What is crack a lackin hardwood knocks listeners. I am the highly if superfluously
caffeinated Dampa Valley coming at you with good friend and spectacular basketball writer and coach
and draft nick and just brilliant mind all around Adam Spinella. Follow him on
Twitter at the box End One underscore spelled exactly as it sounds and looks.
If you're watching this on YouTube, you can't see the underscore, realizing in
the way his Twitter handle is, but it's the box end One underscore.
He is awesome. Subscribe to his substack, the box End One. Check
out his YouTube channel, The box End One as well publishes great draft and
NBA content. Frequent guest, long time guest. Now of the podcast,
I don't have to apologize when he comes on anymore because he's been on enough
that he knows what he's getting into. Spins, How the heck are you
Dan, my old friend, You a little bastard. It's great to see
you. Thank you for that. Way, way too long of an introduction
there, but now I'm thrilled to be here talking about all things Summer League,
NBA, NBA Draft. I mean, look, basketball never stops anymore.
Right, there's there's always news breaking, there's always rumors going on their
games that are meaningful being played, And I, for one, find it
really fun because, like you, I'm an overcaffe neated workaholic, but like
it's this is year round now and we always have something to talk about,
and I'm glad we're gonna be able to do it right here with you in
the Hardwood Knock studio. Wait, are you copying to using caffeine? All
of a sudden, word on the street was you do not? Yeah?
So you know, getting through June was kind of a tough month on our
end wedding, a move and the end be a draft. While coaching games
and work in the normal full time job, I needed to start caffeine a
little bit. I was at probably like one point two grams a day,
and I have successfully cut myself down to about four to like four hundred to
six hundred milligrams, which I realize there's still a lot. I will say,
there's a lot of caffeine and pre workouts, even if you're taking pre
workouts that have stuff like and so that's where a lot of it came from.
But it was it got to the point I was like, right,
this needs to this needs to stop. And you know what the wake up
call was. I was talking to Jake Fisher and I know that guy worked
a lot too, and he's just like, no, I don't use caffeine.
I'm like, wtff, I need to cut this down. I avoided
it as a college coach. I avoided it mostly through my first year here
as a high school head coach, and now the last month, I've just
had to start doing it just to get through the day. And like,
it's terrible for me. It makes me sweat, like dom Deloise, like
I'm just dripping from Probably not gonna last very long, but at least for
the last month, I've needed it to get through. Yeah. I don't.
I don't know how you handled everything that you did or why you even
scheduled your wedding around the NBA Draft. That was That was a that was
a choice capslock choice on your part. What a moron? Yeah uh,
But congratulations you are the first time you're on the podcast since you have been
wedded, So congratulations to you and the missus. And on the new new
house. You look fly in this podcasting studio that you are building. I
see the basketball and you know there's gonna be photos and jerseys eventually. I'm
excited to see it unfold. I wish I would, oh, go ahead,
now we're getting there. I mean, this is the Larry Bird signed
your basketball back there. So I got to find a spot for that and
got a litany of Michael Jordan posters. So if anybody ever tries to ask
me on a podcast if I'm a Lebron or an MGA guy, they'll they'll
know the answer right away is Frank niel A China correct, good morning.
I wish I could say I'm as excited to talk about summer League. I
do very much enjoy Summer League. I have been asked many times by my
employer to go, and I always tell them no, I just can't get
into it as much as others do for some reason. I don't know.
Maybe I just have like fatigue from the draft going into free agency. But
I do enjoy being able to go and look at some of these players.
And so I figured if we could start with the top guys or the guys
that people are most interested in, and so we begin in just summer league
impressions. I want to hear from you and we'll start with I guess what
became the surprise number one pick, even though he was number one on your
big board, Palo ban Caro, what have you made of the time that
he played for the Orlando Magic before getting shut down. Yeah, anytime you're
a rookie and you get shut down after two games, that says a lot
about how much they value you and what you can bring to the table.
I was incredibly impressed by Paalo. I think that there are still areas for
every single one of these guys to continue to tighten up, Particularly for a
guy like Palo who's going to have a large role in the NBA level,
his flaws become a little bit more apparent. You know, there were a
lot of concerns pre draft about his defense and about his three point shooting range.
I think hopefully the two games of Summer League action showed that those were
a little bit overblown. The concern with Paolo, it's not necessarily decision making,
but it's the speed at which he makes decisions. He's a very good
passer, but a couple of the flaws that he had he had an eight
turnover game in Las Vegas, was that sometimes it can be a little harder
for him to pick up his dribble and make that read he wants to dribble
it one more time before he ends up making a pass to somebody else.
And you got to be more of a proactive than a reactive passer if you're
going to be a top one or two option on an MBA team. Because
defenses clogged the floor, they want to jump w all these different things.
So in order for him to get a little bit better at that, he's
just got to be faster with his recognition and making the proactive pass. But
everything scoring wise that you could want to see from him, he showed mismatch
posts, strength on the interior, good three point shooting, isolation moves that
are Carmelo Anthony esque, really good passing, petitive defense, great in transition
and in the open floor. He's the real deal, folks, and we
saw that on full display just in two games. I was impressed by his
defensive stamina where I was prepared for me to just be awful based on what
some people were saying. That was pleasantly surprising. And there is some anarchy
to like, I guess his processing speed, but like when the spin moves
come together and it's not like discombobulated. Oh my god, it's like explosive
ballet is what. It's just like he's been a joy to watch. And
I think, like, I'm just he was. You probably convinced me that
he should have been the number one playing in the draft, but I'm like
just convinced now that like, this dude is going to be incredible and let
the Magic now have their directional poll. Star also took was two games and
I didn't even watched the full two games. I watched his possession breakdowns for
one of the games, not the one against Houston, the other one.
So I'm sold. Pala bank Caro was good. That's my hot take.
Yeah, And I think if you're Orlando, it gives you the faith and
the clarity of how to build the rest of the roster for the summer.
I think that Summer League is positioned in the NBA calendar and the way it
is so that the big name free agents can go first and the guys that
are priority and need to chase the back. Then you have Summer League,
and from there you try to figure out how you're going to reshape the margins
of the roster. Aka, do we go after that veteran for maybe a
little bit more than he's worth just so that we get him, or can
we trust a rookie to potentially slide into that role? Did that second year
guy take the next step in order to become a dependable rotation guy at the
NBA level? So, you know, Summer League is great for getting more
of a glimpse into that. I think for Orlando, they always knew Palo
was going to be the guy, but what role is best for him?
