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CLEVELAND, Ohio — In this episode of the Wine and Gold Talk podcast, Ethan Sands, Chris Fedor and Jimmy Watkins discuss the Cavs’ injury situation ahead of their season opener against the New York Knicks on Wednesday, analyzing the potential absence of De’Andre Hunter. More Cavs coverage To Donovan Mitchell, ‘DON’ is not just a slogan, it’s what can help the Cavs win it all — and cement his legacy Cavs to potentially be without another starting small forward for season opener in New York Swensons opening two concession stands at Rocket Arena for Cavaliers season Takeaways: 1. De’Andre Hunter’s Status for Season Opener is Uncertain De’Andre Hunter’s availability for the season opener is in question due to a minor knee injury sustained in the preseason finale against the Pistons, and the team is taking a cautious approach to his return. While the injury is not considered significant, head coach Kenny Atkinson has remained non-committal about his status, aligning with his tendency for “gamesmanship.” 2. Jaylon Tyson Favored to Start if Hunter is Out If Hunter is unavailable, Jaylon Tyson is considered the likely replacement in the starting lineup over veteran Dean Wade. This move would be intended to maintain the consistency of the team’s planned bench rotation, which features Wade playing key minutes with the second unit alongside Lonzo Ball. 3. Darius Garland “Ahead of Schedule” But Unlikely to Play in Opener While Darius Garland is participating in practice and considered “ahead of schedule” in his recovery from offseason toe surgery, his return for the opener is highly doubtful. The team and coaching staff are prioritizing a cautious buildup process, emphasizing that he still lacks full game conditioning after missing all of training camp and the preseason. 4. Donovan Mitchell is Poised for His Best NBA Season Donovan Mitchell is expected to have a career-best season, reportedly showing a new level of focus, competitiveness, and intensity. This is driven by motivation to elevate his legacy and the perception of a wide-open Eastern Conference, creating an opportunity for the Cavaliers to contend. 5. Bold Predictions Highlight a Potentially Shifting Eastern Conference Bold predictions for the season include a potential midseason trade of Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Knicks and the belief that the current Cavaliers roster is built for an NBA Finals run. The hosts also identify the Toronto Raptors as a sneaky, defensively problematic playoff team that could outperform expectations. Listen using the player below: You can also listen using your preferred podcast app. Subscription information is below. Subscribe and listen onApple Podcasts or Spotify. The video version of the podcast is on YouTube as well. Transcript NOTE: This transcript was generated by artificial intelligence and could contain misspellings and errors. Ethan Sands: What up Cavs Nation? I’m your host, Ethan Sands, and I’m back with another episode of the Want and Gold Talk podcast. Joining me Today, Chris Fedor, cleveland.comcast beat reporter and none other than Jimmy Watkins, cleveland.com columnist. And we are here with the weak of the NBA season right in front of us. Game one of the NBA season starts on Tuesday, but the Cavs regular season opener comes on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks. But we do have some news to discuss when it comes to that first game because Kenny Atkinson alluded to the potential that DeAndre Hunter could not play in the game one against the New York Knicks by saying that it was too soon to tell whether or not he would be available for the Cleveland Cavaliers come the season opener. Chris, you’re the inside man. What are you hearing about this? We know he banged knees with a player from the Detroit Pistons in the preseason finale. What’s going on there? Chris Fedor: I think the first thing that I would say is it’s never a good sign when a player misses practice two days before the season opener. So, you know, let’s see what happens tomorrow. The Cavs are supposed to practice before they leave for New York in the afternoon. Is DeAndre out there? Is he able to go through contact stuff? Is he able to do team related things or just the individual stuff that he did earlier today? The other thing that I would say, and guys, you know this, you’ve been around Kenny Atkinson long enough now. He likes the gamesmanship. He doesn’t like to reveal too much information when it comes to a player’s availability. Are they going to play? Are they not going to play? Who’s going to be a starting lineup, all those kinds of things. He wants to keep as close to the vest as possible and this certainly gives him an opportunity to say, hey, one of our projected starters might not play in the opener. Hey, Mike Brown, I know we’re boys and stuff like that, but hey, something else to potentially prepare for, something else that we could catch you off guard with. That is how Kenny Atkinson operates. That’s how he operated all last season for the Cavs as well. So I do think it’s a wait and see approach. I think it’s how does his knee feel tomorrow after the individual workout that he had today? And is he able to go through some of the practice stuff? Is he able to go through shoot around on Wednesday ahead of the season, open air against New York? Everything that I continue to hear about this situation with DeAndre is that it’s very minor. The Cavs aren’t worried about it if he happens to miss the opening game against New York. It’s not a big deal because the Cavs aren’t really all that focused on what’s going to happen in October. They’re not all that focused on having their projected starting five for the first game of the season. They take a cautious approach when it comes to any kind of injury, no matter how big or small. But I think the most important thing is it’s nothing significant. From everything that I have heard with. Jimmy Watkins: DeAndre, that all sounds well and good. And I know I’m a alarm button