Oh everyone, and welcome to the latest episode of Hardwood Knocks. This is
Adam Framwell here with my fantastic co host Dan for Valley. I feel like
this episode kind of marks our wholehearted shift into the next season mode. You
know, we've we've dabbled in that a little bit, but this where we're
looking at a breakout candidate for each team in the Eastern Conference, really feels
like we're not just dipping the toe in the waters of next season anymore.
So much is just diving into the pool and I personally and I personally am
very excited for it, which I assume you are as well. Dan.
Yeah, we're done with the retrospective stuff, as I from report Cards,
which we've been pulling off on in part because it just feels like this offseason
has one more fairly large Australian domino to fall before everything is is into place.
I don't know about you. I think that's called a teaser, but
I agree. We will do report cards at some point very soon, but
we're done with We're gonna be getting into team previous, Like training camps are
opening in this month and it's just it's wild because the off season was longer
than last offseason, but it was still fairly short relative to the typical calendar.
So yeah, we're diving in and going through this exercise. It definitely
felt like, you know, we've been relying a lot on mail bags,
looking at a lot of like reacting to news, which we will do in
a second, because there is some news, but this just feels like we
finally shifted our focus all the way to twenty one twenty two for sure.
Before we do that. One PSA. We are no longer going to be
hosting episodes on Spotify Green Room. We've been doing that on Sunday afternoons.
Instead, we're planning to record more episodes just like this, where we'll bring
them to you after we record them instead of doing those live editions. But
you can still find plenty of content basically everywhere you look at this point.
There's a TikTok account, there's an Instagram account. Please make sure that you
go subscribe to YouTube account. We're trying to build up the followership there and
Dan in particular is putting a lot of effort into doing so. And then
of course on Twitter you can find us at Hardwood Knox moving out of the
PSA. Though, before we do get to those breakout players, we have
to discuss, as you mentioned, the Australian elephant in the room, and
that is Ben Simmons. The reports are flying in furiously at this point.
It feels like a week ago at this point, even though it was like
hours I guess that we learned he was not planning on reporting to the Philadelphia
seventy six ers until they traded him, that he was prepared to sit out
the season. And it seems like since then he's been connected with at least
a dozen teams to the point that we've now already reached a point in the
same day news cycle that those teams are now denying those reports. So it's
moved at a hectic, frenetic pace. Yeah, it's clearly because Ben Simmons
and his camp and decided to take the offensive. Now where the report at
first coming from Keith Pompey that he, as you mentioned, wants a trade
and doesn't plan to report to training camp. We hear from zam Amick about
the various teams that are involved, even John Krasinski of The Athletic also writing
about the Timberwolves's element of it a make reported that the Kings aren't willing to
include Tyres Halibert or Biern Fox, and that Buddy Heeled and Marvin Bagley would
likely be moved in such a deal that kind of oozes King's side. Luck
that yeah, there's I wouldn't trade Dearn Fox for Ben Simmons after the season
or playoffs that Ben Simmons just had. I think overall, had you asked
me before last season if Ben Simmons was better than the Aaron Fox, I
would have said yes. As of right now, I don't think you can
be sure, especially if the season Darn Fox had. So if the Kings
want to go all in on this and include Haliburton, I think they can
justify it. But I think you lose a lot of luster if you end
up trading Daron Fox for Ben Simmons, Like, I don't know that that
nudges you forward in any one way. I think I would still have Simmons
above Fox, but that doesn't necessarily mean I would trade Fox for Simmons just
because I think like the Simmons conversation is a fascinating and equally frustrating one,
because on one hand, it feels like we have a terribly tough time evaluating
his worth, even though that worth should be pretty obvious, like, yeah,
there are flaws, but he's also an all defensive player who's arguably the
most versatile defender in the NBA today. He's a brilliant passer, he can
finish plays around the basket when he chooses to do so. If he were
a free agent right now, he's gonna get a max contract from someone.
He is a very good player, despite the playoff awards, despite the narrative
that those significant playoff shortcomings created, So the way that people are valuing him
and talking about like, oh, I don't really want my team to acquire
him, or you know, the Sixers are asking for way too much,
it's really But then on the flip side, it also feels like, because
he was a number one overall pick that he's still supposed to have so much
potential. And I just don't know how much more growth we can expect to
see because we haven't seen that development in some areas, we've seen regression.
And then you come to a guy like Fox who was not a number one
pick, But I can expect him to develop into so much more reasonably.
I think so Simmons is so weird to me because there are totally disparate ways
of looking at his value that are happening simultaneously. And he's also a player
who somehow is then ascribed so much upside that he hasn't yet reached because of
his draft status, even if that shouldn't be happening at this stage of his
career. It's it's just like a walking conundrum at this point. I totally
agree, and what you really run into issues and I think what hurts with
Ben Simmons is that you need to have at this point because I do think,
yeah, you can try and project and extrapolate what you hope he'll become,
but you also have to deal with the out the reality of what he
is right now, and right now peak Ben Simmons is more concept than actual
player. You have to deal with the Ben Simmons up today, and that
takes a very specific set of personnel around him for the fit to be unequivocally
good. You could put him in Golden State with Draymond Green and maybe it
does work out, but you do have to think about the possibility that it
won't. And so I think when you look at some of the teams that
are interested Toronto, Golden State. He wants to go to one of the
LA teams, that's just not happening. Look, but Golden State in Toronto
specifically, Like, those aren't great fits. Where I think Sacramento and Minnesota,
depending on what they have to give up, I think those are two
teams that can fairly easily fit him. In Minnesota. Seems like Minnesota is
the perfect fit, right, Like, if you're constructing a team around him,
you want someone like Karl Anthony Towns. You want someone like Anthony Edwards.
I guess the idea of what Anthony Edwards is going to develop into.
You want someone like Malik Beasley spacing the court? Trade Probably not. And
I see there was a report that Minnesota's talking about a core of kr Anthy
Towns, Delo, Ben Simmons, and Anthony Edwards. Definitely tantalizing. I
don't know how you have the assets to pull this off without including Russell.
You can still get to the salary matching aspect of it, but you need
to include enough picks to where then you're recruiting a third team that is sending
Philly something they want. If you're going to keep Delo, And I'm not
even sure the Philly would want Delo, so if even if you're willing to
move him, but they should, but Delo is also Kat's best friend.
It would be fun to see Ben Simmons, I think in Minnesota more than
they ever play Sacramentos number two. I don't love the idea of him in
Golden State. I don't know how you feel about that, And I'm not
crazy about the idea of him in Toronto especially. You would have to tell
me that Fred van Fleet survives that trade for team would have to for me
to like it. Yeah. For me, it's really Minnesota or a bust
at this point, especially now that we have these reports that Anthony Edwards has
grown another two inches. Can you imagine the size of that team too?
Yeah? Wow, I didn't even think about that. And look, that
defense instantly gets so much better with Ben Simmons, And even if they Edwards
kind of showed more improvement away from the ball last year and Carl Anthony Towns
isn't just a defensive sieve at this point. No, what I mean,
Look, if you have Jade McDaniels on the court with those guys, like,
there's a lot of stuff that he can do that would be a fun
Actually, Jade McDaniels doesn't survive that trade either now that I'm thinking, definitely
not, There's no way he's too. Definitely not him and Molie Beasley,
I think are the guys that are gone. And I would assume if you're
not trading Delo, Patrick Beverly is then gone. And then all the time,
what Patrick Beverley has gotten so excited about playing for so many different teams
this offseason, getting to Luke Rittenhoward Treaty is right now? Is there any
other team that hasn't been met? And look, he can't he physically can't
get to the Lakers right now because the way they're not training Lebron or a
D, they're not trading Russell Westbrook. They just don't have money to move.
He's not going to It can't happen. Yeah, I don't know what
happened. It technically could, but they don't have anything to offer Philly unless're
you should Yeah, they definitely should not do that. Is there a team
that's like just not been mentioned or not being mentioned right now? Maybe he's
mentioned the past that you would actually like to see maybe get involved in this
because I do know and look, and that's the way to wrap this up,
is that question. But also, what do you ultimately think happens here?
Is he moved before the start of the season because the threat of him
not reporting to trading camp matters, but he really hurts himself by not doing
that either. And if I'm the Sixers, I don't know that I want
to move him now he has four years left on his deal. I don't
think that he actually has that much leverage they can risk and say, okay,
if he's not going to play, and even if he's not getting paid
during that point, like, we're not going to be good because the solo
Joella Bied minutes are not necessarily spectacular. It might be fine next season,
but you're not gonna be a championship contender if if Ben Simmons isn't there,
but you haven't gotten a return on Ben Simmons, I still I don't know.
I'm probably if I'm Philly, I'm making this super awkward and trying to
call his bluff because I think unless unless there's a team that comes along and
look, their initial asking price was ridiculous. Even if Ben Simmons is the
player that you think that he is. You need to get like this is
you can't look around. Here's my point, Joel Embid is gonna miss between
twenty one and eighty two games every single season, Like that needs to be
into the calculus of what you're trading Ben Simmons for. So theres is there
a team that just hasn't isn't being mentioned right now that you'd like to get
involved, And what is the outcome of all this before let's say, before
the season. Is Ben Simmons on a different team or is he still with
the Sixers? I think Minnesota is going to happen. That's my guess.