How does his playmaking, you know, translate to the NBA level. And
I think what you see from this is they now have an abundance of riches
when it comes to playmakers with the ball in their hands. Where and RJ
Hampton a mark health fault, somebody can become a little bit more dispensable and
be more of a trade asset as opposed to, Hey, we just need
as many good young players who you can't like. No, now the identity
is starting to take shape of what you need around your best guys, which
to me are Paolo Sugs and Franz Wagner. And having the one player that
you can cite like, that's who we need to tailor the talent around him
is huge, and that's what they still lacked. I think even coming out
of this season, Franz Wagner was really good. I stort made incredibly high
on Jail and Suggs, but his rookie year was topsy turvy enough. I
think in part because of the role he did have to shoulder on on offense
to where it's still to be determined whether he would be that guy. Pollo
just looks like, Okay, now we have someone who we start to flesh
out the decisions for the rest of the roster around That's just that's a big
times. It's like, you know, I always say, you draft for
your star player, you draft for the guy that's going to be the number
one option in the outphae because even if you miss, that's still the hardest
guy to get for your roster. It's worth taking that swing on. That's
why Paolo was number one in this class. For me, it was less
about the skill game between him and chet Homegren. It was more about the
role that he fills being harder to find and more impactful. And that's why,
you know, I think Orlando made the right decision and hopefully and we
are not seeing just two games of absurd playing that he fades into the back,
like this is not an Anthony Randolph situation where he's going to be different
like he was. He was fantastic And I'm telling you all it translates on
an NBA floor speaking of chet Holmegren, I, my fellow cathless and quadless
buddy, chet Holmegrin. I was just worried sort of looking at his physical
makeup and I still was like, how are are his screens going to mean
anything during regular season NBA games? But like, I'm kind of just sold
on everything else where. His like spatial awareness away from the ball on offense
is fantastic. He's like a shot blocking presence and he can get up the
floor and get those types of contests. I was really impressed with sort of
the hints of okay, we know that if there's enough space that he could
have dribbled into threes like there was. I can't remember which game it was
hit like a side step three going to his left, and it just looked
so fluid. I am all in on chet home grew and I do question
though whether just his frame we saw Jannis fill out. Jannis looked like a
you know, when he came into the league looked like a spaghetti noodle as
well. But like that would be my only question, But what have you
thought about what he has shown in summer League? I mean, so I
try to air on the side of his mental makeup as opposed to the physical
makeup. Guys takes some time to turn into what they turn into physically at
the NBA level, he's still a teenager. The big thing with Chet is
that he's unique and he's competitive. So the uniqueness matters because what type of
player guards him? Right, Like, that's the one thing for me.
If you put a really small guy on him and try to undercut his dribble,
he's skilled enough to hit those right hooks in the post and be able
to shoot over the top of guys. If you put a bigger guy on
him, he's long and quick enough to be able to go past him and
separate with the dribble. So I think that I worry less about Chet physically,
especially in the offensive end, because I know the skill level and the
size is really there. But it's his mental makeup and the competitiveness that has
me really dialed in that he knows he's a smaller guy. He doesn't shy
away from contact, not one bit, and I love that about him.
The NBA game fits him so much better than the college game just because there
are less I should say, they're more fluid roles when you get to the
NBA, right, Like you're not just saying, hey, you're a four
or you're a five, and you run up this lane. And this is
exactly College coaches love having those strict roles because it's the easiest way for them
to be able to teach the game effectively in the time constraints that they have,
particularly with guys who have skill gaps in their games. The leash is
off for Chet Holmgren here, Like he is rebounding run, he's playing point
guard, Guys are inbounding to him. He's going behind the back and doing
combo moves, step back threes, he's pulling in transition whenever he wants,
Like this is the idealized version of Chet, where if you have this much
offensive potency to go with how skilled of a rim protector and unique of a
defender he is, Like the body stuff can't scare you away because he's so
dam productive in the minutes that he's on the floor, Like if he only
plays seventy two games a season and he has to be out a couple for
a bang up injury, here this or that, I'd take him every day
because he's just he's that damn good. I think you mentioned he's so young,
like his body can still develop, and it's just different when you're going
to have all the personnel that's associated with an NBA team around you and you
have more time to focus on your diet and your body development. And even
in my notes, I did wrote doesn't look like he has deltoids, but
his shoulder strength around the basket was surprising at times. I don't again,
I didn't see it translates so much to screen setting, but in the current
NBA, they're like teams feel like they just react to the idea of screens
rather than like the type of screen themselves screens themselves. So I'm all in
on him and he's been super fun to watch. For Jabari Smith Junior,
I came into this thinking that he I would hire on his shot creation and
this defensive versatility that everyone had touted that has officially flip flopped. I think
it turned for me probably before the Spurs game. But like his defense in
that Spurs game, Like, holy hell, he's like disruptive, he can
be intuitive, and he's like at the point of attack. I almost feel
like for the Rockets, he might not have been the player they thought they
were gonna get, but he feels like the better fit for the current roster.
If you wanted someone to play with Shane Goun, potentially Homegren could have
been that. With all of that said, his offense has made me not
worried, but it feels like, oh, perhaps this is going to be
more of a play finisher type guy than I initially thought it was. It's
summer League, I want to make that clear, but some of the shot
selection and then just I was convinced, and when people ask me on radio
shows about him, I'm like, yeah, the shot creation is gonna be
fine. And I've just completely flip flopped on my impressions of Jabari Smith Junior.
I was on the play finisher side of things, definitely thought that he's
going to be reliant on a guard to night a ball, and like,
look, Jalen Green's the perfect guard for him to pair with because he puts
so much pressure on the rim just as an athlete that it's going to create
more catch and shoot looks for Jabari. That's what he needs. And even
at Summer League he's I don't want to say played out of position, but
he's going to be asked to be more of us, Like that's just not
who his ideal role is going to be. He can hit some mid range
pull ups when he's chased off the line. He does have the ability to
shoot over the top of guys, but you don't want to rely on that
for offense. So I think that Houston did a great job with his draft.
They added three really good, high caliber players. But if the expectation
is the Jabari Smith is going to be as good of an offensive piece as
Jalen Green, I think that that's just unrealistic expectations. He showed that when
he's knocking down shots and they are going in, like he struggled the first
two games and then his shot ended up falling. He played well, but
the defensive stuff doesn't go away. And that's why he's still, you know,
a top two or three pick by almost every measure in this year's draft
class because he is a very very good defender. And that's something that I
agree with your take, Like Holy crap. He was good against the Spurs,
Like, holy crap, he was really really good in that game.
And if you're Houston, you've got to be as excited about that as you
are anything else because of the fit of the roster, and because if you're
going to be a shooter, you've got to find ways to impact the game
when the shots not falling. He clearly does that. I would love to
see a lineup in Houston of Jabari Smith Junior and Usmon Gruba as your front
court. Maybe even let's sprinkle in Kenyan Martin Junior and Jay Shawn take go
super big and have Jalen Green run point guard. I don't think that that
lineup would be particularly good offensively, but I would love to see it.
And I just I want to see Gruba so bad this year. I know
that he wasn't like part of their immediate bisure last season, but I would
love the idea of the defense. And just because Jabar Smith Jr. In
theory should be he's a lot more polished on offense than Gruba is, Like,
maybe there's more of a balance there to be struck if you try out
that front court. Perry I've long said that should be their end game lineup
right there when they when Shangoon gets played off the floor a little bit,
go with Garuba and Jabari and just surround Jalen Green with shooters. I favor
it. I enjoy that Keegan Murray. So I came on this podcast immediately
after the draft and I was less critical. I made jokes at the King's
expense because it's it's the King's like I had to, but I did say
that I don't even necessarily think that they were wrong. That I could see
and now I see it even more before we get into this, like this
isn't gonna be Oh, they drafted Marvin Bagley instead of Luka Doncic if anything,
And I'm we're talking about different caliber of players here, but sort of
how the Trey Young Luka Donts conversation. Yeah, Donte is a lot better,
but the the either oar has become almost a footnote, like having that
discussion. I don't think they missed the boat there because Kegan Murray is so
good. But I do think the Kings do not deserve the benefit of the
doubt. They have not earned it. So if people want to doubt them,
I do think they would have criticized any pick the Kings made, though,
so I'm going to be fair and say they've been WHOA, You've Jay
and Ivy and Deharon Fox and davy On Mitchell on the same team. That's
fucking stupid. Hashtag kangs. Oh you passed on Jay and Ivy? Hashtag
kangs. Anyway, So I've been very impressed with what I've seen from Keegan
Murray. I again, this is coming from someone who was not gott knee
deep into draft coverage at some point. Maybe it was never waist deep.