presser. No, of the three of us, I’m more prone to sound bells. This, this thought occurred to me when I watch back the Kenny Presser today. The Cavs in the regular season last year had some relatively good injury luck. Yeah, this year they’re off to a bad start. Darius Garland, the toe surgery carrying over from last year. Max Struse hurting himself. I can only assume the Max Drew just like pushes boulders up hills in the off season. It’s just tough years in a row now where my guys just grinding so hard that he’s going to miss some time to start the year. I respect it. He’d rather reign that in than have to pull it out of somebody. But like, what if, what if the Cavs have normal, weird injuries during the regular season now? There’s, there’s basically no scenario where I’m concerned about them in a real way in the regular season. Right. It’s just like when you, when you start the season with two key pieces down, it just, it opens the door for, you know, a random, awkward landing, a random bang of knees here to, to be a little bit more meaningful and create a little bit more adversity than you would otherwise plan for in these situations. Small alarm. Small alarm, but an alarm nonetheless. Ethan Sands: And Jimmy, I that’s why we love having you on the show because you’re, you’re the one that pushed the buttons we didn’t like. I saw a tweet the other day talk talking about podcasts in general and I think I might have sent it your way, Jimmy. Talk about how like the beauty of what is some podcasts is the balance between smartest entertainer and most entertaining smart guy. Right. Referring to Bill Simmons and Zach Lowe. And in a tweet. And sometimes we need to, we need to strike that balance. So be able to stir the pot, Jimmy. That’s what you’re great at. Chris Fedor: But I think the other beauty of sports just in general is that not everybody sees things the same way. Ethan Sands: Let’s get into this. DeAndre Hunter possibilities for this, right? Say DeAndre Hunter is unavailable for the Cavs season opener. Who’s stepping into that small forward spot? Because now you’re without three potential starters in the lineup for the Cavs this season. And obviously we know that the Cavs have in recent memory leaned on Jalen Tyson to step in for Sam Merrill when he was unavailable in the preseason. But will he be the guy to step into the small forward spot, or do you think it’ll be Dean Wade? Because it’s a toss up for me between those two guys. Chris Fedor: I think it’ll be Jalen. I think part of it is more opportunity for somebody like Jalen. He can play a multitude of positions, he can fill a multitude of roles, and Dean can do the same thing. But. But I think Kenny wants a. A level of consistency, as much consistency as he can have with these lineups and these rotations. And throughout the course of the preseason, he had a specific way of doing things, and I feel like that was going to carry over into the regular season, or at least Kenny wanted it to carry over into the regular season. It was Donovan and Jarrett exiting right around the halfway point of the first quarter, and the next rotation comes in and it’s Dean Wade and Lonzo Ball. If Dean Wade goes into the starting lineup, now, all of a sudden it’s Lonzo and Jalen and how much have they played together? Or is that combination one that’s going to work together? Do you like the skill sets blending? Eventually the Cavs are going to get to a point in this season, guys, where there are a bunch of different lineups, there are a bunch of different combinations, and they can’t keep everything consistent. But there was a specific plan going into the opener, I believe, for Kenny Atkinson, and I think he wants to keep that as stable as he possibly can. I think he wants to keep that as much in line with what he was expecting. If that’s a big if, DeAndre can’t play. So I think there are merits to Dean for sure. He’s been in that role before, having his size and his versatility. Against the Knicks with Mikel Bridges and OG Anunoby, you can certainly make a case. But I think from a consistency of the lineup and a consistency of the rotation standpoint, I think just the easier answer to keep everything else in line as much as you possibly can, I think the easier answer is Jaylon Tyson goes into the starting line. Jimmy Watkins: It’s also an investment in Jaylon Tyson is an investment in the October Cavs as well as the, the April Cavs or even like the, the 2027, 2028 June cabs. Right? Like, there’s just more development. Yeah, right. Just kidding. There’s just more meat on the development bone with Jaylon Tyson, right. Like with Dean Wade, he’s a known quantity and there’s value in that. There’s value in certainty, there’s value in dependability, in knowing what you’re going to get. But when we’re talking about the Cavs using the regular season as a science lab, we, I mean, we talked about last year, like, what can Evan Mobley do? How far can he spread his wings? There’ll be more of that this year. But with, with Jalen Tyson, I think these are the opportunities where you can give him a little bit more rope and see, see what he does. I don’t know that Jaylon Tyson’s role necessarily changes a ton from entering the starting lineup, but without DeAndre Hunter, there will be more shots to go around, and there are already are more shots to go around to begin with because there’s no Darius Garland, there’s no Max Stru, Ty Jerome. There’s. There’s, there’s a hole there between those three. When I wrote this, I was thinking about DeAndre Hunter this week, but that’s third. Two shots that are gone now, DeAndre Hunter’s gone. I think that’s another 10. Someone who’s not taking them, who you don’t expect to take those shots, is going to take those shots now. But it’s, it’s more just, you know, Jaylon Tyson doing the Energy Energizer Bunny type things, doing the dirty work, that’s all well and good, but how well can you survive out there on an NBA court At the same time, if I’m Dean Wade, I’m thinking, what do I got to do A little. To a certain extent, to