1 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:08,359 Oh everyone, and welcome to the latest episode of Hardwood Knocks. This is 2 00:00:08,359 --> 00:00:13,240 Adam Framwell here with my fantastic co host Dan for Valley. I feel like 3 00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:20,839 this episode kind of marks our wholehearted shift into the next season mode. You 4 00:00:20,839 --> 00:00:24,960 know, we've we've dabbled in that a little bit, but this where we're 5 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:30,480 looking at a breakout candidate for each team in the Eastern Conference, really feels 6 00:00:30,519 --> 00:00:33,399 like we're not just dipping the toe in the waters of next season anymore. 7 00:00:33,439 --> 00:00:38,359 So much is just diving into the pool and I personally and I personally am 8 00:00:38,439 --> 00:00:40,560 very excited for it, which I assume you are as well. Dan. 9 00:00:41,159 --> 00:00:44,600 Yeah, we're done with the retrospective stuff, as I from report Cards, 10 00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:48,679 which we've been pulling off on in part because it just feels like this offseason 11 00:00:48,719 --> 00:00:56,280 has one more fairly large Australian domino to fall before everything is is into place. 12 00:00:56,799 --> 00:00:59,200 I don't know about you. I think that's called a teaser, but 13 00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:03,320 I agree. We will do report cards at some point very soon, but 14 00:01:03,359 --> 00:01:06,359 we're done with We're gonna be getting into team previous, Like training camps are 15 00:01:06,359 --> 00:01:11,079 opening in this month and it's just it's wild because the off season was longer 16 00:01:11,079 --> 00:01:15,359 than last offseason, but it was still fairly short relative to the typical calendar. 17 00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:19,840 So yeah, we're diving in and going through this exercise. It definitely 18 00:01:19,840 --> 00:01:23,359 felt like, you know, we've been relying a lot on mail bags, 19 00:01:23,359 --> 00:01:26,280 looking at a lot of like reacting to news, which we will do in 20 00:01:26,319 --> 00:01:29,319 a second, because there is some news, but this just feels like we 21 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:34,799 finally shifted our focus all the way to twenty one twenty two for sure. 22 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:38,120 Before we do that. One PSA. We are no longer going to be 23 00:01:38,319 --> 00:01:44,040 hosting episodes on Spotify Green Room. We've been doing that on Sunday afternoons. 24 00:01:44,079 --> 00:01:48,040 Instead, we're planning to record more episodes just like this, where we'll bring 25 00:01:48,079 --> 00:01:51,599 them to you after we record them instead of doing those live editions. But 26 00:01:51,599 --> 00:01:55,359 you can still find plenty of content basically everywhere you look at this point. 27 00:01:55,359 --> 00:01:57,640 There's a TikTok account, there's an Instagram account. Please make sure that you 28 00:01:57,760 --> 00:02:01,400 go subscribe to YouTube account. We're trying to build up the followership there and 29 00:02:01,719 --> 00:02:06,359 Dan in particular is putting a lot of effort into doing so. And then 30 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:09,360 of course on Twitter you can find us at Hardwood Knox moving out of the 31 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:13,319 PSA. Though, before we do get to those breakout players, we have 32 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:16,080 to discuss, as you mentioned, the Australian elephant in the room, and 33 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:21,599 that is Ben Simmons. The reports are flying in furiously at this point. 34 00:02:22,439 --> 00:02:24,800 It feels like a week ago at this point, even though it was like 35 00:02:24,879 --> 00:02:30,719 hours I guess that we learned he was not planning on reporting to the Philadelphia 36 00:02:30,759 --> 00:02:32,879 seventy six ers until they traded him, that he was prepared to sit out 37 00:02:32,879 --> 00:02:38,120 the season. And it seems like since then he's been connected with at least 38 00:02:38,159 --> 00:02:42,360 a dozen teams to the point that we've now already reached a point in the 39 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:46,280 same day news cycle that those teams are now denying those reports. So it's 40 00:02:46,319 --> 00:02:54,000 moved at a hectic, frenetic pace. Yeah, it's clearly because Ben Simmons 41 00:02:54,039 --> 00:03:00,120 and his camp and decided to take the offensive. Now where the report at 42 00:03:00,159 --> 00:03:04,759 first coming from Keith Pompey that he, as you mentioned, wants a trade 43 00:03:04,759 --> 00:03:07,400 and doesn't plan to report to training camp. We hear from zam Amick about 44 00:03:07,479 --> 00:03:12,800 the various teams that are involved, even John Krasinski of The Athletic also writing 45 00:03:12,800 --> 00:03:16,319 about the Timberwolves's element of it a make reported that the Kings aren't willing to 46 00:03:16,319 --> 00:03:20,840 include Tyres Halibert or Biern Fox, and that Buddy Heeled and Marvin Bagley would 47 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:23,919 likely be moved in such a deal that kind of oozes King's side. Luck 48 00:03:24,159 --> 00:03:28,759 that yeah, there's I wouldn't trade Dearn Fox for Ben Simmons after the season 49 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:31,639 or playoffs that Ben Simmons just had. I think overall, had you asked 50 00:03:31,639 --> 00:03:35,840 me before last season if Ben Simmons was better than the Aaron Fox, I 51 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:38,400 would have said yes. As of right now, I don't think you can 52 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:42,520 be sure, especially if the season Darn Fox had. So if the Kings 53 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:45,639 want to go all in on this and include Haliburton, I think they can 54 00:03:45,719 --> 00:03:47,840 justify it. But I think you lose a lot of luster if you end 55 00:03:47,879 --> 00:03:51,240 up trading Daron Fox for Ben Simmons, Like, I don't know that that 56 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:55,360 nudges you forward in any one way. I think I would still have Simmons 57 00:03:55,479 --> 00:04:00,319 above Fox, but that doesn't necessarily mean I would trade Fox for Simmons just 58 00:04:00,360 --> 00:04:08,520 because I think like the Simmons conversation is a fascinating and equally frustrating one, 59 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:16,120 because on one hand, it feels like we have a terribly tough time evaluating 60 00:04:16,199 --> 00:04:21,240 his worth, even though that worth should be pretty obvious, like, yeah, 61 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:26,800 there are flaws, but he's also an all defensive player who's arguably the 62 00:04:26,839 --> 00:04:31,160 most versatile defender in the NBA today. He's a brilliant passer, he can 63 00:04:31,279 --> 00:04:34,839 finish plays around the basket when he chooses to do so. If he were 64 00:04:34,879 --> 00:04:39,879 a free agent right now, he's gonna get a max contract from someone. 65 00:04:40,600 --> 00:04:45,279 He is a very good player, despite the playoff awards, despite the narrative 66 00:04:45,319 --> 00:04:51,120 that those significant playoff shortcomings created, So the way that people are valuing him 67 00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:55,079 and talking about like, oh, I don't really want my team to acquire 68 00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:58,399 him, or you know, the Sixers are asking for way too much, 69 00:04:59,279 --> 00:05:02,800 it's really But then on the flip side, it also feels like, because 70 00:05:03,079 --> 00:05:10,120 he was a number one overall pick that he's still supposed to have so much 71 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:14,319 potential. And I just don't know how much more growth we can expect to 72 00:05:14,319 --> 00:05:17,759 see because we haven't seen that development in some areas, we've seen regression. 73 00:05:18,399 --> 00:05:21,439 And then you come to a guy like Fox who was not a number one 74 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:28,720 pick, But I can expect him to develop into so much more reasonably. 75 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:34,240 I think so Simmons is so weird to me because there are totally disparate ways 76 00:05:34,279 --> 00:05:40,199 of looking at his value that are happening simultaneously. And he's also a player 77 00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:45,920 who somehow is then ascribed so much upside that he hasn't yet reached because of 78 00:05:45,920 --> 00:05:48,720 his draft status, even if that shouldn't be happening at this stage of his 79 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:53,959 career. It's it's just like a walking conundrum at this point. I totally 80 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:56,680 agree, and what you really run into issues and I think what hurts with 81 00:05:56,720 --> 00:06:00,000 Ben Simmons is that you need to have at this point because I do think, 82 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:03,279 yeah, you can try and project and extrapolate what you hope he'll become, 83 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:05,560 but you also have to deal with the out the reality of what he 84 00:06:05,639 --> 00:06:10,839 is right now, and right now peak Ben Simmons is more concept than actual 85 00:06:10,879 --> 00:06:14,279 player. You have to deal with the Ben Simmons up today, and that 86 00:06:14,360 --> 00:06:19,639 takes a very specific set of personnel around him for the fit to be unequivocally 87 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:23,959 good. You could put him in Golden State with Draymond Green and maybe it 88 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:26,439 does work out, but you do have to think about the possibility that it 89 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:28,519 won't. And so I think when you look at some of the teams that 90 00:06:28,519 --> 00:06:32,399 are interested Toronto, Golden State. He wants to go to one of the 91 00:06:32,519 --> 00:06:36,120 LA teams, that's just not happening. Look, but Golden State in Toronto 92 00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:41,839 specifically, Like, those aren't great fits. Where I think Sacramento and Minnesota, 93 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:44,639 depending on what they have to give up, I think those are two 94 00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:47,839 teams that can fairly easily fit him. In Minnesota. Seems like Minnesota is 95 00:06:47,879 --> 00:06:51,720 the perfect fit, right, Like, if you're constructing a team around him, 96 00:06:51,879 --> 00:06:56,160 you want someone like Karl Anthony Towns. You want someone like Anthony Edwards. 97 00:06:56,639 --> 00:06:59,279 I guess the idea of what Anthony Edwards is going to develop into. 98 00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:05,519 You want someone like Malik Beasley spacing the court? Trade Probably not. And 99 00:07:05,920 --> 00:07:10,040 I see there was a report that Minnesota's talking about a core of kr Anthy 100 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:14,759 Towns, Delo, Ben Simmons, and Anthony Edwards. Definitely tantalizing. I 101 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:17,040 don't know how you have the assets to pull this off without including Russell. 102 00:07:17,399 --> 00:07:20,759 You can still get to the salary matching aspect of it, but you need 103 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:26,199 to include enough picks to where then you're recruiting a third team that is sending 104 00:07:26,199 --> 00:07:29,000 Philly something they want. If you're going to keep Delo, And I'm not 105 00:07:29,079 --> 00:07:31,079 even sure the Philly would want Delo, so if even if you're willing to 106 00:07:31,279 --> 00:07:34,720 move him, but they should, but Delo is also Kat's best friend. 107 00:07:35,120 --> 00:07:38,480 It would be fun to see Ben Simmons, I think in Minnesota more than 108 00:07:38,519 --> 00:07:42,480 they ever play Sacramentos number two. I don't love the idea of him in 109 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:45,439 Golden State. I don't know how you feel about that, And I'm not 110 00:07:45,519 --> 00:07:48,199 crazy about the idea of him in Toronto especially. You would have to tell 111 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:51,480 me that Fred van Fleet survives that trade for team would have to for me 112 00:07:51,560 --> 00:07:55,600 to like it. Yeah. For me, it's really Minnesota or a bust 113 00:07:55,639 --> 00:07:59,480 at this point, especially now that we have these reports that Anthony Edwards has 114 00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:03,639 grown another two inches. Can you imagine the size of that team too? 115 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:07,480 Yeah? Wow, I didn't even think about that. And look, that 116 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:09,519 defense instantly gets so much better with Ben Simmons, And even if they Edwards 117 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:13,360 kind of showed more improvement away from the ball last year and Carl Anthony Towns 118 00:08:13,399 --> 00:08:18,079 isn't just a defensive sieve at this point. No, what I mean, 119 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:20,560 Look, if you have Jade McDaniels on the court with those guys, like, 120 00:08:20,639 --> 00:08:22,439 there's a lot of stuff that he can do that would be a fun 121 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:26,439 Actually, Jade McDaniels doesn't survive that trade either now that I'm thinking, definitely 122 00:08:26,439 --> 00:08:30,399 not, There's no way he's too. Definitely not him and Molie Beasley, 123 00:08:30,439 --> 00:08:31,720 I think are the guys that are gone. And I would assume if you're 124 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:35,840 not trading Delo, Patrick Beverly is then gone. And then all the time, 125 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:41,759 what Patrick Beverley has gotten so excited about playing for so many different teams 126 00:08:41,759 --> 00:08:46,440 this offseason, getting to Luke Rittenhoward Treaty is right now? Is there any 127 00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:48,440 other team that hasn't been met? And look, he can't he physically can't 128 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:52,480 get to the Lakers right now because the way they're not training Lebron or a 129 00:08:52,639 --> 00:08:56,000 D, they're not trading Russell Westbrook. They just don't have money to move. 130 00:08:56,320 --> 00:09:01,399 He's not going to It can't happen. Yeah, I don't know what 131 00:09:01,519 --> 00:09:05,440 happened. It technically could, but they don't have anything to offer Philly unless're 132 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:11,200 you should Yeah, they definitely should not do that. Is there a team 133 00:09:11,240 --> 00:09:13,759 that's like just not been mentioned or not being mentioned right now? Maybe he's 134 00:09:13,799 --> 00:09:18,600 mentioned the past that you would actually like to see maybe get involved in this 135 00:09:18,679 --> 00:09:22,120 because I do know and look, and that's the way to wrap this up, 136 00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:24,639 is that question. But also, what do you ultimately think happens here? 137 00:09:24,679 --> 00:09:28,559 Is he moved before the start of the season because the threat of him 138 00:09:28,559 --> 00:09:31,399 not reporting to trading camp matters, but he really hurts himself by not doing 139 00:09:31,399 --> 00:09:35,320 that either. And if I'm the Sixers, I don't know that I want 140 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:37,679 to move him now he has four years left on his deal. I don't 141 00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:41,440 think that he actually has that much leverage they can risk and say, okay, 142 00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:45,080 if he's not going to play, and even if he's not getting paid 143 00:09:45,159 --> 00:09:46,639 during that point, like, we're not going to be good because the solo 144 00:09:46,759 --> 00:09:50,679 Joella Bied minutes are not necessarily spectacular. It might be fine next season, 145 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:54,720 but you're not gonna be a championship contender if if Ben Simmons isn't there, 146 00:09:54,759 --> 00:09:58,200 but you haven't gotten a return on Ben Simmons, I still I don't know. 147 00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:03,399 I'm probably if I'm Philly, I'm making this super awkward and trying to 148 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:07,480 call his bluff because I think unless unless there's a team that comes along and 149 00:10:07,679 --> 00:10:11,799 look, their initial asking price was ridiculous. Even if Ben Simmons is the 150 00:10:11,799 --> 00:10:15,440 player that you think that he is. You need to get like this is 151 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:18,639 you can't look around. Here's my point, Joel Embid is gonna miss between 152 00:10:18,679 --> 00:10:20,879 twenty one and eighty two games every single season, Like that needs to be 153 00:10:20,919 --> 00:10:24,759 into the calculus of what you're trading Ben Simmons for. So theres is there 154 00:10:24,759 --> 00:10:28,960 a team that just hasn't isn't being mentioned right now that you'd like to get 155 00:10:28,960 --> 00:10:33,080 involved, And what is the outcome of all this before let's say, before 156 00:10:33,120 --> 00:10:35,879 the season. Is Ben Simmons on a different team or is he still with 157 00:10:35,919 --> 00:10:39,000 the Sixers? I think Minnesota is going to happen. That's my guess. 