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Hello, everyone, Welcome to the
latest episode of Hardwood Knocks. This is

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Adam FROMWI. Here is my fantastic
co host, Dan fa Valley. But

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before we get into this episode,
stop what you're doing. Go subscribe to

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our YouTube channels or Hardwood Knox.
Like some videos hit subscricribe. You can

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So go out and get all the
Hardwood Knox content you can because all

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the episodes like this one are just
fantastic. We've already covered the Eastern Conference

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breakout players are predictions for one breakout
player who is most likely to take a

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significant leap towards stardom, maybe reaching
stardom in some cases for the Eastern Conference.

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This is the Western Conference. Now, it was a little bit harder,

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I thought, Dan, I don't
I get it's harder in the sense

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that I don't I'm not going to
go through a lot of these options with

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a ton of conviction because I think
there are a lot of the fault options.

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As I told you before we started, but where you know, the

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whole thing isn't necessarily predictive as is
if someone's going to break out substantially,

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who's the most likely candidate. I
felt like there were a lot of well,

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I have to pick this guy,
but if you push came to shove

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and I had to predict whether he
was going to have this huge breakout,

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right, I don't know if I
would I would say yes. And I

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felt like the level that we were
picking players. And we had not shared

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our picks for the Western Conference yet, so we'll see if we are as

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in lockstep as we were on the
East. But I felt like in the

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East we were picking guys who could
reasonably become all stars, and in the

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West, I felt like I was
picking a lot of guys who I thought

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they're going to break out to become
a top end role player, a really

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good starter, but not necessarily like
a true star. Yeah, And I

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don't know what it is like,
maybe because the pecking order in the West

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is more defined, so the rosters
are built a little bit differently, and

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they're just isn't that better deeper teams? I think? And when you look

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at like there's no teams like the
Hawks or the Knicks where it's like oh,

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they might be good, but when
a lot of their players are young

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beyond their primaries, Like, yeah, very young, is still young.

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But you have Hunter, you have
cam Reddish, which you should have checked

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our YouTube. I don't know if
you saw it. One of the YouTube

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commenters were slamming us for picking DeAndre
Hunter and said that cam Reddish is gonna

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end up being like a top five
player or something like that. So I

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don't know if I can get behind
that, but like, I'm pretty sure

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we said that cam Raddish was a
totally valid choice. I was waffling between

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the two of them for a while. I just I thought the cam Raddish

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optimism. I still I was very
high in cam Raddish coming out of Duke.

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I thought I was wrong. I'm
still holding out hope. I don't

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think he's ever going to reach the
level I thought he would like Chris Middleton

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type heights. But I just the
cam Reddish optimism got me. In the

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YouTube comments, you I was,
I was the opposite way where I thought

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Reddish was a bust waiting to happen
and was disappointed that that's the direction my

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hawks went. And then as I've
watched him, my expectations have grown.

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That's funny because the shooting has been
an actual issue, like the offensive value

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he provides except for game was that
six of the Conference finals or whatever he

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was saying off the dribble jumpers.
But this is not the Eastern Conference pod.

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This is shout out to the Atlantahawks
YouTube commenters, though forever and always,

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this is the Western Conference Pod.
Do we trust me to start us

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off on this one? Is the
real question? Absolutely not. So we're

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starting with the Dallas Mavericks. That's
that's the first team alphabetically here and this

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I mean we're starting off with a
hard one, I think, because the

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pecking order for the Mavericks is like
pretty defined at this point because it's Luca

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Dontch at number one, it's Luca
Dontch at number two, and it's Luca

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Dontech at number three, and then
maybe Tim Hardaway Junior at four. So

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like you have to think about Chris
stop sporzingis here because of the upside a

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new coach, but then you remember
that new coach is Jason Kidd and you're

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like, no, that probably won't
happen. And beyond that, like I'm

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personally just not that sold on Josh
Green yet I get it if the choice,

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but that basically led me to Dorian
Finney Smith, who is an older

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breakout candidate, which is where I
should say that we did tend to steer

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younger with these selections. We didn't
pick any rookies. We tried to steer

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clear of the very obvious ones like
for me, Anthony Edwards. We expect

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a big leap, but that was
not my pick for the Timberwolves, and

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no All Stars as well. If
they made an All Star team in the

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recent past, yes they could continue
to improve, but it's not really feeling

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like a breakout. So I don't
think Finny Smith is going to be an

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All Star or a top end starter
or anything like that. But just the

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ability that he has with defensive length
and versatility is something that Jason Kidd has

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historically prioritized in his previous coaching roles, so I think he's going to just

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be involved a little bit more in
the schemes. He also looked a little

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bit more comfortable attacking closeouts, creating
for himself getting to the rim a little

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bit more. He's been a consistent
three point shooter, still has room to

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improve from the corner, where I
think he was around like thirty six percent

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this previous season. So even if
these skills haven't translated into a star player,

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just the important of his role and
his ability to contribute in so many

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areas. As this Mavericks team continues
to get better, I think we're gonna

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just see a changing in a positive
direction reputation for him, where he's no

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longer just this under the radar gem
so much as an established valuable player.

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I'm gonna I don't have any response. He's like, I want to argue

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at that point, I want a
different round, and I actually calling an

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audible midstream and I'm going with Sterling
Brown because he had kind of a breakout

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year last year that I don't think
people realize how good he was doing.

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And really quickly, I think you
could mention Jalen Brunson here is there sort

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of an augmentation of his off the
dribble game. I view him as someone

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who could put pressure on defenses,
but will he ever have the not I

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don't want to call him a second
option, but just like quintessential sixth man

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who can run his own line us
because he's hitting a ton off the dribble

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jumpers. Jalen Brunson's really good.
It wouldn't surprise me if you got a

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lot better. But I'm looking at
this team and trying to find like a

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potential swings piece, and I thought
it was Josh Green for me, just

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a wing who could really do functionally
so much. We haven't seen a ton

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of it obviously at the NBA level. I'm gonna go with Sterling Ground though,

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because of his usage last year in
Houston, he shot over forty percent

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on threes, He defended a bunch
of different positions for them, and the

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other thing they had him do,
which I don't necessarily expect Dallas to try,

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but they were running him at point
guard and he was doing okay,

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And so is that the guy.
No, I'm not gonna I don't think

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we look back on this season and
say Sterling Ground is Dallas the second best

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player. But I think there's been
one a ton of criticism about the Dallas

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Mavericks offseason on the Jason Kidd front. I'll listen to it, and I'll

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agree with it. For the most
part, I don't think he's the coach

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to elevate players that you're looking for
growth from and he also doesn't really see

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him like that good of a human
being. Aside from that, though,

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I know fans and I've talked to
Dallas Mavericks fans. They've been in my

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mentions they're disappointed about this offseason.
I want to make a joke about them

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being the king of almost but this
wasn't the off season to do anything.

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It was Kyle Lowry and that was
it. That ended up just being the

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prize. Like getting Lowry market in
wouldn't have been a huge prize for me.

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You have christosporsing this another big white
dude who can't dribble, and we'll

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space the floor for you. So
getting Reggie Bullock, getting Sterling Brown,

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keeping Kim Hardaway Junior kind of pricey, but he really didn't get that much

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of a raise off of his previous
deal. I think they had a solid

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off season within the confines of reality, because I don't think they were ever

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going to get any of these big
wig free agents because there were so few

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that were actually going to leave.
Sterling Brown to me, is one of

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those guys that we could look back
on and if I told you, I

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told you next season, Luka dan
chis wherever christosporzing Is is Tim Hardaway junior,

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Maxi Kleiba, But Sterling Brown is
their fifth or sixth best player.