You know. Obviously, no sources are telling me that or anything, just
pure speculation, somewhat educated. Yeah, exactly. The one part of your
scenario that I think you're leaving out is Joel Embiid, because what happens when
Embiid, who likes to talk a little bit on social media, sometimes what
happens when they aren't winning and he isn't in the MVP conversation despite playing at
a similar level, and he starts putting pressure on the organization, and all
of a sudden, you run the risk of making your enduring best player feel
uncomfortable in one out. I don't think you can risk that. He did
tweet out in support of Ben Simmons, which leads me to believe that he
saw the rumor trade packages and was like, oh, go watch his post
game press conferences in the playoffs and tell me how he really feels like.
I feel like that's a little bit disingenuous at this point, too, a
little too late. I think the team I would like to see get involved
in San Antonio, probably outside of character. And they drafted a fourth grader
at number twelve, so I think that implies that they're rebuilding. But shout
out Josh Primo, who's actually eighteen. I just that's the team that I
like the fit for Simmons where he might be able to have a little bit
more control and then maybe he's the face of a rebuild or a retool and
they can structure the roster around him. San Antonio's lot of interesting stuff now
with Derek Wright, Jean Day, Murray, Devin Vassell, Thaddeus Young is
their picks. Maybe if they get a third team involved, that would be
just the dark horse team to watch. Just making that move would be wildly
out of character that specifically. I also have not heard this disgust at all.
And I wonder if you think it's possible for him to end up in
Boston without Jalen Brown or Jason Tatum leaving. You can't tell if you're being
sarcastic right now. No, I'm entirely serious. What is the trade if
they throw every pick under the sun at them, Robert Williams, they can't
Richard, they can't trade them. They extended them, say with Marcus Morrett.
Yeah, they would be if this was next summer, I might be
with you. But yeah, I don't think I forgot about that part.
But in theory, those three together would be really appealing. Yeah, and
I wouldn't trade Jaylen Brown for Ben Simmons. I wouldn't either. Yeah,
it wouldn't be cool to see him in Dallas. They just don't have any
to offer other than that, though, I really don't have any sleeper destinations.
I mean, like, I guess you can. You could a team
like the Orlando Magic could potentially put together enough pieces, but why would they
Like if you're the Magic, sure you can float, you know, Jonathan
Isaac and Schumo, Kiki and Cole Anthony and Picks and get Ben Simmons to
be the face of your franchise, but why why would you do that?
So I think we were entering the realm now where it's like, okay,
like you could put together feasible packages, but why in the world wouldn't happen.
Yeah, with a lot of teams are like I would like him in
Charlotte, but like they're kind of hamstrung with what they could offer now.
And yes, unless they're using Gordon hay Ord after extending carriers here, so
in Chicago has already gone through all these different motions. It's because zach Lavine
would have been great for Philly if that could have been part of the deal.
So yeah, you are there. Only feels like there's like a half
dozen or so realistic destinations Personally, personally, I want to see him on
the Utah Jazz with Donovan Mitchell and Riddy Gobert just to see I just want
to see how those two fan bases would interact after that. So that's all.
That's the only the only impetus here for even mentioning that that's like not
a possibility. It's Royce O'Neil, Joe Angeles and boy and Badanovitch, and
then I don't even think they could legally trade a pick. I think they
would have to like first a lot, like in twenty twenty seven or twenty
twenty five at this point, so twenty twenty six, so they can trade.
They can probably trade one first round pick, and there's no guarantee it
would convey. That would be meg interesting too, Washington, maybe if they
move off the Beal train, like that's still sort of a looming possibility,
I guess, But you wouldn't if you're Washington and you're trading bal and starting
over. You don't like the idea of Beal the I don't like the idea
of starting with with Simmons. I think he is like a complimentary star.
I just I don't think you want him as your loaned big talent. And
I guess, I guess the thinking narrors then you're not bad enough to get
a high draft pick. Perhaps, but I think he just he would just
put you in that lower middle class in the NBA permanently. I'd probably be
too intrigued to do it because with Beale entering free agency, if that's if
that's what happens it's because Beal's entering free agency and you're probably getting other stuff
from Philly at this point, are you not. It's not Ben Simmons for
Beal straight up anymore. Washington's fascinating trade. Let's get into this exercise,
though, of predicting our most likely breakout player for every Eastern Conference team.
Do you want to start us off? Since I'm bad at the alphabet,
I can do that. The first team alphabetically is the Atlanta Hawks. And
I should preface this first by saying that when we went through this exercise,
we were not allowed to pick rookies just because there's nothing to break out from.
We stayed away when we could from All stars because even if they could
ascend to another level, it's not really a breakout so much as a continued
ascension, and we were largely focused on things that don't seem universally guaranteed to
happen. I think the best example is LaMelo Ball with the Charlotte Hornet's Like,
yeah, he is likely to break out and become, if not an
All Star and All Star candidate in the Eastern Conference. But that just feels
a little bit too easy. So there are some that might fall into that
category. None quite that obvious. Anything to add on the criteria Before I
kick off the Hawks, I tackled it the exact same way. I was
a little bit more bullish on sophomores too, where it's like, you know,
unless there weren't a lot of great other options, where I really think
that their role was materiously going to change. I did try to avoid that,
but I actually the second team on this list includes a sophomore, So
yeah, I have a few sophomores for sure for the Hawks, though my
pick it was between Cameraddish and DeAndre Hunter, and I am going to go
with Hunter because I think we're seeing a little bit more growth as a wing
defender that they really need. He also is showcasing a little bit more off
the bounce ability, which looked really shaky early in his career, and he
was far less reliant on corner threes. As a sophomore, he went from
ninety four point four at a ninety point three percent assisted on threes as well,
so he's starting to operate more above the break. He's starting to operate
more off the dribble, and the Hawks still do need that other source of
offense. Both when Trey Young isn't on the court and when he's just facing
a lot of defensive attention and needs a breather. So to me, Hunter
feels a little bit more likely to develop into that three and D stalwart that
Atlanta needs, even if Reddish has similarly high upside, I picked DeAndre Hunter
too, and I don't think Reddish's upside is in nearly is high, just
because I think DeAndre Hunter showed a lot more off the balance last season before
he started dealing with injuries. And so if you have someone who can hit
some pull up jumpers in addition to spot of jumpers, and then also not
just hold up defensively, but unlock some truly harrowing small ball combinations, that's
a big deal in Atlanta, and I think we might even be able to
he might have more value with Onyeka Kongwu going to miss a huge chunk of
the season. I know they signed Gordy Jang and they just extended Clint Capela,
but like, there are gonna be minutes where John Collins is at the
five, and a lot of those lineups are gonna work because of DeAndre Hunter
being the four spot in those units, And so I think even if you
boil it down to opportunity, I would argue that Atlanta might just play Kevin
Hurder more than Cam Reddish at this point, and that Hunter is still going
to have the bigger opportunity, And so he was kind of the clear pick
for me. And I think the biggest aspect of his game that I want
to see is the secondary playmaking and sort of the off the balance stuff.
Is that for real? And then of course can he stay healthy enough?
But if you tell me that he misses fewer than fifteen games, I think
he's gonna have one hell of a season. And I think people forget he
was involved in the onset most improved player discussion last season, So this is
someone with a very, very high ceiling. Yeah, it's amazing the Hawks
a reigning Eastern Conference finalist and still so much room for growth. They will
not win the title next year though, Sorry teasing a piece that I'm about
to publish on that. But Boston is up next? Am I right that
I are? I think the only two options here. I guess you can
go with Robert Williams, but I just feel like maybe I'm too harping too
much on how NBA Twitter has zoomed into him. I wanted Peyton Pritchard so
a sophomore. He generated some fringe all rookie buzz last year because of how
well he shot from three in Summer League. He was amazing. He looked
so much more comfortable operating off the dribble. He had some sort of just
dipsy doo misdirection handles, was comfortable throwing up ultra deep threes off the bouncer
or off the catch. And when you kind of look at how Boston's roster
is set up, now, Okay, great, they signed Dennis Shrewder for
a discount, but you lost Kemba Walker and Evan n one of one of
your primary playmakers, if not who's supposed to be your primary playmaker in Kemba
and then one of your secondary ball handlers, replacing them with Dennis Shooter.
Like, that's a big freaking act to me. And so you're good at
need. I still think someone else to step up in that role, aside
from Tatum smart Al Horford's there of course too. I mentioned Dennis Shooter.
I think there's gonna be a real opportunity there, and he will hustle on
defense. I do not agree with anyone that was calling him white Kyrie at
Summer League. That happens, I guess when you're a Celtics fan and drunk
off your ass. But there was really just like a lot of directionality to
his offensive game on the break in the half court. This is someone who
I don't If you ask me to pek his ceiling in the NBA, I
have no idea, but just the way he was handling the ball, in
the comfort with which he was maneuvering in and out of traffic. I'm going
to be watching him closely next year, and I'm just wondering whether he will
actually get the opportunity. My guess is he does, just because I think
the Celtics have to default rolling the dice on someone. If you're asking me
to choose between who plays more minutes next year, between Aaron A. Smith,
Romeo Langford and Peyton Pritchard, I'm gonna go with Pritchard. So I
want to preface this by saying that we did not share any of our picks
beforehand, so we genuinely don't know how in sync we're going to be here,
but we are now two for two. Because I also thought about Robert
Williams the third and decided that I just don't think it's scalable enough. Like,
yeah, he's going to be dominant in these small doses, but if
you're going to break out, that has to happen in twenty five to thirty
minutes a game, and I just don't know that, given how much he
relies on spurts and the extreme bursts of athleticism and the full hustle play,
is that it's fully scalable. And that's fine, Like Neurland's Noel has carved
out a valuable role doing exactly that, and I think that's the kind of
ceiling we're looking at for Williams here, which is not an insult. So
Pritchard was my choice as well. I think it's easy to forget about him
since he's behind Marcus Smart, since he's presumably behind Dennis Shrewder at least to
start the season in the rotation. But he was already so steady in so
many areas as a rookie and did not thrive in the area that he dominated
most at at Oregon. He was just a hell of a pick and roll
player. He showed so much passing chops. He showed the ability to make
shots in so many different situations, but as a rookie, per Synergy,
he only shot thirty nine point four percent out of ball screens. He only
made twenty eight point nine percent of his pick and roll pull up jumbers.