158 00:10:39,279 --> 00:10:43,159 You know. Obviously, no sources are telling me that or anything, just 159 00:10:43,559 --> 00:10:50,279 pure speculation, somewhat educated. Yeah, exactly. The one part of your 160 00:10:50,279 --> 00:10:56,240 scenario that I think you're leaving out is Joel Embiid, because what happens when 161 00:10:56,120 --> 00:11:01,440 Embiid, who likes to talk a little bit on social media, sometimes what 162 00:11:01,559 --> 00:11:07,320 happens when they aren't winning and he isn't in the MVP conversation despite playing at 163 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:09,720 a similar level, and he starts putting pressure on the organization, and all 164 00:11:09,720 --> 00:11:16,519 of a sudden, you run the risk of making your enduring best player feel 165 00:11:16,600 --> 00:11:20,480 uncomfortable in one out. I don't think you can risk that. He did 166 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:22,840 tweet out in support of Ben Simmons, which leads me to believe that he 167 00:11:22,879 --> 00:11:26,879 saw the rumor trade packages and was like, oh, go watch his post 168 00:11:26,919 --> 00:11:31,360 game press conferences in the playoffs and tell me how he really feels like. 169 00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:35,159 I feel like that's a little bit disingenuous at this point, too, a 170 00:11:35,159 --> 00:11:37,799 little too late. I think the team I would like to see get involved 171 00:11:37,840 --> 00:11:41,519 in San Antonio, probably outside of character. And they drafted a fourth grader 172 00:11:41,559 --> 00:11:46,000 at number twelve, so I think that implies that they're rebuilding. But shout 173 00:11:46,039 --> 00:11:50,600 out Josh Primo, who's actually eighteen. I just that's the team that I 174 00:11:50,679 --> 00:11:52,159 like the fit for Simmons where he might be able to have a little bit 175 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:56,480 more control and then maybe he's the face of a rebuild or a retool and 176 00:11:56,480 --> 00:12:01,480 they can structure the roster around him. San Antonio's lot of interesting stuff now 177 00:12:01,519 --> 00:12:05,440 with Derek Wright, Jean Day, Murray, Devin Vassell, Thaddeus Young is 178 00:12:05,480 --> 00:12:07,960 their picks. Maybe if they get a third team involved, that would be 179 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:11,519 just the dark horse team to watch. Just making that move would be wildly 180 00:12:11,759 --> 00:12:18,600 out of character that specifically. I also have not heard this disgust at all. 181 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:22,759 And I wonder if you think it's possible for him to end up in 182 00:12:22,799 --> 00:12:26,600 Boston without Jalen Brown or Jason Tatum leaving. You can't tell if you're being 183 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:31,960 sarcastic right now. No, I'm entirely serious. What is the trade if 184 00:12:31,960 --> 00:12:37,240 they throw every pick under the sun at them, Robert Williams, they can't 185 00:12:37,519 --> 00:12:41,080 Richard, they can't trade them. They extended them, say with Marcus Morrett. 186 00:12:41,320 --> 00:12:43,320 Yeah, they would be if this was next summer, I might be 187 00:12:45,200 --> 00:12:48,080 with you. But yeah, I don't think I forgot about that part. 188 00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:52,159 But in theory, those three together would be really appealing. Yeah, and 189 00:12:52,200 --> 00:12:56,000 I wouldn't trade Jaylen Brown for Ben Simmons. I wouldn't either. Yeah, 190 00:12:56,200 --> 00:12:58,879 it wouldn't be cool to see him in Dallas. They just don't have any 191 00:13:00,159 --> 00:13:07,799 to offer other than that, though, I really don't have any sleeper destinations. 192 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:11,120 I mean, like, I guess you can. You could a team 193 00:13:11,480 --> 00:13:18,759 like the Orlando Magic could potentially put together enough pieces, but why would they 194 00:13:20,159 --> 00:13:24,320 Like if you're the Magic, sure you can float, you know, Jonathan 195 00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:28,159 Isaac and Schumo, Kiki and Cole Anthony and Picks and get Ben Simmons to 196 00:13:28,200 --> 00:13:31,879 be the face of your franchise, but why why would you do that? 197 00:13:31,120 --> 00:13:35,919 So I think we were entering the realm now where it's like, okay, 198 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:37,919 like you could put together feasible packages, but why in the world wouldn't happen. 199 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:41,320 Yeah, with a lot of teams are like I would like him in 200 00:13:41,440 --> 00:13:43,200 Charlotte, but like they're kind of hamstrung with what they could offer now. 201 00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:48,240 And yes, unless they're using Gordon hay Ord after extending carriers here, so 202 00:13:48,399 --> 00:13:52,200 in Chicago has already gone through all these different motions. It's because zach Lavine 203 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:54,200 would have been great for Philly if that could have been part of the deal. 204 00:13:54,240 --> 00:13:56,960 So yeah, you are there. Only feels like there's like a half 205 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:01,480 dozen or so realistic destinations Personally, personally, I want to see him on 206 00:14:01,519 --> 00:14:07,559 the Utah Jazz with Donovan Mitchell and Riddy Gobert just to see I just want 207 00:14:07,559 --> 00:14:11,320 to see how those two fan bases would interact after that. So that's all. 208 00:14:11,399 --> 00:14:16,000 That's the only the only impetus here for even mentioning that that's like not 209 00:14:16,159 --> 00:14:18,600 a possibility. It's Royce O'Neil, Joe Angeles and boy and Badanovitch, and 210 00:14:18,639 --> 00:14:20,919 then I don't even think they could legally trade a pick. I think they 211 00:14:20,919 --> 00:14:24,200 would have to like first a lot, like in twenty twenty seven or twenty 212 00:14:24,240 --> 00:14:28,960 twenty five at this point, so twenty twenty six, so they can trade. 213 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:31,080 They can probably trade one first round pick, and there's no guarantee it 214 00:14:31,080 --> 00:14:37,879 would convey. That would be meg interesting too, Washington, maybe if they 215 00:14:37,919 --> 00:14:41,240 move off the Beal train, like that's still sort of a looming possibility, 216 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:45,039 I guess, But you wouldn't if you're Washington and you're trading bal and starting 217 00:14:45,039 --> 00:14:46,399 over. You don't like the idea of Beal the I don't like the idea 218 00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:52,679 of starting with with Simmons. I think he is like a complimentary star. 219 00:14:54,679 --> 00:15:00,080 I just I don't think you want him as your loaned big talent. And 220 00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:03,159 I guess, I guess the thinking narrors then you're not bad enough to get 221 00:15:03,159 --> 00:15:07,240 a high draft pick. Perhaps, but I think he just he would just 222 00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:11,919 put you in that lower middle class in the NBA permanently. I'd probably be 223 00:15:13,039 --> 00:15:16,159 too intrigued to do it because with Beale entering free agency, if that's if 224 00:15:16,159 --> 00:15:20,639 that's what happens it's because Beal's entering free agency and you're probably getting other stuff 225 00:15:20,679 --> 00:15:22,600 from Philly at this point, are you not. It's not Ben Simmons for 226 00:15:22,639 --> 00:15:31,399 Beal straight up anymore. Washington's fascinating trade. Let's get into this exercise, 227 00:15:31,399 --> 00:15:35,120 though, of predicting our most likely breakout player for every Eastern Conference team. 228 00:15:35,159 --> 00:15:37,480 Do you want to start us off? Since I'm bad at the alphabet, 229 00:15:39,039 --> 00:15:43,159 I can do that. The first team alphabetically is the Atlanta Hawks. And 230 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:48,799 I should preface this first by saying that when we went through this exercise, 231 00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:54,279 we were not allowed to pick rookies just because there's nothing to break out from. 232 00:15:54,399 --> 00:15:58,919 We stayed away when we could from All stars because even if they could 233 00:15:58,919 --> 00:16:02,559 ascend to another level, it's not really a breakout so much as a continued 234 00:16:02,559 --> 00:16:10,159 ascension, and we were largely focused on things that don't seem universally guaranteed to 235 00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:14,440 happen. I think the best example is LaMelo Ball with the Charlotte Hornet's Like, 236 00:16:14,519 --> 00:16:18,639 yeah, he is likely to break out and become, if not an 237 00:16:18,639 --> 00:16:22,080 All Star and All Star candidate in the Eastern Conference. But that just feels 238 00:16:22,120 --> 00:16:26,039 a little bit too easy. So there are some that might fall into that 239 00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:30,440 category. None quite that obvious. Anything to add on the criteria Before I 240 00:16:30,559 --> 00:16:33,240 kick off the Hawks, I tackled it the exact same way. I was 241 00:16:33,279 --> 00:16:37,639 a little bit more bullish on sophomores too, where it's like, you know, 242 00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:41,559 unless there weren't a lot of great other options, where I really think 243 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:44,039 that their role was materiously going to change. I did try to avoid that, 244 00:16:44,080 --> 00:16:47,480 but I actually the second team on this list includes a sophomore, So 245 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:51,559 yeah, I have a few sophomores for sure for the Hawks, though my 246 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:55,720 pick it was between Cameraddish and DeAndre Hunter, and I am going to go 247 00:16:55,759 --> 00:17:00,679 with Hunter because I think we're seeing a little bit more growth as a wing 248 00:17:00,720 --> 00:17:04,319 defender that they really need. He also is showcasing a little bit more off 249 00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:08,400 the bounce ability, which looked really shaky early in his career, and he 250 00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:12,519 was far less reliant on corner threes. As a sophomore, he went from 251 00:17:12,559 --> 00:17:15,839 ninety four point four at a ninety point three percent assisted on threes as well, 252 00:17:17,160 --> 00:17:19,960 so he's starting to operate more above the break. He's starting to operate 253 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:25,200 more off the dribble, and the Hawks still do need that other source of 254 00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:30,200 offense. Both when Trey Young isn't on the court and when he's just facing 255 00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:33,319 a lot of defensive attention and needs a breather. So to me, Hunter 256 00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:37,200 feels a little bit more likely to develop into that three and D stalwart that 257 00:17:37,319 --> 00:17:44,240 Atlanta needs, even if Reddish has similarly high upside, I picked DeAndre Hunter 258 00:17:44,319 --> 00:17:45,720 too, and I don't think Reddish's upside is in nearly is high, just 259 00:17:45,720 --> 00:17:49,559 because I think DeAndre Hunter showed a lot more off the balance last season before 260 00:17:49,559 --> 00:17:52,720 he started dealing with injuries. And so if you have someone who can hit 261 00:17:52,839 --> 00:17:56,920 some pull up jumpers in addition to spot of jumpers, and then also not 262 00:17:57,279 --> 00:18:03,880 just hold up defensively, but unlock some truly harrowing small ball combinations, that's 263 00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:07,079 a big deal in Atlanta, and I think we might even be able to 264 00:18:07,119 --> 00:18:11,559 he might have more value with Onyeka Kongwu going to miss a huge chunk of 265 00:18:11,599 --> 00:18:15,480 the season. I know they signed Gordy Jang and they just extended Clint Capela, 266 00:18:15,519 --> 00:18:17,559 but like, there are gonna be minutes where John Collins is at the 267 00:18:17,559 --> 00:18:21,359 five, and a lot of those lineups are gonna work because of DeAndre Hunter 268 00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:25,559 being the four spot in those units, And so I think even if you 269 00:18:25,599 --> 00:18:29,799 boil it down to opportunity, I would argue that Atlanta might just play Kevin 270 00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:33,359 Hurder more than Cam Reddish at this point, and that Hunter is still going 271 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:37,039 to have the bigger opportunity, And so he was kind of the clear pick 272 00:18:37,079 --> 00:18:38,039 for me. And I think the biggest aspect of his game that I want 273 00:18:38,079 --> 00:18:41,799 to see is the secondary playmaking and sort of the off the balance stuff. 274 00:18:42,279 --> 00:18:45,480 Is that for real? And then of course can he stay healthy enough? 275 00:18:45,480 --> 00:18:48,920 But if you tell me that he misses fewer than fifteen games, I think 276 00:18:48,920 --> 00:18:52,119 he's gonna have one hell of a season. And I think people forget he 277 00:18:52,279 --> 00:18:57,200 was involved in the onset most improved player discussion last season, So this is 278 00:18:57,240 --> 00:19:03,279 someone with a very, very high ceiling. Yeah, it's amazing the Hawks 279 00:19:03,960 --> 00:19:08,160 a reigning Eastern Conference finalist and still so much room for growth. They will 280 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:11,119 not win the title next year though, Sorry teasing a piece that I'm about 281 00:19:11,160 --> 00:19:15,359 to publish on that. But Boston is up next? Am I right that 282 00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:21,880 I are? I think the only two options here. I guess you can 283 00:19:21,920 --> 00:19:26,599 go with Robert Williams, but I just feel like maybe I'm too harping too 284 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:30,279 much on how NBA Twitter has zoomed into him. I wanted Peyton Pritchard so 285 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:34,119 a sophomore. He generated some fringe all rookie buzz last year because of how 286 00:19:34,119 --> 00:19:40,160 well he shot from three in Summer League. He was amazing. He looked 287 00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:44,440 so much more comfortable operating off the dribble. He had some sort of just 288 00:19:44,880 --> 00:19:51,240 dipsy doo misdirection handles, was comfortable throwing up ultra deep threes off the bouncer 289 00:19:51,480 --> 00:19:53,680 or off the catch. And when you kind of look at how Boston's roster 290 00:19:53,759 --> 00:19:56,200 is set up, now, Okay, great, they signed Dennis Shrewder for 291 00:19:56,240 --> 00:20:02,359 a discount, but you lost Kemba Walker and Evan n one of one of 292 00:20:02,359 --> 00:20:06,359 your primary playmakers, if not who's supposed to be your primary playmaker in Kemba 293 00:20:06,400 --> 00:20:10,000 and then one of your secondary ball handlers, replacing them with Dennis Shooter. 294 00:20:10,440 --> 00:20:12,759 Like, that's a big freaking act to me. And so you're good at 295 00:20:12,759 --> 00:20:17,880 need. I still think someone else to step up in that role, aside 296 00:20:17,880 --> 00:20:22,440 from Tatum smart Al Horford's there of course too. I mentioned Dennis Shooter. 