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Would that would that floor you?
Would that flore you. It would surprise

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me. It probably wouldn't floor me, just because I don't agree with Jalen

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Brunson as a breakout pick, because
I think he's the quintessential high floor,

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low ceiling player, but because that
floor is so high, I would have

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a tough time seeing him surpassed.
And I do think Phinney Smith's importance is

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enough that it would be tough to
leap frog him in that pack and order

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as well. But if you're saying
that Sterling Brown is on the same tier

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as those two guys and has elevated
the ceiling of this Mavericks team, I'm

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totally behind that. What I would
say, then this might be a better

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way to frame it is I'm not
When you're sort of looking at the perimeter

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rotation and we'll throw Don Chitch into
this, you have Hardaway, you have

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Phinney Smith, and then you have
Don Chitch. I don't know who I

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would definitively put in front of Sterling
Brown to round out that perimeter rotation.

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Maybe it's Reggie Bulah, maybe it's
Jalen bruns In. I'm definitely putting Sterling

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Brown on the floor before Josh Green
or a Tyrell Terry at this point,

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and so I think he has I
think the opportunity will be there because he

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should be, in my opinion,
like no worse than the eighth in minutes

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per game when you look at the
rest of this right, this roster totally

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behind that. I also just want
to add that I think, and no

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disrespect to Mavericks fans here, who
are a very passionate bunch, but I

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think that Mavericks fans being disappointed in
a Mavericks off season is a little bit

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like the pre twenty twenty Cleveland Browns
fans being disappointed in another losing season.

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It's like, yeah, you can
be disappointed, but like no ship,

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we knew that was going to happen. It's a right of Summer to be

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disappointed in the mess offseason. I
just don't think I don't think it.

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I wasn't disappointed. I would have
liked to have seen them gone in a

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different direction with the head coach,
but when you look at the Encourt stuff

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they did. Unless you thought that
they could have moved Chris stops Porzing gifts

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for anyone, and that might be
I said this as a joke and people

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caught on to it on Twitter and
something that I wrote. Their biggest,

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most important addition might be Kris stops
Porzing gets off season workouts. I don't

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know when that dude has had like
a relatively healthy off season in the past.

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Fair I don't think he's gonna break
out, though. I think there's

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there's a there's a clear cap to
me on his game offensively. But their

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biggest edition, though, is making
sure that Boban Marianovitch is still there.

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I really wanted to see him end
up in Philly to reunite Tobias Harris.

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Let's two are great. Let's let's
move on to Denver. This was I

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feel like you could have gone a
bunch of different directions for Denver. I

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did not, and I'm curious.
I'm assuming you didn't either. We didn't

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go over this. I didn't include
Michael Porter Jr. Among this. The

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opportunity will be there without Jamal Murray. But like the dude average basically over

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twenty points, shot sixty percent from
two and forty percent from three after Jamal

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Murray got injured and he was played
to say, right now, I did

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he is my pick because then take
the floor. He didn't. He didn't

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hit the All Star barometer that we're
using, And I do think that the

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perception still has room to grow,
Like he's still viewed more as an up

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and coming guy than an established star, So I think that there's room for

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the reputation to increase because of that. You already mentioned that he scored twenty

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one points pluss for like the last
three months of the season average seventeen point

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four in the postseason, looked great
doing it. He's going to be viewed

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as one of the best shooters in
basketball. Like, I do think that

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in that specific facet of the game, we're going to be talking about him

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in the same conversation as Kevin Durant, Like the same ability to get shots

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off over anyone, to score from
all three levels, to be a catch

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and shoot option, to create for
yourself, Like he is not going to

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have that ability and as high volume
as Kevin Durant. He's not going to

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impact the game like Kevin Durant.
But in that specific facet of the game,

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I think we're going to eventually be
viewing them as Pierce and that breakout

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is still coming. That's fair,
I guess I don't expect to see it

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from him. I haven't seen the
level of self creation that Kevin Durant showed

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him. Part of that is his
role, and that's been his concession in

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Denver, but even you know his
touch time, possession time, all that

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stuff went up after Jamal Murray,
it still wasn't someone who was creating a

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ton of shots. I don't see
the secondary playmaking from him. He's young

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enough, is this for? And
that's where the Harrison starts to diverge again?

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Just that one fact, and I'm
curious see what he looks like defensively.

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I don't. I guess I just
wouldn't be surprised, and so I'm

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looking for more. Like I didn't
necessarily use the all star threshold. Just

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someone who's going to burst onto the
scene was more of my route. I

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think there are probably a few options
here. If people didn't pay attention or

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what Zeke Naji did in some backup
five minutes last year, I think the

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tables set for him to get a
little bit more. I would say he's

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more important to Denver's immediate plans than
bowball. Who would be interesting if you

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can carve out wing minutes for him, If he wanted to go with Lock

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Goo Kanchar or PJ Dojer fine,
I went with Mishan Highland, and you

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know I was high on bones busy
bones coming into the draft. I don't

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know if he's gonna get the opportunity
in Denver. So I'm sort of rolling

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the dice here because he's a rookie
on a team that's going to look to

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contend. But knowing that Jamal Murray
will be out, let's say through at

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least. I mean, they gave
him seven to nine months I think was

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the initial timetable. I would think
I would think that they're going to slow

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play it just because of how important
he is to their future. Everyone points

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out that Jamal Murray is super human
when it comes to this stuff. Fine,

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whatever, But he and Nicole Yokich, regardless of what you think of

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Michael Porter Jr. They're the future
of the franchise. So I just wouldn't

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fuck with that. So there might
be minutes there. I know they have

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Monte Morris, I know they have
for Kundo Compazzo. I know they have

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Austin Rivers, but I think there
are sometimes where a rookie sort of breaks

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out on a team that's already okay
to ridiculously good, like the Nuggets,

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and he brings a lot of what
they need if Will Barton gets injured,

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and that's happened a bunch in the
past, as someone who can create his

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own shot, take ultra deep threes, which is not they don't have that

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without Jamal Murray, someone who's going
to hit a bunch of off the dribble

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deep three pointers, and his just
he's a contortionist around the rim when you

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look at his ability to finish hit
difficult shots when he's on the move.

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I don't know what he's gonna give
you defensively, certainly not enough as pete

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Jamal Murray, as much as peak
Jamal Murray. But I also don't know

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how much of a drop off it's
going to be. Yeah, it'll be

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a drop off from Monte Morris or
for Kuno Compazzo, but in certain linets,

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I really think it could work,
and I'm hoping he gets a chance,

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even though he's a rookie on a
really good team, and I kind

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of had a I don't know if
I had a feeling you're gonna pick MPJ,

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but I wanted to diverge here.
So I'm taking a swing because I

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think Bones Thailand can be really good, and just based off Jamal Murray's injury,

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I feel like maybe there's a chance
we get to see the human bucket

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actually play from sort of the get
go. There is enough conviction there that

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I think we have to permit the
breaking of the no rookie rules. That

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is fair. I totally forgot the
break of the no rookie rule. I

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was so dead set I'm not picking
Michael Porter Junior. I didn't even realize

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what that I was breaking the rule
in the process. So I guess I

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would have to roll with you on
Michael Porter Junior then, But I'm still

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gonna cape for Bones Thailand. Thank
you for pointing out that he was a

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rookie, because I'm gonna make sure
other rookies. Yeah. So, I

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do think it's interesting that this is
the first time in this current sentence that

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either of us has mentioned the name
Aaron Gordon. Oh, you're saying breakout

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from not averaging six points per dame
towards the end of the yeah everything.