Hashtag a friend of the Pod Adam Spinella for that. If that even regresses
close to his mean, that's already a ton of growth in and of itself.
So the reason I'm calling him a breakout is because I think he's going
to start the season as the third guard in that rotation between Smart and Shrewder.
He's going to finish it first or second. And I don't know that
there are that many players in Boston who have that much opportunity to make significant
rotational strides this season, Like, yeah, you can look at Aaronnie Smith,
Rummy Langford, maybe Grant Williams, but probably not to the extent that
Pritchard can improve where he stands within the organization. Yeah, and so quickly.
If anyone can hear the rain being pelted in by the window, I'm
at I apologize. I know if you also heard the national weather and hear
it at all, Yeah, it is a wild weather here right now.
It's rained like four inches in the last hour, so apologize if anyone heard
that. A note on Williams quickly. If he is playing twenty five to
thirty minutes of the game, that's also great, And yet it means that
al Horfer is probably playing too much power forward at the same time. So
I'm totally with you there as well. And I just Pritchard's season is gonna
be fascinating. I don't even know you know, so you're saying that he's
going to be I guess we're assuming shrewder and smart start and that's what you
mean by the third guard. So yeah, and then we won't have jail
Ras. I'm with you there, and so that that will have the opportunity
that we talked about. Do you want to take us into the next team?
Yeah, Brooklyn Nets are next. And I feel like this is a
pretty easy self explanatory one because they don't have many options to break out,
so it was just a default default Kyrie, I mean, Nicholas Claxton go
dogs obligatory shout out there. But it's all about the defense because this team
needs someone who can play defense, and he's the option. He can guard
a bunch of positions. He can reasonably protect the rim in smaller lineups.
There's still more offense to plumb from him if injuries strike, and they need
some source of offense beyond the big three. But who else can you pick
here? Yeah? I mean, like I thought, look, if you
wanted to pick rookies, Cam Johnson might just be an instant bucket. So
I'm not Cam Johnson. Oh my god, I gotta stop. I look
all you've switched those two up a number of times. Well, no,
I've called him Cam Stewart as well, for apologies to Cam Thomas. But
you could pick him, but we excluded rookies. And just like, I'm
not sure think that Reggie Perry is gonna get real minutes for this team.
And I think it's more set up for Nicholas Claxton to actually be a breakout
player. You don't have Jeff Green there, who is very important, or
your five rotation. You get to bring back Blake Griffin, but you're apparently
on the verge. It looks like of brokering a buy out with DeAndre Jordan's
so they're just less obstacles there even after drafting day Ron Sharp And this is
just given how much the net switched last year, like you almost have to
view Claxton as probably your starting Maybe he's not your closing five, but I
would think right now he's your main center. Perhaps it's always just sort of
this mismash in Brooklyn, but he is just one of the switchiest bigs that
we have seen in quite some time, and I think you can work with
him on the offensive end. He's not going to space the floor, but
he got better at screening. He will roll to the basket a ton,
And this stat still blows my mind. Among five hundred and eleven players who
stand six ten or taller and have logged at least three hundred minutes in a
single season since twenty thirteen twenty fourteen, Claxton ranked second impartial possession and spent
defending point guards. He trails only last season's Ben Simmons, and that comes
per the Basketball and dex a great site. So I think he's kind of
their only option, but he's almost necessary too for them at this point,
and they kind of didn't rely on him so much last year. Let's see
if he also stays healthy enough to log it's on of minutes and I don't
expect him to play. If you gave me an over under twenty two minutes
per game, I might be reticent to go with the over there. I
just think, with the lack of other options, how do you pick anyone
else on this team? My two random observations about Nicholas Clackston. One is
that I kind of think that he could become like modern Andre Kirolenko on this
team. Like that's the guy I keep coming back to when I think about
what his ceiling might look like. And I'm just curious what you think of
that. I don't know that I see it. I guess perhaps on defense,
mostly on defense, not so much on offense. Man, I keep
going back to that possession in crunch time where Nicholas Claxton just like shut down
Damian Lillard And want to say, yes, right, But that's like,
will he consistently defend the positions outside of center enough? Though? And I
don't know. I think he will. Just to preserve the offensive standouts,
it makes sense to have him switch. Yeah. Look, I mean,
when you have the other personnel in Brooklyn, you kind of need to.
I think really what might be the terming factor is how much do they want
to go with Blake Griffin slash Bruce Brown at the side. Those are probably
the two guys that I think could most cut into his minutes, and James
Johnson's there too, so it still might be this sort of Hodgepodge role.
But if you had to guess who logs the most minutes per game at the
five this year, I think Claxton's number one and no longer than a second,
like maybe Griffin is two is first, but he'll definitely be in the
top two. My other random observation is that it is a downright travesty that
his jersey number is not seventeen, because NC seventeen would be a phenomenal nickname
for I like that, who's just a defensive havoc rereaking specialist. Okay,
I'm with it. So this is the official start of my petition to get
Nicholas Claxton to change his jersey number to seventeen. Let's move on to the
Charlotte Hornet's on fire today with the alphabet. The only pick here is Mason
Plumley. In my book, one triple Doubles is Gonna have. This is
kind of tough because, like we said, we ruled out LaMelo Ball,
and I think you can kindly only narrow it down to two people. And
does Miles Bridges this season count as a breakout year in twenty twenty twenty one.
I think you could go that route. I'm just gonna go with PJ.
Washington. I don't think he receives enough credit for being plug and play
on offense. There's a smoothness there to his game. I also think that
what they did over the offseason intimates very strongly they're still committed to playing small.
You have Mason Plumley, but you let Cody Zeller go. You did
draft Kai Jones, You have Vernon Carry Jr. Who like are you playing
either of those guys a ton? I imagine Ky Jones spends a ton of
time in the G League. Are you trying to move JT. Thor up
for minutes as a rookie to the five? So I think Washington gets a
ton of looks at the five with this team, and they're way more interesting
in those lineups now that Kelly Ray Jr. Is there. To me,
and if we presume that both LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward are going to be
healthier, He's not the best defender, but he has like real malleability there,
and there are some lineups with him at the five where the rebounding is
just not as bad as you would expect. So I think this is a
season where we look back and there will be people. I still think they
deserve to be fine a draft pick for not signing Rashaan Holmes at this point,
the fact that he went so cheap, But I'm I think there are
a lot of people that were against them not going the traditional big route.
And let's just assume that Rashean Holmes wasn't a legitimate option, or he wanted
to stay in Sacramento so much you would have had to pay him eighteen million
dollars a year for the record, I still would have done it. But
I don't mind I them going small, And I thought they played better defensively
on the floor last season when you look at some of the switching, when
you look at how he stood up against certain stronger players, I think they
played. They weren't good, but they were better defensively than I expected.
And so what does this guy look like in year three is basically when I'm
at and I think he'll be significantly better. And maybe he just has a
little bit more refinement and polish to his offensive game, Like there's I think
there's a smoothness there that can translate to him kind of doing stuff with the
ball on the floor, not in super tight spaces. Regardless, there's a
scalability to the way he plays offense that is ideal for having Lamello ball,
Gordon Hayward, even Terry Rozier. And now you have a floor runner like
Kellyer Brady Jr. Who's gonna need to be a play finisher and dominate on
the ball and really slash through the lane. PJ. Washington's perfect for those
lineers because he's not going to try and occupy the space that Ubray is navigating.
How many teams do you think we're gonna go before we have a disagreement?
Oh no, are we in lockstep again? We're unlockstep again. It
has to be PJ. Washington here. This team is just screaming for a
small ball five. He fits the bill there. I don't really have that
much to add because you covered it so extensively and thoroughly. I do want
to ask you, though, what percentage do you think he's shot on corner
threes through the first two years of his career forty six point one percent.
Okay, I don't know why I went in the fifties there, it's really
high. Like he regretted a little bit as a sophomore and is still shooting
forty six point one percent on corner threes. Like, if you don't want
to view that as a breakout candidate with a full season of LaMelo Ball passing
him the rock after he drives to the basket and they compress around him,
like that number might go up. Right if you tell me LaMelo Boll and
Gordon Ayward miss let's say fewer than thirty games between them, be Washington's offensive
numbers are probably gonna look pretty spiffy. Yeah, And that team is just
going to be so fun if that's the case, because if they truly are
committing to those smaller looks, those five about offenses, that is going to
be a real fun team. But you could also make the case by the
way that he's a better fit at the floor beside Mason Plumley at the five
than Miles Churches team. That's something that looms over this as Well's and that's
fine. Mason Plumley is still fun. No, not Mason Plumley is vanilla
literally, but he's awesome, Like just sort of planned. But can you
take us the next team? Yeah, Chicago Bulls time. This one was
was a little bit trickier, I thought, because the construction of the team
has changed so much, where all of a sudden, Lonzo Ball is there,
We're gonna see Nikola Vukovic for a full season. I would assume who
could could make some noise. But I hope you like on him. He's
a rookie. I really liked him. I think it has to be Patrick
Williams because he was so much more advanced than expected as a rookie. We
knew, I think he was the youngest NCAA prospect in that draft class.