297 00:20:22,680 --> 00:20:26,319 I think there's gonna be a real opportunity there, and he will hustle on 298 00:20:26,359 --> 00:20:30,279 defense. I do not agree with anyone that was calling him white Kyrie at 299 00:20:30,279 --> 00:20:33,640 Summer League. That happens, I guess when you're a Celtics fan and drunk 300 00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:37,119 off your ass. But there was really just like a lot of directionality to 301 00:20:37,240 --> 00:20:41,720 his offensive game on the break in the half court. This is someone who 302 00:20:41,839 --> 00:20:44,400 I don't If you ask me to pek his ceiling in the NBA, I 303 00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:47,720 have no idea, but just the way he was handling the ball, in 304 00:20:47,759 --> 00:20:49,759 the comfort with which he was maneuvering in and out of traffic. I'm going 305 00:20:49,839 --> 00:20:53,640 to be watching him closely next year, and I'm just wondering whether he will 306 00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:56,599 actually get the opportunity. My guess is he does, just because I think 307 00:20:56,599 --> 00:21:02,079 the Celtics have to default rolling the dice on someone. If you're asking me 308 00:21:02,119 --> 00:21:04,880 to choose between who plays more minutes next year, between Aaron A. Smith, 309 00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:10,319 Romeo Langford and Peyton Pritchard, I'm gonna go with Pritchard. So I 310 00:21:10,319 --> 00:21:14,119 want to preface this by saying that we did not share any of our picks 311 00:21:14,160 --> 00:21:18,279 beforehand, so we genuinely don't know how in sync we're going to be here, 312 00:21:18,319 --> 00:21:21,920 but we are now two for two. Because I also thought about Robert 313 00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:26,640 Williams the third and decided that I just don't think it's scalable enough. Like, 314 00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:30,039 yeah, he's going to be dominant in these small doses, but if 315 00:21:30,039 --> 00:21:33,880 you're going to break out, that has to happen in twenty five to thirty 316 00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:37,799 minutes a game, and I just don't know that, given how much he 317 00:21:37,839 --> 00:21:42,839 relies on spurts and the extreme bursts of athleticism and the full hustle play, 318 00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:47,720 is that it's fully scalable. And that's fine, Like Neurland's Noel has carved 319 00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:51,160 out a valuable role doing exactly that, and I think that's the kind of 320 00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:53,640 ceiling we're looking at for Williams here, which is not an insult. So 321 00:21:53,799 --> 00:21:56,960 Pritchard was my choice as well. I think it's easy to forget about him 322 00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:02,359 since he's behind Marcus Smart, since he's presumably behind Dennis Shrewder at least to 323 00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:06,400 start the season in the rotation. But he was already so steady in so 324 00:22:06,519 --> 00:22:11,240 many areas as a rookie and did not thrive in the area that he dominated 325 00:22:11,319 --> 00:22:14,839 most at at Oregon. He was just a hell of a pick and roll 326 00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:18,000 player. He showed so much passing chops. He showed the ability to make 327 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:22,000 shots in so many different situations, but as a rookie, per Synergy, 328 00:22:22,319 --> 00:22:26,119 he only shot thirty nine point four percent out of ball screens. He only 329 00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:29,119 made twenty eight point nine percent of his pick and roll pull up jumbers. 330 00:22:29,279 --> 00:22:33,119 Hashtag a friend of the Pod Adam Spinella for that. If that even regresses 331 00:22:33,279 --> 00:22:37,200 close to his mean, that's already a ton of growth in and of itself. 332 00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:40,960 So the reason I'm calling him a breakout is because I think he's going 333 00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:45,640 to start the season as the third guard in that rotation between Smart and Shrewder. 334 00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:48,599 He's going to finish it first or second. And I don't know that 335 00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:55,640 there are that many players in Boston who have that much opportunity to make significant 336 00:22:55,720 --> 00:22:59,640 rotational strides this season, Like, yeah, you can look at Aaronnie Smith, 337 00:22:59,720 --> 00:23:04,640 Rummy Langford, maybe Grant Williams, but probably not to the extent that 338 00:23:04,680 --> 00:23:10,079 Pritchard can improve where he stands within the organization. Yeah, and so quickly. 339 00:23:10,119 --> 00:23:12,039 If anyone can hear the rain being pelted in by the window, I'm 340 00:23:12,039 --> 00:23:15,920 at I apologize. I know if you also heard the national weather and hear 341 00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:18,599 it at all, Yeah, it is a wild weather here right now. 342 00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:22,960 It's rained like four inches in the last hour, so apologize if anyone heard 343 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:26,680 that. A note on Williams quickly. If he is playing twenty five to 344 00:23:26,759 --> 00:23:30,880 thirty minutes of the game, that's also great, And yet it means that 345 00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:33,039 al Horfer is probably playing too much power forward at the same time. So 346 00:23:33,039 --> 00:23:37,720 I'm totally with you there as well. And I just Pritchard's season is gonna 347 00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:41,200 be fascinating. I don't even know you know, so you're saying that he's 348 00:23:41,240 --> 00:23:47,400 going to be I guess we're assuming shrewder and smart start and that's what you 349 00:23:47,400 --> 00:23:48,720 mean by the third guard. So yeah, and then we won't have jail 350 00:23:48,799 --> 00:23:52,440 Ras. I'm with you there, and so that that will have the opportunity 351 00:23:52,480 --> 00:23:53,839 that we talked about. Do you want to take us into the next team? 352 00:23:55,279 --> 00:23:56,720 Yeah, Brooklyn Nets are next. And I feel like this is a 353 00:23:56,759 --> 00:24:03,079 pretty easy self explanatory one because they don't have many options to break out, 354 00:24:03,319 --> 00:24:08,519 so it was just a default default Kyrie, I mean, Nicholas Claxton go 355 00:24:08,640 --> 00:24:15,079 dogs obligatory shout out there. But it's all about the defense because this team 356 00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:21,119 needs someone who can play defense, and he's the option. He can guard 357 00:24:21,119 --> 00:24:25,519 a bunch of positions. He can reasonably protect the rim in smaller lineups. 358 00:24:25,799 --> 00:24:30,359 There's still more offense to plumb from him if injuries strike, and they need 359 00:24:30,039 --> 00:24:34,960 some source of offense beyond the big three. But who else can you pick 360 00:24:36,039 --> 00:24:38,519 here? Yeah? I mean, like I thought, look, if you 361 00:24:38,559 --> 00:24:42,440 wanted to pick rookies, Cam Johnson might just be an instant bucket. So 362 00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:45,640 I'm not Cam Johnson. Oh my god, I gotta stop. I look 363 00:24:45,799 --> 00:24:49,519 all you've switched those two up a number of times. Well, no, 364 00:24:49,559 --> 00:24:53,160 I've called him Cam Stewart as well, for apologies to Cam Thomas. But 365 00:24:53,359 --> 00:24:56,960 you could pick him, but we excluded rookies. And just like, I'm 366 00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:59,880 not sure think that Reggie Perry is gonna get real minutes for this team. 367 00:25:00,079 --> 00:25:03,119 And I think it's more set up for Nicholas Claxton to actually be a breakout 368 00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:07,720 player. You don't have Jeff Green there, who is very important, or 369 00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:11,000 your five rotation. You get to bring back Blake Griffin, but you're apparently 370 00:25:11,799 --> 00:25:14,680 on the verge. It looks like of brokering a buy out with DeAndre Jordan's 371 00:25:14,680 --> 00:25:19,160 so they're just less obstacles there even after drafting day Ron Sharp And this is 372 00:25:19,200 --> 00:25:23,880 just given how much the net switched last year, like you almost have to 373 00:25:23,960 --> 00:25:30,039 view Claxton as probably your starting Maybe he's not your closing five, but I 374 00:25:30,039 --> 00:25:33,240 would think right now he's your main center. Perhaps it's always just sort of 375 00:25:33,240 --> 00:25:37,319 this mismash in Brooklyn, but he is just one of the switchiest bigs that 376 00:25:37,319 --> 00:25:40,759 we have seen in quite some time, and I think you can work with 377 00:25:40,839 --> 00:25:42,279 him on the offensive end. He's not going to space the floor, but 378 00:25:42,319 --> 00:25:45,440 he got better at screening. He will roll to the basket a ton, 379 00:25:45,519 --> 00:25:51,000 And this stat still blows my mind. Among five hundred and eleven players who 380 00:25:51,079 --> 00:25:53,160 stand six ten or taller and have logged at least three hundred minutes in a 381 00:25:53,240 --> 00:26:00,480 single season since twenty thirteen twenty fourteen, Claxton ranked second impartial possession and spent 382 00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:04,559 defending point guards. He trails only last season's Ben Simmons, and that comes 383 00:26:04,559 --> 00:26:11,240 per the Basketball and dex a great site. So I think he's kind of 384 00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:15,079 their only option, but he's almost necessary too for them at this point, 385 00:26:15,160 --> 00:26:18,279 and they kind of didn't rely on him so much last year. Let's see 386 00:26:18,279 --> 00:26:22,000 if he also stays healthy enough to log it's on of minutes and I don't 387 00:26:22,039 --> 00:26:25,200 expect him to play. If you gave me an over under twenty two minutes 388 00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:27,720 per game, I might be reticent to go with the over there. I 389 00:26:27,839 --> 00:26:30,680 just think, with the lack of other options, how do you pick anyone 390 00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:37,599 else on this team? My two random observations about Nicholas Clackston. One is 391 00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:42,200 that I kind of think that he could become like modern Andre Kirolenko on this 392 00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:45,240 team. Like that's the guy I keep coming back to when I think about 393 00:26:45,279 --> 00:26:49,240 what his ceiling might look like. And I'm just curious what you think of 394 00:26:49,279 --> 00:26:53,720 that. I don't know that I see it. I guess perhaps on defense, 395 00:26:55,319 --> 00:26:59,079 mostly on defense, not so much on offense. Man, I keep 396 00:26:59,079 --> 00:27:02,240 going back to that possession in crunch time where Nicholas Claxton just like shut down 397 00:27:02,279 --> 00:27:04,960 Damian Lillard And want to say, yes, right, But that's like, 398 00:27:06,480 --> 00:27:11,440 will he consistently defend the positions outside of center enough? Though? And I 399 00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:15,720 don't know. I think he will. Just to preserve the offensive standouts, 400 00:27:15,319 --> 00:27:19,160 it makes sense to have him switch. Yeah. Look, I mean, 401 00:27:19,160 --> 00:27:22,440 when you have the other personnel in Brooklyn, you kind of need to. 402 00:27:22,680 --> 00:27:25,559 I think really what might be the terming factor is how much do they want 403 00:27:25,559 --> 00:27:27,960 to go with Blake Griffin slash Bruce Brown at the side. Those are probably 404 00:27:27,960 --> 00:27:30,799 the two guys that I think could most cut into his minutes, and James 405 00:27:30,880 --> 00:27:36,200 Johnson's there too, so it still might be this sort of Hodgepodge role. 406 00:27:36,519 --> 00:27:40,680 But if you had to guess who logs the most minutes per game at the 407 00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:44,400 five this year, I think Claxton's number one and no longer than a second, 408 00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:48,440 like maybe Griffin is two is first, but he'll definitely be in the 409 00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:52,720 top two. My other random observation is that it is a downright travesty that 410 00:27:52,799 --> 00:27:59,359 his jersey number is not seventeen, because NC seventeen would be a phenomenal nickname 411 00:27:59,640 --> 00:28:03,960 for I like that, who's just a defensive havoc rereaking specialist. Okay, 412 00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:08,079 I'm with it. So this is the official start of my petition to get 413 00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:12,799 Nicholas Claxton to change his jersey number to seventeen. Let's move on to the 414 00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:18,279 Charlotte Hornet's on fire today with the alphabet. The only pick here is Mason 415 00:28:18,319 --> 00:28:22,960 Plumley. In my book, one triple Doubles is Gonna have. This is 416 00:28:23,079 --> 00:28:26,799 kind of tough because, like we said, we ruled out LaMelo Ball, 417 00:28:26,839 --> 00:28:30,200 and I think you can kindly only narrow it down to two people. And 418 00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:34,559 does Miles Bridges this season count as a breakout year in twenty twenty twenty one. 419 00:28:34,640 --> 00:28:38,319 I think you could go that route. I'm just gonna go with PJ. 420 00:28:38,480 --> 00:28:42,000 Washington. I don't think he receives enough credit for being plug and play 421 00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:47,799 on offense. There's a smoothness there to his game. I also think that 422 00:28:48,160 --> 00:28:52,319 what they did over the offseason intimates very strongly they're still committed to playing small. 423 00:28:52,640 --> 00:28:56,880 You have Mason Plumley, but you let Cody Zeller go. You did 424 00:28:56,000 --> 00:29:00,759 draft Kai Jones, You have Vernon Carry Jr. Who like are you playing 425 00:29:00,799 --> 00:29:03,359 either of those guys a ton? I imagine Ky Jones spends a ton of 426 00:29:03,359 --> 00:29:07,319 time in the G League. Are you trying to move JT. Thor up 427 00:29:07,559 --> 00:29:11,440 for minutes as a rookie to the five? So I think Washington gets a 428 00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:15,160 ton of looks at the five with this team, and they're way more interesting 429 00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:18,039 in those lineups now that Kelly Ray Jr. Is there. To me, 430 00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:22,359 and if we presume that both LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward are going to be 431 00:29:22,680 --> 00:29:29,519 healthier, He's not the best defender, but he has like real malleability there, 432 00:29:29,519 --> 00:29:32,599 and there are some lineups with him at the five where the rebounding is 433 00:29:32,640 --> 00:29:36,079 just not as bad as you would expect. So I think this is a 434 00:29:36,079 --> 00:29:38,119 season where we look back and there will be people. I still think they 435 00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:41,559 deserve to be fine a draft pick for not signing Rashaan Holmes at this point, 436 00:29:41,559 --> 00:29:47,039 the fact that he went so cheap, But I'm I think there are 437 00:29:47,079 --> 00:29:49,119 a lot of people that were against them not going the traditional big route. 438 00:29:49,240 --> 00:29:52,599 And let's just assume that Rashean Holmes wasn't a legitimate option, or he wanted 439 00:29:52,599 --> 00:29:56,039 to stay in Sacramento so much you would have had to pay him eighteen million 440 00:29:56,079 --> 00:29:57,799 dollars a year for the record, I still would have done it. But 441 00:29:59,319 --> 00:30:02,839 I don't mind I them going small, And I thought they played better defensively 442 00:30:02,960 --> 00:30:04,960 on the floor last season when you look at some of the switching, when 443 00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:08,680 you look at how he stood up against certain stronger players, I think they 444 00:30:08,759 --> 00:30:11,759 played. They weren't good, but they were better defensively than I expected. 445 00:30:11,839 --> 00:30:15,119 And so what does this guy look like in year three is basically when I'm 446 00:30:15,160 --> 00:30:18,960 at and I think he'll be significantly better. And maybe he just has a 447 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:22,319 little bit more refinement and polish to his offensive game, Like there's I think 448 00:30:22,319 --> 00:30:25,759 there's a smoothness there that can translate to him kind of doing stuff with the 449 00:30:25,759 --> 00:30:29,519 ball on the floor, not in super tight spaces. Regardless, there's a 450 00:30:29,519 --> 00:30:33,119 scalability to the way he plays offense that is ideal for having Lamello ball, 451 00:30:33,240 --> 00:30:37,359 Gordon Hayward, even Terry Rozier. And now you have a floor runner like 452 00:30:37,400 --> 00:30:40,640 Kellyer Brady Jr. Who's gonna need to be a play finisher and dominate on 453 00:30:40,680 --> 00:30:42,799 the ball and really slash through the lane. PJ. Washington's perfect for those 454 00:30:42,799 --> 00:30:47,720 lineers because he's not going to try and occupy the space that Ubray is navigating. 455 00:30:48,640 --> 00:30:51,240 How many teams do you think we're gonna go before we have a disagreement? 456 00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:55,480 Oh no, are we in lockstep again? We're unlockstep again. It 457 00:30:55,519 --> 00:30:57,000 has to be PJ. Washington here. This team is just screaming for a 458 00:30:57,039 --> 00:31:02,680 small ball five. He fits the bill there. I don't really have that 459 00:31:02,759 --> 00:31:07,119 much to add because you covered it so extensively and thoroughly. I do want 460 00:31:07,119 --> 00:31:10,599 to ask you, though, what percentage do you think he's shot on corner 461 00:31:10,680 --> 00:31:17,000 threes through the first two years of his career forty six point one percent. 