Ja Morant’s Image Problem Debate

SPEAKER_00 8:35

Now, the next one, Ja Morant, okay, his response went as follows, ladies and gentlemen. Because y'all know how y'all know how I feel about Ja Morant, okay? And I'm not the biggest fan of Jaw as a as an individual. As a talent, he's cool, but his his individual, at least from what he's shown, hasn't been worth it. Now he says this. What would I like to clear up? I think you know the answer to that. My image. That I'm a bad guy. I'm Ja. I've done what I've done in the past, but it's been addressed and handled already. I don't see why years later, that's still the topic when nothing's happened since. If I was that guy, y'all wouldn't be talking to me now. I wouldn't be here. And that's not the case, Ja. I'm just clear this up for you right now, ladies and gentlemen. Ja Morant is not one of them guys. Ja Morant is more like an interesting talent that we've seen. People still like because, again, he's energetic, he's high flying. He, he, he could, he could be box office, okay? But the problem is his mindset. Again, the thing that I read, the thing that stuck out to me the most. I've done what I've done in the past, but it's been addressed and handled already. I don't see why years later, that's still the topic when nothing's happened since. Again, you don't understand why this is still a topic. You literally said it yourself. Nothing's happened since. You haven't been playing basketball. You have not. And if you have, it's not been at an elite level to where we're gonna say, eh, we'll forget it. Like when Kobe got hemmed up in his situation, right? I'm not getting into whether or not he did or did anything. I'm saying there was a situation that occurred and it was very extreme. And what did Kobe do? He dominated on the court. So at least when Buddy was playing, we weren't even talking about it as much. Sure, people were talking about it. People still talk about it to this day. Even after his passing, people still try to bring it up. But you're saying, John Morant, that because you've done what you've done and it was in the past, why are we still talking about it? Well, people talk about our past all the time, ladies and gentlemen. You gotta make sure you realize that. So it's important to know what you do to people early on. It's important to know how you treat people early on because those things eventually come back to you. And especially if you're not dominating, especially if you're not doing anything positive that is outward and is getting a lot of traction. Yeah, people are gonna focus on those negatives. People love to focus more on the negatives than the positives until the positives become so elite that it's hard to usurp them, right? So again, John Moran, I still don't like your mindset, champ. I get you. You want us to stop forgetting that you got into a bunch of theatrics, you got into a bunch of issues and hiccups along the way. You know how you do that? You shut your tail up, get on the basketball court, and dominate. If you don't do that, people are gonna continue to talk about you. I don't I don't know what to tell you, bro. I'm not your biggest fan right now. And I know you really don't care. But here's the thing, you probably should, because that's affecting your brand. That's going to affect your paper. This is arguably going to be the last time that you get a big contract if you continue to not showcase, hey, you're a better talent, you're a more mature individual, you're a better person. Because some of the things you did back then, yeah, people take note of that. And that doesn't happen all the time, to be clear. I'm talking about what you did, not people taking note. So again, John Morant, I'm not really happy about your response. I'm very, yeah, I'm I'm hesitant about how you're gonna actually perform this season. Hopefully you dominate and turn it around. But if you don't, I'm not gonna act like I'm not surprised. Now,