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Yeah, I mean, like I
think Denver is still banking on him being

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significantly more impactful than he was during
his first half season there. And Gordon

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has been the guy every season with
the Orlando Magic, where in the off

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season he was a breakout candidate because
he still saw that tantalizing athleticism. You

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still saw that they'd been working on
his skills at the three, handling the

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ball more, trying to make sure
that he could have this super versatile role,

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and it just never panned out.
And I think this is the first

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time, you know, I don't
think that he deserves to be mentioned.

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I just think it's interesting to note
that it feels like this is the first

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offseason and forever that he's not a
candidate for this. I think probably because

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even the best version of Aaron Gordon
on this team is just not going to

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have the offensive agency that he did
with her. I agree, I agree

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they could. I guess without Jamal
Murray. If you just said we're gonna

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put the ball in your hands and
see if you could do anything, because

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we need someone else other than Michael
Porter Junior to do that, that would

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be there's like maybe there is another
level to his offense, but he would

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not be my pick. I'd have
to go with Michael Porter Junior like you

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did, just because he could.
I don't know if he could enter the

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All Star conversation this year. I
guess Kali's injured without Jamal Murray. I

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think he can. I mean he's
gonna average before Murray returns, he's probably

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averaging twenty two twenty three points a
game, which is what he did during

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the last three months of the season. I'm just trying to think of like

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the rest of the All Star field, and specifically like the forward spots,

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from court spots, wherever you want
to call it. So, but it

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wouldn't You're right, he'll probably be
within that discussion, maybe because that won't

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surprise me. Is why I decided
to break our rookie rule without even realizing

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that I was breaking said rookie will
and I felt like I was breaking that

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not making a super obvious pick rule
too. The Denver team construction is just

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a little weird. He does seem
like on the level of an Anthony Like

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if you expect Anthony Edwards to go
kaboon, like you better expect Michael Porter

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Junior into the same Yeah, yeah, I think that's fair. But let's

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move on to the Golden State Warriors, which I thought was an another difficult

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one because of the age of the
roster. I thought about Wantascano Anderson because

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he's awesome and super fun, and
I just don't know the extent to which

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the NBA watching world knows about him. But I think almost out of necessity,

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Jordan Pool should be the choice here. I think it's telling that the

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Warriors didn't opt to add any proven
guard depth because that's a vote of confidence

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in his direction. Even if I
don't agree with said vote of confidence,

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I'm still not sold on Jordan Pool
being anything better than like a usable backup.

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But I think that the role he's
going to have to fill for this

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Golden State team means that he is
going to average significantly bigger numbers. I

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promise I was not paid to say
this by our friend and friend of the

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00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:55,400
podcast, Jacob Borne Well or sections
of Warriors Twitter that went after me because

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00:17:55,599 --> 00:17:59,480
when I made fun of the look, here's these are the facts. I'm

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not saying he should break out.
I'm saying that he might out of necessity

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because the front office has confidence in
him. That is my problem, the

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fact that Jordan Pools does break out
necessity right here. He showed, He

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00:18:11,799 --> 00:18:12,799
showed a lot. I would even
say it both ends the floor. You

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00:18:12,799 --> 00:18:15,680
look at the second half of the
season, what he was doing as a

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00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:19,039
finisher around the rim, shooting fairly
well from three. My issue is you're

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00:18:19,039 --> 00:18:23,720
the Warriors. You watched your team
rank in the third percentile of offensive efficiency

290
00:18:25,039 --> 00:18:27,799
when Stephen Curry was off the court. You responded to that lack of a

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00:18:27,839 --> 00:18:34,240
secondary shock creation by acquiring zero secondary
shot creating over the off season. That

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00:18:34,440 --> 00:18:37,480
is mine melting to me. And
people responded when I pointed out out saying,

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Jordan pool is literally secondary shock creation. Dan, you just you have

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00:18:42,599 --> 00:18:48,680
to remember that you have to take
the ownership's bank accounts into account. Fuck

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00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:51,799
the ownership, you got it.
You need to be more sympathetic towards these

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00:18:51,799 --> 00:18:55,079
billionaires man. And look, part
of me is like, who else were

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00:18:55,079 --> 00:18:56,599
they supposed to get If they weren't
going to get Patty Mills, they weren't

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going to get anyone whose EON's better. But I would just like to point

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00:19:00,039 --> 00:19:03,279
out that I want to know what's
going to change throughout all this the Warriors

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00:19:03,279 --> 00:19:07,400
when Jordan Pool play without Stephen Curry
last year one or two point three offensive

301
00:19:07,480 --> 00:19:10,880
rating that is in the sixth percentile. That's no offense to Jordan Pool.

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00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:14,559
I don't trust him if you want
him, he's at backup point guard right

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00:19:14,559 --> 00:19:17,400
now, So you're right. I
think he has to break out. I

304
00:19:17,440 --> 00:19:19,599
think he has the potential to break
out, but the fact that they're in

305
00:19:19,599 --> 00:19:23,640
a situation, even with Clay coming
back, where you need Jordan Pool to

306
00:19:23,680 --> 00:19:27,119
break out. Unless Jonathan Kaminga is
going to be great from day one,

307
00:19:27,119 --> 00:19:32,640
which I'd argue he's not going to
be as a creator, that's a precarious

308
00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:36,559
position to be in. My pick
is want to Scano Anderson, as I

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00:19:36,599 --> 00:19:38,599
think one of the foremost drivers of
the want to Scano Anderson vandwagon. I

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00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:42,200
might be higher on him than Warriors
fans are. I think I've seen a

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00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:45,480
lot of criticism about this isn't someone
who's gonna shoot in volume, but he

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00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:51,319
does a lot of like offensive stuff
efficiently, and there's a variety of it.

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00:19:51,359 --> 00:19:52,480
Yeah, you'd like to see him
shoot more threes, but he shot

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00:19:52,519 --> 00:19:56,039
basically. I think he was at
thirty nine percent last year, maybe he

315
00:19:56,039 --> 00:19:59,400
was at over forty percent can't remember
at the moment, forty point two percent

316
00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:02,039
only took ninety two of them.
I get it, but he also was

317
00:20:02,039 --> 00:20:04,359
in the seventieth percentile of efficiency on
cuts. He could just be using a

318
00:20:04,400 --> 00:20:11,240
lot of different ways. I do
think he's sort of and they have Otto

319
00:20:11,279 --> 00:20:14,119
Porter now to help do this,
maybe with some of the lineups, depending

320
00:20:14,160 --> 00:20:15,720
on where Moses Moody plays or with
Andre Gadala. I don't know how they're

321
00:20:15,759 --> 00:20:18,480
going to work those minutes, but
he seems like the guy to put it

322
00:20:18,559 --> 00:20:22,759
the four right now, where you're
gonna have Draymond Green at the five and

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00:20:22,799 --> 00:20:29,359
the Warriors hashtag annihilated opponents when Jta
played the four with Raymond Green at the

324
00:20:29,400 --> 00:20:32,880
five. He can cover a lot
of different ground defensively. And I looked

325
00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:37,000
this up on Basketball Index. There
are two hundred and fifty plus players who

326
00:20:37,079 --> 00:20:41,440
logged at least one thousand minutes last
season. Want tosconald Anderson ranked thirteenth in

327
00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:48,880
their positional versatility metric on defense.
Now, versatility does not inform effectiveness,

328
00:20:48,039 --> 00:20:53,160
but I actually think he is pretty
effective to the to the to the degree

329
00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:56,799
of you can play want asconald Anderson
at the four and Raymond Green at the

330
00:20:56,839 --> 00:21:00,440
five, and your defense can still
be function. You're not because you're giving

331
00:21:00,519 --> 00:21:03,920
up all this size else where.
Yeah, you're not gonna help Raymond Green

332
00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:07,200
with the wear and tear. Ideally
he would play with someone maybe like a

333
00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:10,480
Paul Millsap who can guard some of
the five so that Draymond can do drap

334
00:21:10,559 --> 00:21:14,640
more Draymond things. Maybe that's why
they might favor Otto Porter because they view

335
00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:18,880
him as that type of just burlier
body where Jta is more just slender.