462 00:31:17,119 --> 00:31:18,960 Okay, I don't know why I went in the fifties there, it's really 463 00:31:19,039 --> 00:31:23,440 high. Like he regretted a little bit as a sophomore and is still shooting 464 00:31:23,519 --> 00:31:30,440 forty six point one percent on corner threes. Like, if you don't want 465 00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:34,200 to view that as a breakout candidate with a full season of LaMelo Ball passing 466 00:31:34,279 --> 00:31:38,920 him the rock after he drives to the basket and they compress around him, 467 00:31:40,240 --> 00:31:44,440 like that number might go up. Right if you tell me LaMelo Boll and 468 00:31:44,480 --> 00:31:48,880 Gordon Ayward miss let's say fewer than thirty games between them, be Washington's offensive 469 00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:52,880 numbers are probably gonna look pretty spiffy. Yeah, And that team is just 470 00:31:52,920 --> 00:31:56,640 going to be so fun if that's the case, because if they truly are 471 00:31:56,640 --> 00:32:02,119 committing to those smaller looks, those five about offenses, that is going to 472 00:32:02,200 --> 00:32:06,319 be a real fun team. But you could also make the case by the 473 00:32:06,359 --> 00:32:09,039 way that he's a better fit at the floor beside Mason Plumley at the five 474 00:32:09,119 --> 00:32:13,799 than Miles Churches team. That's something that looms over this as Well's and that's 475 00:32:13,799 --> 00:32:20,640 fine. Mason Plumley is still fun. No, not Mason Plumley is vanilla 476 00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:25,440 literally, but he's awesome, Like just sort of planned. But can you 477 00:32:25,480 --> 00:32:31,880 take us the next team? Yeah, Chicago Bulls time. This one was 478 00:32:31,880 --> 00:32:36,440 was a little bit trickier, I thought, because the construction of the team 479 00:32:36,559 --> 00:32:38,720 has changed so much, where all of a sudden, Lonzo Ball is there, 480 00:32:38,759 --> 00:32:44,759 We're gonna see Nikola Vukovic for a full season. I would assume who 481 00:32:44,759 --> 00:32:47,039 could could make some noise. But I hope you like on him. He's 482 00:32:47,039 --> 00:32:52,839 a rookie. I really liked him. I think it has to be Patrick 483 00:32:52,880 --> 00:33:00,440 Williams because he was so much more advanced than expected as a rookie. We 484 00:33:00,559 --> 00:33:04,240 knew, I think he was the youngest NCAA prospect in that draft class. 485 00:33:04,720 --> 00:33:06,799 We knew it was going to where we thought. We knew it was going 486 00:33:06,880 --> 00:33:10,440 to take time for him to develop into an actual contributor at the NBA level. 487 00:33:10,799 --> 00:33:14,440 Who knew the three point stroke was going to be so advanced right away 488 00:33:14,480 --> 00:33:17,240 that his physicality would hold up throughout a season. As he showed off that 489 00:33:17,279 --> 00:33:22,200 optionality on defense, he legitimately looked like he could contribute in every facet of 490 00:33:22,240 --> 00:33:25,880 the game. So I went to five thirty eight player projections, and I 491 00:33:25,920 --> 00:33:30,440 was just curious who his comps were going to be, because he feels like 492 00:33:30,599 --> 00:33:35,599 a unique player where we don't see that many guys at this skill set. 493 00:33:35,640 --> 00:33:38,799 You know, you heard the Kawhi Leonard comparisons going into the draft, and 494 00:33:38,880 --> 00:33:44,519 you know they're a bust scattered throughout those most comparable players through one season. 495 00:33:44,640 --> 00:33:51,119 Maurice Harkless is there, Michael Kidd Gilchrist is there, but also among the 496 00:33:51,160 --> 00:33:55,759 top ten Marvin Williams, Aaron Gordon, Jason Tatum, Brandon Ingram and Janisanda 497 00:33:55,799 --> 00:34:01,000 to Kumbo. And that's just a fascinating blend of different calibers of players and 498 00:34:01,240 --> 00:34:07,519 differing skill sets, which I think speaks volumes about how versatile and plug and 499 00:34:07,559 --> 00:34:10,440 play in so many different areas. He already is as a rising sophomore, 500 00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:16,280 so he already has two established all stars who he's playing alongside, and yet 501 00:34:16,320 --> 00:34:21,440 it still feels like he could take over and make this like his team in 502 00:34:21,480 --> 00:34:24,840 the near future. Yeah, I mean, look, I picked to Patrick 503 00:34:24,880 --> 00:34:29,840 Williams as well. I also think unless you really yeah, hopefully we'll disagree 504 00:34:29,880 --> 00:34:32,000 soon, but maybe that'll also make for a more efficient podcast. You might 505 00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:37,960 make it to Indiana but I think unless you're gonna go with Kobe White or 506 00:34:37,079 --> 00:34:40,400 you think that Lonzo Ball is reaching another level in Chicago, which if you 507 00:34:40,400 --> 00:34:43,800 think that he's gonna run a bunch of pick and rolls, hit a bunch 508 00:34:43,840 --> 00:34:45,840 of jumpers off the dribble, they'd sure. I'm not going to fight against 509 00:34:45,880 --> 00:34:50,559 that. Patrick Williams is the obvious candidate. I you already focused on his 510 00:34:50,599 --> 00:34:53,920 offense, but I'm very curious to see there quickly. Is is that three 511 00:34:53,960 --> 00:34:58,800 point clip going to translate when he's taking more and presumably he should have to 512 00:34:58,880 --> 00:35:00,880 when you look at the way the rest of the roster is set up, 513 00:35:01,079 --> 00:35:07,159 I do sort of wonder if the offensive volume will be available to him based 514 00:35:07,159 --> 00:35:08,719 off the personnel around him, to show like real advancement. I'd like to 515 00:35:08,719 --> 00:35:10,960 see the ball in his hands a little bit more. I don't think that's 516 00:35:10,960 --> 00:35:15,039 gonna happen. I'm most intrigued with him defensively, because he is just he 517 00:35:15,440 --> 00:35:19,639 might be a defensive dynamo. Like no, I'm not going to compare him 518 00:35:19,679 --> 00:35:23,000 to you know, Kawhi Leonard, but he was the guy in the Chicago 519 00:35:23,079 --> 00:35:28,840 Bulls who guarded the number one of the number two option essentially almost irrespective of 520 00:35:29,199 --> 00:35:30,760 position. It wasn't someone who was going after a ton of point guards. 521 00:35:31,320 --> 00:35:38,599 Clearly, his matchup difficulty according to Basketball Indexes matchup Difficulty Metric was eighty eight 522 00:35:38,599 --> 00:35:43,440 point two, which ranks in the top twenty five of guys in the entire 523 00:35:43,559 --> 00:35:47,239 league the entire league who logged at least eighteen hundred minutes last season. So 524 00:35:47,320 --> 00:35:51,119 like, that role is what I'm trying to establish. It was a difficult 525 00:35:51,239 --> 00:35:53,679 defensive role, and he was fine in it. Like he wasn't shutting guys 526 00:35:53,679 --> 00:35:57,239 down. But when you look at the breadth of assignments that he covered, 527 00:35:57,480 --> 00:36:00,719 how hard they were. I really thought he held his own. I don't 528 00:36:00,760 --> 00:36:04,199 know if the Bulls are putting him into compromising of a position to where if 529 00:36:04,199 --> 00:36:07,159 he's on the floor with Lavigne and Vooch and Derosion at the same time, 530 00:36:07,480 --> 00:36:10,400 maybe that's too much pressure. But it wasn't like he was surrounded by a 531 00:36:10,440 --> 00:36:14,920 bunch of great defensive talent anyway. Last season. That he is young was 532 00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:19,559 obviously there. But that's really kind of it. So I think this is 533 00:36:19,559 --> 00:36:22,679 someone who's going to shine on defense so much that he's going to be one 534 00:36:22,719 --> 00:36:24,800 of the I don't even want to say unsung heroes of this team. If 535 00:36:24,800 --> 00:36:29,039 the Bulls hit. I think if the Bulls hit, it'll be very evidently 536 00:36:29,039 --> 00:36:35,760 because Patrick Williams has made some sort of material measurable leap on the defensive end 537 00:36:35,920 --> 00:36:38,519 while just emerging as the perfect compliment on offense. And the other thing I 538 00:36:38,559 --> 00:36:42,800 will wonder is when you look at the structure of this team right now, 539 00:36:43,840 --> 00:36:45,960 he might be their backup five. I don't know if they're planning on playing 540 00:36:45,960 --> 00:36:49,719 Derek Jones junior there, but like it can't be Tony Bradley. That can't 541 00:36:49,719 --> 00:36:52,239 be your backup. Maybe it is, but he'll get some minutes at the 542 00:36:52,280 --> 00:36:55,199 five. We'll see how Maybe that's Those are the lineups in which his offense 543 00:36:55,239 --> 00:37:00,119 could come even more. And there's also the element of default here. I 544 00:37:00,159 --> 00:37:02,760 don't think this roster is set up anymore for Kobe White to even break out. 545 00:37:02,840 --> 00:37:06,960 And like I said, I am Alonzo ball believer, but I think 546 00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:10,800 the best version of him is kind of a more extreme version of what we 547 00:37:10,840 --> 00:37:15,320 saw last season and not someone who was broadened their skill set significantly. Right 548 00:37:15,639 --> 00:37:22,960 Patrick Williams turned twenty last week, that there's so much potential left. I 549 00:37:22,159 --> 00:37:25,039 don't think I would be that surprised, be a little surprised. I don't 550 00:37:25,039 --> 00:37:30,159 know that I'd be shocked. If we're talking about the Bulls with three All 551 00:37:30,159 --> 00:37:35,320 Star candidates this coming season and Patrick Williams is one of them, and Patrick 552 00:37:35,360 --> 00:37:37,760 Williams is one of them, that would shock me. I'm that high on 553 00:37:37,840 --> 00:37:44,280 him. My god, let's I can't even have him. Now let's move 554 00:37:44,320 --> 00:37:49,199 on to Cleveland. I think this one was you have like, this was 555 00:37:49,199 --> 00:37:51,679 a tough one. Yeah, it was tough, but I think you have 556 00:37:51,760 --> 00:37:54,400 to go with Darius Garland here. I don't think people, yes we have 557 00:37:54,480 --> 00:38:01,480 a disagreement, okay, good. I don't think mainstream NBA media or just 558 00:38:01,639 --> 00:38:07,280 TAM fans outside of Cleveland understand how good this guy is. Like, there 559 00:38:07,400 --> 00:38:12,320 is real wiggle to his offensive game. He shot thirty five point seven percent 560 00:38:12,360 --> 00:38:14,960 on pull threes last year, and that number was better towards the talent of 561 00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:17,199 the campaign. I think he was scorching hot on them. He's more of 562 00:38:17,199 --> 00:38:21,039 a threat to score off the dribble than Colin Sexton is at this point from 563 00:38:21,039 --> 00:38:23,440 the perimeter. At least Sexton can obviously do stuff on drives. Now, 564 00:38:23,440 --> 00:38:27,079 I wouldn't say as accurate as a shooter. Is Sexton right now? He's 565 00:38:27,079 --> 00:38:30,119 turning it like this bankable catch and SHOOKAI. But Derris Karnan is also a 566 00:38:30,159 --> 00:38:34,400 real floor general, and that's why I think he's probably the youngster right now, 567 00:38:34,760 --> 00:38:37,639 unless you count Evan Mobley or you literally just count one hundred million dollars 568 00:38:37,679 --> 00:38:42,639 they gave Jared Allen that they have to be the most vested in moving forward, 569 00:38:42,760 --> 00:38:45,880 because he is probably there. Looking at this roster, some people are 570 00:38:45,880 --> 00:38:50,079 gonna say it's Mobley, I disagree. Darius Garland is now their best shot 571 00:38:50,119 --> 00:38:53,800 at having sort of this flagship cornerstone, and I think his offensive game will 572 00:38:53,800 --> 00:38:59,000 continue to expand. He's a real control over the defense in the half court, 573 00:38:59,039 --> 00:39:01,119 and I think that manipulate will grow. We have to see if they 574 00:39:01,119 --> 00:39:05,480 do have the right personnel around him. I think he was already good enough 575 00:39:05,519 --> 00:39:07,840 to kind of graduate from this discussion. But to me, not enough people 576 00:39:07,880 --> 00:39:10,840 were talking about it last season, and so much attention is paid to, 577 00:39:13,159 --> 00:39:16,320 you know, Colin Sexton, mostly because he's extension knowledgeable, I think, 578 00:39:16,360 --> 00:39:21,039 but even other guys on this roster, people who Evan Mobile now obviously Jared 579 00:39:21,079 --> 00:39:22,719 Allen re seves a lot of attention after getting traded because of a short role 580 00:39:22,760 --> 00:39:27,480 passing. I think as Darius Garland, for me, he's just not fully 581 00:39:27,480 --> 00:39:30,119 appreciated yet, and this is the season to me that he plays well enough 582 00:39:30,480 --> 00:39:37,559 to sort of transition into the national conversation on a daily basis. For a 583 00:39:37,559 --> 00:39:40,280 long time about this one and strongly considered Garland, but I do have to 584 00:39:40,320 --> 00:39:45,599 go with Jared Allen. I think that the fact that Cleveland just handed him 585 00:39:45,599 --> 00:39:51,039 a four year, thirty billion dollar contract says a lot about what they intend 586 00:39:51,039 --> 00:39:53,880 to do with him, and ultimately, if you look at the roster construction, 587 00:39:54,840 --> 00:39:59,880 his presence is going to make things a lot easier for a lot of 588 00:40:00,119 --> 00:40:06,119 other players because well, I even disagree with that, because I think that 589 00:40:06,199 --> 00:40:10,800 you have to view Mobley as a versatile guy because of his ball handling ability, 590 00:40:10,880 --> 00:40:15,679 because of his switchability, because he can defend in so many spots within 591 00:40:15,719 --> 00:40:19,000 the half court. And I think that having Alan on the court with him 592 00:40:19,199 --> 00:40:22,599 frees him up to do a lot of other things and test the waters a 593 00:40:22,599 --> 00:40:25,159 little bit more as a rookie. He's a good compliment for Lorie Market and 594 00:40:25,159 --> 00:40:29,840 if you're trying to figure out what you might have in him just because his 595 00:40:29,960 --> 00:40:36,239 defensive ability alone his rollability, It frees Marketing up to be that focus stretch 596 00:40:36,320 --> 00:40:42,320 for that he should be. Alan was awesome after moving into the starting lineup 597 00:40:42,400 --> 00:40:46,480 last year on a permanent basis over his last forty games thirteen point six points, 598 00:40:46,480 --> 00:40:50,280 ten point six rebounds, one point eight assists, one point three blocks, 599 00:40:50,280 --> 00:40:52,800 fifty nine point nine percent shooting from the field. I think those numbers 600 00:40:52,840 --> 00:40:59,000 go up as this team gets better around him, as Garland takes even more 601 00:40:59,039 --> 00:41:04,440 defensive attention. Once they develop true pick and roll synergy, He's Alan's numbers 602 00:41:04,480 --> 00:41:08,199 get more efficient and happened with even higher volume. So I think he is 603 00:41:08,239 --> 00:41:13,400 a beneficiary of them needing to feature him because of the contract they just gave 604 00:41:13,480 --> 00:41:16,440 him and the development of everyone around him. I think that Garland continuing to 605 00:41:16,679 --> 00:41:23,400 improve from what's already a really high level really helps his case here. That's 606 00:41:23,440 --> 00:41:27,760 an interesting way to look at it. I just think that they have shoehorned 607 00:41:27,840 --> 00:41:30,239 him and Evan Mobile, even Larry Marketing into just order the strong core carousel 608 00:41:30,800 --> 00:41:35,440 that is going to diminish a lot of returns for them. I think it's 609 00:41:35,480 --> 00:41:37,400 intriguing to look at it from the perspective of, well, maybe he helps 610 00:41:37,400 --> 00:41:42,440 Mobile, because now Mobile is probably only gonna guard backup fives. I would 611 00:41:42,440 --> 00:41:44,840 assume he's going to play power forward most of the time. Then he'll be 612 00:41:44,880 --> 00:41:46,440 one of the backup centers. But I'm just trying to think of what Jared 613 00:41:46,440 --> 00:41:51,039 Allen does best on defense, even on offense, and they're gonna be lineups 614 00:41:51,079 --> 00:41:53,679 where both Mobile and Larry Marketing might be on the floor with him. I'm 615 00:41:53,719 --> 00:41:57,920 just not about it. Do you think we'll see that? How else they 616 00:41:57,960 --> 00:42:00,639 look? Have you looked at their wing rotate? It doesn't actually really exist. 617 00:42:00,760 --> 00:42:04,960 They have Isaac a Coro. It's bad. Yeah. So, and 618 00:42:05,920 --> 00:42:08,480 I can't see them playing marketing in at three. I'm sorry. The Bulls 619 00:42:08,519 --> 00:42:12,280 did last year and they didn't even have to Cleveland almost. Yeah. I 620 00:42:12,360 --> 00:42:15,480 that's the Bulls and this is the cast. So the numbers for the Bulls 621 00:42:15,559 --> 00:42:19,719 during those minutes, we're actually really good with marketing at the three it was 622 00:42:19,760 --> 00:42:23,079 just sub three hundred possessions they regardless. I just I don't like the idea 623 00:42:23,079 --> 00:42:27,239 of him playing with Mobley. I just I hate it. I really like 624 00:42:27,360 --> 00:42:30,840 those two together. No, it is I think it was categorically stupid. 