2026 Rookie Of The Year Forecasts

SPEAKER_00 11:59

speaking of surprises, ladies and gentlemen, we're gonna switch this up from John Morant and talk about the NBA 2026 rookie year expectations. Because, you know, I told y'all I don't really care about summer league as much. It's cool, it's entertaining, don't get me wrong. But again, it doesn't really do much for me personally. So, with that being said, these were my expectations coming into the summer league. But again, these are gonna be my same expectations coming into the NBA season. This was like there was nothing that really changed for me because of summer league. AJ DeBonsa, I'm expecting him to be 15 to 20 point per game score and a quality defender. Reason why I say that, he doesn't have to do as much as he had to in the past. Like at BYU, he was the best player. On the Wizards, he's not the best player right now. You have Trey Young, you have Anthony Davis, you have a bevy of other players as well that can get the job done. Not talking about get you to a championship. I'm talking about literally having quality players that can help out in any game. And that's what AJ needs. Early on, too. You already seen how how spectacular he is, whether it was high school, whether it was college, or whether it was summer league. He was pretty good. But I'm expecting the NBA to be a little bit different. I'm expecting a slight dip from what he showed in summer league. But that's not just because of the NBA talent disparity. That's because of his role in the NBA. It's gonna be different, just like for all these rookies, ladies and gentlemen. But again, AJ DeBonsa, 20-point per game score, quality defender. Can he win rookie of the year? Yes, but it's gonna be contingent upon how high the Wizards get, what role he's perceived as having on his team, no lower than third. And if he does that and they get cut and they get pretty far in the playoffs or get a decent seeding in the playoffs, guess what? He can win rookie of the year pretty easily. But he does have some competition. And I'm saying this before Summer League has started. You got players like Darren Peterson who might his mix with Keontae George and Ace Bailey is going to be very interesting. And that causes, that gives me a little cause for pause with the Rookie of the Year race. Now, the Jazz could actually make the playoffs as well, too, believe it or not, ladies and gentlemen. People have not been talking about the Jazz enough. I expect them to at minimum hit the play-in. At minimum. But if they get to the playoffs, and if Darren Peterson's a pretty decent cog in that engine, you could see him get some rookie of the year votes too, as well, ladies and gentlemen. Like he, if he's given 18 to 20 points a game, let's say three to four assists, and some quality defense, limiting those turnovers, giving us some efficiency. I could see him in the rookie of the year race as well, too. I think people are favoring A.J. DeBonsa just because he went number one. But Darren can win the race, too, ladies and gentlemen. He's a good quality talent. So we just got to wait to see how that mixture of Keontae and Ace hits. Plus, you still got Laurie Marking and you still got Jaron Jackson Jr. They're probably going to take some shots up. Luckily, Jaron is more of a defensive player, so he doesn't have to shoot the ball as much. But are they going to give it to a rookie? Are they going to let the rookie run the show, especially when they're trying to see if Keontae George can break out this season before they pay him? That's going to be interesting to note. But again, Darren Peterson has a chance to win rookie of the year, but his situation is a little bit tougher because his comp, yeah, his his co-workers are a little hungrier than what AJ's and them is. Like Trey needs AJ to thrive. Keontae doesn't need Darren to thrive. They're actually low-key fighting for a similar position, to be clear. So I'm going to be curious what happens with that. Cam Boozer, this may be the most reliable top rookie this year's draft has produced. Like he is the safest pick, and I'm expecting at least 15.6 rebounds, four assists, 1.3 steals, 0.6 blocks, decent efficiency. And again, who on the team? There's no John Moran. Like, ladies and gentlemen, this is going to be a pretty decent season for Cam Boozer for sure. But these are my expectations for Cam. I saw what he did at Duke. He's a winner through and through. So if he's able to revitalize this Grizzlies organization and make them a little bit better and inch closer towards that playoff, you got to consider where the Grizzlies are starting from. Like the Wizards and the Jazz are starting at a higher spot than the Grizzlies. And that's going to be a selling point for Cam Boozer this season. So again, it's not just the stats, but it's also the impact too that he provides. And if he's the lead cog for why the Grizzlies are moving up, you got to consider Cam from Cam Boozer for rookie of the year. Similarly with Caleb Wilson or even Darius A. Cub Jr. with Cameron with Caleb Wilson on the Bulls. This is probably the biggest X factor out of the whole group. He's going to have the opportunity to showcase his talent as a star. Right? You got Josh Giddy over there, you got Matas Buzeles over there. You got Norman Powell over there. He's going to be in a similar role that he was at UNC. He could arguably be the best player on the floor. Definitely talent. If we're talking about scoring perspective, I think Norman Powell's better. I think when you're talking about offense, you got Josh Gideon there. You know, he can get about 18 a night, 7-8 assists, 6 rebounds. But if you're talking about putting the ball in the basket, I may put Caleb over him. Definitely eventually. Right now, it's going to be instant to see. In his summer league debut, he got 35 of them things. 35 points. That's pretty spectacular. And again, I told people, I want Caleb on the Bulls organization. Because he has that star type of potential. So why not give him the opportunity to do so? I think that'd be pretty smooth. And we already saw what he did at UNC, and he wants to be great. So let's recap. He came from UNC, he wants to be great, and he's now on the Bulls. Who does that remind you of, ladies and gentlemen? Michael Jeffrey Jordan. I'm not saying he's going to be MJ. I'm saying I like the makeup of Caleb Wilson. Ever since I heard that he wanted to go at Darren Peterson because he didn't, because Darren Peterson didn't give him enough passes during the McDonald's All-American game. Oh, he has a major chip on his shoulder. And that's the reason why he's going at players the way he is. That's the reason why he's treating the game the way he is. I like that. So Caleb Wilson could end up winning Rookie of the Year too. Again, he's going to have the opportunity to do so. He's going to have a bunch of shots to take. He's going to be able to win it with defense as well, too. Playmaking, maybe not as much. But again, you be a quality scorer and a quality defender. And let's say the Bulls go up a little bit and it looks like you were a key reason. Yeah, we can put you in for rookie of the year for sure. Again, same thing with Darius A. Cuff Jr. Now the Kings are like, we're expecting them to still be at the bottom of the barrel, right? Like the bottom of the barrel. But again, Darius A. Cuff Jr. will have ample opportunity to showcase his talent, ladies and gentlemen. Like from the jump. You can already see that from summer league, that's going to be the direction. But they're probably not going to bring back Russell Westbrook. They've already let go of DeMar DeRozan. They've been open about letting go of DeMonte Sabonis. Ladies and gentlemen, if that don't show you there's going to be Darius' team, I don't know what is. And I don't know what's a fair way to assess whether he should be rookie of the year, because we don't expect much out of the Kings. We really don't. So I'm genuinely not expecting the Kings to do anything. If they were to go up, how high do they need to go up for him to win rookie of the year? Because one, his stats need to be there, but also the team's success need to be there as well, too, for rookie of the year. Don't get me wrong, team success doesn't matter as much. Productions gum first. But if we need to differentiate, then team success will matter for sure. So again, ladies and gentlemen, even someone like Keaton Wagler, he didn't have the best first game in summer league, came out, had a better game, what, 23 points, 24 points, something like that, four assists. If that translates to the Clippers, well, you do have an interesting team. You have a young team. I think they're they're a little bit below the Jazz, right, in terms of expectations upcoming for this upcoming season. But imagine if the Clippers remain in the playoff race and Keaton actually hooping. Again, all these teams, AJ's supposed to be in the playoffs. D Darren Peterson's supposed to be in the playoffs, or at least can be in the play-in. Cam Boozer, I'm not expecting. Caleb Wilson, we'll see. Darius Acuff, I don't think there's a way. So if Keaton can at least get to the playoffs and gives you the stat production, he might have a chance of winning rookie of the year. I don't expect it. I don't. And that's more so from the Clippers than I'm talking about Keaton. I still got my issues with Keaton personally. But he seems to be a decent player. But overall, ladies and gentlemen, this rookie of the year race, I'm expecting it to be an interesting one. It has nothing to do with summer league. Summer League is, again, entertainment for sure. But the roles that they're going to play are a little bit different. So again, summer league, rookie of the year. I'm sorry, Rookie of the Year expectations. All these six players could potentially win Rookie of the Year. But I