336
00:21:18,799 --> 00:21:22,279
I think they still need him to
be a pretty important player. He's also

337
00:21:22,319 --> 00:21:26,039
at risk though, because I don't
know what his role is on this team

338
00:21:26,039 --> 00:21:30,680
following the additions of Andre Goodala Moses
Moody, who I think is when you

339
00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:34,200
look at Golden State's three primary youngsters, Moses Moody, Jonathan Cominga, and

340
00:21:34,279 --> 00:21:38,400
James Wiseman, I think Moses Moody's
probably the most immediately important, like long

341
00:21:38,519 --> 00:21:42,480
term, it's Cominga and probably even
Wiseman's more important. But who's most likely

342
00:21:42,519 --> 00:21:48,440
to help this team next year Probably
Moody, but Moody even with Cominga,

343
00:21:48,480 --> 00:21:49,480
you want to throw that in,
you had Otto Porter. Junior Clay is

344
00:21:49,519 --> 00:21:52,759
gonna come back, you got Andre
Gadala. I don't know what they're gonna

345
00:21:52,759 --> 00:21:56,319
do with Montescano Anderson. I think
he needs to be a fixture in this

346
00:21:56,440 --> 00:22:00,000
rotation, and I would like to
see him actually play more than the eleven

347
00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:02,960
one hundred h minutes that he played
last year, because I think that's a

348
00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:10,359
really good, smart, fundamentally sound
basketball player. Did you give any consideration

349
00:22:10,599 --> 00:22:14,599
to James Weisman here, because I
will admit that I did not. I

350
00:22:14,720 --> 00:22:18,200
just he's coming off the torminous gus
and what does that do. He couldn't

351
00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:22,440
participate in summer lygue obviously, how
like how much has he been allowed to

352
00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:26,119
work out over the off season?
How much can he do once training camp

353
00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:30,480
opens up? And I still just
come back to the fact that forget about

354
00:22:30,480 --> 00:22:34,160
the Warriors willingness to run pick and
roll with him. If you have James

355
00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:40,119
Wiseman on your team, run more
motherfucking pick and rolls. But when Draymond

356
00:22:40,119 --> 00:22:42,440
Green is on the court, I
just don't see how it works between them

357
00:22:42,480 --> 00:22:47,640
offensively. And I do think Draymond
Green might be important to helping Wiseman defensively,

358
00:22:48,039 --> 00:22:51,119
and so I'm not trying to crapp
all over Draymond Green, but just

359
00:22:51,640 --> 00:22:52,640
I don't understand how it works.
And then like, if you ever have

360
00:22:52,720 --> 00:22:56,599
Draymond and Andre Goadala on the court
at the same time, you can't have

361
00:22:56,759 --> 00:22:59,759
James Wiseman as a part of those
lineups. They just can't very much,

362
00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:03,319
very much. Think Weisman could still
turn into an All star gown the road,

363
00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:07,240
it's not going to happen with this
team construction. If that happens,

364
00:23:07,279 --> 00:23:12,279
it's because he continues to develop and
the Warriors have moved on from the steph

365
00:23:12,480 --> 00:23:17,160
Clay dre Era. I will say, as someone pointed out to me,

366
00:23:17,279 --> 00:23:21,920
if you can play Draymond and Cavon
Looney together, why can't Wiseman and Draymond

367
00:23:21,960 --> 00:23:25,079
be the same way? I would
counter with one, healthy Cavon Looney is

368
00:23:25,119 --> 00:23:30,400
way better defensively than James Wiseman is
and two better hands too, And two

369
00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:34,160
what are you expecting from Cavon Looney
on offense? You're not. There's just

370
00:23:34,200 --> 00:23:38,839
no expectation there really, And James
Wiseman is more of a presence. His

371
00:23:40,039 --> 00:23:42,880
biggest, most of his utility right
now is going to come on the offensive

372
00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:47,160
end. And so I think that's
the difference there, and the hands,

373
00:23:48,720 --> 00:23:52,079
Yeah, uh stone hands, or
maybe the basketball's coded and Chris go I

374
00:23:52,079 --> 00:23:56,519
don't know, maybe both the Rockets
are the next team up. It's it's

375
00:23:56,599 --> 00:24:00,519
kind of a shame that we excluded
rookies except from when I went rogue and

376
00:24:00,559 --> 00:24:04,400
picked the Busy Bones on accident,
because they just have four really intriguing rookies.

377
00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:08,240
When you look at Alpah and Shangoon
Jalen Green obviously I'm a big fan

378
00:24:08,279 --> 00:24:11,960
of Usman Gruba, and then Josh
Christopher, it just looks like he's going

379
00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:15,880
to be a human menace. I
think the popular pick here would probably be

380
00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:22,720
to default towards Kevin Porter Jr.
I'm going the route of Jay Shawn Tate

381
00:24:22,039 --> 00:24:26,759
here. I'm very curious to see
what this dude looks like offensively next season.

382
00:24:26,759 --> 00:24:30,319
He already kind of has like a
little bit of an fu to his

383
00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:34,519
offense where he can attack finished through
contact at the rim if he starts,

384
00:24:34,680 --> 00:24:38,720
and this is how visualizing his breakup. Let's say he shoots week average or

385
00:24:38,799 --> 00:24:45,799
thirty five percent from three unfair to
fairly high volume. He is like one

386
00:24:45,880 --> 00:24:51,920
of the most valuable non star weapons
in the league. And I think I

387
00:24:51,960 --> 00:24:53,720
don't know that I saw enough of
his jumper to believe that it's gonna get

388
00:24:53,720 --> 00:24:56,880
a lot better. But I'm just
looking at all these different weapons that the

389
00:24:57,000 --> 00:25:03,160
Rockets have now in the Shock Creators, where Eric Gordon, John Wall,

390
00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:07,839
Jalen Green, even just Josh Christopher
with the pace that he plays at when

391
00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:10,960
the balls in his hands, Christian
would getting me attention when he's on the

392
00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:15,359
inside. I kind of think that
we just might see another level of complimentary

393
00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:18,559
offense from him, and you combine
that with what he's already doing defensively or

394
00:25:18,559 --> 00:25:23,240
already did defensively for them. I
don't know that his ceiling is much higher

395
00:25:23,279 --> 00:25:26,519
than it is now, but if
this is a dude who comes closer to

396
00:25:26,519 --> 00:25:30,039
shouldn't be average from three, he's
just one of the upper echelon three in

397
00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:33,119
D non stars in the league,
And given that he's only going to be

398
00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:37,400
a sophomore, even though he's on
the older end, I felt compelled to

399
00:25:37,799 --> 00:25:41,519
really pick him. I love watching
him. He's so easy to root for,

400
00:25:41,759 --> 00:25:45,759
so I really I like the pick. I would also encourage anyone listening

