Hoops Tonight - Can Wemby's Spurs win title? Warriors next move, Jaylen Brown MVP case, KD's weakness | NBA Mailbag

All right, welcome to Hoops Tonight at the Volume—happy Friday. Mailbag is back with a stack of questions, so hit subscribe, turn on alerts, and drop your questions for future Friday shows; let’s talk basketball.

On Cade Cunningham and Jalen Brown as MVP front-runners: my MVP lens blends three things—best player alive, best player on the best team, and most valuable to their own team. Cade and JB have strong team records, but they’re not in the true top-tier talent bucket and their value metrics trail guys like Shai, Wemby, and Luka, who check more boxes and drive elite on-off impact.

Should the Warriors sit Steph? If his knee is truly one hundred percent, play; if there’s any discomfort, shut him down and live to fight next season. As for a Giannis swing, Golden State actually makes sense for both sides: Milwaukee reloads with a mountain of draft capital, Steph and Giannis are a clean on-court fit, and the Warriors have little to lose given their aging core; the ceiling then depends on how well they fill out the roster, but a healthy Steph–Giannis duo would be a nightmare in a series.

Why are the Warriors so up and down? Life without Steph means leaning on young or role-level ball handlers, and the real gap between stars and everyone else is consistency; some nights the reads and shots are there, and some nights they’re not.

Has Jokic made the triple-double feel routine? Greatness gets normalized; top guys fill the box even on B-minus nights, so the bar moves and only the outlier performances pop, but the impact is still massive.

Rockets: roster and coaching both share blame. Injuries and less aggregate ball handling and shooting have cramped their four-on-three game, and Udoka is more of a hard-edged motivator than a refined offensive tactician, so pairing him with a sharp X-and-O assistant would help.

Which is more damning: Finch’s Wolves not weaponizing Rudy or Udoka’s doubles on KD? Minnesota’s is worse because the roster is good; the offense lacks organization and creativity, and they need more layered actions—three-man dribble handoffs, stacked pick-and-rolls, and slips—to give Rudy clean lanes or it may be time for a new voice.

On De’Aaron Fox with the Spurs: he fits Wemby on both ends—point-of-attack turnovers feeding elite rim protection, plus pick-and-roll pressure and elite skip passing that punishes corner tags created by Wemby’s gravity. He’s not SGA or Luka, but at the price and timeline, he’s a strong No. 2 now and a bridge until Steph Castle matures.

Wemby: size is only part of it—the skill is in his mobility, coordination, and processing at that size, which comes from real work on pliability and movement. Also, recalibrate what “relatable” looks like; even small NBA guards are outlier athletes, so Wemby’s blend of length and agility is a legitimate skill package.

If the Spurs win it all: pump the brakes because the playoffs are a different beast, but if they do, it supercharges Wemby’s trajectory and raises the stakes for an OKC–San Antonio rivalry; the Thunder’s tighter cap window makes this year big for them, while the Spurs have a longer runway.

Why are NBA coaches recycled so often? It’s the simplest lever to pull when a team stalls—cheaper and cleaner than remaking a roster—and owners often prefer known voices for locker-room buy-in; I’d still hire for fit and modern ideas over resume, as we saw with Mazzulla and now Redick.

Thunder’s biggest weakness: they’re small on the perimeter. Hartenstein and Jay Will help inside, but big, powerful creators can still bully their guards and wings.

Jazz summer approach: hold specifics until the lottery and market shake out, but I’d target an unscramble-able point-of-attack defender and more perimeter shooting to complement a big frontcourt; that gives you scheme versatility to toggle between switching, zone, and drop without exposing your guards.

Nick Wright on the show? We’re working on scheduling in the next couple weeks, and I’d love to chop up Lakers, the playoff field, and Wemby.

Would I join an NBA team? Absolutely, if it were a real role and not entry-level; I respect the players I critique, and I’d love to pour that energy into a competitive team environment.

Ad Astra thoughts: too many set-piece detours that felt like effects-first choices and a flat payoff, plus the casting didn’t sing; I prefer how Project Hail Mary, The Martian, and Arrival keep the plot moving with cleaner devices.

That’s it for today—thanks for rocking with us. Have a great weekend, and I’ll see you guys on Monday.