We knew it was going to where we thought. We knew it was going
to take time for him to develop into an actual contributor at the NBA level.
Who knew the three point stroke was going to be so advanced right away
that his physicality would hold up throughout a season. As he showed off that
optionality on defense, he legitimately looked like he could contribute in every facet of
the game. So I went to five thirty eight player projections, and I
was just curious who his comps were going to be, because he feels like
a unique player where we don't see that many guys at this skill set.
You know, you heard the Kawhi Leonard comparisons going into the draft, and
you know they're a bust scattered throughout those most comparable players through one season.
Maurice Harkless is there, Michael Kidd Gilchrist is there, but also among the
top ten Marvin Williams, Aaron Gordon, Jason Tatum, Brandon Ingram and Janisanda
to Kumbo. And that's just a fascinating blend of different calibers of players and
differing skill sets, which I think speaks volumes about how versatile and plug and
play in so many different areas. He already is as a rising sophomore,
so he already has two established all stars who he's playing alongside, and yet
it still feels like he could take over and make this like his team in
the near future. Yeah, I mean, look, I picked to Patrick
Williams as well. I also think unless you really yeah, hopefully we'll disagree
soon, but maybe that'll also make for a more efficient podcast. You might
make it to Indiana but I think unless you're gonna go with Kobe White or
you think that Lonzo Ball is reaching another level in Chicago, which if you
think that he's gonna run a bunch of pick and rolls, hit a bunch
of jumpers off the dribble, they'd sure. I'm not going to fight against
that. Patrick Williams is the obvious candidate. I you already focused on his
offense, but I'm very curious to see there quickly. Is is that three
point clip going to translate when he's taking more and presumably he should have to
when you look at the way the rest of the roster is set up,
I do sort of wonder if the offensive volume will be available to him based
off the personnel around him, to show like real advancement. I'd like to
see the ball in his hands a little bit more. I don't think that's
gonna happen. I'm most intrigued with him defensively, because he is just he
might be a defensive dynamo. Like no, I'm not going to compare him
to you know, Kawhi Leonard, but he was the guy in the Chicago
Bulls who guarded the number one of the number two option essentially almost irrespective of
position. It wasn't someone who was going after a ton of point guards.
Clearly, his matchup difficulty according to Basketball Indexes matchup Difficulty Metric was eighty eight
point two, which ranks in the top twenty five of guys in the entire
league the entire league who logged at least eighteen hundred minutes last season. So
like, that role is what I'm trying to establish. It was a difficult
defensive role, and he was fine in it. Like he wasn't shutting guys
down. But when you look at the breadth of assignments that he covered,
how hard they were. I really thought he held his own. I don't
know if the Bulls are putting him into compromising of a position to where if
he's on the floor with Lavigne and Vooch and Derosion at the same time,
maybe that's too much pressure. But it wasn't like he was surrounded by a
bunch of great defensive talent anyway. Last season. That he is young was
obviously there. But that's really kind of it. So I think this is
someone who's going to shine on defense so much that he's going to be one
of the I don't even want to say unsung heroes of this team. If
the Bulls hit. I think if the Bulls hit, it'll be very evidently
because Patrick Williams has made some sort of material measurable leap on the defensive end
while just emerging as the perfect compliment on offense. And the other thing I
will wonder is when you look at the structure of this team right now,
he might be their backup five. I don't know if they're planning on playing
Derek Jones junior there, but like it can't be Tony Bradley. That can't
be your backup. Maybe it is, but he'll get some minutes at the
five. We'll see how Maybe that's Those are the lineups in which his offense
could come even more. And there's also the element of default here. I
don't think this roster is set up anymore for Kobe White to even break out.
And like I said, I am Alonzo ball believer, but I think
the best version of him is kind of a more extreme version of what we
saw last season and not someone who was broadened their skill set significantly. Right
Patrick Williams turned twenty last week, that there's so much potential left. I
don't think I would be that surprised, be a little surprised. I don't
know that I'd be shocked. If we're talking about the Bulls with three All
Star candidates this coming season and Patrick Williams is one of them, and Patrick
Williams is one of them, that would shock me. I'm that high on
him. My god, let's I can't even have him. Now let's move
on to Cleveland. I think this one was you have like, this was
a tough one. Yeah, it was tough, but I think you have
to go with Darius Garland here. I don't think people, yes we have
a disagreement, okay, good. I don't think mainstream NBA media or just
TAM fans outside of Cleveland understand how good this guy is. Like, there
is real wiggle to his offensive game. He shot thirty five point seven percent
on pull threes last year, and that number was better towards the talent of
the campaign. I think he was scorching hot on them. He's more of
a threat to score off the dribble than Colin Sexton is at this point from
the perimeter. At least Sexton can obviously do stuff on drives. Now,
I wouldn't say as accurate as a shooter. Is Sexton right now? He's
turning it like this bankable catch and SHOOKAI. But Derris Karnan is also a
real floor general, and that's why I think he's probably the youngster right now,
unless you count Evan Mobley or you literally just count one hundred million dollars
they gave Jared Allen that they have to be the most vested in moving forward,
because he is probably there. Looking at this roster, some people are
gonna say it's Mobley, I disagree. Darius Garland is now their best shot
at having sort of this flagship cornerstone, and I think his offensive game will
continue to expand. He's a real control over the defense in the half court,
and I think that manipulate will grow. We have to see if they
do have the right personnel around him. I think he was already good enough
to kind of graduate from this discussion. But to me, not enough people
were talking about it last season, and so much attention is paid to,
you know, Colin Sexton, mostly because he's extension knowledgeable, I think,
but even other guys on this roster, people who Evan Mobile now obviously Jared
Allen re seves a lot of attention after getting traded because of a short role
passing. I think as Darius Garland, for me, he's just not fully
appreciated yet, and this is the season to me that he plays well enough
to sort of transition into the national conversation on a daily basis. For a
long time about this one and strongly considered Garland, but I do have to
go with Jared Allen. I think that the fact that Cleveland just handed him
a four year, thirty billion dollar contract says a lot about what they intend
to do with him, and ultimately, if you look at the roster construction,
his presence is going to make things a lot easier for a lot of
other players because well, I even disagree with that, because I think that
you have to view Mobley as a versatile guy because of his ball handling ability,
because of his switchability, because he can defend in so many spots within
the half court. And I think that having Alan on the court with him
frees him up to do a lot of other things and test the waters a
little bit more as a rookie. He's a good compliment for Lorie Market and
if you're trying to figure out what you might have in him just because his
defensive ability alone his rollability, It frees Marketing up to be that focus stretch
for that he should be. Alan was awesome after moving into the starting lineup
last year on a permanent basis over his last forty games thirteen point six points,
ten point six rebounds, one point eight assists, one point three blocks,
fifty nine point nine percent shooting from the field. I think those numbers
go up as this team gets better around him, as Garland takes even more
defensive attention. Once they develop true pick and roll synergy, He's Alan's numbers
get more efficient and happened with even higher volume. So I think he is
a beneficiary of them needing to feature him because of the contract they just gave
him and the development of everyone around him. I think that Garland continuing to
improve from what's already a really high level really helps his case here. That's
an interesting way to look at it. I just think that they have shoehorned
him and Evan Mobile, even Larry Marketing into just order the strong core carousel
that is going to diminish a lot of returns for them. I think it's
intriguing to look at it from the perspective of, well, maybe he helps
Mobile, because now Mobile is probably only gonna guard backup fives. I would
assume he's going to play power forward most of the time. Then he'll be
one of the backup centers. But I'm just trying to think of what Jared
Allen does best on defense, even on offense, and they're gonna be lineups
where both Mobile and Larry Marketing might be on the floor with him. I'm
just not about it. Do you think we'll see that? How else they
look? Have you looked at their wing rotate? It doesn't actually really exist.
They have Isaac a Coro. It's bad. Yeah. So, and
I can't see them playing marketing in at three. I'm sorry. The Bulls
did last year and they didn't even have to Cleveland almost. Yeah. I
that's the Bulls and this is the cast. So the numbers for the Bulls
during those minutes, we're actually really good with marketing at the three it was
just sub three hundred possessions they regardless. I just I don't like the idea
of him playing with Mobley. I just I hate it. I really like
those two together. No, it is I think it was categorically stupid.
To pay Jared out one hundred million dollars. I don't think it's a smart
use of resources, but I don't know that that prevents it from being an
intriguing pairing. No, it's it's it was a bad use of resources because
it's not an intriguing pairing. That's just where that's where I'm like, maybe
maybe defensively, but I don't know, No, I can't. Maybe I'll
I hope I eat Crow on this. I want to see that succeed.
But I probably feel a little bit differently too. If the lowry marketing trade,
which we didn't talk about here, and if if I had to just
sum that up in under ten seconds, very much a win for Portland.
