I'm just sort of speculating aloud about the possibilities of what it would look like if Harden does wind up in Brooklyn with those guys.

Where are we now?

As far as that possibility, Uh, really, no further along greeny than they were when hardened first told Houston that that's what he wanted.

There has been contact between the rockets, and that's but that that hasn't been the case.

I'm told, at least the last couple of days, and the contact that they did have was pretty preliminary and not of great substance.

The Rockets are not showing any inclination to a want to move quickly on a trade for Jon.

Uh, should be, uh, ah James Harden, Excuse me, or necessarily push from one with Brooklyn.

And then there's Russell Westbrook, too, right?

I mean, you've got you've got they've got two things working at the same time.

They could bring those two guys back and and run back a similar team to one that, you know, different times last year looked like they might have been in a position to make a really interesting move, and or they could trade them both away before the season starts, right?

Like it's it's literally it could go either way.

Both have.

Yeah, both have multiple years left on their contracts, so there's not a Russia have to just go do something right away.

They could, I think, especially in the case of Harden you want to build.

If you're going to trade James Harden, you've got to get a monstrous return.

You've gotta maximize whatever that return is.

And usually that happened over time.

Building the market.

Some team starts the season not as playing as well as they thought.

It feels like they've got to do something.

There's all these circumstance that take over once the team starts playing games.

Uh, but with players of that caliber, um, you know, even like Like rust like Russell Westbrook, who has a Supermax contract, it's easier to trade the Supermax guys for the Supermax guys and targeted piece together all the contracts and all the things that takes when when the numbers are that high, so typically it takes a while.

But we've also seen in plenty of cases where things can come together quickly on a draft night.

But I don't sense that's the case today, but I've also done this long enough to know it can change in a moment.

Whoa, Jizz with me here on ESPN radio, You mentioned the draft.

As you say.

That is tonight.

What?

What are a thing or two that you think fans should be watching closely is who work our way towards 7.

30 Eastern tonight.

Well, what happens at the very top of the draft in Minnesota?

Their President, Gerson Roses, has been very determined to keep everybody guessing as to who they're going to pick number one.

They want to be able to maximize all the trade opportunities.

And so you know, people know who you want it one.

You're probably than another team.

You're just calling number two.

Unless unless you want the guy at one, you're probably calling Golden State of Two.

Or maybe you're calling Charlotte three.

He wants all the calls to go to number one on and maximize.

Yeah, whatever is out there and then make a decision on the on the clock about whether you know they're going to keep it in draft.

The player.

I think there's a lot of around the league.

I think many believe that Anthony Edwards might be that player, but they don't know for sure.

And Minnesota has done a good job of of keeping that shrouded, and they want to do that right up until the clock.

But I do think 12 and three, and whatever order it is, there is a pretty strong belief that it's going to be the three players we've been talking about the whole time.

Edwards Ball and James Weissman.

It's just a matter of what is the order that they come in.

And then one more thing, which I saw as I was getting ready to come down here to do the show that that there had been a trade.

The Knicks made a move up in the draft, packaging a couple of pics, and I just am hearings.

And people speculate that maybe they're trying to work their way up even closer to the top.

What, what, what have I missed there?

No, that's exactly that.

They traded up to number 23 with the Jazz we reported this morning and and move back and gave the Jazz a couple picks to move back with.

And so now the Knicks are at eight and they're a 23.

And so if they on the board all of a sudden, you know if they want to go to Cleveland at five, if they want to go Thio, if they want to go to Atlanta.

Six.

And there's a player that they want but don't think is going to get the eight.

They've got a little Mawr instead of offering 18 27.

Now you're offering 18 23 and maybe you're throwing something else.

So it gives them some, Ah, little more juice if they want to get up the board.

Or maybe they stay at 23 pick a second player there.

There's new leadership there, so no, no, we're no way to know yet exactly how they will ultimately operate.

But obviously no one will know before you will know.

Whoa, we will keep our eyes, as always on your Twitter feed and we'll check in with you again.

Thank you so much.

I'll see you later.

You got a green good to be with you always.

Adrian Ward Janowski.

The best in the business with me here on ESPN radio with greeny and a quick moment here to remind you that hiring, of course, could be challenging, especially with everything else you have to consider today.

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In that place is Zip recruiter trying Zip Recruiter for Free at Zip recruiter com slash greeny that zip recruiter dot com slash g r e N Y.

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Just while I have a moment here, I'll mention again, and I did this right off the top of the show today, but I guess I get sometimes a little bit nostalgic about things like this.

But in any other year or certainly in years past, the seven footer The kid who?

71 James Wiseman, who barely got to play this year in college basketball because the decided it was very important that he didn't.

But he would have been an easy choice for the number one pick in this draft.

There would have been no discussion about it, But right now I had Mike Schmitz, the draft insider on my TV show this morning, telling me, you know, greedy centers have become kind of like running backs.

You don't really need to get a great one.

You don't need to use up a lot of capital on one because you can find a serviceable one almost anywhere.

Just plug them in.

It's not an important position.

And that really it smacked me in the face.

I know I knew that.

I knew all of us who watched the game.

No that.

But I will admit that is one who has grown up watching this game.

Now.

I guess you could say I've been watching basketball 45 years and have always loved the sport and loved the game itself.

That the idea that the era we have now in a place where not only has the big man been de emphasized, but the big man has basically become an afterthought has basically become practically irrelevant.

I don't like it doesn't sit well with me, and it makes me wonder if the world is cyclical.

Is that a pendulum that swings back eventually because basketball was always the big man was the glamour position.

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