That's for sure. He knows how to move off the ball, and I
think he's probably been a little bit better defensively than I was expecting. And
the one question I have, and I didn't see it written anywhere, is
he's like his jumper sometimes like too far out in front of him where it
feels like it could potentially be blocked at some that was the only qualm I
had. But watching him move off the ball and sort of relocate or just
know where to be when he doesn't have it, or how to get to
a spot where someone's gonna of it to him, He's been so so good,
if not revelatory, incredibly smart player, really really well rounded on the
offensive end of the floor that allows his game. I think his game just
pops really well in the Summer League because he is more mature and polished and
smart than a lot of the guys that are on the floor. You know,
Summer League defensive rotations are how do they say it, not good,
So, you know, like guys who have slower shots tend to find areas
to get them off. I think that there's something to the fact that he
needs to be a little bit more square. Even though he's hitting some movement
threes, like, there's still a little bit more like chest and shoulders to
the rim. He's just very good. You're right, this is very different
than passing on one guy for a generational star. I think it's unfair to
say what happens with Ivy is going to determine the success of the King's pick
here at four, like Keegan Murray's going to be a really solid player.
But I also think that of all of the four guys we've talked about,
most his performance in Summer League might be attributed to the caliber of play around
him, as opposed to the direct translation of his game to the NBA level,
because again, a little less space to operate, a few smarter guys
that are on the floor, a little bit more size and athleticism, like
some of his first step stuff may not work as much, some of his
shooting avenues may not be there as well. Really good role player, really
really good role player. Understand him going forth over all of the Kings,
both in terms of roster fit, and I think it's defensible that he'd be
the best player available. I love Jade and Ivy. I've been very clear
on that for the last few months, Like I had him above Jabari Smith
on my final big board. So absolutely love Jade and Ivy, but I
don't think that Keegan is going to be He's a guy that can't be a
strikeout. You can't with with Keegan Murray and at some point for Sacarantha,
with what they're building, with what the franchise is, and I think the
value that he brings just as a floor spacer, it's gonna work out well
for everybody involved. I think what kind of impressed me, and I know
you mentioned like some of the first step stuff I had seen. The best
way that I saw a phrase I think was Jason Maples on Twitter said that
Summer League is for shot creators, and a lot of what has impressed me
the most about Keegan Murray has literally nothing to do with that, and the
fact that he stood out to me while doing those things. Also, while
you just mentioned surrounded by what relative will be the NBA inferior teammates is almost
even more encouraging. And so there's a chance that the Kings, even if
they weren't one hundred percent right, there's just a chance, a very strong
chance, if not overwhelming likelihood, that they weren't wrong. And I'm excited
to see what he looks like in an offense that's going to have Barnes Sabonis
and Dearn Fox. As Matt Moore of The Action Network phrase this, I
don't know what this defense. This is me saying this, I don't know
what the defense is gonna look like. But as Matt Moore said, there
are worse avenues to explore than Darren Fox. A bonus and a fuck ton
of shooting was the word of the US. So I'm I'm like fascinated to
see the Kings this season. I've just been really impressed with how rock solid
Keagan Murray has been Yeah, yeah, no doubt about it. So I'm
all in for watching the fuck Ton shooting Kings. Speaking of Keagan, speed
of Jay and I've excuse me, how we've got these natural transitions coming.
I started to see before his injury what people were talking about in the comparisons
to John Morant. Not as a score, it still feels like there's a
jaggedness to his offense. Although he hit he hit like this, step back
three going left, I count what was it like a Was it a Wizards
game? I don't even everything is all blending together for me. It was,
yeah, it was a Wizards game. But the passing, like the
field there, I totally get that. What have you thought of him?
And how maybe, like you know, we saw basically the regular season Pistons
for at least a game in summer League, But what have you thought about
him? And maybe even just some larger thoughts on the Pistons in general here.
I love what the Pistons are doing, really really doing, and part
of that is because I think Kaid Cunningham's the best prospect to come out in
the last three drafts. So you know that that helps when you have him
on your team. I think what I saw from Ivy first and foremost was
a confidence with the ball in his hands that wasn't unable to it was unable
to be unleashed at Perdue because of the way that they ran offense, Like
you know, he was more of an off ball guard. They played through
post ups a ton, didn't get consistent pick and roll reps, and you
could see in the summer league gear. The idea was to play through him
a little bit more, and he looked really good in that regard. I
agree, there's still a little bit of clunk that goes into how he changes
gears in the mid range, the pull up areas, like just some of
the scoring cleanliness into his game, but he's a good enough shooter. He
puts tremendous pressure on the rim and look out in transition. I think the
unsung hero for a guy like Jade and Ivy is having Jalen Duran as a
lob threat partner and as a rim protect at the other end who can alter
shots, rebound in the outlet plays so that he can play and transition a
little bit more. It's a great partnership and I think it's only going to
be strengthened when they add Kate Cunningham to that as really your primary option when
the game slows down in the half court, and then you can see the
rest of the roster is going to be about shooting. More Sadiq Bays more
Isaiah Livers, like guys that can just come in here and knock down and
give spacing. I think that Detroit has a really good blueprint in place.
Isaiah Livers is going to get his shot off, and he had a post
up against Washington that made me actually drop my jaw, So they're going to
be super fun. Do you trust Jade and Ivy's like perimeter touch? Yeah,
when he's set. I don't really trust it that much in the mid
range area, but you know, if teams go under screens and he gets
himself square, I think he's pretty good in that area. He loves the
step back with the ball in his hands, and I think that he's got
pretty easy mechanics to the point where he'll be, okay, a spot up
guy too, Jayden sharp, so he gets or excuse me, I skipped
over one. Bennetick mathern apologies. I had no idea that there was like
this much off the dribble juice to him, what is he like gonna do
for the pacers here? And it feels like even if they get eighten and
that's something we could talk about later, there's like room to explore what Bennetick
Matherin can do on the ball there. And I'm hoping they give him It's
always iffy to me with Ricarlo, I'm hoping they give him that agency from
day one. Yeah, there was there was a point when I went back
and watched Arizona film in like March or April this year, watching Mathron,
I was like, this guy's a lot better off the bounce than he gets
credit for. He's still developing as a pass or his handle, like he's
somewhat comfortable with it, but he's got to tighten up a lot of different
things to be able to get through tight spaces. So he's going to be
a work in progress. But yes, long term, I think that he
can turn into a guy like that because he's athletic enough to put pressure on
the rim and he shoots it really well from three. So he's going to
collapse defenses. He's going to get chased off the line, like he doesn't
have to be somebody that you run pick and roll after a pick and roll
for Tyrese Haliburton can come off of a high ball screen kick to math and
if he gets run off the line, you know a good decision is going
to be made or he's going to score it more frequently than he doesn't.
Huge fan of Math and like this dude's got like cohnez man like. He
is super super confident in his game and his offensive arsenal. I love seeing
that from a guy like him. I heard a lot of feedback from people
around the league that the final month of the pre draft process he ended up
being somebody that opened a lot of eyes to what he can do more with
the ball in his hands than he got to play with it Arizona and I
think Summer League thus far has been a pretty good glimpse into what he can
be. But more than that, we talked about, you know, the
kangs surrounding just a really good point guard and a big man with shooting.