401
00:25:45,839 --> 00:25:51,319
to go check out Your Invaders piece
on him on the Ringer because she has

402
00:25:51,319 --> 00:25:52,839
written a lot of great articles over
the years, and that is in the

403
00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:56,759
top tier in my opinion. After
you read that, it's just impossible not

404
00:25:56,839 --> 00:26:02,119
to root for Jay Shawn Tap.
I'm still with Kevin Porter Jr. I

405
00:26:02,200 --> 00:26:04,480
knew it was going to be the
popular pick. I'm just I'm convinced that

406
00:26:04,519 --> 00:26:07,960
this guy is in the All Star
conversation down the road, not this coming

407
00:26:08,039 --> 00:26:14,160
season. But like I think that
I design damp I am, I also

408
00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:17,079
think that the All Star Game should
expand because there are so many players who

409
00:26:17,119 --> 00:26:21,480
deserve to be in the discussion.
That's an excellent point. When he was

410
00:26:21,519 --> 00:26:23,720
in the starting lineup for twenty three
games last year, seventeen point nine points,

411
00:26:23,759 --> 00:26:27,680
four point rebounds, six point five
assist per game. He wasn't particularly

412
00:26:27,720 --> 00:26:33,559
efficient. The Rockets got slaughtered in
those minutes. But this is a young

413
00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:40,119
team that was learning, and he
is just so good but not great in

414
00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:45,200
so many areas like you can see
the flashes of the off ball slashing ability,

415
00:26:45,559 --> 00:26:48,640
you can see flashes of the off
ball juice, of the catch and

416
00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:52,039
shoot ability, of the pull up
jumper ability, of the transition pross.

417
00:26:52,559 --> 00:26:56,519
You know, the list goes on
and on. He's not he does not

418
00:26:56,599 --> 00:27:00,480
yet excel in any area. But
I will one be willing to bet on

419
00:27:00,519 --> 00:27:06,119
guys who have already shown this level
of improvement and seem to have such a

420
00:27:06,200 --> 00:27:10,519
high ceiling across the board. If
he hits in two of those areas,

421
00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:14,720
we're talking about a very valuable player. If he hits on four of those

422
00:27:14,759 --> 00:27:18,119
areas, he's in the All Star
conversation. What if he hits on all

423
00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:22,480
of them. That's a pretty big
what if. So I know it's unlikely,

424
00:27:22,880 --> 00:27:29,720
but there are few players who that's
still at least a somewhat realistic possibility.

425
00:27:29,960 --> 00:27:33,960
Like if you go, if you
look at X number of players his

426
00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:37,519
age or younger, you're going to
get discratched a lot of really good names

427
00:27:37,559 --> 00:27:41,799
off that list. Yeah, and
look, I don't fault you for picking

428
00:27:41,839 --> 00:27:45,920
the popular pick. That's not I
wasn't subtly throwing shade before I knew who

429
00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:48,960
you're selected. Why wouldn't you pick
the guy who has always kind of shown

430
00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:52,920
that off the dribble flash? But
there was like substance and refinement to his

431
00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:56,759
decision making in Houston a lot of
the times that even though I still think

432
00:27:56,759 --> 00:27:59,640
he's going to have some pretty low
lows, his peaks are gonna be pretty

433
00:27:59,680 --> 00:28:03,440
damn hig. I definitely think it's
possible. I am curious to see how

434
00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:08,279
the complexion of the team might impact
what he does. If John Wallas healthy,

435
00:28:08,440 --> 00:28:11,880
if Eric Gordon's healthy, you have
Jail and Green there now, plus

436
00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:17,079
Christian would does that sort of dilute
what he's doing. My guests would be

437
00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:21,599
that one John Walla doesn't stay healthy, but mostly too. I don't think

438
00:28:21,680 --> 00:28:26,359
Eric Gordon finishes the season in Houston, and so maybe they sort of open

439
00:28:26,920 --> 00:28:30,319
his runway. I think for Jay
Shawn Tait in his role, there's gonna

440
00:28:30,319 --> 00:28:33,480
be more opportunity for him to grow
than I could kind of see Kevin Porter

441
00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:38,400
Junior's utility shrinking just by virtue of
everyone in the Rockets have around him.

442
00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:41,240
I can see that for sure.
I'm just I have to be on the

443
00:28:41,279 --> 00:28:45,440
upside that's driven by talent here.
I just think there's way more room to

444
00:28:45,440 --> 00:28:53,279
grow. But that brings us to
the Los Angeles Clippers, which felt like

445
00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:59,359
kind of a by default one Eric
Yeah, I got you, Yeah,

446
00:28:59,440 --> 00:29:03,720
definitely. Eric Bloods was between him
and Yogi Ferrell, right they signed Jogi

447
00:29:03,799 --> 00:29:08,200
Ferrell. I think, so,
all right, Well, I'm looking at

448
00:29:08,240 --> 00:29:12,599
him on multiple depth charts. So
unless I'm giving false information to the world

449
00:29:12,640 --> 00:29:18,799
here, well then it's obviously him. But yeah, I mean it was

450
00:29:18,599 --> 00:29:22,119
serious, That's what it is,
So you're right, yeah, But anyway,

451
00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:26,440
carry in all seriousness, it felt
like it had to be between Luke

452
00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:30,440
Kennard and Terrence Man, and I'm
going to go with Man. Based on

453
00:29:30,559 --> 00:29:34,039
the three point shooting and the shot
creation that we saw in the playoffs,

454
00:29:34,240 --> 00:29:38,839
I can see him carving out a
significantly bigger role while Kawhi Leonard is out

455
00:29:38,880 --> 00:29:44,160
of action and not really seating a
spot in the rotation. I think Kennard

456
00:29:44,279 --> 00:29:49,839
is still more of a specialty weapon
meant to be deployed in smaller spurts,

457
00:29:49,960 --> 00:29:53,920
and I think that Man can legitimately
become a part of this team's core.

458
00:29:55,319 --> 00:29:59,279
Am I confident in that? No, not really. There's way too much

459
00:29:59,400 --> 00:30:03,200
volatility to his game. It's been
far too small a sample of him playing

460
00:30:03,240 --> 00:30:07,799
at a well above replacement level level. But I just don't know who else

461
00:30:07,799 --> 00:30:11,720
to pick here, especially because we're
not picking rookies. They had sneaky,

462
00:30:11,880 --> 00:30:15,640
just a really good draft. I
thought the Nicks should have taken the swing

463
00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:18,160
on Keyan Johnson. They did not. I love that from the Clippers.

464
00:30:18,319 --> 00:30:22,599
Maybe he actually gets playing time with
Kawai out, can't pick him Brandon Boston

465
00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:25,720
Junior. That was another guy just
sort of a two three that that's going

466
00:30:25,799 --> 00:30:27,640
to give you, like a lot
of different types of looks, and I'd

467
00:30:27,640 --> 00:30:30,279
be curious to see. I doubt
he gets real playing time, but I

468
00:30:30,279 --> 00:30:33,519
thought it was a really nice pick. And I think it was the fifties

469
00:30:33,559 --> 00:30:37,440
if I'm not mistaken, And yeah, so it has to be Jo.

470
00:30:37,759 --> 00:30:41,000
I really like Jason Preston. I
don't know enough about him in full disclosure,

471
00:30:41,319 --> 00:30:45,200
but I do agree that I think
maybe if you really had faith,

472
00:30:45,640 --> 00:30:48,400
you could go with Justice Winslow here
because there will maybe be minutes for him

473
00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:52,039
if they don't want to play Keyon
Johnson, if they don't want to play

474
00:30:52,039 --> 00:30:56,440
Brandon Boston Junior Kauai's out, there
might be some minutes up for grabs there.