a certain extent, Max truce goes down. Okay, fine. DeAndre Hunter, you’ve made a big trade for him. DeAndre Hunter goes down. I think I’d have some, a little bit more equity in the team than this. Where granted, he’s a first round pick for all the reasons I just explained, that’s why the Cavs are doing this. And it makes sense to us outside looking in. But if, what to. If you have stake in the situation, if you’re Dean Wade and the context that we discussed last week is still swirling in your head a little bit, you heard your name and trade Rumors you’re wondering what your future is and the key piece goes down before the season starts. You can’t. I can’t even get a spot start. I can’t even get a spot start out here. That would be. That would be a tough, tough thing for. For me to swallow. Ethan Sands: To your point about the equity situation, Jimmy, I mean, he is the longest tenured cavalier outside of Darius Carson. So I just think you’re absolutely right. It’s an interesting situation. But, Chris, I know, I know you have something to add in here. Chris Fedor: Yeah, I just think at the end of the day, Dean wants to feel val. Valued. And. And I think whether he starts or comes off the bench, if he’s a high minute, consistent nightly rotation player where there’s some level of stability with his role and the responsibilities that he has and where he fits in the hierarchy of this team, then that’s enough. And. And I think given the circumstances that the Cavs are facing at the beginning of the season without Darius, without Max Struse. We talked about it, guys. He’s going to be in the top nine of their rotation. He has a firm place in the top nine of their rotation. In fact, I was looking around the court today following practice, and I was talking to another writer, and I was like, are we in a little bit of an uncomfortable place when it comes to how much the Cavs might have to rely on Dean at the beginning of the season? Because again, you know, we’ve had these conversations about Dean. When he’s guy 9, 10 in your rotation, then, you know, he can do the things that guy 9, 10 usually does. Right. If he becomes 7, 8, more responsibilities, more reliance on him. Do you want to get to that point? And I was looking around the court and I was like, oh, my God, like, what is he? Is he guy 7 in this rosation right now? Given the fact that they don’t have Darius and they don’t have Max, he might be. He might be guy 7 in a championship level rotation. Now, it’s gonna be up to him to play to that level and earn that, continue to earn that over and over and over again. But because of the circumstances, I don’t think he would theoretically get caught up into this idea of, well, am I gonna start? Am I not gonna start if DeAndre’s healthy? If he’s not healthy, it’s just, I have a place on this team. I have a consistent spot in the rotation, and I’m probably in the line for some pretty big minutes, especially at the beginning of the year. That that shows a level of value and that shows a level of, of commitment to him and what he can bring to this team. Jimmy Watkins: That’s what I would say if I was Kenny Atkinson to Dean Wade. The other way to look at this is that I’m Guy seven in the rotation, we have two starters out, and oh, by the way, there’s a chance that a second year dude who barely played last year is passing me in the rotation as we speak. But like you said, two ways to look at everything. Two ways to look at everything. Ethan Sands: Yeah, guys. And I just pulled up on basketball reference to the starting lineup from last year’s season opener in Toronto, where Max Stroox was again out of the starting lineup and Dean Wade did get that starting start. Isaac Okoro was the de facto starting small forward after Dean Wade got injured later into the start of the season. But it just showcases to me that what Kenny Atkinson prioritizes when it comes to finding someone that can stop defensively what the New York Knicks are going to want to do offensively in this new system under Mike Brown and Jaylon Tyson might be better suited to do that to guard Jalen Brunson than Dean Wade in this given scenario, if that’s what the Cavs decide to do. Jimmy Watkins: Can I just say Isaac. You mentioned Isaac Okoro there. I bet Isaac Okoro loved being the seventh man or thereabouts, eighth man in the rotation to start last year when, When Max Truce went down. Is Isaac Coro still a big part of this organization? No. No, he’s not. Ethan Sands: I’m just talking about the, the schematic thought process of what the Cavs might want to have as their small forward if the two starting small forwards that they actually were planning to use aren’t available. But to that point, right, like this is a, like a bad situation for not only the Cavs, but DeAndre Hunter. Right? You plan all summer, you work all summer with Kenny Atkinson to get acclimated to this offensive system, to get yourself in a position where you’re confident in what’s going on. You have more practices, you have a whole training camp, all of these things. You’re ready to go, and then you bang knees with a Detroit Pistons player, and now your season start is uncertain. Right. And I just think it’s unfortunate because nobody likes to see injuries in the NBA, but for what was prepared to happen for DeAndre Hunter this coming season, I think it’s even more so. Chris Fedor: It’s going to be hard for me to continuously remind myself that we also have to have short term conversations because I’m so focused on the big picture and the Cavs are so focused on the big picture. Right? And it usually leads into a big picture conversation about, hey, how much does this even matter? What does this mean to the team? But in the short term, you’re right. I mean, you’re playing against the Knicks, it’s opening night. They are an Eastern Conference co favorite. They’re very formidable opponent. I would not be surprised if they finished atop the Eastern Conference instead of the Cavs this year. And they had more wins in the regular season than the Cavs this year because