I think that's what Indiana ends up doing, whether it's DeAndre Eton or not.
Haliburton and a big man pick and roll with all of the shooters that
they have. Duarte Matherin Jalen Smith, Buddy, healed like its a it's
a recipe to a shortcut on offense. And you mentioned Rick Carlisle. That's
the X factor here. Can he buy into that? Can he sit on
his hands and not dial up Spider to why Banana for the fifth time coming
out of like the third quarter, Like, no, just let your good
player have the ball in his hands and go. That's why I'm almost rooting
for them not to get Eton, because I don't want them to like have
someone else in the pecking wonder where I think they would look to slow things
down, run stuff through eight and I think that's what Aiten wants, and
so having Turner, who probably wants to do that too, keeping him he's
still more of a kniche offensive player. And after seeing Matherin in the Summer
League, like whoever the Pacers think is better, I hope that they get
I want DeAndre and to get paid, he's young, whatever, But I
also just want to see benthic mathin get reps on reps on reps on reps
on the ball in addition everything else he does. After watching him in Summer
League, and I think it's more likely that happens if you have Miles Turner
or maybe you still trade him. But there's a different center, Like if
it's if it's Isaiah Jackson or Jalen Smith, is your five go go Patase.
It feels like it's more likely to happen if it's one of them,
as opposed to you spending a lion share of your minutes next to Ayton and
Halibert. Yeah. I mean, look, we're talking about the top six
right here. I'm encouraged by every guy that we saw. Obviously you've already
didn't shoot the ball well, but the way he defended consistently was really important.
I think every one of these top six is going to be a solid
player. Like, I don't foresee a lot of busts within this group,
Shaden Sharp. I think it's fitting the one shot he hit was like basically
like a circus fade away on the baseline or the one shot that I saw
you hit before he gets injured. What is the it's basically what is the
impact of his injury on the regular season Blazers. But I really want to
ask you what can he bring to a team that is very clearly like trying
to win now? Still, Like, how do you go about developing the
type of player that he is within the makeup that the Blazers have laid.
Yeah, it's I think the most similar way to put it is watch what
Golden State did with Cominga this year. Give him a super defined role,
make sure he does those things well first before you add anything else to his
plate, and make sure that you limit his minutes and have the understanding that
he's not going to get a ton of reps. Like this is where you
know, if the Blazers had a G League team, Sorry did I say
that out loud, Like you'd be able to go through a different means of
development with a guy like him. But I don't think that there ever really
was an expectation that he would be a rotation caliber player this year, and
I don't think that that would make this a bad pick. I think that
it's just you take the best player available and you know what he can turn
into. Eventually. He's going to need some time in seasoning, and that's
not a bad thing. Summer League is the area when you find out how
much and unfortunately we didn't get to see how much season in Shaden needs before
you can contribute anything. So my best guest here is that they stick him
into more of like a secondary tertiary play maker, off the bench for eight
to twelve minutes a night. See what he gives you there, make sure
he defends on a reliable level, and then maybe give him a little bit
more to bite off if he if he succeeds in it. I would love
to talk about Dyson Daniels and Jeremy's someone, but we can't. Daniels barely
played. At least his ankle injury seems to be a non issue. That's
fine. Sowen was in health and safety protocols we did have I asked you
this question. We also had a question from a listener other than the top
five picks, who has been the most impressive to you so far? And
I'll even scale that to outside the lottery, outside the top ten, since
we basically just rolled through most of those. Yeah, I mean, if
we're going outside the latter, ll leave off the guy that, outside of
Paolo and Chet, was the most impressive for me. Jalen Williams for Oklahoma
City. I was blown away by how well he played. But outside the
lattery here, I liked both Houston guys, Tarry Easton and thy Thy Washington,
and not just how they played, but they're fit together, really really
good. Tari does a lot of little things. His energy never stops,
He's always moving. His hands are strongest things I've ever seen. And thy
Ty Washington just incredibly smart and cerebral player. I was also impressed by Josh
Maynot for Minnesota. He showed a lot more offensive polish on the perimeter than
I was expecting, incredibly raw this last season at Memphis. The growth that
he's undergone in the last few months, or at least the comfort level that
he showed playing on a pro floor was important. And then don't sleep on
Jabbari Walker for Portland either. He's had some really good games. I thy
Ty Washington specifically plays. I know people worry about his size. He plays
so much bigger than he actually is, Like you don't feel like he's that
tiny. I actually have three names of my own, so that might shock
you. One of them we already discussed. I'm just Isaiah Livers. He's
gonna get that three ball off. And I think the Pistons as long as
he stays healthy and you just play him right away and cut him Lewis I
still believe, and I promise I had this pencil did in before we're recording
this after he went off for Charlotte. I don't think the Hornets are going
to be the team that maximize him. But I'm in love with Bryce McGowan.
That's someone who I just feel like is he had some really interesting three
point shot making versus the cap, So it's not even the game that he's
just coming off of. And then he I'm not sure that like some of
the flash year passes he tries will ever actually mean anything. They sort of
feel empty. But he was, you know, in the game spytically against
the Lakers. He was finding guys like while they were in space and know
I want to get the ball to them. I'm very if the three point
accuracy is real, and I'm not saying it's to this high end because i
know we shot sub twenty eight percent. I believe in school. I think
that's like a real rotation NBA player who have gotten there. I'll push you
back a little bit on that because you brought up the quote earlier about you
know, Summer League is for guys who can create their own shot and our
buckets in that regard, like the consistency of he of like Blake Wesley for
San Antonio, who's had some really good flashes and then he goes through for
twenty in the next game. You know, McGowan's two really good games won.
That's pretty damn Jayden Hardy for Dallas, really good aggressive scoring effort.
Still a lot to be desired in terms of the playmaking, polish and the
decision making. Like all of these guys that can get buckets have proven at
the very least that they can still get buckets on an NBA court surrounded by
NBA type of athleticism. The question is can they refine their game to become
consistent and that really it's going to depend on the aspirations of the team that
you play for for how long your leash is to be able to play through
some of those minutes. You know, if Charlotte is pushing for the seven
or eight seed in the Eastern Conference and that's their goal for next year,
I would imagine McGowan's leash is a little bit shorter, even with the flashes
that he's able to show. That's why book Knight didn't play much for them
last year. Similar type of player. Even I love his game, but
just not as reliable as a rookie because he's gonna have some great Knights and
he's gonna have some donuts. Blake Wesley for San Antonio probably gonna have the
longest leash out of any of those guys to play through it because of the
team's aspirations right now. So when we're looking at all these guys, it's
awesome that McGowan's is playing well. I really really liked him as a first
round talent, a guy that can definitely score. There's just a long way
between where he is now in the consistency for a nightly basis to be relied
upon in that role. The only you say that I disagree with is that
the Hornets are going for the nine or ten seed at seven or eight is
a little bit too aspirational for them. And I'm also worried that Blake Wesley
slash Balchi Brandam aren't going to give coach Pop heart attack next season. My
last player is more plug and play, though key On Ellis just had some
very nice off ball relocation moment moments, and even just as someone who kept
the ball moving and was making quicker decisions, like just had some nice swing
passes and kickouts. Just someone I'm sort of monitoring fits the motif of the
Kings is fuck ton of shooting though, that's for sure. Dan. Can
we record this part and show it to the players on my team that are
coming in next year? As long as you can shoot the ball and defend,
you can play right away? Thank you. Maybe name drops someone who's
a little bit more well known than key on Ellis, because that might imagine
giving the motivational speech like you want to be the next key on Ellis?