475
00:30:56,880 --> 00:31:00,359
I just even when Justice Winslow was
at his best, he need to

476
00:31:00,359 --> 00:31:04,200
have a ball in his hands on
offense without actually hitting off the dribble jumpers.

477
00:31:04,640 --> 00:31:07,640
And that's tough for me to buy
into. Even if you like the

478
00:31:07,640 --> 00:31:11,880
defensive versatility, which I think is
fine, and we have more evidence that

479
00:31:11,960 --> 00:31:15,240
he's not going to hit a high
percentage of his catching shoe jumpers than we

480
00:31:15,279 --> 00:31:18,920
do that he will. And even
when he did that year in Miami,

481
00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:22,079
he wasn't taking a ton of them
like it's and I'm not saying he needs

482
00:31:22,079 --> 00:31:22,920
to take a ton of them,
but that's why i'd see her away from

483
00:31:22,960 --> 00:31:26,559
him with parent's man. The only
thing I'd add with you is I absolutely

484
00:31:26,559 --> 00:31:30,960
think he like you as a chance
to become part of the core, and

485
00:31:30,960 --> 00:31:34,359
I would probably even bet on it
happening, just because I think he also

486
00:31:34,400 --> 00:31:37,799
showed that he can kind of duck
in and do some nice things off the

487
00:31:37,799 --> 00:31:41,039
ball. On offense, what's really
gonna be key for him, and that's

488
00:31:41,039 --> 00:31:45,519
actually gonna be easier next season or
the following season. After next season when

489
00:31:45,599 --> 00:31:49,799
Kauai is back and you have Paul
George there. His defense is just not

490
00:31:49,880 --> 00:31:53,200
at the level that it probably needs
to be. He'll compete, but he's

491
00:31:53,200 --> 00:31:56,200
not necessarily huge, and he's not
you know, he can there's some ball

492
00:31:56,200 --> 00:32:00,680
watching there with him. I'm curious
to see what type of defen of matchups

493
00:32:00,680 --> 00:32:05,079
he pulls this season and what types
of lineups he's working in. But the

494
00:32:05,519 --> 00:32:08,119
offensive opportunity should be there, because
even with bringing back Reggie Jackson, even

495
00:32:08,119 --> 00:32:12,680
if you're trading for Eric Bledsoe,
even after having Luke Kennard. I think

496
00:32:12,759 --> 00:32:15,039
he I think he's a fine candidate. He had some nice stretches last year

497
00:32:15,039 --> 00:32:20,599
at the Clippers, but he also
had these protracted periods of the Clippers don't

498
00:32:20,599 --> 00:32:23,599
even want to play him, and
so that's yeah, and that's why he

499
00:32:23,640 --> 00:32:27,599
seems too risky of a pick.
And I think he's limited more way more

500
00:32:27,720 --> 00:32:30,319
limited, i'll say, on defense
than Terrence Mann. So maybe we just

501
00:32:30,359 --> 00:32:34,519
see a lot of improvement from Terence
Mann on defense this year. Certain he's

502
00:32:34,519 --> 00:32:37,920
young enough, he doesn't have that
NBA experience to where you can say,

503
00:32:37,920 --> 00:32:40,480
oh, he's not going to improve
if I had to, like actually make

504
00:32:40,519 --> 00:32:44,000
the Bowl prediction. I view Terrence
Mann as a part of their corps,

505
00:32:44,079 --> 00:32:45,839
and maybe I'm overreacting to what we
saw on the playoffs, but I think

506
00:32:45,839 --> 00:32:51,200
he ends up being just a great
kind of guy who can taggle between different

507
00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:53,599
things on offense. And if you
have a Kawai and Paul George healthy at

508
00:32:53,640 --> 00:32:57,920
the same time, like all of
a sudden, his defense just isn't as

509
00:32:57,960 --> 00:33:02,480
problematic and it might verge on not
bad. So I'm very curious to see

510
00:33:02,480 --> 00:33:06,559
what he looks like two or three
years from now. The offensive opportunity next

511
00:33:06,599 --> 00:33:08,519
season, though, I think,
is the primary jet fuel for his selection

512
00:33:08,599 --> 00:33:14,480
here. Based on the hot takes
I've thrown out about future All Star candidates,

513
00:33:14,680 --> 00:33:16,759
I feel like you need to go
bolder than that. That was that

514
00:33:16,880 --> 00:33:21,519
was lukewarm at best. Well,
then you're gonna love this. We're moving

515
00:33:21,519 --> 00:33:24,400
on to the Los Angeles Lakers,
and I toyed with picking the league Monk

516
00:33:24,440 --> 00:33:30,400
here because they are so devoid of
off the dribble jump shooting. They are

517
00:33:30,440 --> 00:33:34,839
just who is right now, who's
the best off the dribble jump shooter around

518
00:33:34,839 --> 00:33:38,240
the Lakers? It's probably Lebron.
It's probably Lebron. Yeah. After Lebron,

519
00:33:38,319 --> 00:33:44,480
though, who is it? Maybe
Dwight Howard, DeAndre Jordan, maybe

520
00:33:45,799 --> 00:33:50,920
Marc Gasol For the next three days, Oh man, what is yeah?

521
00:33:50,920 --> 00:33:53,079
There? I can't with the Lakers
in the front court, But anyway,

522
00:33:53,839 --> 00:33:58,279
I don't know how much of an
opportunity the guys who are actually I think

523
00:33:58,400 --> 00:34:02,079
the three options here to me a
Malik Monk talent, Horton Tucker, and

524
00:34:02,240 --> 00:34:07,119
Kendrick Nunn, who among them is
actually gonna have the opportunity to play.

525
00:34:07,359 --> 00:34:09,840
I'm gonna go with town Horton Tucker
just because of the investment they have in

526
00:34:09,960 --> 00:34:13,800
him with the new new deal that
he got. He's not an off the

527
00:34:13,840 --> 00:34:17,039
dribble jump shooter. He started hitting
jump shots for a little bit last year.

528
00:34:17,719 --> 00:34:22,000
It wasn't a huge sample size,
and it's not the confidence level.

529
00:34:22,039 --> 00:34:24,639
It definitely wasn't three pointers. If
he can hit some set threes or if

530
00:34:24,840 --> 00:34:29,079
those hurky jerky drives of his and
he can hit some just fades. But

531
00:34:29,119 --> 00:34:31,840
he's also gonna just gonna give you
he's a fairly good passer. He'll be

532
00:34:31,840 --> 00:34:35,840
able to do stuff closer to the
basket, and then his defensive valuability is

533
00:34:36,440 --> 00:34:38,559
is pretty in line with how the
Lakers might want to play in certain lineups.

534
00:34:38,719 --> 00:34:42,000
I don't ever want to see him
on the court at the same time

535
00:34:42,039 --> 00:34:45,119
as Russell Westbrook. I will tell
you that right now. But he's just

536
00:34:45,199 --> 00:34:47,840
my guy by default, and I
actually I do believe in him as a

537
00:34:47,840 --> 00:34:52,079
breakout candidate for him even if the
jumper never comes. It feels like there's

538
00:34:52,119 --> 00:34:57,039
a hyper disruptive, super useful defensive
player there who can give you some bad

539
00:34:57,679 --> 00:35:00,559
and yeah, and they half his
body doesn't make sense you look at it.