they added more depth, more playable depth, that is. And if you’re playing against New York on opening night and you’re trying to wipe the sour taste of what happened last year in the playoffs out of your mouth, being Short Wings against a wing heavy Knicks team is probably not the best situation to be in. You know, asking Jaylon Tyson, who has been guarding Donovan Mitchell for the duration of this off season, to try and get more comfortable in that defensive stopper type role. Hey man, go out and deal with Jalen Brunson or hey, go out and deal with OG Anunoby or go out and deal with Mikel Bridges, man, that’s tough, a tough way to start, really throw into the fire. And some guys can thrive in that situation. And some guys like that situation, the throw in the fire situation. And other guys are like, oh damn, like really? So if the cavs don’t have DeAndre, it is a significant blow to them. It means the offensive philosophy has to change around a little bit. It means the way that they can attack the Knicks when the Knicks are on defense, that has to change a little. The Cavs have big plans for DeAndre this year. They should have big plans for DeAndre. And if they’re not going to have him Wednesday night against the Knicks, it obviously diminishes their chances of starting the season with a win. Now you ask yourself, how much does that matter to you if you’re somebody that wants them to start the season with a win. If DeAndre can’t go and it’s Jaylon Tyson in the starting lineup, it diminishes the Cavs chances of beating a team that is on the same tier as them. Jimmy Watkins: Even big picture. I mean, I don’t want to get too, we’re definitely too far into this. He banged his knee, Kenny said after the preseason game. He’s going to be fine. I, I would actually lean just, you know, guessing from the gut here that he does play. But these regular season games don’t write your legacy, but they are, they can be good fact finding missions for what is to come later on. So you want to have as many of the pieces that you will want to deploy against the Knicks later. You’ll want those now so you can try stuff and save the. And say, oh, I liked this or this matchup was interesting for a few possessions. Like you’re trying things all the time in the regular season with these, with these games. You might not be putting all your eggs in one basket to win this one game, but you’re trying stuff. Ethan Sands: So, Chris, I wanted to fire back just a little bit about your take about the Knicks and being more, maybe potential to, to get more wins in the regular season than the Cavs. My only pushback would be they’re low managing guys in game one. I don’t know if that necessarily means that they’re going to focus on the regular season. Chris Fedor: The Cavs are managing guys in game one. You’ve got two teams that aren’t all that motivated when it comes to how they’re going to go about things in the regular season. So yeah, I mean, you’re right. They have to deal with the Mitchell Robinson thing and they have a new coach and he’s not going to play his guys, you know, 45 minutes or whatever in the opening night of the game. But guess who’s going to be load managed in game one? Lonzo Ball. Maybe Donovan Mitchell. So I, I do think the motivation factor kind of cancels each other out. And that’s part of the reason why I don’t think that the Cavs are going to pile up the 64 wins that they did last year is because they’re just not going to have that level of determination and that level of motivation. And now look, they’ve got a ton of skill, they’ve got a ton of depth and they’ve got a ton of talent and, and maybe that just ends up taking them over and maybe that allows them to get wins that they probably have no business getting on the second night of a back to back back four games in seven nights. Five games in seven nights, whatever the case may be. But if we’re talking motivation from a Knicks standpoint, we also have to talk about it from a Cavs standpoint too. Who knows, maybe it’s Orlando that gets more wins than anybody in the regular season. Ethan Sands: That’s a good point. That’s a good point and I definitely agree with you. I just, I think there’s a difference between load managing and a player not playing versus low managing and a player getting 20 minutes a night. Right. Like Lonzo’s not also not going to play in back to backs. But your point is definitely valid in in that conversation for sure. Chris Fedor: Well, I also think that, you know, with the Cavs and how they approach the regular season, I think Kenny has been open and honest about trying to be. Trying to be a little bit more experimental with things that happen and the growing pains that that that come with that. It was interesting last year because even though Kenny wasn’t around as much during the off season because he had all these other commitments with Team France and stuff like that, it was still a head coach that was implementing a new system. It was fresh, it was different and he was really committed to it. And I think the players were committed to trying to show that it could work and being as focused as they possibly could within reason on the regular season because they were going through all of that kind of stuff for the first time now with Kenny, like that’s already established. There is a foundation in place and now it’s taking what was already built here and adding to it or trying things from that. Like there wasn’t this whole idea, yeah, there was a a more of an idea of get Evan Mobley involved, but not to the level that it’s going to be this year where you’re probably going to have some growing pains with Evan getting more comfortable with the ball in his hands as much as it’s going to be and initiating offense as much as it’s going to be in the security blanket of two guys that could just run your offense and Darius and Donovan, that’s not going to be there for the Cavs at the beginning of the year. So I just think the whole try new things for the Cavs, it takes on a different meaning and it goes to a