625 00:42:31,199 --> 00:42:36,679 To pay Jared out one hundred million dollars. I don't think it's a smart 626 00:42:36,760 --> 00:42:39,519 use of resources, but I don't know that that prevents it from being an 627 00:42:39,519 --> 00:42:44,360 intriguing pairing. No, it's it's it was a bad use of resources because 628 00:42:44,360 --> 00:42:46,840 it's not an intriguing pairing. That's just where that's where I'm like, maybe 629 00:42:47,320 --> 00:42:52,199 maybe defensively, but I don't know, No, I can't. Maybe I'll 630 00:42:52,239 --> 00:42:54,199 I hope I eat Crow on this. I want to see that succeed. 631 00:42:54,320 --> 00:42:58,480 But I probably feel a little bit differently too. If the lowry marketing trade, 632 00:42:58,519 --> 00:43:00,159 which we didn't talk about here, and if if I had to just 633 00:43:00,199 --> 00:43:04,840 sum that up in under ten seconds, very much a win for Portland. 634 00:43:05,119 --> 00:43:07,800 I don't know how a team much Chicago prioritizes winning now, but then prioritize 635 00:43:07,880 --> 00:43:12,360 is getting a draft pick instead of the better player in miss deal and Larry 636 00:43:12,400 --> 00:43:15,320 Knights Junior had. It's a home run for the Blazers. Although their their 637 00:43:15,360 --> 00:43:20,559 pick is protected for like until the end of time, I still think they've 638 00:43:20,599 --> 00:43:22,559 won this deal. Clearly. I hate it for Cleveland. I'm a little 639 00:43:22,559 --> 00:43:25,320 confused by it for Chicago, but I like Derrik Jones Junior. There but 640 00:43:25,400 --> 00:43:30,039 for Cleveland specifically, like if if Larry NaNs Junior was still there, if 641 00:43:30,039 --> 00:43:34,920 they had Derrik Jones Junior instead of just like a more truer win. I 642 00:43:35,519 --> 00:43:38,039 hate it. I will be if you're right on this, congratulations, But 643 00:43:38,119 --> 00:43:43,039 I don't know how on our wind projections when we do win projections for the 644 00:43:43,039 --> 00:43:45,320 East, I think there we're gonna have a discrepancy here. It's gonna be 645 00:43:45,320 --> 00:43:47,719 fun to go back and see how much we how many times we missed on 646 00:43:47,760 --> 00:43:51,880 our win projections last year, by the way, we should I think that 647 00:43:51,920 --> 00:43:53,880 should be part of that episode. Is it will be? I tracked it, 648 00:43:53,960 --> 00:43:57,920 so we're I'll track it again this year. You know that I beat 649 00:43:58,760 --> 00:44:00,639 I'm nervous. Now let's move on to the next team, though, and 650 00:44:00,719 --> 00:44:05,760 let everyone know that I'd be Adam in the wind projection game. Is am 651 00:44:05,760 --> 00:44:09,800 I trying to leave this one off? It is Detroit Pistons. I'm just 652 00:44:09,800 --> 00:44:14,679 gonna go with Sadiq Bay here. It's time for the world to catch up 653 00:44:14,760 --> 00:44:16,679 on how good he was as a rookie. Now that the Pistons are going 654 00:44:16,760 --> 00:44:21,239 to be more relevant, they have better pieces across the board, and Kid 655 00:44:21,280 --> 00:44:23,840 Cunningham getting national attention, So they're just going to be in the spotlight a 656 00:44:23,920 --> 00:44:28,679 little bit more, and I think that the recognition is going to catch up 657 00:44:28,719 --> 00:44:35,079 with the level of play because Sadiq Bay was a true two way option as 658 00:44:35,079 --> 00:44:38,400 a rookie. He was a great shooter. He showed developing ball skills throughout 659 00:44:38,440 --> 00:44:43,440 the season. He was a versatile wing defender who could guard multiple positions and 660 00:44:43,480 --> 00:44:47,159 hold his own again as a rookie. So I don't think Bay is going 661 00:44:47,199 --> 00:44:54,400 to be anywhere close to the Pistons best player down the road. But this 662 00:44:54,480 --> 00:44:58,840 is the guy who's going to explode next year, both in terms of production 663 00:44:58,840 --> 00:45:02,039 and attention. He definitely has more ball skills to plumb than I thought. 664 00:45:02,119 --> 00:45:06,440 I didn't pick him because I'm curious to see what type of opportunity he has 665 00:45:06,440 --> 00:45:08,760 on offense. Now that Kaig Cunningham is there, you still have Jeremy Grant. 666 00:45:08,800 --> 00:45:13,280 And then my pick is Killian Hayes. And I know I'm working from 667 00:45:13,280 --> 00:45:16,360 an awfully low baseline, but there were people who were just shitting all over 668 00:45:16,400 --> 00:45:20,280 his summer. League thought about it for this for this exact reason. Just 669 00:45:20,480 --> 00:45:22,800 f y and look, this is what I saw from Killian Hayes. He 670 00:45:22,920 --> 00:45:28,480 played in fewer than thirty games last season. The efficiency was absolutely terrible as 671 00:45:28,519 --> 00:45:31,440 a rookie and usually as a sophomore. Unless it's like you know, he's 672 00:45:31,480 --> 00:45:35,920 missing a ton of lightups, left it right, you throw out the efficiency, 673 00:45:36,360 --> 00:45:39,079 there is visible feel there to me. He is crafty. Killian Hayes 674 00:45:39,079 --> 00:45:44,320 when getting defenders on his hip, has exuded patience in traffic and toss some 675 00:45:44,400 --> 00:45:46,519 really artful passes. I think he'll be a better jump shooter, and that's 676 00:45:46,559 --> 00:45:51,639 why I'm not as concerned about his fit alongside Kaig Cunningham. Killian Hayes shot 677 00:45:51,679 --> 00:45:54,800 forty seven point four percent between ten and fourteen feet after rejoining the rotation. 678 00:45:55,239 --> 00:46:00,280 I think there is hope there for his jumper. He deserves patience. I 679 00:46:00,320 --> 00:46:02,920 think because the Pistons still aren't necessarily trying to be good, and maybe Kay 680 00:46:02,960 --> 00:46:06,920 Cunningham is a star right off the bat, so transcendent that they're kind of 681 00:46:06,920 --> 00:46:10,760 in Shawn Hornet's territory of last year this year. But they have the freedom 682 00:46:10,800 --> 00:46:14,559 to experiment, and just when you look at the rest of the roster, 683 00:46:15,400 --> 00:46:20,599 they need a real, true second shot creator and I'm sorry it's not Jeremy 684 00:46:20,639 --> 00:46:22,280 Grant. I don't view it as Sadiq Bay. And even when you're sort 685 00:46:22,280 --> 00:46:27,320 of looking at who's the best chance of being a co All Star for Kay 686 00:46:27,360 --> 00:46:31,360 Cunningham that's already on the roster, Killian I wouldn't pick anyone. Killian Hayes 687 00:46:31,440 --> 00:46:35,119 is the best bet to me though, just Jeremy Grant's tools, and I 688 00:46:35,119 --> 00:46:37,920 don't think his game is ever going to reach that level. There is shout 689 00:46:37,960 --> 00:46:42,360 out to Detroit Piston's YouTube which is extremely bullish on Isaiah Stewart and thinks that 690 00:46:42,440 --> 00:46:45,920 he's a future All Star. I don't. I think he's a will be 691 00:46:45,960 --> 00:46:49,360 a good starting center and we're high on We did the podcast where we featured 692 00:46:49,360 --> 00:46:52,360 Isaiah Stewart as one as I think one of the most underrated players in the 693 00:46:52,400 --> 00:46:54,559 league, but it's Killian Hayes. Got some all Hardwood Knox mentions too. 694 00:46:54,800 --> 00:46:58,840 Yeah, maybe that's where it was. But whatever, it could be Sadiq 695 00:46:58,920 --> 00:47:00,960 Bay. But I think because we haven't seen enough of Killian Hayes, there's 696 00:47:00,960 --> 00:47:05,480 gonna be more opportunity there for him. And I really think even working from 697 00:47:05,519 --> 00:47:09,840 that ultra low rock bottom baseline, we've just veered too far. Can we 698 00:47:09,920 --> 00:47:14,639 plead like this kid isn't even enough to drink yet and barely played in the 699 00:47:14,719 --> 00:47:16,239 NBA, So I think I still think that he has a chance to be 700 00:47:16,280 --> 00:47:21,519 good. I agree with you that he's the most likely second All Star behind 701 00:47:21,599 --> 00:47:23,519 Kid Cunningham. I think you're a year early here, to be honest, 702 00:47:25,320 --> 00:47:30,320 mostly because this is this feels more like a true rookie season for him, 703 00:47:30,360 --> 00:47:32,000 you know, even if he was around the team and learning how to be 704 00:47:32,039 --> 00:47:36,599 a professional, like he was doing that overseas already before he came to the 705 00:47:36,719 --> 00:47:39,199 NBA, So this is the first time he's gone through the more full off 706 00:47:39,280 --> 00:47:43,639 season with Summer league, with preseason, with training camp and all that, 707 00:47:43,760 --> 00:47:47,920 and the two biggest warts in his game, even before he'd played a single 708 00:47:47,960 --> 00:47:52,079 minute in the NBA, looked like they were going to be a shooting percentages 709 00:47:52,119 --> 00:47:57,400 and his turnovers, which are two things that rookie guards tend to struggle with 710 00:47:57,719 --> 00:48:00,639 as they make the transition to the NBA, which is just a little bit 711 00:48:00,639 --> 00:48:05,000 more fast, which is a little more physical. Those are just the two 712 00:48:05,039 --> 00:48:09,239 areas that those guards typically struggle with. So I think that we're a year 713 00:48:09,239 --> 00:48:14,960 away from that because he's still going to go through the difficulties before he can 714 00:48:15,000 --> 00:48:19,440 get over those hurdles starting from such a low point and just has a little 715 00:48:19,440 --> 00:48:22,760 bit too much to work on. I agreed about his potential, and I 716 00:48:22,800 --> 00:48:25,719 feel like I would one percent agree with everything you said this time next year. 717 00:48:28,360 --> 00:48:31,840 The next team is mine Indiana Pacers. There's this is hard just because 718 00:48:31,840 --> 00:48:39,519 it's the hardest one except for the next one I went with, and it's 719 00:48:39,519 --> 00:48:43,320 an older player because I don't really know that you can go with it if 720 00:48:43,360 --> 00:48:45,320 we're not picking rookies, Like, do you really think that they're going to 721 00:48:45,360 --> 00:48:51,639 get just like a huge season from Brissette or Keela Martin. I just don't. 722 00:48:51,760 --> 00:48:53,599 I don't know that I see it. I went with caraus Lavert. 723 00:48:54,039 --> 00:48:58,280 He is their best point of attack playmaker to me, and a lot of 724 00:48:58,280 --> 00:49:01,079 stuff is going to flow through Sabona and Malcolm Brockton as well. He is 725 00:49:01,079 --> 00:49:04,920 still their best point of attack playmaker to me. He showed it in Brooklyn 726 00:49:04,960 --> 00:49:08,360 too, not that he was better than when Kyrie was there, but he 727 00:49:08,960 --> 00:49:13,000 can really run an offense. And the fact that his season was all over 728 00:49:13,039 --> 00:49:15,320 the place last year because of his availability upon arriving in Indiana. This is 729 00:49:15,360 --> 00:49:22,400 someone who is better at hitting off the dribble jumpers than shooting complimentary set shots 730 00:49:22,519 --> 00:49:25,920 from the outside. That is maybe it's a red flag, but like he's 731 00:49:25,960 --> 00:49:30,360 eventually going to be an okay, catch and shoot guy. And the fact 732 00:49:30,400 --> 00:49:36,000 that you have someone who can replace what you were missing from peak Victor Oladipo 733 00:49:36,039 --> 00:49:37,920 when he all of a sudden start dealing with injuries and went downhill, Like, 734 00:49:38,199 --> 00:49:44,039 there's not that same explosion there. I don't think the like once you 735 00:49:44,119 --> 00:49:45,719 get around the basket, but he can get to the line. But he's 736 00:49:45,719 --> 00:49:49,719 more importantly, he's someone who can really hit some tough off the dribble jumpers 737 00:49:49,880 --> 00:49:52,559 and then really run your offense from that point of attack. And I think 738 00:49:52,599 --> 00:49:55,599 that we're if he stays fully healthy, which I'm hoping he does I hope 739 00:49:55,639 --> 00:50:00,800 every player does, we're going to look back on this as maybe a fringe 740 00:50:00,840 --> 00:50:02,760 All Star campaign for him. It might be too deep in the east when 741 00:50:02,800 --> 00:50:07,880 you're looking at just you know, two's two threes, looking at that sort 742 00:50:07,880 --> 00:50:12,559 of field for him to really enter that conversation. But I think he's fully 743 00:50:12,599 --> 00:50:15,400 capable of it. And I've been driving been one of the drivers because there 744 00:50:15,440 --> 00:50:17,880 are many of the carros lavert bandwagon for a while. This dude can be 745 00:50:19,000 --> 00:50:22,679 really good, and I think that I think that Indiana is still set up 746 00:50:22,719 --> 00:50:24,960 to where they need him to be really good, so you have the opportunity 747 00:50:24,960 --> 00:50:29,199 to be really good on offense and have the ball in his hands, and 748 00:50:29,280 --> 00:50:31,840 that he's just going to rise to the occasion. There. Maybe that changes 749 00:50:32,000 --> 00:50:37,119 if they're like somewhat married to featuring TJ. Warren more on ball now that 750 00:50:37,159 --> 00:50:39,239 he's healthier. I still think he's probably best suited as someone who spends a 751 00:50:39,280 --> 00:50:43,599 lot of time off the ball. And even so, there's a lot of 752 00:50:43,639 --> 00:50:45,519 just when you look at maybe how when they stagger the minutes of some of 753 00:50:45,519 --> 00:50:50,039 their best players, Caros Lavert might be some of the connective tissue for like 754 00:50:50,280 --> 00:50:54,079 the lineups that don't have Sabonus in them. It was really hard for me 755 00:50:54,280 --> 00:50:58,679 not to go with carous Leavert here, but I did end up picking TJ. 756 00:50:58,840 --> 00:51:00,800 Warren because I do think they're going to feature him on the ball. 757 00:51:01,800 --> 00:51:07,960 What he was during that brief bubble spurt, that's not indicative of what we 758 00:51:07,000 --> 00:51:10,119 should expect here. He's not going to average thirty one points a game, 759 00:51:10,599 --> 00:51:15,159 but I would not be surprised given not just a skill level, but how 760 00:51:15,280 --> 00:51:19,960 much he was developing before he got hurt, I wouldn't be surprised if he's 761 00:51:20,000 --> 00:51:24,559 their go to scorer. Like regardless of role, this is a guy who, 762 00:51:24,679 --> 00:51:29,760 again pre injury, was starting to figure out how to draw a little 763 00:51:29,800 --> 00:51:32,079 more contact and get to the line. He was starting to show not just 764 00:51:32,159 --> 00:51:37,880 a willingness to pass sometimes, but also good instincts when a second help defender 765 00:51:37,960 --> 00:51:43,320 came or when he was operating on the role. Like the passes started to 766 00:51:43,320 --> 00:51:49,199 be more intelligent, his defense really started to improve. For whatever reason, 767 00:51:49,480 --> 00:51:52,679 a guy who was a total defensive liability entering the NBA suddenly looked buckled down 768 00:51:53,119 --> 00:51:57,840 on that end of the floor, which gives him even more of a path 769 00:51:58,159 --> 00:52:00,559 to a featured role because he and hold his own on that end. Now 770 00:52:00,559 --> 00:52:05,639 you're not just sacrificing one end of the court for the other. So because 771 00:52:05,679 --> 00:52:10,039 he's been filling in those cracks within his own game, I think he's going 772 00:52:10,119 --> 00:52:15,719 to be the guy in Indiana this coming season. No disrespect meant to Demontes 773 00:52:15,760 --> 00:52:21,119 Simonis or Miles Turner, both of whom are fantastic All Star caliber players whose 774 00:52:21,159 --> 00:52:27,280 games just aren't suited to be that go to option, So it's Warren for 775 00:52:27,360 --> 00:52:31,480 me, but the connective tissue part of Lavert's game makes him a one B 776 00:52:31,760 --> 00:52:36,400 to me there. And look, you mentioned t J. Warren's defense. 777 00:52:36,880 --> 00:52:39,000 That dude for most of the previous not last year, the year before, 778 00:52:39,000 --> 00:52:44,159 he was guarding number one options and it was like not getting a lot of 779 00:52:44,159 --> 00:52:45,679 help, like he had to fight out of nowhere and all that shit. 780 00:52:45,800 --> 00:52:50,199 And yeah, credit to Dan Burke for you know, he's done a lot 781 00:52:50,199 --> 00:52:52,480 with when he's Indiana before and he's actually no over with Indiana, so that 782 00:52:52,880 --> 00:52:57,199 stanks for them. I would I think it had to be one of those 783 00:52:57,239 --> 00:52:59,320 two options. Really to me, I don't know. I don't know what 784 00:52:59,360 --> 00:53:01,639 other direction you can go in. And I think TJ. Warren's intriguing, 785 00:53:02,039 --> 00:53:07,760 especially because he didn't play for much of last year. I'm surprised you thought 786 00:53:07,800 --> 00:53:09,920 this next team it's yours. Was harder though, because there's only one option. 787 00:53:12,039 --> 00:53:14,239 There's only one option, and I don't believe in him, so I 788 00:53:14,280 --> 00:53:19,400 refuse to pick. But literally, m not slander is out of I'm not 789 00:53:19,440 --> 00:53:22,199 gonna pick because let's just go through the big names on the roster. Kyle 790 00:53:22,239 --> 00:53:27,039 Lowry Victor Oladipo, Duncan Robinson, Jimmy Butler, PJ Tucker, Mark, 791 00:53:27,119 --> 00:53:30,920 Keith Morris, Damn Auto Baio who we mentioned earlier, Like, because he's 792 00:53:30,920 --> 00:53:32,559 already at the all star level, I'm not picking him, even though I 793 00:53:32,559 --> 00:53:37,320 think he's gonna make another jump. And then Tyler Hero and Kazyoka Paula. 794 00:53:37,800 --> 00:53:39,280 Oh, Paula is not going to be a prominent enough member of the rotation. 