540
00:35:00,559 --> 00:35:04,519
It's just so ridiculously long. My
question is, I think, as

541
00:35:04,559 --> 00:35:07,639
it would be for anyone who you
pick on this team, what is the

542
00:35:07,760 --> 00:35:10,280
role here right now? I do
think they are more invested in him than

543
00:35:10,320 --> 00:35:15,679
any of the other potential breakout candidates
though, and the other thing they might

544
00:35:15,079 --> 00:35:19,760
need his defense when you look at
all they gave up this offseason. Can

545
00:35:19,760 --> 00:35:22,519
Tabe is called well, Pope gone, Kyle Kuzma turned to a pretty good

546
00:35:22,559 --> 00:35:25,519
positional defender gone. They have not
No one has signed Wes Matthews to this

547
00:35:25,559 --> 00:35:29,960
point, by the way, if
I'm not mistaken, so as of right

548
00:35:29,960 --> 00:35:34,840
now he's not there. You have
mellow No, that's not helping you defensively.

549
00:35:35,360 --> 00:35:38,119
Trevor reas Up maybe helps you defensively, but that's really not saying much

550
00:35:38,159 --> 00:35:42,519
like he's just super old and kind
of needs to defend these bigger, slower

551
00:35:42,920 --> 00:35:46,480
wings at the moment. So you
might need town Horton, Tucker and addition

552
00:35:46,519 --> 00:35:50,599
to Davis and the way that Lebron
has been defending to kind of prop up

553
00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:53,880
this top tier defense, which I
would argue maybe the Lakers won't be anymore.

554
00:35:53,880 --> 00:35:58,760
It's possible just because Ante Davis is
a freak and I think he is

555
00:35:58,760 --> 00:36:01,480
still underrated defensively. That's a different
podcast, though, but you might just

556
00:36:01,519 --> 00:36:07,000
need Tailn Horton Tucker defensively a lot
more than you did last season. The

557
00:36:07,039 --> 00:36:10,920
only thing I would really add is, of those three again the only realistic

558
00:36:10,960 --> 00:36:17,719
candidates, who has the most room
for growth. I think that's the only

559
00:36:17,760 --> 00:36:22,079
thing that was not explicitly mentioned,
because we know what Kendrick Nunn is at

560
00:36:22,079 --> 00:36:25,719
this point. He's not going to
blossom into something he's not. And I

561
00:36:25,760 --> 00:36:30,119
think the same is true about Malik
Monk, probably a little bit to a

562
00:36:30,199 --> 00:36:35,199
lesser extent, but he basically topped
out on what we're going to expect with

563
00:36:35,239 --> 00:36:38,320
the Charlotte Hornets last year, and
he's certainly not going to get the opportunities

564
00:36:38,719 --> 00:36:44,039
to continue showing growth on the offensive
end because there just aren't enough shots to

565
00:36:44,039 --> 00:36:49,880
go around. So, just by
virtue of realistic growth opportunities, I think

566
00:36:49,880 --> 00:36:52,159
it has to be Tailing, Horton
Tucker. And then you couple that with

567
00:36:52,199 --> 00:36:57,239
the investments made in these players,
I mean Kendrick Nunn and Malik Monk coming

568
00:36:57,280 --> 00:37:01,039
aboard on short. I believe one
year deals for both of them. Taylor

569
00:37:01,119 --> 00:37:06,920
Horton Tucker was a big resigned candidate, and that alone says a lot.

570
00:37:07,360 --> 00:37:09,880
Yeah, And if you had to
pick between the other two, none in

571
00:37:09,920 --> 00:37:13,800
Monk, I think I would go
with I think I would go with None

572
00:37:13,880 --> 00:37:17,679
because I do feel like the Lakers
are quickly going to realize how unplayable Rajon

573
00:37:17,800 --> 00:37:22,400
Rondo is, so there will be
an opportunity to be the primary backup point

574
00:37:22,400 --> 00:37:24,639
guard, and he's going to give
you more of that than the league Monk.

575
00:37:24,679 --> 00:37:28,280
And I think Monk, if you
want, I guess even Kendrick None

576
00:37:28,320 --> 00:37:30,599
off the dribble shooting might even be
better. Ah, I don't know.

577
00:37:31,519 --> 00:37:35,239
If you got to go, if
you're looking at strictly off the dribble self

578
00:37:35,239 --> 00:37:37,000
creation, it's probably None. Still, I think he probably is more.

579
00:37:37,239 --> 00:37:40,039
I'd probably trust Monk more as an
off the dribble job shooter, but I

580
00:37:40,039 --> 00:37:43,760
think Kendrick Nunn is more likely to
score at all three levels. If that

581
00:37:43,800 --> 00:37:46,400
makes any sense, Yeah, it
does, it does for sure. With

582
00:37:46,440 --> 00:37:51,840
that, I think we can already
move on to the Memphis Grizzlies. Felt

583
00:37:51,880 --> 00:37:55,440
like there were a lot of candidates
here, just because this roster does have

584
00:37:55,519 --> 00:38:00,039
so many intriguing pieces, and one
if Dylan Brooks continues the offensive ascension that

585
00:38:00,079 --> 00:38:06,800
we saw in Spurts during the playoffs, I don't offensive ascension continued. He

586
00:38:06,920 --> 00:38:09,320
had one great game on offense,
which is a lot more than he previously

587
00:38:09,360 --> 00:38:15,079
had. Well believe that, by
definition is an ascension. I think if

588
00:38:15,119 --> 00:38:17,679
you have to pick him, you
probably need to pick him for another team,

589
00:38:17,719 --> 00:38:21,480
though I don't think he finishes the
season of Memphis, but fair enough

590
00:38:21,840 --> 00:38:24,280
do Anthony Melton long been one of
the more underrated players. I think he

591
00:38:24,400 --> 00:38:29,440
is a totally viable choice. What
if Jarrett Culver finally does something. What

592
00:38:29,480 --> 00:38:31,639
if Jaren Jackson Junior stays healthy and
starts to live up to that potential?

593
00:38:31,960 --> 00:38:37,360
John Morant is a perfectly reasonable pick. But I'm going with Desmond Baine because

594
00:38:37,400 --> 00:38:42,840
I is he reasonable in the sense
that we weren't picking Anthy Edwards all melbow

595
00:38:42,840 --> 00:38:45,440
ball if you're picking Michael Porter Junior. Yeah, I'm just I'm staying away

596
00:38:45,440 --> 00:38:51,320
from more obvious ones with I guess
I just view him as already a star,

597
00:38:51,960 --> 00:38:53,880
like I don't just not an all
star. He hasn't been an All

598
00:38:53,880 --> 00:38:58,239
Star, but I view him already
in that vein, whereas Michael still needs

599
00:38:58,280 --> 00:39:01,199
to crack the click, which is
which is why I was willing to pick

600
00:39:01,320 --> 00:39:05,159
Michael Porter Jr. Right, I'm
just I don't even picked John rand But

601
00:39:05,199 --> 00:39:07,159
I almost feel like saying break unless
you're saying he's going to break out into

602
00:39:07,159 --> 00:39:10,639
an MVP candidate. I feel like
it's almost insulting to how good he actually

603
00:39:10,719 --> 00:39:16,360
is. Totally fair, I rescind
the consideration all tell me more about Xavier

604
00:39:16,440 --> 00:39:22,880
Tillman. But Desmond Bane, I
think he is a very realistic choice to

605
00:39:22,039 --> 00:39:27,960
fill a lot of the vacated minutes
when Grayson Allen left. Just an awesome

606
00:39:28,280 --> 00:39:34,039
three and D guy, and even
if he stays fully within that role with

607
00:39:34,159 --> 00:39:37,559
more minutes, there is going to
be a lot more recognition that he is

608
00:39:37,599 --> 00:39:42,559
one of the bigger draft steals we've
seen in the last few years, because

609
00:39:42,760 --> 00:39:49,800
the three point stroke is ridiculously talented
in so many different situations as a trailer

610
00:39:49,840 --> 00:39:54,400
and transition catch and shoot on relocations
out of the corners, little bit off

611
00:39:54,440 --> 00:39:59,920
the dribble every once in a while, and then the defense, the versatility,

612
00:40:00,039 --> 00:40:04,760
the length, the aggression. He
is just he is that guy in

613
00:40:04,760 --> 00:40:08,119
that mold, and I think that
the opportunity is there for him to play

614
00:40:08,199 --> 00:40:13,840
a more prominent role within the rotation, especially if, as you think,

615
00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:17,360
Dylan Brooks and or Kyle Anderson is
moved at some point during the season.