different level this year that I do think there are going to be growing pains with some of these guys trying to get adapted to that for sure. Ethan Sands: And Evan Mobley even admitted to that. Such like there will be growing pains and he’s accepted that. Right. And they, they have to coming into the season understanding that there’s still going to be changes in year two and obviously with Darius and Max Drew being out, they’re going to have to try different things. But kind of getting into that the alleged that Darius Garland is going to be out for the season opener. Kenny Atkinson also gave us some more news and update on Darius Garland after practice today, stating that he was in Live reps for the most part of Cavs practice today. And when I asked him if he would consider to say that Darius Garland was ahead of schedule, Teddy Atkinson was hesitant. But he did come around to say in his opinion, yes, he’s surprised that Darius Garland is at the point where he is currently Guys, I have to ask this question. Question not necessarily coming from me, but coming from our subtexters, our fans, the fans of the Cavaliers, and all of the people around the Internet who are contemplating the potential that Terrius Cardouin plays in the opening night against the New York Knicks. Chris, is there any potential that he comes back to play in the season opener or is he just ahead of schedule and potentially going to come back earlier on? Chris Fedor: By now you guys have been doing this podcast with me long enough and the listeners have been listening long enough. And you know what my go to line is here. I was told a long time ago when I first got into this business, you never say never, especially when it comes to the Cavs and especially when it comes to the NBA. But boy, I don’t think so. Look, how I’ll phrase it this way, how many guys do you know and have seen in history that that have gone and had off season surgery that missed basically like three to four months of basketball related activity for a variety of reasons, did not have training camp, did not play in any of the regular or the preseason games, and then all of a sudden the regular season opener comes around and he’s on the court. Do you have too many examples of that? Chris Fedor: Most certainly don’t. There are just so many different factors to this, including Darius is not in game shape right now, he doesn’t have his game conditioning. And Kenny Atkinson made a point to say multiple times earlier today that there is a difference between being healthy enough to play and being fit enough to play in an NBA game, especially when you’re talking about opening night. And the one thing that we do know about the Cavs and how they handle injuries, they take a cautious approach. They usually extend a timeline as opposed to shorten a timeline. Unless we’re talking about Evan Mobley and he’s just got Wolverine blood. So I find it hard to believe that Darius is anywhere close to playing a meaningful regular season basketball game at this point, considering he did not participate in training camp, he did not play in any of the preseason games, and he’s had a small number of practices on the heel of an off season that was very, very wonky and he had surgery and his kind of game is stop, start, change of direction, shiftiness and all that stuff is affected when you talk about toe surgery. So that’s a long way of me saying as much as I never say never and I’m not going to say never. I would say it’s highly, highly doubtful that Darius is available anytime soon. Jimmy Watkins: What is the incentive to rush it? There’s I see none. We’ve established lead up to the season here. The Cavs can learn a bunch of things about other players on their team by seeing how they interact with each other. Without Darius, they can learn things. This absence can be a blessing in disguise for them. And from Darius’s perspective, getting that guy looking like he was playing for most of last season in April, that’s the whole goal of this season. Neither of those ends the fact finding mission or maximizing Darius, neither of those ends are helped by having no matter even if he’s I’m sure he’s very competitive. I’m sure he wants to come back. Everyone’s got that itch this time of year that it’s and it’s going to be hard for him to watch all these games. But it’s not the best thing for him and it’s not the best thing for the team. So I would expect on both ends for there to be extreme caution here. Ethan Sands: Yeah. And obviously that’s how the Cavs have operated as of late and we know that that is where the mindset is for this Cleveland Cavaliers organization. But obviously there is optimism that there are positive steps that Darius Garland is taking in his progression to return at some point before the new year. And obviously we understand that him being after practice today, working with Jaylon Tyson, trying to help him understand where he wants to pass on the ball, where the ball needs to be for him to be the most successful. That’s kind of the growth aspect of the maturity, the leadership that we’ve needed to see from Darius Garland even when he’s not on the floor with this team to help impact winning in that capacity. Chris Fedor: When guys come off of off season surgery and they don’t participate in training camp and they don’t play in the preseason, there is a buildup process process involved. You could see it with Joe Ellen Bead in Philadelphia, Paul George in Philadelphia, you know, Jaylen Williams with the Oklahoma City Thunder. That buildup process takes time and it takes more than just a couple of practices. This isn’t a situation where somebody was ready to go at the start of the season. He plays the first 20 games and then he gets injured in December and then he’s got to come back from that injury. That process of coming back from that injury is a little bit quicker because he was already in game shape, because he had already built himself up the way that he needed to and now he was just getting back from an injury. So that recovery process, that buildup