I don't know how a team much Chicago prioritizes winning now, but then prioritize
is getting a draft pick instead of the better player in miss deal and Larry
Knights Junior had. It's a home run for the Blazers. Although their their
pick is protected for like until the end of time, I still think they've
won this deal. Clearly. I hate it for Cleveland. I'm a little
confused by it for Chicago, but I like Derrik Jones Junior. There but
for Cleveland specifically, like if if Larry NaNs Junior was still there, if
they had Derrik Jones Junior instead of just like a more truer win. I
hate it. I will be if you're right on this, congratulations, But
I don't know how on our wind projections when we do win projections for the
East, I think there we're gonna have a discrepancy here. It's gonna be
fun to go back and see how much we how many times we missed on
our win projections last year, by the way, we should I think that
should be part of that episode. Is it will be? I tracked it,
so we're I'll track it again this year. You know that I beat
I'm nervous. Now let's move on to the next team, though, and
let everyone know that I'd be Adam in the wind projection game. Is am
I trying to leave this one off? It is Detroit Pistons. I'm just
gonna go with Sadiq Bay here. It's time for the world to catch up
on how good he was as a rookie. Now that the Pistons are going
to be more relevant, they have better pieces across the board, and Kid
Cunningham getting national attention, So they're just going to be in the spotlight a
little bit more, and I think that the recognition is going to catch up
with the level of play because Sadiq Bay was a true two way option as
a rookie. He was a great shooter. He showed developing ball skills throughout
the season. He was a versatile wing defender who could guard multiple positions and
hold his own again as a rookie. So I don't think Bay is going
to be anywhere close to the Pistons best player down the road. But this
is the guy who's going to explode next year, both in terms of production
and attention. He definitely has more ball skills to plumb than I thought.
I didn't pick him because I'm curious to see what type of opportunity he has
on offense. Now that Kaig Cunningham is there, you still have Jeremy Grant.
And then my pick is Killian Hayes. And I know I'm working from
an awfully low baseline, but there were people who were just shitting all over
his summer. League thought about it for this for this exact reason. Just
f y and look, this is what I saw from Killian Hayes. He
played in fewer than thirty games last season. The efficiency was absolutely terrible as
a rookie and usually as a sophomore. Unless it's like you know, he's
missing a ton of lightups, left it right, you throw out the efficiency,
there is visible feel there to me. He is crafty. Killian Hayes
when getting defenders on his hip, has exuded patience in traffic and toss some
really artful passes. I think he'll be a better jump shooter, and that's
why I'm not as concerned about his fit alongside Kaig Cunningham. Killian Hayes shot
forty seven point four percent between ten and fourteen feet after rejoining the rotation.
I think there is hope there for his jumper. He deserves patience. I
think because the Pistons still aren't necessarily trying to be good, and maybe Kay
Cunningham is a star right off the bat, so transcendent that they're kind of
in Shawn Hornet's territory of last year this year. But they have the freedom
to experiment, and just when you look at the rest of the roster,
they need a real, true second shot creator and I'm sorry it's not Jeremy
Grant. I don't view it as Sadiq Bay. And even when you're sort
of looking at who's the best chance of being a co All Star for Kay
Cunningham that's already on the roster, Killian I wouldn't pick anyone. Killian Hayes
is the best bet to me though, just Jeremy Grant's tools, and I
don't think his game is ever going to reach that level. There is shout
out to Detroit Piston's YouTube which is extremely bullish on Isaiah Stewart and thinks that
he's a future All Star. I don't. I think he's a will be
a good starting center and we're high on We did the podcast where we featured
Isaiah Stewart as one as I think one of the most underrated players in the
league, but it's Killian Hayes. Got some all Hardwood Knox mentions too.
Yeah, maybe that's where it was. But whatever, it could be Sadiq
Bay. But I think because we haven't seen enough of Killian Hayes, there's
gonna be more opportunity there for him. And I really think even working from
that ultra low rock bottom baseline, we've just veered too far. Can we
plead like this kid isn't even enough to drink yet and barely played in the
NBA, So I think I still think that he has a chance to be
good. I agree with you that he's the most likely second All Star behind
Kid Cunningham. I think you're a year early here, to be honest,
mostly because this is this feels more like a true rookie season for him,
you know, even if he was around the team and learning how to be
a professional, like he was doing that overseas already before he came to the
NBA, So this is the first time he's gone through the more full off
season with Summer league, with preseason, with training camp and all that,
and the two biggest warts in his game, even before he'd played a single
minute in the NBA, looked like they were going to be a shooting percentages
and his turnovers, which are two things that rookie guards tend to struggle with
as they make the transition to the NBA, which is just a little bit
more fast, which is a little more physical. Those are just the two
areas that those guards typically struggle with. So I think that we're a year
away from that because he's still going to go through the difficulties before he can
get over those hurdles starting from such a low point and just has a little
bit too much to work on. I agreed about his potential, and I
feel like I would one percent agree with everything you said this time next year.
The next team is mine Indiana Pacers. There's this is hard just because
it's the hardest one except for the next one I went with, and it's
an older player because I don't really know that you can go with it if
we're not picking rookies, Like, do you really think that they're going to
get just like a huge season from Brissette or Keela Martin. I just don't.
I don't know that I see it. I went with caraus Lavert.
He is their best point of attack playmaker to me, and a lot of
stuff is going to flow through Sabona and Malcolm Brockton as well. He is
still their best point of attack playmaker to me. He showed it in Brooklyn
too, not that he was better than when Kyrie was there, but he
can really run an offense. And the fact that his season was all over
the place last year because of his availability upon arriving in Indiana. This is
someone who is better at hitting off the dribble jumpers than shooting complimentary set shots
from the outside. That is maybe it's a red flag, but like he's
eventually going to be an okay, catch and shoot guy. And the fact
that you have someone who can replace what you were missing from peak Victor Oladipo
when he all of a sudden start dealing with injuries and went downhill, Like,
there's not that same explosion there. I don't think the like once you
get around the basket, but he can get to the line. But he's
more importantly, he's someone who can really hit some tough off the dribble jumpers
and then really run your offense from that point of attack. And I think
that we're if he stays fully healthy, which I'm hoping he does I hope
every player does, we're going to look back on this as maybe a fringe
All Star campaign for him. It might be too deep in the east when
you're looking at just you know, two's two threes, looking at that sort
of field for him to really enter that conversation. But I think he's fully
capable of it. And I've been driving been one of the drivers because there
are many of the carros lavert bandwagon for a while. This dude can be
really good, and I think that I think that Indiana is still set up
to where they need him to be really good, so you have the opportunity
to be really good on offense and have the ball in his hands, and
that he's just going to rise to the occasion. There. Maybe that changes
if they're like somewhat married to featuring TJ. Warren more on ball now that
he's healthier. I still think he's probably best suited as someone who spends a
lot of time off the ball. And even so, there's a lot of
just when you look at maybe how when they stagger the minutes of some of
their best players, Caros Lavert might be some of the connective tissue for like
the lineups that don't have Sabonus in them. It was really hard for me
not to go with carous Leavert here, but I did end up picking TJ.
Warren because I do think they're going to feature him on the ball.
What he was during that brief bubble spurt, that's not indicative of what we
should expect here. He's not going to average thirty one points a game,
but I would not be surprised given not just a skill level, but how
much he was developing before he got hurt, I wouldn't be surprised if he's
their go to scorer. Like regardless of role, this is a guy who,
again pre injury, was starting to figure out how to draw a little
more contact and get to the line. He was starting to show not just
a willingness to pass sometimes, but also good instincts when a second help defender
came or when he was operating on the role. Like the passes started to
be more intelligent, his defense really started to improve. For whatever reason,
a guy who was a total defensive liability entering the NBA suddenly looked buckled down
on that end of the floor, which gives him even more of a path
to a featured role because he and hold his own on that end. Now
you're not just sacrificing one end of the court for the other. So because
he's been filling in those cracks within his own game, I think he's going
to be the guy in Indiana this coming season. No disrespect meant to Demontes
Simonis or Miles Turner, both of whom are fantastic All Star caliber players whose
games just aren't suited to be that go to option, So it's Warren for
me, but the connective tissue part of Lavert's game makes him a one B
to me there. And look, you mentioned t J. Warren's defense.
That dude for most of the previous not last year, the year before,
he was guarding number one options and it was like not getting a lot of
help, like he had to fight out of nowhere and all that shit.
And yeah, credit to Dan Burke for you know, he's done a lot
with when he's Indiana before and he's actually no over with Indiana, so that
stanks for them. I would I think it had to be one of those
two options. Really to me, I don't know. I don't know what
other direction you can go in. And I think TJ. Warren's intriguing,
especially because he didn't play for much of last year. I'm surprised you thought
this next team it's yours. Was harder though, because there's only one option.
There's only one option, and I don't believe in him, so I
refuse to pick. But literally, m not slander is out of I'm not
gonna pick because let's just go through the big names on the roster. Kyle
Lowry Victor Oladipo, Duncan Robinson, Jimmy Butler, PJ Tucker, Mark,
Keith Morris, Damn Auto Baio who we mentioned earlier, Like, because he's
already at the all star level, I'm not picking him, even though I
think he's gonna make another jump. And then Tyler Hero and Kazyoka Paula.
Oh, Paula is not going to be a prominent enough member of the rotation.
I just don't think that Tyler Hero is a star. So Hero is
to be a star to break out now, I considering the reputation he built
from the bubble, yes, because he was overvalued to the point of being
excluded from trade conversations. So yeah, he's got to be a star to
be a breakout in my eyes right now, and I just I don't see
it, So I'm abstaining. I'm not making a pick. Max Drews is
the pick if you believe his step back jumper from Summer League is coming to
the regular season, so where is he going to get minutes? And the
pick is Tyler Hero. Here's my thing, the heat. I think you're
a little bit better at the top with Kyle Lowry overdrew on draggage, and
that'll make life easier on Tyler Hero as well. But where I'm really intrigued
by Tyler Heroes, I don't think he was as bad last year as people
thought. It's because there was the report that came out that said the Heat
wouldn't includ him in a trade for James Harden. Here's my theory behind.
To be clear, I'm not saying he was bad either, just that I
don't think that he his reputation is going to be exceeded by his production.