Like that's you. What I'm monitoring that might not resonate is I'll draw that
one up in a huddle, right, Yeah? Which second or third year
players have stood out the most to you? And why is Quentin Grimes the
most impressive of that bunch? You Knicks fan? I love you Quentin Grimes.
He's probably the best player in Summer League, to be honest with you,
this year, Like incredibly impressive, polished, efficient, knows exactly when
to pick his spots. Physical, great watching the Knicks. Their defense was
great so far this Summer League. From what I like, everybody's applying pressure
on the basketball. Their rim protectors are sound like I love Jericho Simms.
Love love, love Jericho Simms. But Grimes is incredibly impressive and I think
is primed for a rotation role with the Knicks this year. Like Josh Giddy.
Obviously we know he's an incredibly talented player. He hasn't shot the ball
well in Summer League. That was an area of improvement that everybody was looking
to see. But I'm convinced he's grown by the way. I'm just convinced
he's clearly too good to be on the floor in a lot of these games.
Just his playmaking, his feel is a surd and then Moses Moody or
Moody Moses, depending on who he asks, he is. He is the
real deal. He's primed to move into a rotation role for the Warriors,
which is a little bit of a cheek coade. I know you and I
were texting back and forth on Golden State, like that's absurd how many good
young players and role players they have on their roster. And then Trey Murphy
for New Orleans. I also liked the growth that he's shown off the Bouts
a little bit. You did steal two of mine, and we'll get into
Trey Murphy. The third is the impetus for one of the many. But
it's the first question that's coming up. I'm in love with Quentin Grimes,
and I think that you could argue there's a chance that he's like the fourth
most important nick next season because you need another perimeter defender other than RJ.
Barrett right now. And I'm in love with Quentin Grimes. We'll see if
he gets moved for Donovan Mitchell or someone else. At this point, I
have my own players here too. How's that for actually doing prep? No?
Wait, I don't have my own players here. I already gave them
to you. That was my I'm sorry, that was my Those were my
rookies that I popped out there. So the next thing I want. The
next thing I want to get through the Baby Warriors since you, since you
brought them up, like you, what were your impressions of seeing like what
we saw from Comingo, so not just Komingo but Wiseman so far him coming
back Comingo. You already mentioned Moody, and it doesn't really look like the
Warriors are now going to successfully straddle these two separate timelines. Yeah, So,
like I was impressed by Wiseman just in terms of his comfort level and
his confidence. He moved really well. There's still a lot of instinct stuff
to clean up that we always say it takes a big man about two years
to learn to adjust to the NBA level. We've seen that from time to
time for young teenagers when they come in their first two years are really learning
how to do the job. Years three and four, they can do it
successfully. Wiseman lost his first two years in the league, so it's it's
a crapshoot to know how long it's going to take, how much he's already
caught on just by going through practices and film sessions and workouts. But the
raw flashes that he's shown are it's unfair that the Warriors can have one of
these guys that could just come off the bench and play a couple of minutes
only if they want to have him do that like it's it's insane. I
still believe in Wiseman. I just think there's no way to appropriately predict what
his role can or should be Cominga's definitely force him right. A lot of
these guys that come out here. Summer League is a great experimental time to
put the ball in the hands of a non traditional playmaker and see if they
can ever turn into a traditional playmaker or somebody that becomes more of a focal
point of your offense. And like, uh, forget which other team I
was I was going to reference. There was another one that ended up just
saying, hey, we're going to give the ball to this guy. Oh
it was Memphis with Zia Williams in the summer league out there in Utahly he
basically ran point and that's not his role next to John Morant, that's not
his role on the team, but they want to see if he can evolve
into that eventually. I think Golden State went out there and said, hey,
Comiga, like, why don't you go out there and score or as
much as you can? And he took that to heart. Let me tell
you, he got a lot of shots up. Wasn't great with him,
but he got a lot of shots up. And look, we've seen what
he can do within the role that he's scalable too. I think the efficiency
will come along. He's getting better. But when I look at a team
that just is coming off of a championship and has three guys in the first
two years of the league that are Wiseman cominga and Moses Moody Moody, Moses
Man. That's a lot of riches to be able to play with, either
to round out your rotation or that are attractive trade pieces to somebody else if
you feel like you need more of a veteran eventually. I just they've navigated
this so well. It didn't look that way for like a three month period,
maybe a year ago. They've navigated all of this really well. You
know, Joey Lightyears was touching himself to the Comingo Wiseman pick and roll that
worked out. I think it was Wiseman's debut game. Who among those three
who do by the way, this he's not doesn't belong in here, but
like Jordan Pools only entering year four two, it's like that's how there's like,
so they're just covered from so many different ends of the spectrum. You
still need, I would argue at least one of them to turn into a
megastar, And I think Comingga is still your best shot there. But looking
at next season, what the Warriors have done this year, who among those
three do you think is most important or do you expect to play the biggest
role. I think probably probably Moody because you know again, kids, Remember
if you can knock down threes and defend at a high level, you can
play early in your career too. I just that's the pathway for me.
I think that he finds a way to be both filling a need for the
Warriors, which is another wing on their roster that can come in and play
a little bit. And I think with cominga, we're just not going to
see that giant of a step forward from year one and year two, like
we have seen a little bit more with Moody's confidence, even even post e
j Ldell's ACL injury, I'm getting pretty close to saying some dangerously, recklessly,
drunkenly optimistic things about next year's Pelicans and Trey Murphy the third is a
big part of that. Do you need to talk me off this, Ledger
or have you already joined me out on it? Dan, I have harnessed
up and I am ready to untie the ropes from the carabineer and just jump
off the gorge like this is. This is a really good team in the
Western Conference. And like Zion Ingram and McCollum, I always talk about your
big three, your three pillars for a team that's a really good offensive trio
to have. They've got a ton of really good role players, you know,
whether it's the big guys that they can plug and play based on different
lineups and opponents, Herb Jones, Jose Alvarado, Trey Murphy, like,
the list goes on and on about guys that just fit in around the core.
I do have two concerns. One is the health of Zion and his
integration process back in the lineup. The second is what do they do with
the five? I still don't see the clear answer for New Orleans in late
game situations or in a playoff series. Do they go with valanciunis there and
now like he and Zion's kind of a funky spacing duo. Do you go
with Jackson Hayes and have more of that you know, rim rolling guy,
Like, I don't know if I see that either. Is Zion going to
be somebody that plays the five? Do you trust Herb Jones in that role?
Is Larry Nance? Like, if he's playing the five? Is I
think that is Zion Nance? To close games? It's probably my pick two
in terms of fit, But it's like, are you really gonna play Larry
Nance? And then leave Herb Jones and Jonas Valanciunas on the bench like talent
wise, like I don't. I don't think that there's a very clear cut
answer for what they should do. And that's the one area for me if
I'm looking forward, Like obviously I want to see if Zion's healthy and it's
the same old Zion. Everybody's always wondering the same thing there. But I
think that they need a little bit more definable over presence up front, just
in terms of the hierarchy, not in terms of like I don't think Jonas
is good. I do think he's good. I just struggle to see the
fit with him and Zion based on the space and the Zion needs. Yeah,
Pelicans fans who listened to this podcasts have been adamant that he's a better
fit Joan's valent Tunis next to Zion than Miles Turner would be. That's something
I still disagree with, But Valentunis was really good last year, and I
think for the time being there it's more workable. I feel like where if
you went like why can't Herb Jones play with Zion and Larry Nance Jr.