process would have been shorter. This is very, very different. And that buildup process for Darius is going to be maybe even a longer than what fans would want. But Kenny Atkinson also said something really important earlier today, guys, is that. Chris Fedor: It comes to Darius and his health, everything that they’re thinking and everything that they’re doing is about the long term, not the short term. And that’s the way that it should be. Ethan Sands: Yeah, and that makes sense. I mean, this is the team that continuously talks about it like we’re not rushing guys back because as Chris has mentioned, it’s going to be hard to get up for regular season games as is because of the understanding that they are not going to be judged based on regular season success anymore. They’re going to be judged by their postseason success if they can get past the, the Eastern Conference semifinals and beyond. We understand that reaching the NBA Finals is basically the baseline for this Cavs team this year because they are not going to have a roster like this, capable like this, being able to stand up next to other rosters that were next to the LeBron James era teams. This is the level of capability that this team has. The expectations are there, the judgment is going to be there, the skepticism is going to be there from all across the league and especially when it comes to the analysts covering the game itself. But I do think we have to get into the season itself, guys, and obviously me and Jimmy had our season bold predictions come out for the entire 2025, 2026 year. When it comes to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chris has his in the works to come out on Wednesday. Do you guys have anything in the vault that you think is going to like, stand out when it comes to this season for the Cavs or around the league? That’s going to be hard hitting. And Jimmy, I read through your article, you have some hard hitters in there. Hit me with which one you think is going to be the most controversial for the Cavs this coming year? Jimmy Watkins: I mean, we call them bold for a reason. I had a midseason Giannis trade to the Knicks on my bold prediction bingo card. I just think that Milwaukee, Milwaukee’s one weird Giannis landing away. Like if Giannis misses 10 games, I expect the Bucks to fall apart. And then I, I expect them at some point to reach the logical conclusion that, okay, you know, we’ve tried as hard as we can to hang onto this guy and surround him with, with talent. Sometimes we’ve caught bad breaks with Damian Lillard, sometimes we’ve made the best of bad situations. They’re trying to do now with the Miles Turner signing after stretching and waving Damian Lillard. But it is, at some point it will be. There will come a time to pivot. And in that moment, I understand that the Knicks don’t have the best trade package for Giannis, though I do think if they were willing to gum off one of their wings and Karl Anthony Towns, they might be able to fetch some picks that make their, their offer a little bit more attractive. I just don’t think in, in most cases in this league, I don’t think that matters very much. I think it matters where the disgruntled superstar wants to end up. Giannis has already telegraphed that he wants to go to New York. I think the Milwaukee Bucks are particularly motivated to not let this get ugly because Giannis has done so well by them. And this has just never felt like one of the Giannis has been so careful to not make this situation ugly. He’s basically been politely requesting a trade for like a year and a half, two years now. And so I think that as if the Bucks come to the realization if they’re, if their season starts looking a certain way, obviously they don’t control their draft pick either, that that would be play a part in this equation as well. But I just think that they’ll come to the conclusion that, you know what, it might not be the mother load, but if we can appease Giannis and restock some of our draft capital and get a nice, all NBA talent back, you could do worse. Ethan Sands: Chris, I know you haven’t unleashed your takes yet, but if you could give us a little sliver, a little piece of what you might be cooking up, I think the Cavs fans would be very appreciative. Chris Fedor: I don’t know how to quantify this and I don’t know if everybody’s going to judge it the same way. I’ll put it that way. But I think this is going to be Donovan Mitchell’s best season in the NBA. I truly believe that. There is just, I’ve been around him for the last, what is it, four years now. This is year four of Donovan in Cleveland and there’s just a different look to him. There’s just a different purpose to him. And him and I had a long conversation during training camp at Sarasota, and one of the things we talked about was his legacy and what he wants his basketball legacy to be. And that feature is going to be on cleveland.com leading into the opener against the Knicks. But even Kenny Atkinson spoke about this different fire that they’re seeing from Donovan. And look, he’s really, really competitive. He’s always focused, but he’s kind of meaner. And I think it’s on purpose, because I think he feels like the Cavs need that from him. He’s going to be positive, he’s going to be optimistic. He’s still going to smile, he’s still going to celebrate, but there’s a little extra edge to him this year. And I think some of the things that have been said about the Cavs this off season, that Donovan welcomed by the way, that he almost invited by the way, I think that bothered him. If you look at the GM survey and who the best shooting guard in. In the NBA is, it was pretty much Anthony Edwards in a runaway. I think that may bother him a little bit. Did one of these rankings have Jalen Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder ranked ahead of Donovan Mitchell? Like, he sees all this stuff. He does, he hears about all this stuff, he reads all this stuff. And I don’t think that means that Donovan’s going to say, all right, I’m gonna go Superman. So I don’t