Klay To Miami Plus DeRozan To Denver And What Comes Next

We run through the biggest NBA and WNBA updates on our radar, from headline signings to the fit questions that actually decide wins. We also talk legacy moments like Kevin Garnett’s jersey retirement and why the WNBA deserves real respect from fans and media alike.
• Klay Thompson signing with the Miami Heat and the “Ray Allen role” idea
• Finals storyline dreams like Heat vs Warriors and star reunions
• DeMar DeRozan to the Denver Nuggets and what he adds next to Jokic
• Three point shooting and defense concerns that could decide Denver’s ceiling
• James Harden’s three year deal and why we worry about the long term plan
• Kevin Garnett’s Timberwolves jersey retirement and the ownership backstory
• Timberwolves possible move to the Eastern Conference and ripple effects
• Enes Cantor trolling plus objects thrown on WNBA courts and why it needs to stop
• Dewanna Bonner buyout and which contenders make the most sense
Please make sure to like, subscribe, comment, tell anyone who's anyone about the show.

Transcript

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Welcome And Quick Housekeeping

SPEAKER_00 0:02

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 gonna talk about some NBA and WNBA updates. 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, just a little bit. And if you're wondering where you heard this before, that's good 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 gonna start off with the NBA updates, right?

Klay Thompson Joins The Heat

SPEAKER_00 0:28

Off top, Clay Thompson, he signs with the Miami Heat, ladies and gentlemen. He's on a two-year deal with the player option for about five million change. Now, hear me out. There were some comparisons, right, to the to the Heat of nowadays to the Heatles, back when they had LeBron James, Chris Bosch, D. Wayne Dim, right? And I think Klay Thompson would serve as the Ray Allen role, if you will. Ray Allen hitting that nice dagger corner three against the Spurs in 2013 to help kind of solidify the championship for the Miami Heat that season. And Klay currently, right now, is 36 years old in his 14th season. Career 41% shooter from the three, right? I think some question marks are can Giannis emulate both Braun and D-Wade? Because yeah, I can't quite say that Andrew Wiggins is like D-Wade. I might be able to say M is like Chris Bosch. That could be cool. But yeah, you're gonna have to pick up some slack if you Giannis, Justin Smith, which that's a lot. That that's a lot right there to try to have to be both of those. So the Heat are missing some things for sure, but they are an interesting team. I would actually like to see in a perfect world, the Heat versus the Warriors in the finals. Think about it, right? You get Steph versus Clay again on different teams, too. That would sell some tickets, right? Then you got Jimmy back versus the Heat, but on the Warriors, that's tough. Going up against Bam would have been interesting. He's battled Giannis before, so that would have been cool too. Wiggins going up against the Warriors, like that. You know, we got we got some interesting narratives and storylines to follow with that. But so far, you know, Clay Clay Thompson signs with the Miami Heat. That's cool. It's a it's a solid sign, and kudos to the Heat. But let's move on down, ladies and gentlemen, because we got more, we got more people to talk about, more things

DeMar DeRozan To The Nuggets

SPEAKER_00 2:19

to talk about. Like the Nuggets, did they strike gold with Damar DeRozan signing? Right? Like that you can argue that yeah, their biggest need might have been defense. You know, Jaden McDaniels call you guys out defensively specifically, and then he he drops a couple buckets on y'all. Like, yeah, you need a defense, but you also did need a player who could get a bucket, and you know, Aaron Gordon's good, right? You we know the dynamic duo, but also Jamal Murray has struggled over the last two playoffs. And last year, Damar DeRozan at age 37, he averaged 18 points, three rebounds, four assists, one steal, 0.3 blocks on 50% from the field. He's never really been a three-point shooter, but from a career, he's been what 30% last year he shot 32% from three and 87% from the free throw line. So, you know, 13 field goal attempts, six free throw attempts per game. That's that's doable to insert onto the Nuggets team. Plus, you got to think about it too, he's playing with Nicole Jokic. So he's gonna get easier scoring opportunities. But also, DeMardi Rosen can play make as well, too. Will he produce enough three-point shooting? Because again, I told you he shots thirty he shoots 30% from the career. But last year he improved, so maybe that improvement continues. We got to wait to see. But also, is he a better defender than Christian Braun or Cam Johnson? Or is Jamal Murray a good enough defensively? Those are the things we gotta wait to see. But I do like the demar, I do like the DeMar DeRosa signing by the Denver Nuggets. It's not the worst thing. I think a signing that was actually worse.