And then you go point guardless with CJ and Brandon Ingram because you have so
many creators there. I think long term, like depending on how you feel
about Jose Alvarado, Trey Murphy the third, and then yes you are I
mean valent Tunis is making He's not even making Mitchell Robinson money right now actually,
so like you can justify not playing him because those decisions probably get tough,
and I'm sure they're matchup dependent, but I want to see Trey Murphy
the Third on the floor all the time, and it's hard to do that
right now, like in a closing unit. And I'm just the way he
closed the season and knowing that Zion was going to be healthy, how CJ.
McCollum and brand Ingram were eventually integrated, just knowing what Herb Jones did,
Having Jose Alvarado, DeVante Graham can probably only get better this team.
I am not like. I think one of my preseason predictions is that if
Zion plays in sixty plus games, the Pelicans are going to be a four
seed. And that's gonna sound outlandish to people knowing that the Clippers, the
Nuggets, the Warriors, the Suns all exist. I don't know, man,
this team. They really put it together after their terrible start. Kudos
to Willie Green for the way he was able to coach them up on defense,
especially in transition. I'm I'm all in on the Pelicans, and that's
like, not really spicy because Zion Williamson is transcendent when he's healthy. But
given where they were at the start of last season, to make that progression
where I think that they're closer to contention than the eight seed, let's say
that's a hell of a jump, even if it's just like conceptual at this
point to make do you smell that? Damn it smells like a solidation trade
with some of their younger role players eventually, I don't I don't know.
I want Kevin Durant in New Orleans. I would love it even more if
you could do it, if if the Nets just wanted picks and you could
keep rand in Ingram since you have the salary matching tools to do it.
I just don't know what is the type Let's throw Kevin Durant out the window
here, what is the archer type of player you'd be looking for in a
consolidation trade? Though, That's what's interesting about this team is because they're almost
at the and I'm higher on their outlook than I was the Hawks. But
it's a little hawksy in where it's like, well, they kind of have
all these guys like at all these different positions. It's like, what are
you consolidating into? Yeah, and I don't have the direct answer for that,
like there's only one of them in the world, but like an elite
stretch five like Karl Anthony Towns, Minnesota's not going to do that deal.
But yeah, maybe that's just what upgrades this roster a little bit more.
I don't know, but I just I look at all those pieces and I
say, it's that's a sneaky team that could get involved with another star if
if something happened, like if I don't know, I haven't name. I
just don't want to say it because I love the fan base and how passionate
they are. And if any of them are listening, they're gonna tell me
to fuck off. But Pascal siakam On that's exactly what I was gonna say
too. Yeah, so they're gonna say, stop voyering, this is voyeurism.
Let us keep past. I love siakam you damn Americans, So getting
into this which team's young core of And this isn't These aren't the only young
cores out there. But looking at Detroit, Orlando, Okay, see Houston
and even san Antonio. Now because I'm a sucker for Josh Primo, Who's
another player. I think you mentioned him in your second year. Guys,
maybe I meant to mention him too, but I love Josh Primo. Which
of those young cores sort of excite you the most? Leading into leading into
just next season, not even if you want to take a big picture,
sure, but leading into next season. Yeah. So Detroit, Oklahoma City,
Orlando, and Houston are a year farther along in their rebuild than san
Antonio. So I think we got to push them aside a little bit because
they haven't assembled enough of the talent. They've got more future I mean,
Oklahoma City's more future picks than I have follicles of hair on my head.
But like san Antonio is just not quite ready to be in this discussion,
I don't think I like a lot of their young guys. They still don't
have the guy offensively. Of the other four, I really like all of
them. I said it earlier. I think Kid Cunningham's the best player of
the last couple of drafts. So for me, like I have to go
with Detroit because they have the tent pole star out of this group, and
I love Ivy and Duran both next to them as a pick and roll partner,
and it's easy to fill the rest of your roster around guys like that,
with shooters and veterans that can help you win games. I like what
all four have done. I want to be very very clear on that,
but I think Detroit is the best player and a young core that will age
and grow together to the point where this is the timeline is always going to
sync up, and it's easy to know what you need around these three guys
in order to win games. Detroit would be my pick two in large part
because of Kay Cunningham. If you told me that Okayse was open to you
both shake Gil, just Alexander and Chet homegrin to the floor, and then
you're looking at consolidation trades and I'm still I'm getting killed on TikTok, Instagram
and the podcast I publish where I said they should join the Donovan Mitchell sweepstakes.
A lot of Thunder fans have insisted that Josh Giddy is too high a
price to pay, so you need to do the deal without him in it.
And my response was, I know you have the Jelly williams Is.
I know you have Usman Jang, I know you have all these picks.
That's not a deal that I anticipate getting done unless Josh Giddy's included. I'm
not saying Donovan Mitchell has to be the guy. It's very close to being
okay See for me, because I think shake Gil just Alexander is an all
not an All Star caliber, an All MBA caliber player already. It's just
he plays a loaded position. And now you have Chet Homegren there, and
there are other interesting blue Dort like that's fantastic, And then you're not gonna
give up your entire young asset base. You're still gonna have Darius Baisley,
You're still gonna have You're still gonna have trade there. You're still gonna have
one of the williams Is after that trade or if not, both of them
still. So I'm close to wanting to choose them. But I think because
of Kate Cunningham Detroit, I think long term, I'm the highest on okay
See or Orlando might be the core that fascinates me more because it's less clear
what they turn into and sort of the most polarizing, fascinating, pleasantly fascinating
way. Yeah yeah, I think that Oklahoma City has the most unique roster
build because of the future picks, because of the types of players that they've
gotten, Like Chet is a quote unquote position less player uniform. Everyone's positionless
and let's screw off. But I think with Detroit, like I always go
by the three pillars approach for me, you want to fill your number one
option, your number two option, your number three option on your roster,
and then you can start to figure out what you need around the margins to
build a championship corps. Of all the teams that we've talked about, I
feel the most certain that Detroit has those three options. I think Kate is
one, Ivy is two, and I would put Sadiq Bay at three,
knowing that Jalen Durham might eventually supplant him and turn into that. So like,
I feel really comfortable knowing the hierarchy there. So now the direction moves
forward of Okay, we've got those three, what do we build around them?
Like Orlando has their one in Polo, I think Sugs eventually turns into
a two. Yeah, a guy like Franz can end up being the three
there. Maybe maybe it's cool Anthony, maybe it's you know, I don't
know. Oklahoma City. They've got Chet and n Sga. I'm not quite
sold on Giddy yet being good enough to deserve that just because of the scoring.
Phenomenal playmaker, really good size, fits who they are and what they
do. Think that he can figure it out. But it's just a little
early for me to jump in on saying, yeah, Giddy's not going to
get played off the floor in an important playoff series. Fun fact about Josh
Giddy. If you look, he looks like zach Ephron took off his bronzer
in that movie I don't even the name of it with Matthew Perry, whereas
like seven seventeen again, is that at the name of a movie might be.
But if you look at Josh Giddy and um is like a pale version
of that. That's way before he gets a haircut. That's what I thought
of. Anyway, I'm gonna follow the question from longtime lister Miroslav Shook into
this. He asked, who has the lowest BPM in summer league and how
much weight you ascribe to that. I don't publicly available BPM is not out
for summer League, and I'm not going to calculate it if you care.