That's fair enough, But I think that perception sort of veered from reality because
of that report. And my gut there is that the Heat let that come
out because they hadn't They had no feasible path to trading for James Harden,
and so why let Tyler Hero think that he's involved in these trade negotiations.
It's a little bit of an ego bump for him. But Tyler Hero shot
thirty four point four percent on his off the dribble threes after the All Star
Break. After the All Star Break overall, he shot thirty seven point seven
percent from three large fourteen point four points per game, three point two assists.
He was still pretty solid on hitting difficult looks when he would drive to
the basket. I think where he struggled. There's the high variance part to
his game and players like him that might always be kicked into it. But
they also tried to play him a lot as sort of this pseudo point guard.
They might have to do so again. I thought his field got better
as the year went on there, and I'm not saying that thrill that he
should be. I'm not saying he's the next Devin Booker because I don't think
he is. Push comes to shove. The Miami Heat should have traded Tyler
Hero for the player that they thought Tyler Hero was going to become already.
That being said, when you look at this roster, it's simultaneously really good
yet still needs him to be good, even though it can be really good
independent of him. Like the depth still isn't great, and they're shooting is
a big concern. Duncan Robinson is their best shooter. Tyler Hero's number two
right now, like your two best players don't even shoot threes. Kyle Lowry's
more experienced off the dribble, but we might see some regression They were given
that he's like six years old or whatever is at this point. So I
think there's a real opportunity for heroes to improve. And I'm with you.
I don't view him as a future star, but actually thought he showed more
signs of progress most of the time as the year went on. And again
there's the high variant element to his game that's tough to get around. He's
the only option here, but I also think he is a viable which is
fair. I just it's more just a principal thing for me where I'm lower
than most on the Heat's roster construction, and even if he's their path to
that changing, it's the reputation thing for me, Like I just I can't
get out of my head that there's a gulf between production and expectations and reputation,
and I just I don't think that can be closed. And to me,
like he could break maybe he can break out into the player people think
he already is. Is that a breakout? People don't think he's already got
player. They think he's one of the most overrated players in the league.
Is my point though, that is that is consensus at this point outside of
Miami. Would bet if you're a consensus overrated player, then aren't there people
rating you that high? By definition? No, because people are thinking that
they're railing against other or the actual who's thinking that. I mean, it's
probably strong and whatnot. It's a strong man argument at this point. It's
like when people say that, you know, Kyrie Irving can't dribble, and
then they post a video of him like cooking people off the dribble. It's
it's a fake argument. You're arguing with a brick wall at this point.
If you're saying Tyler heroes overrated to me because you think that people are rating
him that highly, they're not anymore. I would argue there are more people
who are lower on his long term outlook than super high. Is I guess
what I'm getting at fair enough, speaking of super High, let me pop
this edible really quick and continue podcasting. But in all actuality, I found
this team to be the toughest in Milwaukee. I don't know that Dante DiVincenzo
can be a pick because I think we've had two years of solid play for
man. I'm also curious how many games he's gonna play in next season coming
back from injury. I defaulted to Grayson Allen. I don't think people watch
enough of him in Memphis, and I know he's an annoying player for some.
He just gives you a lot of shooting. He can make quick decisions
with the ball. He quietly and it wasn't on a ton of attempts,
so like, you know, we can we can throw that out of the
way. But he shot, he shot. He shot fifty percent on pull
up threes. Excuse me, thirty five point eight percent pull up threes last
year, so we has that, like he can make decisions when putting the
ball on the floor element to his game. I think that was a really
bang on trade from Milwaukee. I don't know how big of a role he
plays, but because they're the reigning champion, because they're gonna get more exposure
than a team like the Grizzlies, or even when you look at Utah,
Yeah, Utah gets a ton of exposure. But like he wasn't playing a
bunch there, so he might play similar minutes in Milwaukee, a team that's
just gonna garner more national attention than Allen. I think people are really gonna
stumble along to how valuable he is on the offense the end, and I
don't think he can be a better player than Donte de Vincenzo. I do
think that he can have similar value offensively, again, even making quick quick
passes. I'd probably argue that Donte de Vincenzo is better at reading the moment
off the ball at this point, but he might be a little bit more
valuable when you take in Donte de Vincenzo's health. I ultimately think Donte Devincenzo
was better and more valuable because of his defense. But Grayson Allen is a
pretty good player that I think being around this much talent at the top when
you look at janis true Holiday and Chris Middleton, I think that he could
really just put up some numbers as a guy where if he's in a lineup,
he's probably the fourth option, maybe the fifth option if Brook Lopez is
there, but if Bobby Portis is there, like that's someone who's like he
could be the third option in some lineups. You can move them all over
the place. I liked that pick up for them, and I think the
perception of how valuable he is probably changes after next season in Milwaukee, this
team really tripped me up, but I did end up having to go with
Grayson Allen. You even some of the stats that I was going to cite,
so kudos to you on that one. I actually don't think you're giving
him enough credit on defense, where I agree that offense is probably going to
be his primary contribution. But this is a guy who over his three NBA
seasons has consistently made strides on the defensive end of the floor, and last
season in particular, I think we saw him become a much smarter gambler,
both in on ball and off ball situations, where all of a sudden,
he was much more disruptive in passing lanes. He was poking the ball away
from you know, the primary ball handler a little bit more frequently, and
he was doing that without fouling, which was the big key for him.
If you can have an aggressive wing slash pseudo guard defender who can play that
aggressively like we see it with Drew Holiday. And I'm not I'm not comparing
Grayson Allen to Drew Holiday, but you know, that kind of ability is
really valuable, especially when paired with the actual Drew Holiday and Jannis playing free
safety like this defense could be really disruptive and play a scheme that fits Grace
and Allan perfectly. So Devincenzo is definitely the better player. I could see
another jump from him, And I thought about him extensively because his injury prevented
him from being a part of the title run. So I think that his
reputation could have floundered somewhat because of that. People could be forgetting what a
crucial part of this team he can be. So I thought about going that
direction, but I just I think Alan has a leap in him on both
ends of the court. That's a that's that's a good take or an interesting
take on his defense, I guess I just view him as less disruptive there
and like him and dont Advenchnslore the same size at six four, and I
think you can feel Donte Devincenzo's disruption away from the ball more. And I
know you weren't saying that he was better, but I also think you can
trust Donte Devenchenslo to guard up. I'm not quite there. Yeah you don't.
You don't want Alan guarding up, but I think within his role he's
become an asset, not a liability, and that's a that's a big improvement.
Who we got next? We have your New York Knicks next. This
is the one that I didn't have that many options that I was too intrigued
by, just because this is an older roster coached by Tom Thibodeau, who
is notoriously hesitant to give young players big roles. So I just I defaulted
to RJ. Barrett here. I've said on previous episodes, I think it
was a mail bag question about where we think he goes next, that I
actually think his his per game numbers are going to go down a little bit
this coming season, just because of the Kemba Walker inclusion, the Evan Fournier
inclusion, continuing to feature Julius Randall, maybe plumbing a little bit more from
Obi Toppin. But the way he impacts the game is going to be even
more impressive because we saw throughout this past season the growth in every aspect of
the game is feel or offensive sets. Previously, we'd seen teammates not even
want to pass him the ball because he wasn't in the right spot, or
if they did, they wouldn't get it back. He was a more willing
passer, he was a more engaged teammate. He started to knock down shots
from the corners. He made significant defensive strides to the point that he was
sometimes tasked with taking on some of the toughest backcourt assignments. We're going to
see all of that even more this coming season. So I don't expect this
to be a huge numerical leap when you're looking just at the basic per game
box score stats, but his impact on the game is going to be significantly
upticked this year. I didn't pick him just because I don't know what his
role is on offense anymore after all the additions they made, and I think
for him to break out, he probably needs to have a more active self
creation role, and they're not built for him to do that. I agree
with everything he said on defense, because you could boil it down to this,
who's guarding the toughest perimeter assignment outside of the point guard spot every single
night? Right now, it's has to be r J Barret unss. You
did that. Quinton Rone is gonna play right away, So yeah, Alec
Burks isn't. I mean he might have to just because who is it gonna
be? Evan Fournier? I know, but RJ Barrett he was already he
took on a pre size with defensive role for them last season, he's gonna
take on a bigger one. Now, agree with everything you said there.
I went with Obi Toppin just because he looked more like an NBA player towards
the end of last season. I don't know that they've done anything to increase
his minutes. You're not gonna see. I would love to see him and
Randall play together at points and just try and score the Knicks try and score
a trillion points per one hundred possessions. But resigning Nerland's the well bringing back
todsh Gibson a healthy Mitchell Robinson probably precludes that from happening. He should still
a subsume a lot of the backup four minutes because you don't have anyone who's
gonna be playing a small ball four role on this team, unless you decide
to play Barrett or Fournier up, which would be weird. Maybe you believe
in Kevin Knox a little bit, you could, but like he's still like
he is still. I just I to fall a lot to what people defend
as their position. He still is probably gonna have to be the three or
the two based on his defensive assignment. So you could maybe it look if
you still want to play Kevin Knox, then there's that element to it as
well. I just don't know if the Knicks have the personnel to ensure that
Obie Toppin plays fewer minutes than he did last year. I think he'll play
a little bit more his offense. He can make really quick passes after he
picks up the ball on the move. There's the shooting obviously. I also
think that there's more slate of direction to his game, like there is.