795 00:53:39,360 --> 00:53:45,280 I just don't think that Tyler Hero is a star. So Hero is 796 00:53:45,800 --> 00:53:50,599 to be a star to break out now, I considering the reputation he built 797 00:53:50,639 --> 00:53:52,960 from the bubble, yes, because he was overvalued to the point of being 798 00:53:53,000 --> 00:53:58,000 excluded from trade conversations. So yeah, he's got to be a star to 799 00:53:58,039 --> 00:54:00,119 be a breakout in my eyes right now, and I just I don't see 800 00:54:00,159 --> 00:54:05,000 it, So I'm abstaining. I'm not making a pick. Max Drews is 801 00:54:05,039 --> 00:54:07,800 the pick if you believe his step back jumper from Summer League is coming to 802 00:54:07,920 --> 00:54:10,639 the regular season, so where is he going to get minutes? And the 803 00:54:10,639 --> 00:54:14,880 pick is Tyler Hero. Here's my thing, the heat. I think you're 804 00:54:14,880 --> 00:54:17,599 a little bit better at the top with Kyle Lowry overdrew on draggage, and 805 00:54:17,639 --> 00:54:22,440 that'll make life easier on Tyler Hero as well. But where I'm really intrigued 806 00:54:22,480 --> 00:54:23,920 by Tyler Heroes, I don't think he was as bad last year as people 807 00:54:23,920 --> 00:54:28,239 thought. It's because there was the report that came out that said the Heat 808 00:54:28,239 --> 00:54:30,519 wouldn't includ him in a trade for James Harden. Here's my theory behind. 809 00:54:30,559 --> 00:54:34,400 To be clear, I'm not saying he was bad either, just that I 810 00:54:34,440 --> 00:54:37,679 don't think that he his reputation is going to be exceeded by his production. 811 00:54:38,119 --> 00:54:42,159 That's fair enough, But I think that perception sort of veered from reality because 812 00:54:42,199 --> 00:54:45,519 of that report. And my gut there is that the Heat let that come 813 00:54:45,559 --> 00:54:49,039 out because they hadn't They had no feasible path to trading for James Harden, 814 00:54:49,119 --> 00:54:52,639 and so why let Tyler Hero think that he's involved in these trade negotiations. 815 00:54:52,639 --> 00:54:54,599 It's a little bit of an ego bump for him. But Tyler Hero shot 816 00:54:54,599 --> 00:54:58,639 thirty four point four percent on his off the dribble threes after the All Star 817 00:54:58,679 --> 00:55:01,000 Break. After the All Star Break overall, he shot thirty seven point seven 818 00:55:01,000 --> 00:55:05,840 percent from three large fourteen point four points per game, three point two assists. 819 00:55:05,920 --> 00:55:08,519 He was still pretty solid on hitting difficult looks when he would drive to 820 00:55:08,559 --> 00:55:13,400 the basket. I think where he struggled. There's the high variance part to 821 00:55:13,440 --> 00:55:16,199 his game and players like him that might always be kicked into it. But 822 00:55:16,239 --> 00:55:20,199 they also tried to play him a lot as sort of this pseudo point guard. 823 00:55:20,440 --> 00:55:22,000 They might have to do so again. I thought his field got better 824 00:55:22,280 --> 00:55:24,599 as the year went on there, and I'm not saying that thrill that he 825 00:55:24,639 --> 00:55:28,119 should be. I'm not saying he's the next Devin Booker because I don't think 826 00:55:28,119 --> 00:55:30,239 he is. Push comes to shove. The Miami Heat should have traded Tyler 827 00:55:30,320 --> 00:55:34,800 Hero for the player that they thought Tyler Hero was going to become already. 828 00:55:35,559 --> 00:55:39,119 That being said, when you look at this roster, it's simultaneously really good 829 00:55:39,480 --> 00:55:44,039 yet still needs him to be good, even though it can be really good 830 00:55:44,079 --> 00:55:46,400 independent of him. Like the depth still isn't great, and they're shooting is 831 00:55:46,400 --> 00:55:51,360 a big concern. Duncan Robinson is their best shooter. Tyler Hero's number two 832 00:55:51,480 --> 00:55:54,079 right now, like your two best players don't even shoot threes. Kyle Lowry's 833 00:55:54,079 --> 00:55:59,440 more experienced off the dribble, but we might see some regression They were given 834 00:55:59,440 --> 00:56:01,800 that he's like six years old or whatever is at this point. So I 835 00:56:02,079 --> 00:56:06,039 think there's a real opportunity for heroes to improve. And I'm with you. 836 00:56:06,079 --> 00:56:08,039 I don't view him as a future star, but actually thought he showed more 837 00:56:08,079 --> 00:56:12,320 signs of progress most of the time as the year went on. And again 838 00:56:12,320 --> 00:56:15,400 there's the high variant element to his game that's tough to get around. He's 839 00:56:15,440 --> 00:56:20,880 the only option here, but I also think he is a viable which is 840 00:56:20,920 --> 00:56:24,480 fair. I just it's more just a principal thing for me where I'm lower 841 00:56:24,480 --> 00:56:30,880 than most on the Heat's roster construction, and even if he's their path to 842 00:56:30,920 --> 00:56:34,920 that changing, it's the reputation thing for me, Like I just I can't 843 00:56:34,960 --> 00:56:40,360 get out of my head that there's a gulf between production and expectations and reputation, 844 00:56:42,519 --> 00:56:45,159 and I just I don't think that can be closed. And to me, 845 00:56:45,239 --> 00:56:49,639 like he could break maybe he can break out into the player people think 846 00:56:49,679 --> 00:56:53,159 he already is. Is that a breakout? People don't think he's already got 847 00:56:53,199 --> 00:56:55,280 player. They think he's one of the most overrated players in the league. 848 00:56:55,320 --> 00:56:59,480 Is my point though, that is that is consensus at this point outside of 849 00:56:59,480 --> 00:57:07,280 Miami. Would bet if you're a consensus overrated player, then aren't there people 850 00:57:07,400 --> 00:57:13,440 rating you that high? By definition? No, because people are thinking that 851 00:57:13,519 --> 00:57:17,760 they're railing against other or the actual who's thinking that. I mean, it's 852 00:57:17,760 --> 00:57:22,199 probably strong and whatnot. It's a strong man argument at this point. It's 853 00:57:22,199 --> 00:57:25,159 like when people say that, you know, Kyrie Irving can't dribble, and 854 00:57:25,199 --> 00:57:29,480 then they post a video of him like cooking people off the dribble. It's 855 00:57:29,679 --> 00:57:30,960 it's a fake argument. You're arguing with a brick wall at this point. 856 00:57:30,960 --> 00:57:35,519 If you're saying Tyler heroes overrated to me because you think that people are rating 857 00:57:35,559 --> 00:57:37,719 him that highly, they're not anymore. I would argue there are more people 858 00:57:37,760 --> 00:57:42,400 who are lower on his long term outlook than super high. Is I guess 859 00:57:42,400 --> 00:57:47,039 what I'm getting at fair enough, speaking of super High, let me pop 860 00:57:47,079 --> 00:57:52,360 this edible really quick and continue podcasting. But in all actuality, I found 861 00:57:52,360 --> 00:57:55,960 this team to be the toughest in Milwaukee. I don't know that Dante DiVincenzo 862 00:57:57,079 --> 00:57:59,760 can be a pick because I think we've had two years of solid play for 863 00:57:59,800 --> 00:58:02,000 man. I'm also curious how many games he's gonna play in next season coming 864 00:58:02,000 --> 00:58:07,119 back from injury. I defaulted to Grayson Allen. I don't think people watch 865 00:58:07,199 --> 00:58:08,880 enough of him in Memphis, and I know he's an annoying player for some. 866 00:58:09,599 --> 00:58:14,360 He just gives you a lot of shooting. He can make quick decisions 867 00:58:14,360 --> 00:58:17,199 with the ball. He quietly and it wasn't on a ton of attempts, 868 00:58:17,320 --> 00:58:21,400 so like, you know, we can we can throw that out of the 869 00:58:21,400 --> 00:58:24,960 way. But he shot, he shot. He shot fifty percent on pull 870 00:58:25,000 --> 00:58:29,480 up threes. Excuse me, thirty five point eight percent pull up threes last 871 00:58:29,559 --> 00:58:31,480 year, so we has that, like he can make decisions when putting the 872 00:58:31,480 --> 00:58:36,519 ball on the floor element to his game. I think that was a really 873 00:58:36,559 --> 00:58:38,119 bang on trade from Milwaukee. I don't know how big of a role he 874 00:58:38,159 --> 00:58:42,920 plays, but because they're the reigning champion, because they're gonna get more exposure 875 00:58:42,960 --> 00:58:45,960 than a team like the Grizzlies, or even when you look at Utah, 876 00:58:46,159 --> 00:58:50,039 Yeah, Utah gets a ton of exposure. But like he wasn't playing a 877 00:58:50,039 --> 00:58:52,519 bunch there, so he might play similar minutes in Milwaukee, a team that's 878 00:58:52,519 --> 00:58:55,719 just gonna garner more national attention than Allen. I think people are really gonna 879 00:58:55,719 --> 00:59:00,760 stumble along to how valuable he is on the offense the end, and I 880 00:59:00,760 --> 00:59:05,440 don't think he can be a better player than Donte de Vincenzo. I do 881 00:59:05,519 --> 00:59:08,480 think that he can have similar value offensively, again, even making quick quick 882 00:59:08,480 --> 00:59:13,280 passes. I'd probably argue that Donte de Vincenzo is better at reading the moment 883 00:59:13,400 --> 00:59:16,079 off the ball at this point, but he might be a little bit more 884 00:59:16,159 --> 00:59:21,000 valuable when you take in Donte de Vincenzo's health. I ultimately think Donte Devincenzo 885 00:59:21,079 --> 00:59:24,039 was better and more valuable because of his defense. But Grayson Allen is a 886 00:59:24,039 --> 00:59:29,840 pretty good player that I think being around this much talent at the top when 887 00:59:29,880 --> 00:59:32,000 you look at janis true Holiday and Chris Middleton, I think that he could 888 00:59:32,000 --> 00:59:37,079 really just put up some numbers as a guy where if he's in a lineup, 889 00:59:37,400 --> 00:59:40,079 he's probably the fourth option, maybe the fifth option if Brook Lopez is 890 00:59:40,119 --> 00:59:43,840 there, but if Bobby Portis is there, like that's someone who's like he 891 00:59:43,840 --> 00:59:45,000 could be the third option in some lineups. You can move them all over 892 00:59:45,039 --> 00:59:49,719 the place. I liked that pick up for them, and I think the 893 00:59:49,960 --> 00:59:53,599 perception of how valuable he is probably changes after next season in Milwaukee, this 894 00:59:53,599 --> 00:59:57,039 team really tripped me up, but I did end up having to go with 895 00:59:57,119 --> 01:00:00,679 Grayson Allen. You even some of the stats that I was going to cite, 896 01:00:00,760 --> 01:00:06,039 so kudos to you on that one. I actually don't think you're giving 897 01:00:06,079 --> 01:00:09,559 him enough credit on defense, where I agree that offense is probably going to 898 01:00:09,599 --> 01:00:14,320 be his primary contribution. But this is a guy who over his three NBA 899 01:00:14,360 --> 01:00:19,000 seasons has consistently made strides on the defensive end of the floor, and last 900 01:00:19,039 --> 01:00:23,199 season in particular, I think we saw him become a much smarter gambler, 901 01:00:23,679 --> 01:00:28,159 both in on ball and off ball situations, where all of a sudden, 902 01:00:28,679 --> 01:00:32,280 he was much more disruptive in passing lanes. He was poking the ball away 903 01:00:32,400 --> 01:00:37,039 from you know, the primary ball handler a little bit more frequently, and 904 01:00:37,039 --> 01:00:39,440 he was doing that without fouling, which was the big key for him. 905 01:00:39,440 --> 01:00:45,000 If you can have an aggressive wing slash pseudo guard defender who can play that 906 01:00:45,039 --> 01:00:49,360 aggressively like we see it with Drew Holiday. And I'm not I'm not comparing 907 01:00:49,719 --> 01:00:53,400 Grayson Allen to Drew Holiday, but you know, that kind of ability is 908 01:00:53,519 --> 01:01:00,599 really valuable, especially when paired with the actual Drew Holiday and Jannis playing free 909 01:01:00,599 --> 01:01:07,360 safety like this defense could be really disruptive and play a scheme that fits Grace 910 01:01:07,400 --> 01:01:12,119 and Allan perfectly. So Devincenzo is definitely the better player. I could see 911 01:01:12,440 --> 01:01:17,400 another jump from him, And I thought about him extensively because his injury prevented 912 01:01:17,440 --> 01:01:22,199 him from being a part of the title run. So I think that his 913 01:01:22,280 --> 01:01:27,480 reputation could have floundered somewhat because of that. People could be forgetting what a 914 01:01:27,599 --> 01:01:30,199 crucial part of this team he can be. So I thought about going that 915 01:01:30,280 --> 01:01:34,320 direction, but I just I think Alan has a leap in him on both 916 01:01:34,400 --> 01:01:37,679 ends of the court. That's a that's that's a good take or an interesting 917 01:01:37,679 --> 01:01:42,239 take on his defense, I guess I just view him as less disruptive there 918 01:01:42,320 --> 01:01:45,039 and like him and dont Advenchnslore the same size at six four, and I 919 01:01:45,039 --> 01:01:47,719 think you can feel Donte Devincenzo's disruption away from the ball more. And I 920 01:01:47,760 --> 01:01:51,159 know you weren't saying that he was better, but I also think you can 921 01:01:51,159 --> 01:01:53,280 trust Donte Devenchenslo to guard up. I'm not quite there. Yeah you don't. 922 01:01:53,320 --> 01:01:57,039 You don't want Alan guarding up, but I think within his role he's 923 01:01:57,159 --> 01:02:00,000 become an asset, not a liability, and that's a that's a big improvement. 924 01:02:01,599 --> 01:02:07,800 Who we got next? We have your New York Knicks next. This 925 01:02:07,840 --> 01:02:12,760 is the one that I didn't have that many options that I was too intrigued 926 01:02:12,800 --> 01:02:17,000 by, just because this is an older roster coached by Tom Thibodeau, who 927 01:02:17,039 --> 01:02:23,199 is notoriously hesitant to give young players big roles. So I just I defaulted 928 01:02:23,320 --> 01:02:29,159 to RJ. Barrett here. I've said on previous episodes, I think it 929 01:02:29,239 --> 01:02:31,960 was a mail bag question about where we think he goes next, that I 930 01:02:32,000 --> 01:02:37,639 actually think his his per game numbers are going to go down a little bit 931 01:02:37,800 --> 01:02:42,119 this coming season, just because of the Kemba Walker inclusion, the Evan Fournier 932 01:02:42,239 --> 01:02:45,199 inclusion, continuing to feature Julius Randall, maybe plumbing a little bit more from 933 01:02:45,199 --> 01:02:51,039 Obi Toppin. But the way he impacts the game is going to be even 934 01:02:51,039 --> 01:02:58,039 more impressive because we saw throughout this past season the growth in every aspect of 935 01:02:58,119 --> 01:03:04,039 the game is feel or offensive sets. Previously, we'd seen teammates not even 936 01:03:04,119 --> 01:03:06,840 want to pass him the ball because he wasn't in the right spot, or 937 01:03:06,880 --> 01:03:08,199 if they did, they wouldn't get it back. He was a more willing 938 01:03:08,239 --> 01:03:13,480 passer, he was a more engaged teammate. He started to knock down shots 939 01:03:13,480 --> 01:03:16,239 from the corners. He made significant defensive strides to the point that he was 940 01:03:16,519 --> 01:03:21,639 sometimes tasked with taking on some of the toughest backcourt assignments. We're going to 941 01:03:21,719 --> 01:03:25,440 see all of that even more this coming season. So I don't expect this 942 01:03:25,559 --> 01:03:30,400 to be a huge numerical leap when you're looking just at the basic per game 943 01:03:30,400 --> 01:03:36,079 box score stats, but his impact on the game is going to be significantly 944 01:03:36,159 --> 01:03:38,519 upticked this year. I didn't pick him just because I don't know what his 945 01:03:38,639 --> 01:03:42,559 role is on offense anymore after all the additions they made, and I think 946 01:03:42,679 --> 01:03:45,400 for him to break out, he probably needs to have a more active self 947 01:03:45,440 --> 01:03:49,159 creation role, and they're not built for him to do that. I agree 948 01:03:49,199 --> 01:03:51,760 with everything he said on defense, because you could boil it down to this, 949 01:03:52,199 --> 01:03:55,920 who's guarding the toughest perimeter assignment outside of the point guard spot every single 950 01:03:57,000 --> 01:04:00,960 night? Right now, it's has to be r J Barret unss. You 951 01:04:00,960 --> 01:04:03,000 did that. Quinton Rone is gonna play right away, So yeah, Alec 952 01:04:03,039 --> 01:04:06,440 Burks isn't. I mean he might have to just because who is it gonna 953 01:04:06,440 --> 01:04:11,519 be? Evan Fournier? I know, but RJ Barrett he was already he 954 01:04:11,559 --> 01:04:14,039 took on a pre size with defensive role for them last season, he's gonna 955 01:04:14,079 --> 01:04:15,679 take on a bigger one. Now, agree with everything you said there. 