know that the numbers are going to say, like, all of a sudden he’s going to score 30 points a game or something like that. I don’t know that the numbers are going to point to this necessarily, but I do think Donovan’s going to have his best year in the NBA, because I think there’s a different fuel. I think there’s a different level of focus and determination. And there’s one other thing. I think he sees a wide open Eastern Conference like we do, right? We do. A lot of people around the NBA do. Players do, too. And it feels like. Not that this is their time and this is their only chance, because there is more of a Runway here. But I think Donovan knows that, hey, like, if it’s gonna happen, the best chance we might have is when Jason Tatum’s not around and Boston’s not this juggernaut. And the team that embarrassed us in the conference semifinals last year doesn’t have their most important player and doesn’t pose the same kind of threat. And then out west, yeah, Oklahoma City won the championship, but how real are they? Do they have The DNA to repeat. So I think as much as we look at this and say, hey, like, who is it? Who is the favorite here? I think Donovan sees a wide open Eastern Conference and a clear path than he has ever had to the NBA Finals and maybe a clear path than he has ever had to being the most. The most talented and the best player in the Eastern Conference. Depending on what happens with Giannis. That’s a dot, dot, dot, depending on what happens with Giannis, because his situation is very, very uncertain, too. Jimmy Watkins: I just. I’m thinking when Chris was saying. Saying what he was saying about Donna, I’m thinking it’s urgency meets opportunity. Chris Fedor: Yeah, it’s. I think that’s a good way to put it. Jimmy Watkins: Of course. Of course. We all see who isn’t around. Although I did all. One of my other bold predictions that the Cavs are gonna have to see Jason Tatum in the playoffs this year. I think he’s coming back. And I think the Celtics. I mean, I think the Celtics are maniacal competitors who will refuse to let their. To let this season go all through. Chris Fedor: I believe that idea when their coach is Joe Missoula. Jimmy Watkins: Yeah, Joe. I don’t know if you guys saw this clip in starting five, but they asked Missoula and Jaylen Brown what would happen if they fought each other. And Joe Missoula said either he would win or we would both die. Ethan Sands: If I have to taste death, you’re coming with me. Jimmy Watkins: That’s who we’re dealing with here. These are. These are. And that everyone. Everyone out of Boston is saying that Missoula’s running the craziest training camp they’ve ever been a part of. Maybe it’s through the play in that they have to get. They’re getting in the playoffs. Obviously, if they stay healthy is the qualifier there. And every. Much like the Cavs and four different motivations, every injury will be handled very conservatively in Boston. Chris Fedor: You might. Jimmy Watkins: You might miss a couple more games with a sprang ankle than you would otherwise this year. Any who urgency meets opportunity. You see the wide open East. You also see. Yes, there’s a longer Runway here. I’ll say this again. Donovan Mitchell is 29 years old. He is 6 foot 3. You never know. I think he takes very good care of his body, his skill set that can age well even as he loses athletic juice. But you never know that. The same lesson that you learn from Jayson Tatum, Tyrese Haliburton being out, you say, okay, I see. I see the opportunity here. They also can tell you how quickly, these windows can close for certain players. So you put those two things together and I think it makes sense. It does. It’s. It does not surprise me necessarily that that Donovan hit even another gear this. Ethan Sands: Off season to piggyback on all of that. Right. I think, Chris, you make a great point of the intensity that we’ve already seen from Donovan, what we’ve heard him being in mid season form, as we’ve been told by Kobe Altman before a training camp even began. But I also think this is an opportunity for Evan Mobley and Donovan Mitchell to become the best one, two punch in the Eastern Conference. Because you understand that when Donovan Mitchell comes out of the game, Evan Mobley’s leading the offense. Which also means when Evan Mobley comes out of the game outside of the fourth quarter, when they’ll likely be on the floor together, Donovan Mitchell is dominating and taking over possessions, especially if DeAndre Hunter isn’t there. So to me, if Cleveland can stay healthy down the stretch, the ingredients for an NBA Finals run are all there, right? Like it’s led by the continuity and the chemistry that they’ve built over the last three seasons. And Kenny Atkinson’s system built on pace, passing and positional interchangeability is the perfect compliment to a roster that’s this deep. As I said, I think this is the best roster since the Cavs won a championship in 2016 that they’ve had and arguably even better than that. And not to top it all off, but like the Cavs without Max Strus, without Theus Garland, as we’ve said on this podcast, add an abundance. It is going to help them with their defensive identity to start the season. So coming off the heels of a historic offensive season, adding back a potential top 5, 5 top 3 defensive rating in the league difference will be how quickly they can turn stops into scoring. It’s that simple. The pace that they’re going to play at, the amount of shots that they’re going to get up before even the shot clock hits 20 on that is going to be so fun to watch when it comes to the season. But obviously, as we mentioned, the Cavs cannot avoid the east bullies that we’ve talked about throughout this summer when it comes to Orlando, Atlanta, New York and Jimmy Jayson Tatum comes back. Boston could be in this conversation too. But the Cavs don’t have to avoid these Eastern Conference bullies anymore. It feels like they’re built to beat them with the moves that they made over the off season. The, the, the interchangeability, the