James Harden Deal And Cavs Outlook

SPEAKER_00 4:03

Now I'm not trying to be too slanderous. James Harden. Three years, $97 million. Is it a good or a bad idea? I personally would say bad, but hear me out too. I don't know this season who you could replace him with. Like point in time. You could take a gamble on maybe you sign Steph because you just believe that he's gonna entertain the free agency period, and because he was born in Ohio, maybe he wants to do what Braun did and go back, quote unquote, home. I doubt that happens. Maybe DeJounte Murray wants to pair with Donovan Mitchell because he's a free agent in 2027. He'll be 31 at that time, so you still get some good usage out of out of DeJounte. He's a two-way player. He can get a bucket, he can playmate. Maybe that could work, but again, that's another season of missing out. And then you still had to either sign someone and gamble on it and just BS a season, which that's not going to entertain anybody on the Cavs roster. Like you guys are trying to win a championship now. So again, I understand why they signed James Harden for three years. It it sucks because I think maybe you could have entertained Donovan Mitchell running the point guard duties. Because height-wise, for me, it's still an issue. I'm like, I don't believe he'll be the best player on a championship team, unfortunately. But right now, I'm saying that the Cavs, yeah, the Cavs have a three-year countdown until they implode. And it sucks to say that. I don't see them really improving. Uh, I could actually see Evan Moby leaving. It's crazy. I don't know when. Maybe like two seasons from now, because they're not gonna win in that time period. I don't I don't foresee it. But you know, let's see what happens. But yeah, the James Harden signing, I'm not the biggest fan of. Now, on a better note, right? I ain't like I said, I won't try to be too slanderous.

Kevin Garnett Jersey Retirement Context

SPEAKER_00 6:02

State of Minnesota, like the Minnesota Timberwolves, they're actually retiring Kevin Garnett's jersey, ladies and gentlemen. It has been so long. Like, to be clear, the Celtics, the Boston Celtics actually retired Kevin Garnett's jersey in 2022. Okay, and the Wolves have yet to retire here, Jersey. Make it make sense. Well, I will. Keep in mind, KG played 14 seasons with the Wolves, averaged 20 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, 1.4 steals, 1.6 blocks, 49% from the field, 28% from the three-point line, 79% from the free throw line. We've got an MVP in that time frame. He could have arguably got a depoy as well, too, but it's cool because the literally the year he went to the Celtics, he got deployed. He actually took the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Western Conference Finals at 04. He lost in six to my Lakers, and some people thought that if Sam Cassell doesn't get injured, maybe the Wolves actually went against us. Who knows? But, you know, the issues as to why KG's jersey was not hung in the rafters before the day before now. Uh KG had an issue with his former owner, right? Glenn Taylor. Or not his former owner, but the Wolves' former owner and Glenn Taylor. That was crazy. My bad. But so there was a handshake deal where KG was promised, I guess, more responsibilities within the organization, right? And when Flip Somnus, his older coach, passes from cancer in 2015, Glenn Taylor, again, the the former owner of the of the Wolves, kind of backed out of that deal. And as a result, KG was like, nah, I'm not rocking with that no more. Now they have new ownership, right? Mark Lore and A-Rod, Alex Rodriguez, you know, from from baseball, they became major and they became the majority owners. KG now back on board with the wolves. And he he was Mark and A-Rod got like the majority ownership at the Montana in 2022. KG came back on board December 2025. So that next year, KG getting his jersey retired. So I'm really happy to hear that. Shout out to the Wolves for doing the monumental thing. That was very important because again, KG's jersey not being hung in the Raptors for so long is quite egregious. I gotta say that he retired in 2016, people. Like, and it's and it's great to know that his jersey is gonna be retired on February 28th against the Celtics. So I'm I'm happy that we got the job done. Kudos. Thank you all, Mark Lore, A-Rod, appreciate you, KG. Excellent job. Also, are the Wolves really gonna change to the Eastern Conference? Like, that's gonna be real interesting to see. But also, too, would this affect the WNBA's links? I I I am kind of curious about that. Because keep in mind they've been in the West this entire time, if I'm not mistaken. So, you know, if they go to the East in the NBA, should they go in the East in the WNBA? Because if not, are they the only team, brother and sister team, that are in different conferences? That may be interesting to note as well, too. But if the Lynx were to move into the Eastern Conference, how does that make the WNBA move? I know I talked about the East versus the West for the WNBA. Does that now shift the power to the east? I'd be curious to see that personally. But yeah, I'm just I just want to note that personally because that's supposed to happen in 2029 where the where the Timberwolves moved to the East. So we'll wait to see if if that actually happens. That'll, you know, hopefully it don't. But I'm also curious too, maybe in that time period, does Ant leave? Maybe he wants to remain out west, or maybe he's okay being out east, and maybe that might help him stay with the wolves. Let's figure out and wait and see what happens. But in the meantime, let's move on to something else,