He can get around guys and like have these tough finishes there was last season
he just had the wild baseline play that finished in an absurd pass. There's
a lot of versatility there on the offensive end, and I think he just
looked like a guy who had more of a clue how to play at both
ends of the floor towards the end of last year, and I think that
might be good enough to help him crack the rotation this season. It's used
first at the beginning of the season two, right, like that didn't that
play a part in the delayed growth? It did, and it didn't just
based off how the Knicks like we're clear from clearly interested in doing I honestly
I thought about picking No. One for this team. I think that speaks
to how good R. J. Barrett was last season more so than any
insult here. And I also I don't know what a Manuel Quickly's role is
going to be. With Kemba Derek Rose, it should still be pretty sizeable.
But if you want to play Duce McBride a little bit too, and
you assume Kemba and Derrick Rose miss games, you could go with him.
I'd listen to it, but I think Toppin is the clear pick here,
the Orlando Magic before we move on. Before we move on, though,
I have to share my pre draft prediction on Obi Toppin because I always like
to know put out a couple of bold players that I actually believe Burton who
the Knicks actually should have right agreed, but I still said before we knew
where he was going. Obi Toppin's translatable three level scoring skills will make him
the first All Star from this class. Expect multiple seasons above twenty points per
game, even if his defensive and adequacy keeps him out of the All NBA
conversation. And you know, like that seems a little bit too high on
him, now, I will readily admit that, but I'm also never going
to switch my opinion on a guy that fast, especially when there's growth towards
the end of the rookie season, Like, yeah, that was too high
of a ceiling, But that doesn't change how much I like him as a
prospect. What it boils down to to me is will the Knicks play him
over Todaj Gibson. And that's the issue because I don't trust tips to anyone
who hasn't been on the bulls. Yeah, I mean Joe kiem Noha could
still sign and come out of retirement, right, I legitimately would not rule
that out. The Magic who we're moving on to now are really tough because
they have I look, I didn't make an argument for any rookie it which
is one hundred percent big yell and sugs. I think he's gonna be fantastic.
You could close your eyes, throw a dark at this roster and make
a case for whoever it lands on. I think it's gonna end up being
RJ. Hampton. I really like him as a as a lead ish guard
with some size, nice feel for the game, kind of can slow things
down, but he can also be this way, he can be both the
calm and the storm on offense. I'm wondering if they can get him enough
looks off ball to kind of test out his set shooting more. I think
he'll be disruptive on defense for them in certain lineups that they run at the
one, two three, like I would really love to see a Suggs foults
r J. Hampton just one two three trio and maybe round that out with
if Isaac is healthy, and then whoever you want to put I might put
Isaac at the five in that situation, be honest with you, you could
throw a dart at anyone. I was most intrigued by r J. Hampton
long term as a prospect on this team that anyone else. Jalen Suggs is
obviously the answer now, but he is still second for me. And I
know that maybe Cole Anthony's microwave scoring deserves some mention there. I know there'll
be a lot of people still tantalized by Mark L. Folks and Jonathan Isaac
is there too. But unless you think Jonathan Isaac, once he's healthy,
is going to break out on offense, there's nothing else he can do on
defense. He's already like a system unto himself. I think you can make
valid cases for Isaac, for Cole Anthony, for Chumo Keiki or Wendell Carter
Junior, even if you're really sign on them, because you could be OK's
ball skills last year, right, they will address me. RJ. Hampton
was tough for me not to pick, but I'm going with Marco Foltz just
because maybe it's just because I want to believe still. But before he tore
his acl which is a complicating factor here, in that small sample, he
already was showing more of a willingness to take deep jumpers, like two three
pointers per game was a big step in the right direction. He only just
turned twenty three. This is a number one pick whose career hasn't been derailed
because he doesn't belong but because he had the yips, the shoulder injuries,
whatever the case may be. If he can get past that, which he
increasingly has shown he might be able to, there's no reason he can't develop
into a star, albeit and delayed fashion. So I feel like that breakout
could happen at any time based on the small strides that we've seen. That
we're interrupted by a major injury, but also a major injury where a lot
of the time we see guys come back as better shooters because that's all they
can really work on for a while. So there is a reasonable realistic outcome
where he becomes the best player on this team. Wow. That is Mark
Helfold's optimism to the up team's degrade. It is. I don't know how
likely it is. I don't know if he's the likeliest breakout candidate, but
I think the magnitude of the potential breakout is the most significant. Wow.
I did not see that one coming. I would have been inclined to go
more with Wendel Carter Junior, even Obama before him. Wendel Carter Junior is
probably not Probably he is a serious option here too. I don't know what
the addition of Robin Lopez says about how short of a leash that he or
Obama might have. But it was a report I think from I can't remember
where I saw, but that they were thinking about offering Wendel Carter Junior four
year, seventy million dollars extension, which actually surprised me. I think that
actually came from a friend of the Pod Morton Stig Jensen would co host the
NBA Pod with Briantorek. I don't have that much faith in Wendell Carter Junior.
There is a lot more skill to explore with him, though, and
he shot a little bit a few more threes when he went to Orlando.
We'll see if they continue to explore expand that part of his game. I
think he can be a really good passer, and he is mobile on the
defensive end too. I would pick him or r J. Hanson's my break
up player. They we could look back on this Orlando Magic season and they
could have like three or four due to legitimately broke out, which brings us
to the Philadelphia seventy six ers, and pick Ben Simmons. The caveat has
to be that we don't know what's going to happen with Ben Simmons, and
this could become outdated really fast because he could be talking about Malik Beasley,
anyone who could be sent back from the Timberwolves or any other team that ends
up trading for Simmons as the option. But assuming that a trade doesn't happen,
I think first I'm legally required to mention Grant Riller here, but the
issue is that he's already broken out because he just averaged twenty four points,
four assists, only one point three turnovers p thirty six minutes, shot sixty
seven percent from the field, made half literally half of his threes, didn't
miss a single free throw. Like that's the definition of stardom already, So
there's really nothing for him to break out too. My real pick was a
little bit unorthodox here because of his age, but I kind of just have
this gut feeling that Seth Curry could be the guy who takes the biggest leap
here. As we saw in the playoffs, he was their second best player,
and he's gonna break out. Come on, maybe, because who else
are you going to pick right now? I have a pick. I'm guessing
you're gonna go with like Tyres Maxie, which reasonable. But I do think,
based on what we saw in the playoffs, there's more to Seth Curry's
game than being a catch and shoot option. I think Doc Rivers is realizing
that, and I think we're going to see him featured more, especially with
Simmons not in the picture because he's either being traded or sitting out the season
presumably. So I just I don't know that Curry Stock is going to change
by an order of magnitude, but I do think he's gonna be a lot
more important to this team. Sure, I just don't know what I would
classfy as a breakout him. Is he entering the All Star conversation at this
point. He's about as good as you can be as a role player right
now. But I don't know that I would be, like, would you
be that surprised if he's on the fringes of the All Star conversation, like
the utmost periphery, but at least mentioned, he wouldn't be the most shocked.
Mark el Folis would shock me more there, or you said Patrick Williams,
those would be more surprising to me. I went with Tyrys Maxie,
and this could go one of two ways, because if you trade Ben Simmons,
now you're down your lead playmaker. He didn't actually have a backup playmaker
to begin with. It between Tyrese Maxie and Shake Milton at this point,
if you move Ben Simmons, theoretically that elevates the importance of Tyres Maxie.
But depending on Yeah, I was getting there, come on, give me
a second, but I still have to undercut this because my pick was ridiculous.
They're not going to have He's still going to be one of the two
or three most important ball handlers on this team, regardless of what happens with
Ben Simmons, because you're not bringing in two guys in the Ben Simmons trade
who usurp him in the ball handling pecking order unless you're trading for I'm like,
are you getting Van Fleet n Siakam from Toronto? And like you're spanning
the deal. Yeah, they spanned the deal to include Tobias Harris or something.
So I like Maxie here, someone who can score every level. We
have to see more from him. If someoneho's gonna table set for his teammates,
he can be super peskey on defense. And now that you don't have
George Hill, an experiment that just flopped from the from the getto unless you're
gonna think about running Jaden Springer out for more immediate minutes, I think there's
a real path to him. You know, Seth Curry and Ben Simmons or
whoever has Ben Simmons' slot is going to play a ton. He's immediately in
the mix for like that second our third guard conversation depends on what you think
about. You know, where's firk On Cork Mozer, Danny Green playing YadA
YadA, ya YadA. But I really liked what I saw for him for
much of his rookie season. I know, like some of the flare cooled
off as the year war on. I keep coming back to his every level
scoring. If you depict someone from this team, they need that self creator
who they can lean on and crunch time to get them buckets at any given
level. Aside from Joel Embid, it has to be a smaller player just
because that's the conventional definition of that crunch time weapon. I think you still
gravitate more towards Tobias Harris. Tyrese Maxe fits the every level aspect of that
definition there. I'm not saying he's going to usurp Tobias Harris and crunch time
importance next season, but just based off where this whole soap opera with Philly
is headed, tyres Maxie is it could end up being mission critical to what
they're in. What if they just hold on to Ben Simmons and he does
hold out of training camp and he's not there to start the season or what
if what if they just don't trade Ben Simmons. I think I think you
probably may think case pretty easily that they don't trade Ben Simmons, Tyrus max
is more important unless they're trading Ben Simmons for a wing who like, if
they end up accepting like haliber Halibert, if they end up setting like the
Badley Heeled and all the pick scenario, Like, yeah, there's there's a
scenario on which Maxi becomes that much more important. They're not going to do
that, and so I'm sort of just hedging against the fact that they're going
to need him as part of the second unit no matter what. But there
is a chance, through a Ben Simmons trade, or more likely the lack
of one, that he ascends their offensive pecking order this year. And I
do want to make I think his defense for rookie could be really under it,
like he is someone who will harass you and just wear your skin is
decoration. And I like that he showed a willingness to rely less on his
floater as the sea and progressed just attacking the basket more going for the open
pull up jumpers. I just I think we're a year away from it being
scalable here. Maybe it's just a gut feeling, but that's the only reason
I didn't pick him, like obviously strongly considered. I think it's a totally
reasonable choice. I think based on what we saw from him and how he
was operating in a smaller role. I just I worry that if he does
get forced into ascending in terms of importance to the offense that quickly, that
it might not be pretty fair enough. The Dronto Raptors are up next.