956 01:04:15,800 --> 01:04:19,920 I went with Obi Toppin just because he looked more like an NBA player towards 957 01:04:19,960 --> 01:04:24,519 the end of last season. I don't know that they've done anything to increase 958 01:04:24,719 --> 01:04:27,119 his minutes. You're not gonna see. I would love to see him and 959 01:04:27,199 --> 01:04:30,400 Randall play together at points and just try and score the Knicks try and score 960 01:04:30,440 --> 01:04:33,440 a trillion points per one hundred possessions. But resigning Nerland's the well bringing back 961 01:04:33,440 --> 01:04:39,159 todsh Gibson a healthy Mitchell Robinson probably precludes that from happening. He should still 962 01:04:39,719 --> 01:04:44,000 a subsume a lot of the backup four minutes because you don't have anyone who's 963 01:04:44,000 --> 01:04:46,199 gonna be playing a small ball four role on this team, unless you decide 964 01:04:46,239 --> 01:04:50,000 to play Barrett or Fournier up, which would be weird. Maybe you believe 965 01:04:50,000 --> 01:04:58,159 in Kevin Knox a little bit, you could, but like he's still like 966 01:04:58,199 --> 01:05:00,639 he is still. I just I to fall a lot to what people defend 967 01:05:00,719 --> 01:05:03,000 as their position. He still is probably gonna have to be the three or 968 01:05:03,039 --> 01:05:06,519 the two based on his defensive assignment. So you could maybe it look if 969 01:05:06,719 --> 01:05:11,000 you still want to play Kevin Knox, then there's that element to it as 970 01:05:11,000 --> 01:05:14,199 well. I just don't know if the Knicks have the personnel to ensure that 971 01:05:14,599 --> 01:05:17,679 Obie Toppin plays fewer minutes than he did last year. I think he'll play 972 01:05:17,679 --> 01:05:21,400 a little bit more his offense. He can make really quick passes after he 973 01:05:21,440 --> 01:05:25,880 picks up the ball on the move. There's the shooting obviously. I also 974 01:05:25,960 --> 01:05:30,599 think that there's more slate of direction to his game, like there is. 975 01:05:30,639 --> 01:05:34,760 He can get around guys and like have these tough finishes there was last season 976 01:05:34,800 --> 01:05:40,280 he just had the wild baseline play that finished in an absurd pass. There's 977 01:05:40,280 --> 01:05:43,599 a lot of versatility there on the offensive end, and I think he just 978 01:05:43,639 --> 01:05:45,400 looked like a guy who had more of a clue how to play at both 979 01:05:45,440 --> 01:05:47,800 ends of the floor towards the end of last year, and I think that 980 01:05:47,880 --> 01:05:50,880 might be good enough to help him crack the rotation this season. It's used 981 01:05:50,880 --> 01:05:54,480 first at the beginning of the season two, right, like that didn't that 982 01:05:54,519 --> 01:05:57,960 play a part in the delayed growth? It did, and it didn't just 983 01:05:58,000 --> 01:06:03,000 based off how the Knicks like we're clear from clearly interested in doing I honestly 984 01:06:03,280 --> 01:06:06,119 I thought about picking No. One for this team. I think that speaks 985 01:06:06,119 --> 01:06:09,639 to how good R. J. Barrett was last season more so than any 986 01:06:09,639 --> 01:06:12,639 insult here. And I also I don't know what a Manuel Quickly's role is 987 01:06:12,639 --> 01:06:15,800 going to be. With Kemba Derek Rose, it should still be pretty sizeable. 988 01:06:15,800 --> 01:06:18,880 But if you want to play Duce McBride a little bit too, and 989 01:06:18,920 --> 01:06:21,760 you assume Kemba and Derrick Rose miss games, you could go with him. 990 01:06:21,760 --> 01:06:26,639 I'd listen to it, but I think Toppin is the clear pick here, 991 01:06:27,320 --> 01:06:30,840 the Orlando Magic before we move on. Before we move on, though, 992 01:06:30,840 --> 01:06:34,360 I have to share my pre draft prediction on Obi Toppin because I always like 993 01:06:34,480 --> 01:06:39,639 to know put out a couple of bold players that I actually believe Burton who 994 01:06:39,639 --> 01:06:43,760 the Knicks actually should have right agreed, but I still said before we knew 995 01:06:43,800 --> 01:06:46,760 where he was going. Obi Toppin's translatable three level scoring skills will make him 996 01:06:46,760 --> 01:06:50,679 the first All Star from this class. Expect multiple seasons above twenty points per 997 01:06:50,679 --> 01:06:54,599 game, even if his defensive and adequacy keeps him out of the All NBA 998 01:06:54,679 --> 01:06:57,800 conversation. And you know, like that seems a little bit too high on 999 01:06:57,880 --> 01:07:00,119 him, now, I will readily admit that, but I'm also never going 1000 01:07:00,199 --> 01:07:05,320 to switch my opinion on a guy that fast, especially when there's growth towards 1001 01:07:05,320 --> 01:07:09,880 the end of the rookie season, Like, yeah, that was too high 1002 01:07:09,920 --> 01:07:13,159 of a ceiling, But that doesn't change how much I like him as a 1003 01:07:13,159 --> 01:07:16,639 prospect. What it boils down to to me is will the Knicks play him 1004 01:07:16,679 --> 01:07:21,039 over Todaj Gibson. And that's the issue because I don't trust tips to anyone 1005 01:07:21,039 --> 01:07:26,760 who hasn't been on the bulls. Yeah, I mean Joe kiem Noha could 1006 01:07:26,800 --> 01:07:30,800 still sign and come out of retirement, right, I legitimately would not rule 1007 01:07:30,840 --> 01:07:36,000 that out. The Magic who we're moving on to now are really tough because 1008 01:07:36,000 --> 01:07:39,639 they have I look, I didn't make an argument for any rookie it which 1009 01:07:39,639 --> 01:07:42,360 is one hundred percent big yell and sugs. I think he's gonna be fantastic. 1010 01:07:42,440 --> 01:07:45,320 You could close your eyes, throw a dark at this roster and make 1011 01:07:45,360 --> 01:07:47,119 a case for whoever it lands on. I think it's gonna end up being 1012 01:07:47,239 --> 01:07:51,000 RJ. Hampton. I really like him as a as a lead ish guard 1013 01:07:51,440 --> 01:07:57,239 with some size, nice feel for the game, kind of can slow things 1014 01:07:57,280 --> 01:08:00,800 down, but he can also be this way, he can be both the 1015 01:08:00,840 --> 01:08:04,280 calm and the storm on offense. I'm wondering if they can get him enough 1016 01:08:04,360 --> 01:08:08,840 looks off ball to kind of test out his set shooting more. I think 1017 01:08:08,840 --> 01:08:14,079 he'll be disruptive on defense for them in certain lineups that they run at the 1018 01:08:14,119 --> 01:08:17,600 one, two three, like I would really love to see a Suggs foults 1019 01:08:18,399 --> 01:08:21,279 r J. Hampton just one two three trio and maybe round that out with 1020 01:08:21,600 --> 01:08:25,520 if Isaac is healthy, and then whoever you want to put I might put 1021 01:08:25,560 --> 01:08:28,199 Isaac at the five in that situation, be honest with you, you could 1022 01:08:28,239 --> 01:08:31,720 throw a dart at anyone. I was most intrigued by r J. Hampton 1023 01:08:31,840 --> 01:08:34,840 long term as a prospect on this team that anyone else. Jalen Suggs is 1024 01:08:34,840 --> 01:08:39,720 obviously the answer now, but he is still second for me. And I 1025 01:08:39,760 --> 01:08:43,399 know that maybe Cole Anthony's microwave scoring deserves some mention there. I know there'll 1026 01:08:43,399 --> 01:08:46,159 be a lot of people still tantalized by Mark L. Folks and Jonathan Isaac 1027 01:08:46,239 --> 01:08:49,000 is there too. But unless you think Jonathan Isaac, once he's healthy, 1028 01:08:49,079 --> 01:08:51,880 is going to break out on offense, there's nothing else he can do on 1029 01:08:51,920 --> 01:08:57,479 defense. He's already like a system unto himself. I think you can make 1030 01:08:57,520 --> 01:09:02,079 valid cases for Isaac, for Cole Anthony, for Chumo Keiki or Wendell Carter 1031 01:09:02,159 --> 01:09:05,720 Junior, even if you're really sign on them, because you could be OK's 1032 01:09:05,760 --> 01:09:11,439 ball skills last year, right, they will address me. RJ. Hampton 1033 01:09:11,520 --> 01:09:14,239 was tough for me not to pick, but I'm going with Marco Foltz just 1034 01:09:14,279 --> 01:09:17,439 because maybe it's just because I want to believe still. But before he tore 1035 01:09:17,479 --> 01:09:23,319 his acl which is a complicating factor here, in that small sample, he 1036 01:09:23,640 --> 01:09:27,279 already was showing more of a willingness to take deep jumpers, like two three 1037 01:09:27,319 --> 01:09:30,640 pointers per game was a big step in the right direction. He only just 1038 01:09:30,680 --> 01:09:35,840 turned twenty three. This is a number one pick whose career hasn't been derailed 1039 01:09:36,479 --> 01:09:42,960 because he doesn't belong but because he had the yips, the shoulder injuries, 1040 01:09:43,000 --> 01:09:45,600 whatever the case may be. If he can get past that, which he 1041 01:09:46,479 --> 01:09:53,960 increasingly has shown he might be able to, there's no reason he can't develop 1042 01:09:54,000 --> 01:09:58,880 into a star, albeit and delayed fashion. So I feel like that breakout 1043 01:09:58,920 --> 01:10:04,640 could happen at any time based on the small strides that we've seen. That 1044 01:10:04,680 --> 01:10:10,920 we're interrupted by a major injury, but also a major injury where a lot 1045 01:10:10,920 --> 01:10:14,319 of the time we see guys come back as better shooters because that's all they 1046 01:10:14,319 --> 01:10:18,920 can really work on for a while. So there is a reasonable realistic outcome 1047 01:10:19,600 --> 01:10:27,119 where he becomes the best player on this team. Wow. That is Mark 1048 01:10:27,159 --> 01:10:32,319 Helfold's optimism to the up team's degrade. It is. I don't know how 1049 01:10:32,359 --> 01:10:35,880 likely it is. I don't know if he's the likeliest breakout candidate, but 1050 01:10:36,000 --> 01:10:43,840 I think the magnitude of the potential breakout is the most significant. Wow. 1051 01:10:44,000 --> 01:10:45,840 I did not see that one coming. I would have been inclined to go 1052 01:10:45,920 --> 01:10:49,399 more with Wendel Carter Junior, even Obama before him. Wendel Carter Junior is 1053 01:10:49,399 --> 01:10:55,399 probably not Probably he is a serious option here too. I don't know what 1054 01:10:55,520 --> 01:10:58,399 the addition of Robin Lopez says about how short of a leash that he or 1055 01:10:58,399 --> 01:11:01,359 Obama might have. But it was a report I think from I can't remember 1056 01:11:01,359 --> 01:11:04,600 where I saw, but that they were thinking about offering Wendel Carter Junior four 1057 01:11:04,680 --> 01:11:09,800 year, seventy million dollars extension, which actually surprised me. I think that 1058 01:11:09,880 --> 01:11:14,600 actually came from a friend of the Pod Morton Stig Jensen would co host the 1059 01:11:14,880 --> 01:11:19,079 NBA Pod with Briantorek. I don't have that much faith in Wendell Carter Junior. 1060 01:11:19,399 --> 01:11:24,119 There is a lot more skill to explore with him, though, and 1061 01:11:24,159 --> 01:11:26,800 he shot a little bit a few more threes when he went to Orlando. 1062 01:11:27,199 --> 01:11:30,640 We'll see if they continue to explore expand that part of his game. I 1063 01:11:30,680 --> 01:11:32,600 think he can be a really good passer, and he is mobile on the 1064 01:11:32,600 --> 01:11:35,439 defensive end too. I would pick him or r J. Hanson's my break 1065 01:11:35,479 --> 01:11:39,039 up player. They we could look back on this Orlando Magic season and they 1066 01:11:39,039 --> 01:11:44,960 could have like three or four due to legitimately broke out, which brings us 1067 01:11:45,000 --> 01:11:48,640 to the Philadelphia seventy six ers, and pick Ben Simmons. The caveat has 1068 01:11:48,680 --> 01:11:51,720 to be that we don't know what's going to happen with Ben Simmons, and 1069 01:11:51,920 --> 01:11:57,600 this could become outdated really fast because he could be talking about Malik Beasley, 1070 01:11:59,039 --> 01:12:02,800 anyone who could be sent back from the Timberwolves or any other team that ends 1071 01:12:02,880 --> 01:12:08,520 up trading for Simmons as the option. But assuming that a trade doesn't happen, 1072 01:12:08,560 --> 01:12:12,840 I think first I'm legally required to mention Grant Riller here, but the 1073 01:12:12,880 --> 01:12:17,000 issue is that he's already broken out because he just averaged twenty four points, 1074 01:12:17,079 --> 01:12:21,760 four assists, only one point three turnovers p thirty six minutes, shot sixty 1075 01:12:21,800 --> 01:12:26,800 seven percent from the field, made half literally half of his threes, didn't 1076 01:12:26,840 --> 01:12:30,000 miss a single free throw. Like that's the definition of stardom already, So 1077 01:12:30,079 --> 01:12:34,000 there's really nothing for him to break out too. My real pick was a 1078 01:12:34,000 --> 01:12:39,439 little bit unorthodox here because of his age, but I kind of just have 1079 01:12:39,560 --> 01:12:44,880 this gut feeling that Seth Curry could be the guy who takes the biggest leap 1080 01:12:44,960 --> 01:12:48,479 here. As we saw in the playoffs, he was their second best player, 1081 01:12:48,760 --> 01:12:51,680 and he's gonna break out. Come on, maybe, because who else 1082 01:12:51,720 --> 01:12:57,079 are you going to pick right now? I have a pick. I'm guessing 1083 01:12:57,079 --> 01:13:00,720 you're gonna go with like Tyres Maxie, which reasonable. But I do think, 1084 01:13:00,720 --> 01:13:04,319 based on what we saw in the playoffs, there's more to Seth Curry's 1085 01:13:04,359 --> 01:13:08,920 game than being a catch and shoot option. I think Doc Rivers is realizing 1086 01:13:08,920 --> 01:13:11,800 that, and I think we're going to see him featured more, especially with 1087 01:13:11,840 --> 01:13:15,239 Simmons not in the picture because he's either being traded or sitting out the season 1088 01:13:15,279 --> 01:13:20,680 presumably. So I just I don't know that Curry Stock is going to change 1089 01:13:20,720 --> 01:13:25,079 by an order of magnitude, but I do think he's gonna be a lot 1090 01:13:25,079 --> 01:13:29,840 more important to this team. Sure, I just don't know what I would 1091 01:13:29,840 --> 01:13:31,439 classfy as a breakout him. Is he entering the All Star conversation at this 1092 01:13:31,439 --> 01:13:34,359 point. He's about as good as you can be as a role player right 1093 01:13:34,359 --> 01:13:36,319 now. But I don't know that I would be, like, would you 1094 01:13:36,359 --> 01:13:41,159 be that surprised if he's on the fringes of the All Star conversation, like 1095 01:13:41,199 --> 01:13:45,479 the utmost periphery, but at least mentioned, he wouldn't be the most shocked. 1096 01:13:45,600 --> 01:13:48,279 Mark el Folis would shock me more there, or you said Patrick Williams, 1097 01:13:48,319 --> 01:13:53,199 those would be more surprising to me. I went with Tyrys Maxie, 1098 01:13:53,279 --> 01:13:57,239 and this could go one of two ways, because if you trade Ben Simmons, 1099 01:13:57,399 --> 01:14:00,359 now you're down your lead playmaker. He didn't actually have a backup playmaker 1100 01:14:00,399 --> 01:14:03,760 to begin with. It between Tyrese Maxie and Shake Milton at this point, 1101 01:14:04,520 --> 01:14:09,479 if you move Ben Simmons, theoretically that elevates the importance of Tyres Maxie. 1102 01:14:09,560 --> 01:14:13,439 But depending on Yeah, I was getting there, come on, give me 1103 01:14:13,479 --> 01:14:16,520 a second, but I still have to undercut this because my pick was ridiculous. 1104 01:14:17,319 --> 01:14:21,199 They're not going to have He's still going to be one of the two 1105 01:14:21,279 --> 01:14:25,640 or three most important ball handlers on this team, regardless of what happens with 1106 01:14:25,680 --> 01:14:29,359 Ben Simmons, because you're not bringing in two guys in the Ben Simmons trade 1107 01:14:29,520 --> 01:14:33,399 who usurp him in the ball handling pecking order unless you're trading for I'm like, 1108 01:14:33,479 --> 01:14:38,359 are you getting Van Fleet n Siakam from Toronto? And like you're spanning 1109 01:14:38,359 --> 01:14:42,119 the deal. Yeah, they spanned the deal to include Tobias Harris or something. 1110 01:14:42,119 --> 01:14:45,520 So I like Maxie here, someone who can score every level. We 1111 01:14:45,600 --> 01:14:47,600 have to see more from him. If someoneho's gonna table set for his teammates, 1112 01:14:47,600 --> 01:14:51,560 he can be super peskey on defense. And now that you don't have 1113 01:14:51,600 --> 01:14:56,520 George Hill, an experiment that just flopped from the from the getto unless you're 1114 01:14:56,520 --> 01:15:00,960 gonna think about running Jaden Springer out for more immediate minutes, I think there's 1115 01:15:00,000 --> 01:15:03,960 a real path to him. You know, Seth Curry and Ben Simmons or 1116 01:15:03,960 --> 01:15:08,800 whoever has Ben Simmons' slot is going to play a ton. He's immediately in 1117 01:15:08,840 --> 01:15:13,520 the mix for like that second our third guard conversation depends on what you think 1118 01:15:13,560 --> 01:15:15,199 about. You know, where's firk On Cork Mozer, Danny Green playing YadA 1119 01:15:15,279 --> 01:15:18,520 YadA, ya YadA. But I really liked what I saw for him for 1120 01:15:18,600 --> 01:15:21,640 much of his rookie season. I know, like some of the flare cooled 1121 01:15:21,680 --> 01:15:25,920 off as the year war on. I keep coming back to his every level 1122 01:15:25,960 --> 01:15:30,520 scoring. If you depict someone from this team, they need that self creator 1123 01:15:30,880 --> 01:15:34,439 who they can lean on and crunch time to get them buckets at any given 1124 01:15:34,520 --> 01:15:38,640 level. Aside from Joel Embid, it has to be a smaller player just 1125 01:15:38,640 --> 01:15:44,159 because that's the conventional definition of that crunch time weapon. I think you still 1126 01:15:44,199 --> 01:15:49,039 gravitate more towards Tobias Harris. Tyrese Maxe fits the every level aspect of that 1127 01:15:49,039 --> 01:15:53,399 definition there. I'm not saying he's going to usurp Tobias Harris and crunch time 1128 01:15:53,399 --> 01:15:57,319 importance next season, but just based off where this whole soap opera with Philly 1129 01:15:57,399 --> 01:16:03,439 is headed, tyres Maxie is it could end up being mission critical to what 1130 01:16:03,479 --> 01:16:06,239 they're in. What if they just hold on to Ben Simmons and he does 1131 01:16:06,279 --> 01:16:10,680 hold out of training camp and he's not there to start the season or what 1132 01:16:10,760 --> 01:16:13,880 if what if they just don't trade Ben Simmons. I think I think you 1133 01:16:13,920 --> 01:16:15,720 probably may think case pretty easily that they don't trade Ben Simmons, Tyrus max 1134 01:16:15,800 --> 01:16:19,319 is more important unless they're trading Ben Simmons for a wing who like, if 1135 01:16:19,359 --> 01:16:25,199 they end up accepting