Malachi Brandam is the like one of the most noteworthy picks with the worst plus
minus. I would argue you throw all of this out the window advanced metrics
in summer league. Are there any players though to you that you were a
little bit disappointed or we're hoping to see more of in summer league that kind
of missed your own expectations. Yeah, I'm try not to set too high
of expectations for first year guys, just because I think that we're still trying
to figure out how much of the expectation was, you know, to hive
an expectation on my part versus what they can actually do on an NBA floor.
So I look more at the second year guys, people that I either
was really high on pre draft or just had higher expectations for them to come
in and thrive in the role they were given. So RJ. Hampton for
one, Sharif Cooper for another, like two guys that played more at the
ball in their hands, and were a little erratic, didn't score the ball
efficiently. Like was really hoping that those second Hampton's going into his third year
now, that those guys would be able to take another step forward and just
show that they're ready to be dependent upon more in a rotation. I'll also
throw Santi Aldama out there for Memphis, like he just he looks like he
doesn't have the ability to separate from guys. And if you can't do that
in summer League, I struggle seeing that at the you know, the real
eighty two game season that's upcoming, minutes are going to be available in Memphis
with Jaren Jackson Junior injured for the big part of the season, I don't
feel comfortable if I'm Memphis plugging Aldama into that role. And that's you know,
with as many young guys as they've hit on recently, that makes him
a little bit expendable in ways that Like I just I wasn't incredibly high on
what we saw from him. Let's get to some other My biggest disappointment,
and it's his playmaker's been fantastic. I was just hoping, Jared Butler,
would you better than twelve percent from three in the action that you played.
Let's get to some other listening to questions here, some of which will step
on the toes of what we just talked about that guy. Tie from Discord
asked twofold question, what are your thoughts on Ray John Tucker's chances of finding
a roster spot this season? Sadly it doesn't seem like it will be Milwaukee.
Do you have any thoughts on Marjehan Bochamp Okay Bucks. Yeah, Marjehan,
I think fits really well culturally in Milwaukee. They needed a wing.
They needed somebody that can come in and space the floor without sacrificing size,
length, physicality, and defensive readiness. He checks those boxes for a team
that's trying to compete for a title. This was a why use of a
first round pick. If he shoots thirty five percent from three or above,
he's going to be able to find a way to fit into that rotation early
in his career, and I think he's capable of doing so. Again,
I love that he embraces the defensive side. Compared himself pre draft to a
guy like Herb Jones, and I think we see flashes of how he can
turn into that Rajon Tucker. He is like, there are like fifty guys
to me who are caught in that nebulous of they're way too good for the
G League, but they're not good enough to get minutes on an NBA team,
So they get kind of pushed out every year by the younger draft picks
a team has already invested in. Like, there's an old saying that I
knew from when I coached college that even if a walk on out plays a
scholarship level player, the coach can't play the walk on over the scholarship level
player because it makes him look bad. You you whiffed on that scholarship that
you handed out, because now walk on is better than that kid. It's
kind of the same thing in the NBA, right, Like you don't want
to admit that your second round pick, your first round pick that you took
just isn't getting the job done, and somebody that you can poach off of
any roster in the G league is going to do a better job. So
what happens The draft picks stay on the roster and the G league guys just
bounce around until they might find the absolute perfect situation. Jon can find it,
but I just I don't have a lot of hope in those guys turning
into career guys. It's not a bet that I would be willing to make.
The only thing I'll add is on Marshawn bow Champ. The question was
about a shooting. He looked very comfortable dotting up from the corners in summer
League, and I'm wondering if maybe there's a chance for him to get some
run early on when Chris Milton might miss part of the regular season. Teams
in the Buck situation still probably normally wouldn't do that, including coach Buddenholzer of
all, but I love bow Champ. T bloom one one seven asked who
looks worse after that Cam Thomas interview him or Steve Nash? And why is
he Cam? I'm actually I'm really glad that questions asked, because I want
to give the coaching perspective to things here, like for what it's worth.
I don't think that Cam Thomas was actually talking directly about the Steve Nash comment
there. I think he just gets sick of hearing the same criticism or improvement
point that he's probably heard for much of the last three, four or five
years, which is about his passing, Like nobody looks bad in this circumstance
between Nash and him. But like, I think both criticisms are fair.
Like Cam needs to not be a black hole, and part of the summer
League is working on parts of your game against competition that you haven't necessarily worked
on. That should be part of his agenda. Nash needs to be a
better coach. Yeah, he struggles to kind of communicate and demand expectations clearly
from the non star players. I think that part of the reason he was
brought in was to relate to guys like Kyrie and KD and not make the
same mistake that Kenny Atkinson did, which was playing better younger eyes over shitty
veterans. So like, if that's what Steve Nash is there for, of
course he's not gonna have the best command of the relationship with some of those
younger guys. It's an area he needs to get better at too. But
if that's what we're talking about, think both criticism points would be fair.
But I think this is much ado about nothing. In terms of the clip
that's circulating about Cam Thomas, I'm kind of with you and I did watching
that clip though, Like Cam Thomas's reaction is hysterical because it's so it's not
even subtle. That's what was though. That was what was so great about
it for me. Keegan's Oh, let me say, who asked this question?
So I'm just not spending it. Strops asked, I know he's at
twenty five, but is Caleb Holmesley the next Donovan Mitchell? No, we're
gonna move on. You can't relabrun that well. Is he? Are you
saying that he's going to be better than Donovan Mitchell? I guess I did
leave the door open for that one, didn't I No. I mean Holmesley's
fine. I think that he's more in the Raygion Hucker bounce around camp than
he is a dependable rotation guy in the NBA. Next question, Next question,
that was quick, Sweet Lou said. Asked more impressive Keagan's three to
tie it or Paulo's assist to win it? Oh? Yeah, that King's
Magic game was super fun in the final few minutes there. I mean,
like, the Keagan play is impressive because it's hard to hit a shot like
that with the game on the line. But I want long term to be
able to remember Paulo's assist to win it in the playmaking because look like we're
this is gonna happen inevitably five months from now. We're gonna have a few
games where he has like six turnovers and goes six of eighteen from the field,
and there's gonna be so many people that are allowed to being like,
I don't know, man, he's too selfish. He just wants to score
first, Like yeah, he's an okay pass or early in the game,
but when the game's on't he just wants to score. Like, no,
cut that shit out. We just saw him make a game winning assist.
Don't forget this play. So in terms of the actual impressive, like,
I hope that that play impressed upon all of you that Pallo is a willing
and unselfish passor Next question, JT Alexander asked, should I bet all of
my money on Keagan Murray winning Rookie of the Year. Oh, I'm not
a betting guy. I've actually never put money down on and athletic events in
my life, So I don't like understand odds very well and the numbers and
the two to one, six to one on twenty to one. I don't
I don't get it, but I think Keagan's actually a fairly safe bet.
I'd say Pallo is the clubhouse leader because I know opportunity, offensive reps and
volume stats, which I mean it still matters a lot in this award,
and how it's decided is really important. Side side note here, can we
just talk about how the Rookie of the Year is really decided? Like why
does the success of the team really matter for an award like this anymore?