Listener Questions And Final Takeaways

SPEAKER_00 20:40

am curious, ladies and gentlemen, what your thoughts are thus far of the episode. Topics, meaning, where do you think LeBron James is going to go? And how do you think his decision is going to affect his legacy? Do you believe that Kawhi Leonard is ultimately going to get traded to the Raptors? Because he's still got that investigation to get to get settled. Wimby's extension. How do you view him leaving $51 million on the table? You feel like he's foolish or you feel like he's smart? Do you feel like the Spurs are going to win again next season or win next season? Let me know your thoughts. What's your thoughts about Bam Ataba hitting Tyler Hero? We've already seen what people thought about Draymond Green hitting Jordan Boo. We've seen what people thought about Jordan hitting Steve Kirk. So again, ladies and gentlemen, I'm curious what your thoughts are about Bam hitting Tyler Hero. John Morant, what's your thoughts about John Morant? Do you think he's going to do any better next this upcoming season? I definitely want to hear that. Do you think his mindset is better? Do you think he's worth the headache that he has shown and potentially could continue to be? I'd like to know that because he's thinking he's about to take a restart. That's going to be interesting to note. And then also for the rookie of the year expectation for this 2026 class, what you got for him? Who you think is going to win? Who you think has the best chance to win? And who do you have as a surprise answer? I'd love to know your thoughts. But, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, that does conclude the end of the episode. So please make sure to like, subscribe, comment, tell anyone who's anyone about the show. My name is Trey. I'm the host of Get a Bucket. I hope you are all having a good one. Take care.