WNBA Respect And Cantor Backlash

SPEAKER_00 9:52

too. Because I gotta just make just gotta talk about this real quick. I I I had told y'all I didn't want to talk about this again, but I gotta mention this right fast. Ennis Cantor, I you know, folks across the board, y'all gotta cool out, bro. We gotta chill out, man. The initial video that Ennis Cantor did saying that he identifies as a woman, like that was comical. I'll give you that. Like, I did laugh, okay? And I still believe that you know, you you have the right to wear whatever that you want to wear, but also let's be respectful too. And I think some of the things I'm not I'm not even trying to like state what was worn because you got you guys kind of get the gist of what Inascanta was doing beforehand, right? Basically making a troll, like trolling saying that you know he he identifies as a woman. Him and Royce White have really been trolling. But it it's just out of pocket now, you know what I'm saying? Like, let we we can dial it back. We get the message, right? Like we we have we have official worrying that from the WNBA that that you two cannot be drafted by the WNBA, you can't try out for the WNBA. So I I I I guess we appreciate your tomfoolery, if you will, because now there's stronger language on what classifies or can classify as a woman in the WNBA. But it is interesting to note that this topic continues to come up. Also, we're still having to deal with sex toys, bro. Like, we gotta have a lot more respect for the WNBA because this is this is too ignorant, like this is corny behavior across the board, bro. It really truly is. I bet you, if you really just think about it from this standpoint, imagine if like somebody is treating you this way at work, you would not appreciate it. And yes, this is entertainment, yes, competition, but ladies and gentlemen, it's still someone's job. So, can we stop this goofy behavior? It was cool at first, it was funny at first. Now it's just childish. Let's go that let's go ahead and cool out, let's go ahead and focus on what we need to focus on, which is basketball, folks. Get in the bucket, you know what I'm saying? So now let's get back to basketball. Dawana

Dewanna Bonner Buyout And Fits

SPEAKER_00 12:09

Bonner, she got bought out. Like the Mercury not having Dwana Bonner on her team. That's crazy. That's did she get bought out by the fever? Like, this is now two teams where she had to leave, but she's doing this one. The second one is she's trying to she trying to ring chase, she's trying to help a contender out. Which I ain't gonna lie to you, she can help out quite a few teams, bro. Like every team that's in the playoffs, she genuinely can help. The Lynx, they need more depth or could use more depth. Easily plug and play. Valkyries, she fits the mold. Defense, plus can score, plus can get a bucket. You know what I'm saying? Like, come on now, easily. You got the aces. They they've been they've been missing Kennedy Carter's production, and I've been saying that. So that would be a wonderful player who they've played against as well, too. So they all know one another. You got the the the dream off the bench, easy, and she could finish the games too if need be, especially if she's hot. And again, she can defend the fever. I don't know if she would go back to the fever. That would be an interesting narrative because if she does go back, you know, the boomerang would be talked about for sure. But if they win a championship, that I don't know how that looks. Like that would be an interesting thing to see. But again, she could produce well for this fever team. And her, Timpson, Aliyah Balsam, they could figure out the rotations very smoothly. But also, you could play her alongside Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell. So that could work out too. The fever, they got actually enough depth, personally. But her and Leone Feebish, that'd be quite a tandem from the duo perspective of X Factors, because they can guard one through five and can still score. So again, that'd be nice too. Mystics, I don't think she'd go to the Mystics, honestly. If they had a point guard, maybe you could talk about something, but I don't think they go to the I don't think she goes to the Mystics. The Wings, that would be interesting because AZ Fud's no longer there now. She's missing the rest of the season unless she does come back from playoff four playoffs, but I don't know if that happens. But the wings could be a possibility too. But Dwana Bonner going anywhere for a contending team, she could add tremendous value. But what this also makes me wonder is what does this mean for Alyssa Thomas? Like next season, does she end up leaving? If so, where would she go? Would she retire? I think she still got a little bit more of the tank left, but you never know nowadays. But where should she go if she were to retire? I mean, if she were to leave the Mercury. I got a couple teams that I could think about, but that's gonna be another video for another day. Also, I think this kind of confirms that that big three thought that I had at the time isn't gonna happen next year. I don't think Kelsey Plum is gonna stay unless they got an inkling of an idea that they can sign some bigs to complement both Khalia Copper and Kelsey Plum. Because if they don't, I don't see Kelsey staying. Like that would be a hell of a sell. Now, again, you got you got Kalea Copper there, and she might be invested just because she's been there for quite a couple seasons now, right? But you gotta get somebody. Like maybe you could try to sign like an Ezzy Magbagore or maybe Derek Ahamby because you know what? The Sparks is gonna be in the rebuild mode now, and maybe you can acquire her from there. Just saying, these are possibilities. But ladies and gentlemen, yeah, the Mercury are looking like they're in interesting shape. So I'm very curious what happens going forward for the future of the Mercury.

Listener Questions And Sign Off

SPEAKER_00 15:49

But yeah, I'm curious about your thoughts, ladies and gentlemen, because that does conclude the end of the episode. What did you think about Klay Thompson signing with the Heat? Good or bad? The Nuggets, did they strike gold with DeMar DeRozan? Let me know your thoughts. James Harden, his three-year $97 million signing, was it stupid by the Cav? Does it make sense? But do you still worry about it? Or do you absolutely like the signing? I want to know your thoughts. Also, are you happy? Or did you even know about the Kevin Garnett situation with his jersey not being retired? Let me know what you think about that. And then also, what are your thoughts about Ennis Cantor and his shenanigans as well as these sex toys being thrown out there? Are you pro-Innis Cantor and pro-sex toys being thrown onto the WNBA floor? Are you tired of seeing the shenanigans? Let me know your thoughts. And then finally, what are your thoughts about Dewana Bonner's buyout? Where do you think she should go? Hopefully, before the playoffs hit, she signs with a team, and we can talk more about it along that at that point in time. But, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, thank you all for listening. 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.