I get that we want to reward winning an impact on winning that these young
guys have, but we consistently value team performance for guys who were drafted into
crappy situations to begin with. Like at the end of the day, Scotty
Barnes wins Rookie of the Year because guess what, Toronto's the best team of
any of these candidates that were available. I just I hope we can take
that out of it a little bit more. I'd agree with you, as
Scotty Barnes was my Rookie of the Year pick still and it didn't really have
fun. Maybe people just have Michael Carter Williams, PTSD. Maybe, I
mean, there's certainly a chance of that, but at the end of the
day, like, give the award to the guy who's earned it, not
to the guy who you're worried is going to be a bust if he plays
on a better team in a couple of years. I do think, though,
and this is always going to be the case, and I kind of
understand it. The Rookie of the Year awards traditionally are going to skew towards
guys who just unless the class is super thin, who have the ball in
their hands a lot more than I think Keenan Murray's gonna end up having the
ball in his hands with Sacramento, Yeah, no doubt. And look,
if he shoots, you know, thirty eight percent, thirty nine percent from
three like he did at Iowa this year and averages twelve a game and the
Kings win thirty nine games, he's gonna have a good a shot as anybody.
But again, my money's on Palalo just because I think that he's gonna
have a lot of volume. How does this comes from? Ian Fowler?
How does Jabbari Walker stack up past second round picks who to get regular season
minutes? I guess do you expect him? He did get a guaranteed contract
with the Blazers. Good for him. Yeah, I always I liked Jabari.
I had him in like the early to mid thirties on my board,
just outside of first round grade. Really like his game, what he brings
to the table, huge jujuje fan of his defense, and he understands and
knows his role for younger guys. I'm gonna sound like a broken record here.
If you come in and defend and you can knock down shots right away,
you can play too. That's what Jabari does. So I liked Jabari
Walker quite a bit. This is, you know, creamacure question from the
moost qual but I like it. I dig it. Who some of your
biggest draft steals? His is? We already talked a little bit about Terry
Easton. Do you have anyone that stands out either after Summer League that we
even talked about or just heading into Summer League, Like even throw it out
the window that you saw on draft and you're like, oh, that that's
gonna end up being a steal. I love Jayden Hardy. I think Dallas
got a steal with him just in terms of the value of where he was
drafted. I think that we're going to eventually look back at Jaalen Williams as
one of the six or seven best players in this draft class. The Jaalen
Williams from Santa Clara, not from Arkansas, so again, still a lottery
pick. But I don't know if you'd consider that a steal if you end
up getting one of the foundational pieces of the team in the teams you know
beyond that, I just think it's really early to be able to give a
lot of those answers there. Like you see flashes from up Bryce mcgawans,
you see really solid play from Jabari Walker who goes in the fifties, and
guys that you think can be part of a rotation. Time will tell.
I think that I think that Jaden Harvey has got to be my pick here.
I mean, I have no idea how we felled a thirty six in
Dallas. Our last question, this is a question that was designed specifically for
you, comes from Haitian Mamba. Do you think that the new rule change
with regard to the take foul will help teams who are mediocre to average at
half court offense, particularly in the playoffs where the game does slow down,
especially as the postseason progresses into deeper rounds, And I'm just gonna ask,
are you an overall fan of banning the take foul? Oh? Dan,
you must have listened to or been on my podcast where we say hashtag banned
the take foul to close every single episode. I cannot stand the take foul.
And I have been championing for this for long over a year, and
it is finally here that we have one free throw in possession. Look the
instinct anytime you have dead balls that it's going to reward teams who were better
in the half court setting. I think that there's still going to be it's
not gonna be eradicated from the game because there's going to be that risk reward
of I give up two points versus one and the chance to set up my
defense. And what I think not necessarily needs to happen, but what we
need to see from this is a little bit more of a differentiation between Like,
what's the difference between this and a clear path foul? I don't know
that seems PROBLEMACA. I was going to ask too, if you thought the
rules were comprehensive enough and that I when looking at the language that they released,
it still feels like you can disguise this as a play on the ball.
Even a lazy ass play on the ball like that's stopping a fast break
could still techinitely be a take foul. Yeah, I mean, like Dan,
I yell at referees for a living, so like I don't pretend to
understand what exactly. Oh No, I'm definitely not Jeff van Gundy, but
I am shocked that I didn't get a T this year. I said some
things I definitely should not have said on the sideline. But no, I
think it's a fair point. I think there's a lot to continue to work
out and iron out the kinks with this rule. But at the very least,
I'm glair, I'm glad they addressed it, because doing nothing is a
lot worse than doing something and having to figure out over the next couple of
years how to best implement it. And so do you see it helping sort
of below average offenses in the half court, like not actually helping them in
the half court, but helping the offense overall, because you should, in
theory, be able to get more genuine transition frequency on your alleger. You
should, And I think it's a fair point. I think the other part
of this too, is like could do you think there's going to be more
transition or do you think there's going to be less transition? Because what if
this is always the law of unintended consequences, right, what if players look
at this consequence and say, like, maybe it eliminates some, but not
all, of my uses of the take voul and hey, like I said,
I'll give up that one point, that one free throw that that you
might take here, and now I get to set up my defense. Yeah,
I mean, I'm I'm with you in the sense though, that attempting
to do something, even if it's imperfect, is better than doing absolutely nothing.
It's just it was borderline unwatchable at times, like transition is the most
enjoyable part of the game. I'm still a fan at heart. I just
like watching good basketball. And the NBA was really trying to pump up top
shot like they're ruining potential NFT mode moments or whatever those things are called,
the ritzy JPEGs that's like or MP four's like the But yeah, I'm totally
with you. I'm happy that leaders are trying to address it. We'll see
how it works this season. I'm all for it already. Kept you five
minutes longer than I wanted to. We were over an hour. Did you
have anything else about summer League you wanted to talk about? Did you have
any I know it initially asked you about if you had any thoughts about Donovan
Mitchell or DeAndre Ayton rumors. Did you want to get anything like that off
your chest? Now is the time, Well, Dan, I'd like to
take this moment to address the loyal, faithful listeners of the Hardwood Knox podcast
with a general PSA and reminder about summer league. If a guy plays really
well at summer League, it is generally a good sign that you have somebody
worth developing that can turn into a rotation caliber player when there are real minutes
that come. But these are still really young players and guys that you have
to be patient with. So just because you see star making performances in the
summer league doesn't mean they're going to turn into that same type of player a
few months from now on. Because I brought up Bryce McGowan's before, no,
this is this is a general PSA that goes out there to all listeners
of the Hardwood Knox podcast. But I will say this, if a player
doesn't do well in summer league. Don't panic, it's just summer league.
It doesn't really matter anyway. On that note, are you able to tell
our listeners where they can find you on social media and all just a great
work that you put out. Yeah, well, thank you again for having
me. Dan always a blast sitting down and you know, chopping it up
here with you. Find me at the box End one Underscore on Twitter,
the box end one dot substack dot coms where you can find all of our
written form pieces, scattering reports. We're doing some previews ahead of the twenty
twenty three NBA Draft as well as a summer league review once everything wraps up
in Vegas. And then the the YouTube channel is where you can find a
lot of our work too, So if you find a YouTube, Twitter,
substack, you're hitting all of our points there. And it's summer, so
not posting or doing stuff as regularly as throughout the basketball season, but should
have some fun previews ahead to some incoming freshmen for the twenty twenty three NBA
Draft. For if there are any complete psycho nerds like me out there,
you can get ahead start right now. I just need to reiterate everything he
just said. The content the box end one does and Spin specifically absolutely fantastic,
invaluable. You should be charging twice to three times as much for your
sub stack, so go subscribe to that if you have not already. Thank
you so much for coming on. As always, you know I'll be pesturing
you again at this point in the future, and as you know, we
have to leave everybody with a shout out of the One, the Only Frank Nila Keena