like haliber Halibert, if they end up setting like the 1136 01:16:25,239 --> 01:16:28,960 Badley Heeled and all the pick scenario, Like, yeah, there's there's a 1137 01:16:29,000 --> 01:16:31,279 scenario on which Maxi becomes that much more important. They're not going to do 1138 01:16:31,319 --> 01:16:33,920 that, and so I'm sort of just hedging against the fact that they're going 1139 01:16:33,960 --> 01:16:39,039 to need him as part of the second unit no matter what. But there 1140 01:16:39,119 --> 01:16:43,119 is a chance, through a Ben Simmons trade, or more likely the lack 1141 01:16:43,159 --> 01:16:46,880 of one, that he ascends their offensive pecking order this year. And I 1142 01:16:46,920 --> 01:16:50,239 do want to make I think his defense for rookie could be really under it, 1143 01:16:50,319 --> 01:16:54,199 like he is someone who will harass you and just wear your skin is 1144 01:16:54,199 --> 01:16:58,840 decoration. And I like that he showed a willingness to rely less on his 1145 01:16:58,920 --> 01:17:02,399 floater as the sea and progressed just attacking the basket more going for the open 1146 01:17:02,399 --> 01:17:06,319 pull up jumpers. I just I think we're a year away from it being 1147 01:17:06,359 --> 01:17:10,319 scalable here. Maybe it's just a gut feeling, but that's the only reason 1148 01:17:10,359 --> 01:17:13,760 I didn't pick him, like obviously strongly considered. I think it's a totally 1149 01:17:13,760 --> 01:17:17,399 reasonable choice. I think based on what we saw from him and how he 1150 01:17:17,439 --> 01:17:21,520 was operating in a smaller role. I just I worry that if he does 1151 01:17:23,439 --> 01:17:29,039 get forced into ascending in terms of importance to the offense that quickly, that 1152 01:17:29,159 --> 01:17:32,880 it might not be pretty fair enough. The Dronto Raptors are up next. 1153 01:17:33,279 --> 01:17:38,159 They kind of have options galore, so many good options. I went with 1154 01:17:38,159 --> 01:17:44,600 Ogana Noby Hey that he's not Chris Bouche. It was good to be one 1155 01:17:44,600 --> 01:17:49,079 of those two. It's your own fault for truly loving two players on the 1156 01:17:49,079 --> 01:17:53,640 same team. I've felt a little bit less smitten with one of them. 1157 01:17:53,680 --> 01:17:56,279 This would have been far less painful for you. But I see that you're 1158 01:17:56,279 --> 01:18:00,000 shedding tears right now for Chris Bouche because you couldn't him here. Yeah, 1159 01:18:00,000 --> 01:18:04,439 exactly, I'm afraid that Kember his minutes. Yeah. I don't know how 1160 01:18:04,439 --> 01:18:08,239 og gets any better on defense. He was all defense when we went through 1161 01:18:08,239 --> 01:18:11,319 the exercise. For me, he's one of the two or three if not 1162 01:18:11,439 --> 01:18:15,800 the absolute best on ball defender in the NBA. This is someone who can 1163 01:18:15,920 --> 01:18:19,119 defend every position. Essentially, when you had Siakam or Chris Bouchet on the 1164 01:18:19,119 --> 01:18:23,000 floor, they were still stretches with og and Obi was guarding the five. 1165 01:18:24,520 --> 01:18:27,399 I'm looking at his offense. He's kind of proved himself as a three point 1166 01:18:27,399 --> 01:18:30,359 shooter. There was more on ball stuff to his game last year where it 1167 01:18:30,399 --> 01:18:35,760 wasn't just attacking straight lines yet it wasn't really plumbing the depths of his handle 1168 01:18:35,800 --> 01:18:40,199 either. It was making quicker decisions, could drop off passes. I think 1169 01:18:40,199 --> 01:18:43,119 we see more of that. I'm curious to see if we see more ISOs 1170 01:18:43,119 --> 01:18:45,199 from him. Do they post him up more just let him go from the 1171 01:18:45,199 --> 01:18:49,359 point of attack. I think the team is set up to let him go 1172 01:18:49,520 --> 01:18:56,399 through another year of self discovery on offense, just because my hot take would 1173 01:18:56,399 --> 01:18:58,840 be if the Raptors don't make a move, I think there are a top 1174 01:18:58,880 --> 01:19:00,560 four or five team in the Eastern Conference. I don't think they're legit title 1175 01:19:00,560 --> 01:19:05,479 contender because they're they're better in the regular season the way their their defense can 1176 01:19:05,560 --> 01:19:09,359 play. But you have Siakam, you have Fred van Fleet, and then 1177 01:19:09,439 --> 01:19:13,319 sort of the on ball opportunity is wide open. After that, Goran Dragics 1178 01:19:13,399 --> 01:19:15,760 is still there. I don't expect him to finish the season in Toronto. 1179 01:19:15,880 --> 01:19:21,000 Obviously, if you trade for Ben Simmons, that materially changes what Oganna Noby's 1180 01:19:21,039 --> 01:19:25,720 doing on offense. But like in Yeah, you have Malakai Flynn, Gary 1181 01:19:25,760 --> 01:19:28,039 Trench and you can do some stuff off the balance. I don't know what 1182 01:19:28,119 --> 01:19:30,800 type of license over the offense you give Scotty Barnes as a rookie. I 1183 01:19:30,840 --> 01:19:36,600 would argue it should probably be a controllable usage for him. So I think 1184 01:19:36,600 --> 01:19:43,239 that o Giannaby's gonna have the chance to really just augment or rather expand his 1185 01:19:43,359 --> 01:19:45,600 offensive horizons. And even if he doesn't, let's say they trade for Ben 1186 01:19:45,640 --> 01:19:49,199 Simmons or they want to give go drag stays there all year and they want 1187 01:19:49,199 --> 01:19:53,880 to really work Malakai Flynn and and Scotty Barnes into the fold. This is 1188 01:19:53,880 --> 01:19:57,880 someone who can just still do damage as a high volume, higher volume three 1189 01:19:57,880 --> 01:20:00,399 point shooter who puts the ball on the floor and just rose guys in open 1190 01:20:00,439 --> 01:20:04,800 space around closeouts. And it would not shock me like you had mentioned, 1191 01:20:05,279 --> 01:20:11,079 I think you had said, could you see Fred van Fleet averaging twenty five 1192 01:20:11,119 --> 01:20:14,159 points per game this season, and maybe we'll be getting into Fred van Fleet 1193 01:20:14,159 --> 01:20:16,279 in a second. I don't know. If you told me that an Anobi 1194 01:20:16,840 --> 01:20:21,399 averaged eighteen nineteen twenty points per game next year, I believe it and I 1195 01:20:21,439 --> 01:20:26,359 wouldn't blame you. They're definitely options glore on this team. I mean og 1196 01:20:26,479 --> 01:20:29,520 an Anobi as you picked. Chris Biche, Greg Gary, Trent Junior could 1197 01:20:29,520 --> 01:20:31,520 have an argument. You could make a case for Malik Kaiflin, maybe even 1198 01:20:31,520 --> 01:20:38,600 Precious Chiwa. There's so many reasonable cases to be made. But I am 1199 01:20:38,640 --> 01:20:41,039 ultimately going to go with Van Vleet, and it's because of what you just 1200 01:20:41,159 --> 01:20:45,520 mentioned at the end there. I think that he is in a prime spot 1201 01:20:45,920 --> 01:20:49,279 to go from a player who has not yet crested above twenty points per game 1202 01:20:49,720 --> 01:20:54,760 to a guy who's averaging twenty five to twenty six, and that is a 1203 01:20:54,800 --> 01:21:00,319 gigantic leap. The reason that I think he can realistically make it is partly 1204 01:21:00,399 --> 01:21:03,399 because he is so good in on ball settings and off ball settings. He's 1205 01:21:03,439 --> 01:21:08,760 learned so much playing alongside Kyle Lowry, who is no longer there to take 1206 01:21:08,840 --> 01:21:13,159 away touches. I think he alone can do it. I also think he 1207 01:21:13,199 --> 01:21:17,439 has the teammates because I too believe that Toronto as currently constructed, could be 1208 01:21:17,479 --> 01:21:23,159 a top four or five seed to draw enough attention, enough defensive attention away 1209 01:21:23,199 --> 01:21:26,840 from him, It's more likely to happen right now, no other moves are 1210 01:21:26,840 --> 01:21:29,880 made by these teams. Who's better during the regular season Next year, the 1211 01:21:29,960 --> 01:21:33,479 Knicks are the Raptors. The Raptors, I'm with you. Yeah, it's 1212 01:21:33,560 --> 01:21:36,840 not even hate. It's not hate to the Knicks at all. I think 1213 01:21:36,880 --> 01:21:44,640 that's another really well constructed team. But Toronto has so much upside that could 1214 01:21:44,680 --> 01:21:47,640 mesh together so well. So Yeah, Like if Og and an Obi is 1215 01:21:47,680 --> 01:21:53,760 averaging eighteen points per game, I think that means that Van Vleet is averaging 1216 01:21:53,840 --> 01:21:59,760 twenty five ish because Og has sucked away enough defensive attention that they're the two 1217 01:22:00,359 --> 01:22:05,000 scorers alongside Pascal Siakam, who gets to settle into a little bit less of 1218 01:22:05,000 --> 01:22:11,399 a featured role thrive even more on defense. That's that's how this happens. 1219 01:22:11,479 --> 01:22:15,039 If it is as good as we expect, Are you ready to go to 1220 01:22:15,079 --> 01:22:19,920 the final team? I am. I'm gonna go with another all hardwood Knox 1221 01:22:20,000 --> 01:22:27,399 pick for me, Daniel Gafford. The energy is infectious, The defensive ability 1222 01:22:27,960 --> 01:22:31,560 is incredible. The way he's able to harness that energy and that athleticism and 1223 01:22:31,960 --> 01:22:38,239 somewhat of a controlled fashion makes it feel more scalable. This team was ten 1224 01:22:38,279 --> 01:22:41,399 point one points per a hundred possessions better with him on the floor after he 1225 01:22:41,439 --> 01:22:45,159 came over from the Bulls, which is just a monumental improvement. And I 1226 01:22:45,199 --> 01:22:50,840 also just want to highlight his history in nbamaths Crystal Basketball Project because when he 1227 01:22:50,960 --> 01:22:56,600 was set to debut as a rookie the twenty nineteen twenty preseason addition, he 1228 01:22:56,680 --> 01:23:00,680 was tied for four hundred fourteenth in the league. He rose to three hundred 1229 01:23:00,680 --> 01:23:03,800 ten in the postseason addition, fell back down to a tie for three fifteen 1230 01:23:04,359 --> 01:23:08,880 in the preseason edition this past season, and made it all the way up 1231 01:23:08,880 --> 01:23:13,439 to one eighty four. I'm betting that we're talking about him. This might 1232 01:23:13,439 --> 01:23:16,119 be my hottest take yet. I'm betting that we're talking about him as a 1233 01:23:16,119 --> 01:23:25,239 top hundred guy after this coming season. Wow. That is He's a totally 1234 01:23:25,239 --> 01:23:28,720 operable pick here, no qualms about that. I'm just when you sort of 1235 01:23:28,760 --> 01:23:32,560 look at their setup with Montres Harold a healthy Thomas Bryant. Is his role 1236 01:23:32,600 --> 01:23:34,960 impacted at all by there? I agree with you, and I kind of 1237 01:23:35,000 --> 01:23:38,359 knew you were going to pick him so for the sake of variety, I 1238 01:23:38,439 --> 01:23:40,520 wasn't. I didn't know we were going to be so unlocked up at the 1239 01:23:40,520 --> 01:23:44,479 beginning of this pod. I went with Dendy Ava And I know he's only 1240 01:23:44,520 --> 01:23:46,479 a sophomore, but something that's not being talked about, and maybe it's because 1241 01:23:46,479 --> 01:23:50,079 we don't know how he's gonna look after fracturing his right ankle, But like 1242 01:23:50,479 --> 01:23:56,279 there was, he just looked like he had such a great understanding of the 1243 01:23:56,319 --> 01:23:59,960 game last year. And now that you take Russell Westbrook out of the equation, 1244 01:24:00,319 --> 01:24:02,399 you're bringing in Spencer Dimity. But there's not as much of an offensive 1245 01:24:02,439 --> 01:24:06,079 monopoly over touches anymore. We might be able to see more on ball stuff 1246 01:24:06,079 --> 01:24:11,279 from him, and it looks like he has that feel to be and even 1247 01:24:11,319 --> 01:24:14,560 like some changes of pace a little bit, even though he's not like super 1248 01:24:14,600 --> 01:24:17,720 explosive to set up things in the half court. And I think he can 1249 01:24:17,720 --> 01:24:20,560 be fine to work off Spencer, Dimmitty and Bradley be on the same lineups. 1250 01:24:20,680 --> 01:24:25,880 He was positionally when by the eye test anyway, I think he's gonna 1251 01:24:25,920 --> 01:24:28,600 end up being a better defender than I ever would have expected. But I 1252 01:24:28,720 --> 01:24:32,399 like the opportunity for him to have more offensive agency on the ball and what 1253 01:24:32,439 --> 01:24:36,439 that could mean as a playmaker, sort of seeing more of what he can 1254 01:24:36,479 --> 01:24:42,399 do at multiple levels of scoring. He has to be healthy. The Wizards 1255 01:24:42,439 --> 01:24:44,560 have to lean on him, which is that might be up in the air 1256 01:24:44,600 --> 01:24:46,880 because this is a deeper team and I think they still want to make the 1257 01:24:46,880 --> 01:24:50,600 playoffs. Like that's the vibe you get based off what's going to happen when 1258 01:24:50,600 --> 01:24:54,640 you look though. Now at the top of this roster, Spencer Dimmity is 1259 01:24:54,680 --> 01:24:59,720 coming off a Parsley tour and write acl there just might be moments where they 1260 01:25:00,039 --> 01:25:01,399 she need him to take on a bigger role of Spencer him he's not able 1261 01:25:01,439 --> 01:25:04,840 to play or if he's dealt with injuries in the past too. So I 1262 01:25:04,920 --> 01:25:11,079 think he elevates significantly in offensive importance for this team following the departure of Russell 1263 01:25:11,079 --> 01:25:14,920 Westbrook. I guess unless you believe that, like the Wizards are really married 1264 01:25:14,920 --> 01:25:16,399 to Aaron Holiday, and they might be because I thought they overpaid for him 1265 01:25:16,399 --> 01:25:20,960 in that trade with the Pacers, But I loved Denny Ava. Maybe I 1266 01:25:20,960 --> 01:25:25,199 didn't see enough of him coming in the NBA, but I was disarmed with 1267 01:25:25,600 --> 01:25:30,000 just some of the moments, the long stretches, the expansaity of his skill 1268 01:25:30,000 --> 01:25:32,640 set overall, and I think he'll get a chance, if healthy this year, 1269 01:25:32,960 --> 01:25:38,239 to really sort of show it, and so he would be my pick. 1270 01:25:38,279 --> 01:25:41,039 But this team probably is a few options. Where you mentioned Daniel Gafford, 1271 01:25:41,279 --> 01:25:44,279 maybe this is the right fit for Aaron Holiday. Finally, I think 1272 01:25:44,279 --> 01:25:46,760 Bruy Hachimura. I'm still not comfortable with his shot selection, but based on 1273 01:25:46,800 --> 01:25:49,920 how well he shot midrange looks towards the end of last year, it could 1274 01:25:49,960 --> 01:25:55,439 be him. It could also be Kyle Kuzma, who was a legitimately good 1275 01:25:55,520 --> 01:25:59,560 offensive player during his rookie season and then his shot went away. As a 1276 01:25:59,560 --> 01:26:03,520 sophomore, he never got another chance as a featured offensive option and developed into 1277 01:26:03,520 --> 01:26:11,439 a legitimately good defensive player who embraced that role. What if he's given the 1278 01:26:11,600 --> 01:26:15,640 confidence and opportunity to be a featured offensive player and can connect those two skills 1279 01:26:15,640 --> 01:26:19,039 together. I don't think that can be ruled out. Where all of a 1280 01:26:19,119 --> 01:26:23,840 sudden, like he might become that star that people were expecting based on his 1281 01:26:23,920 --> 01:26:27,439 rookie season. I don't think it's likely. I think it's possible. I 1282 01:26:27,479 --> 01:26:30,319 want to stick with Gafford as a pick, but like Avia was my second 1283 01:26:30,399 --> 01:26:33,479 choice, Kuzmo was my third, Hachimura was my fourth, and they're all 1284 01:26:33,520 --> 01:26:38,000 good options. Hachimura would have been my third behind Gafford and then my pick 1285 01:26:38,640 --> 01:26:42,600 Avia. But it'd be interesting if there's more of an appreciation for Kyle Kuzma 1286 01:26:42,680 --> 01:26:46,039 once he removes the Lakers jersey, because prospects get too hyped up in those 1287 01:26:46,079 --> 01:26:51,560 sort of red carpet markets and then like there's that really sudden crash for them 1288 01:26:51,560 --> 01:26:56,239 because people get so sick of seeing them. Happened with Alex Caruzo too. 1289 01:26:56,640 --> 01:27:00,359 Yeah, so yeah, that could happen. This was a great extra size. 1290 01:27:00,359 --> 01:27:03,760 We will do the Western Conference one probably be released on Tuesday of next 1291 01:27:03,760 --> 01:27:08,479 week today after Labor Day. Thank you all so much for listening. As 1292 01:27:08,520 --> 01:27:12,399 always, please please pretty please remember to rate, review, and subscribe to 1293 01:27:12,399 --> 01:27:15,319 Hardwood Knox on iTunes, even if you don't use it. The numbers and 1294 01:27:15,439 --> 01:27:18,880 ratings are stagnant there help us out. But also download and subscribe to our 1295 01:27:18,920 --> 01:27:21,640 podcast. Wherever you actually get your podcasts, we are everywhere they can be 1296 01:27:21,640 --> 01:27:27,119 found. Follow us on YouTube, search Hardware Knox, go hit subscribe, 1297 01:27:27,399 --> 01:27:30,800 help us get to one thousand subscribers on YouTube help us get there, and 1298 01:27:30,920 --> 01:27:34,119 of course you can follow us on Twitter at hardware Knox, Instagram at Underscore 1299 01:27:34,199 --> 01:27:39,439 hard Hardwood, Underscore Knox, TikTok at Hardware Knox. Until next time, 1300 01:27:39,439 --> 01:27:41,960 we'll leave it a shout out to the one, the only, but would 1301 01:27:41,960 --> 01:27:45,800 have did my pick for the most likely breakout player on the New York Picks 1302 01:27:45,840 --> 01:27:47,880 that they've been smart and kept him right. Neil Kina