positional difference and what the lineup is going to look like when this team gets fully healthy with Darius garland, Max Drew, DeAndre Hunter is in this now. Are all fully healthy and ready to go. Chris Fedor: Gotta throw another sneaky team in there in the Eastern Conference. This is one of my other predictions. Like, I’m not saying that they’re championship caliber. I’m not saying they’re a top four team in the Eastern Conference. I’m saying that they will outperform what they did last year and be a playoff team. And I think stylistically they are problematic. They might lead the universe in steals this year. They are so long, they’re so athletic. It’s the Toronto Raptors. I think Brandon Ingram’s going to give them a scoring punch. He’s expanded his game out to the three point line. I think there are going to be playmaking opportunities for him. Even though his style can be a little bit wonky. That team is going to be really, really difficult to play with because they’re all arms and legs. It’s like you’re being guarded by an octopus out there. Seriously, they have what, six or seven playable NBA caliber rotational players, Maybe eight depending on how you feel about their rookie. It’s probably a little bit too early for somebody like Colin Murray. Bos. But talking about top 10 pick, talking about a lottery pick maybe possibly. So beyond that, you know Scotty Barnes, I think he could be an all star this year. Brandon Ingram is a legitimate scoring threat, somebody that the offense can go through. And like I said, I think their defense is just going to be really, really problematic for a lot of teams because of that length, because of that athleticism, because of that versatility, because of those long arms. So I think Toronto has a chance to be a playoff team this year and in a difficult out in the first round, at the very least a difficult out in the first round. Jimmy Watkins: Scotty Barnes, who will again be all star. Don’t mess with the Raptors. They can’t shoot, but they will not be fun to play. Chris Fedor: No, I mean kind of like Orlando from years, years in the past. Like do they have the shooting? Do they have enough offense? Lamar defensing Lamar really going to play against. Jimmy Watkins: I’ll be interested. Ethan Sands: And that’s also why I think like the Atlanta Hawks are going to be just the better version of the Toronto Raptors because one they literally in their starting lineup, if it all goes as planned, are going to have one player below 6 foot 8 in their starting lineup. And the Houston Rockets are a completely different conversation. But that’s the west and we’re not even getting there yet. But they, they don’t have a player under 6, 8 in their starting lineup because of how they have it constructed. So that’s ridiculous. But to end this out, I do think the Cavs are going to have a good season. I like the takes that we’ve gotten off. Jimmy, you’re blowing my mind with some. With some of yours and I like it. Uh, Chris, I’m excited to see the full in depth feature that you have for Donovan come out tomorrow and I can’t wait to see all of your takes come out the very next day. Chris Fedor: I mean, to say that Charlotte was going to be a play in team or something like that Lamello Ball fan club over there. Jimmy Watkins: I was actually I holding back at who’s that player under six foot, whatever. On the Atlanta Hawks. You thought Trey Young was getting targeted before. Oh, my goodness. Oh, it’s going to be like cats chasing the laser beam out there with dudes trying to call Trey McTrey Young’s man up for a screen. Can’t hide Trey. Jimmy Watkins: They were going after him when the Hawks were a terrible defense. Now they’ve stacked an iron fortress around him. It’s like, it’s like. Remember they had those the. I remember when Steph first became an mvp, they used to say, why don’t you just put four dudes around Steph Curry and let him shoot and let him shoot threes. Well, that’s what the Atlanta Hawks are trying to do with Trey Young on defense. They have put four dudes around him to try and hide him. If not now, when? Trey Young. I will not even entertain Lamelo Ball as a serious winning basketball player yet he has to earn that conversation. Ethan Sands: Well, we know who is about winning. That’s his brother, Lonzo Ball. Yes. See how I did that? Bring it back to the Cavs. Jimmy Watkins: Not a lot of the rivals because they’re not. They don’t align on those two things. Ethan Sands: They also play 2K the same way that they play in real life. Like Lonzo had, I think six points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in his last game while playing next to lamelo, who had 30 points on 30 shots or whatever. It was like, whatever. I think it’s a fun dynamic and I think the Cleveland Cavaliers are going to be a lot of fun to watch when it comes to the season. Thank you guys again for joining me to talk about the potential of this year. What comes down to the takes that we have. And again, Chris, your big takes that are going to be big. Bold letter Takes that comes out on Wednesday. I’m excited to read those. Everybody who’s listening to this podcast tune into that as well. But we are back to five days a week as regular season has come and we are ready to give you guys the insight, the insider information, the that you deserve for the entirety of the 20252026 NBA season. But with all that being said, that’ll wrap up today’s episode of the Wine and Gold Talk podcast. But remember to become a Cavs insider and interact with Chris, me and Jimmy by subscribing to South Tay. This is where you can send in your weekly hey Chris questions. We’re back to doing every single wig. Sign up for a 14 day free trial or visit cleveland.comcavs and click on the blue bar at the top of the page. This is the only place you can send in your questions for us to answer and give you a shout out on our weekly hey Chris episode. But if you don’t like the subtext, that’s fine. All you have to do is text the word stop. 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