They kind of have options galore, so many good options. I went with
Ogana Noby Hey that he's not Chris Bouche. It was good to be one
of those two. It's your own fault for truly loving two players on the
same team. I've felt a little bit less smitten with one of them.
This would have been far less painful for you. But I see that you're
shedding tears right now for Chris Bouche because you couldn't him here. Yeah,
exactly, I'm afraid that Kember his minutes. Yeah. I don't know how
og gets any better on defense. He was all defense when we went through
the exercise. For me, he's one of the two or three if not
the absolute best on ball defender in the NBA. This is someone who can
defend every position. Essentially, when you had Siakam or Chris Bouchet on the
floor, they were still stretches with og and Obi was guarding the five.
I'm looking at his offense. He's kind of proved himself as a three point
shooter. There was more on ball stuff to his game last year where it
wasn't just attacking straight lines yet it wasn't really plumbing the depths of his handle
either. It was making quicker decisions, could drop off passes. I think
we see more of that. I'm curious to see if we see more ISOs
from him. Do they post him up more just let him go from the
point of attack. I think the team is set up to let him go
through another year of self discovery on offense, just because my hot take would
be if the Raptors don't make a move, I think there are a top
four or five team in the Eastern Conference. I don't think they're legit title
contender because they're they're better in the regular season the way their their defense can
play. But you have Siakam, you have Fred van Fleet, and then
sort of the on ball opportunity is wide open. After that, Goran Dragics
is still there. I don't expect him to finish the season in Toronto.
Obviously, if you trade for Ben Simmons, that materially changes what Oganna Noby's
doing on offense. But like in Yeah, you have Malakai Flynn, Gary
Trench and you can do some stuff off the balance. I don't know what
type of license over the offense you give Scotty Barnes as a rookie. I
would argue it should probably be a controllable usage for him. So I think
that o Giannaby's gonna have the chance to really just augment or rather expand his
offensive horizons. And even if he doesn't, let's say they trade for Ben
Simmons or they want to give go drag stays there all year and they want
to really work Malakai Flynn and and Scotty Barnes into the fold. This is
someone who can just still do damage as a high volume, higher volume three
point shooter who puts the ball on the floor and just rose guys in open
space around closeouts. And it would not shock me like you had mentioned,
I think you had said, could you see Fred van Fleet averaging twenty five
points per game this season, and maybe we'll be getting into Fred van Fleet
in a second. I don't know. If you told me that an Anobi
averaged eighteen nineteen twenty points per game next year, I believe it and I
wouldn't blame you. They're definitely options glore on this team. I mean og
an Anobi as you picked. Chris Biche, Greg Gary, Trent Junior could
have an argument. You could make a case for Malik Kaiflin, maybe even
Precious Chiwa. There's so many reasonable cases to be made. But I am
ultimately going to go with Van Vleet, and it's because of what you just
mentioned at the end there. I think that he is in a prime spot
to go from a player who has not yet crested above twenty points per game
to a guy who's averaging twenty five to twenty six, and that is a
gigantic leap. The reason that I think he can realistically make it is partly
because he is so good in on ball settings and off ball settings. He's
learned so much playing alongside Kyle Lowry, who is no longer there to take
away touches. I think he alone can do it. I also think he
has the teammates because I too believe that Toronto as currently constructed, could be
a top four or five seed to draw enough attention, enough defensive attention away
from him, It's more likely to happen right now, no other moves are
made by these teams. Who's better during the regular season Next year, the
Knicks are the Raptors. The Raptors, I'm with you. Yeah, it's
not even hate. It's not hate to the Knicks at all. I think
that's another really well constructed team. But Toronto has so much upside that could
mesh together so well. So Yeah, Like if Og and an Obi is
averaging eighteen points per game, I think that means that Van Vleet is averaging
twenty five ish because Og has sucked away enough defensive attention that they're the two
scorers alongside Pascal Siakam, who gets to settle into a little bit less of
a featured role thrive even more on defense. That's that's how this happens.
If it is as good as we expect, Are you ready to go to
the final team? I am. I'm gonna go with another all hardwood Knox
pick for me, Daniel Gafford. The energy is infectious, The defensive ability
is incredible. The way he's able to harness that energy and that athleticism and
somewhat of a controlled fashion makes it feel more scalable. This team was ten
point one points per a hundred possessions better with him on the floor after he
came over from the Bulls, which is just a monumental improvement. And I
also just want to highlight his history in nbamaths Crystal Basketball Project because when he
was set to debut as a rookie the twenty nineteen twenty preseason addition, he
was tied for four hundred fourteenth in the league. He rose to three hundred
ten in the postseason addition, fell back down to a tie for three fifteen
in the preseason edition this past season, and made it all the way up
to one eighty four. I'm betting that we're talking about him. This might
be my hottest take yet. I'm betting that we're talking about him as a
top hundred guy after this coming season. Wow. That is He's a totally
operable pick here, no qualms about that. I'm just when you sort of
look at their setup with Montres Harold a healthy Thomas Bryant. Is his role
impacted at all by there? I agree with you, and I kind of
knew you were going to pick him so for the sake of variety, I
wasn't. I didn't know we were going to be so unlocked up at the
beginning of this pod. I went with Dendy Ava And I know he's only
a sophomore, but something that's not being talked about, and maybe it's because
we don't know how he's gonna look after fracturing his right ankle, But like
there was, he just looked like he had such a great understanding of the
game last year. And now that you take Russell Westbrook out of the equation,
you're bringing in Spencer Dimity. But there's not as much of an offensive
monopoly over touches anymore. We might be able to see more on ball stuff
from him, and it looks like he has that feel to be and even
like some changes of pace a little bit, even though he's not like super
explosive to set up things in the half court. And I think he can
be fine to work off Spencer, Dimmitty and Bradley be on the same lineups.
He was positionally when by the eye test anyway, I think he's gonna
end up being a better defender than I ever would have expected. But I
like the opportunity for him to have more offensive agency on the ball and what
that could mean as a playmaker, sort of seeing more of what he can
do at multiple levels of scoring. He has to be healthy. The Wizards
have to lean on him, which is that might be up in the air
because this is a deeper team and I think they still want to make the
playoffs. Like that's the vibe you get based off what's going to happen when
you look though. Now at the top of this roster, Spencer Dimmity is
coming off a Parsley tour and write acl there just might be moments where they
she need him to take on a bigger role of Spencer him he's not able
to play or if he's dealt with injuries in the past too. So I
think he elevates significantly in offensive importance for this team following the departure of Russell
Westbrook. I guess unless you believe that, like the Wizards are really married
to Aaron Holiday, and they might be because I thought they overpaid for him
in that trade with the Pacers, But I loved Denny Ava. Maybe I
didn't see enough of him coming in the NBA, but I was disarmed with
just some of the moments, the long stretches, the expansaity of his skill
set overall, and I think he'll get a chance, if healthy this year,
to really sort of show it, and so he would be my pick.
But this team probably is a few options. Where you mentioned Daniel Gafford,
maybe this is the right fit for Aaron Holiday. Finally, I think
Bruy Hachimura. I'm still not comfortable with his shot selection, but based on
how well he shot midrange looks towards the end of last year, it could
be him. It could also be Kyle Kuzma, who was a legitimately good
offensive player during his rookie season and then his shot went away. As a
sophomore, he never got another chance as a featured offensive option and developed into
a legitimately good defensive player who embraced that role. What if he's given the
confidence and opportunity to be a featured offensive player and can connect those two skills
together. I don't think that can be ruled out. Where all of a
sudden, like he might become that star that people were expecting based on his
rookie season. I don't think it's likely. I think it's possible. I
want to stick with Gafford as a pick, but like Avia was my second
choice, Kuzmo was my third, Hachimura was my fourth, and they're all
good options. Hachimura would have been my third behind Gafford and then my pick
Avia. But it'd be interesting if there's more of an appreciation for Kyle Kuzma
once he removes the Lakers jersey, because prospects get too hyped up in those
sort of red carpet markets and then like there's that really sudden crash for them
because people get so sick of seeing them. Happened with Alex Caruzo too.
Yeah, so yeah, that could happen. This was a great extra size.
We will do the Western Conference one probably be released on Tuesday of next
week today after Labor Day. Thank you all so much for listening. As
always, please please pretty please remember to rate, review, and subscribe to
Hardwood Knox on iTunes, even if you don't use it. The numbers and
ratings are stagnant there help us out. But also download and subscribe to our
podcast. Wherever you actually get your podcasts, we are everywhere they can be
found. Follow us on YouTube, search Hardware Knox, go hit subscribe,
help us get to one thousand subscribers on YouTube help us get there, and
of course you can follow us on Twitter at hardware Knox, Instagram at Underscore
hard Hardwood, Underscore Knox, TikTok at Hardware Knox. Until next time,
we'll leave it a shout out to the one, the only, but would
have did my pick for the most likely breakout player on the New York Picks
that they've been smart and kept him right. Neil Kina