616
00:40:17,960 --> 00:40:22,119
There's even more of an opportunity.
My pick is Desmond Bane as well,

617
00:40:22,239 --> 00:40:24,400
and I do think there are a
lot of candidates here. I really want

618
00:40:24,440 --> 00:40:28,599
Jared Colver to work out. I
just don't know if he has the way

619
00:40:28,599 --> 00:40:30,880
he wants to play on offense.
I don't know if he has the speed

620
00:40:30,440 --> 00:40:35,559
up to do that anyway, And
I want to pick Jared Jackson Jr.

621
00:40:36,000 --> 00:40:38,239
I just thought about it for sure, and I think he's a viable pick.

622
00:40:38,320 --> 00:40:42,719
This is not someone who has been
the Michael Porter Jr. And the

623
00:40:42,719 --> 00:40:45,360
anti Edwards territory. And it's not
even just because he wasn't healthy last year.

624
00:40:45,400 --> 00:40:49,119
Just defensively, got to keep his
hands to hisself, proved that he

625
00:40:49,159 --> 00:40:52,599
could defend the five, and you
probably need to see more various to him

626
00:40:52,599 --> 00:40:57,760
on offense anyway. Echo everything you
said about Desmond Baine. I don't want

627
00:40:57,800 --> 00:41:00,239
to read too much in the summer
League because of how the ross there's a

628
00:41:00,320 --> 00:41:05,559
built there. This day, he
was dribbling into threes, he was freezing

629
00:41:05,599 --> 00:41:10,239
defenses while attacking at varying speeds.
He gave him a lot of secondary playmaking.

630
00:41:10,679 --> 00:41:14,960
I would almost advocate based on how
Memphis has sort of burned down the

631
00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:19,400
playoff trajectory. It seems like get
rid of whoever you need to get rid

632
00:41:19,400 --> 00:41:22,000
of so you can clear minutes.
For one, Ziere Williams, because I'm

633
00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:25,199
officially in love with him after some
really two, but also Desmond Bain,

634
00:41:25,599 --> 00:41:30,159
for I want to see on ball
Desmond Bain, I get get rid of

635
00:41:30,199 --> 00:41:34,079
Tias Jones trade, the Anthony Melton
trade, Dylan Brooks trade, coliners,

636
00:41:34,199 --> 00:41:37,800
whoever you need to get the ball
in Desmond Bain's hands more. I need

637
00:41:37,800 --> 00:41:42,039
to see it. I'm sold on
him not even being able to optimize himself

638
00:41:42,079 --> 00:41:45,679
within the role that you described.
I'm on the as high as people aren't

639
00:41:45,760 --> 00:41:50,159
a deep Bay and his ball skills, I think Desmond Baine is a higher

640
00:41:50,199 --> 00:41:53,199
ceiling than it's a deep Bay on
offense. And I'm talking substantially just after

641
00:41:53,280 --> 00:41:55,760
watching what he's able to do with
the ball in his hands. I hope

642
00:41:55,760 --> 00:42:00,760
he gets that opportunity in Memphis this
season because if he does, our argue,

643
00:42:00,880 --> 00:42:04,920
you cannot talk me in to anyone
else on this roster, and that

644
00:42:04,960 --> 00:42:08,280
includes Jarreen Jackson Jr. Not saying
he'll be better necessarily because I think Jarret

645
00:42:08,320 --> 00:42:10,840
Jackson Junior is more of an anomaly
in his position. YadA, YadA,

646
00:42:10,920 --> 00:42:15,760
YadA. I am all aboard the
Desmond Baye bandwagon. I don't plan on

647
00:42:15,920 --> 00:42:22,000
deplaning anytime soon. I know you're
supposed to start for the Minnesota Timberwolves,

648
00:42:22,119 --> 00:42:25,679
but I just want to preface that
team by saying that in my notes,

649
00:42:25,760 --> 00:42:30,079
I wrote down Anthony Edwards is too
obvious, even if he's the right choice

650
00:42:30,360 --> 00:42:35,480
going with, and then realize that
I never came back to it. My

651
00:42:35,559 --> 00:42:37,719
pick would have been Jaden McDaniels,
and I know that's going to be your

652
00:42:37,760 --> 00:42:42,599
pick, so I seed all of
my talking to you in this section.

653
00:42:43,480 --> 00:42:47,519
Jaden McDaniels is a fucking stunt.
I've been cussing too much on his podcast

654
00:42:47,639 --> 00:42:52,880
apology. I love that you didn't
even need to react to that because we

655
00:42:52,000 --> 00:42:54,920
both knew that I was right.
Yeah, it was I was almost I

656
00:42:54,920 --> 00:42:57,960
thought you were going to go into
a jade McDaniel spield, and I was

657
00:42:58,000 --> 00:43:01,639
like, did he really just break
out Candida Jack me like that when he

658
00:43:01,679 --> 00:43:06,000
knows how I feel about Jamee McDaniels. No, it just it worked out

659
00:43:06,039 --> 00:43:10,239
so perfectly that I don't have anything
prepared for this one and I know that

660
00:43:10,320 --> 00:43:15,599
you deal they So where I diverge
with the Timberwolves is they seem to think

661
00:43:15,599 --> 00:43:17,360
that he can't hold up defensively at
the four, which is why they've been

662
00:43:17,400 --> 00:43:22,679
obsessing over not just Ben Simmons,
but they were linked to John Collins,

663
00:43:22,880 --> 00:43:25,119
they were linked to lowry marketing,
two guys who I would argue aren't going

664
00:43:25,159 --> 00:43:29,920
to be better than Jamee McDaniels at
the four anyway. I think he can

665
00:43:29,960 --> 00:43:32,199
give you defense at the two,
three four. I'm just more intrigued by

666
00:43:32,239 --> 00:43:37,079
his offense as someone who I think
can finish through straight line drives. Has

667
00:43:37,119 --> 00:43:40,239
already shown hill hit threes at a
moderate clip off the catch what we saw

668
00:43:40,280 --> 00:43:44,000
from him in Summer League too.
I don't want to read too much into

669
00:43:44,039 --> 00:43:49,119
it. There's more ball skills there. He has directionality in traffic. They

670
00:43:49,199 --> 00:43:52,639
really treated him like a point wing
throughout Summer League. You're not going to

671
00:43:52,719 --> 00:43:55,679
do that on the actual Timberwolves,
because you have Anthony Edwards, Willie Beasley,

672
00:43:55,800 --> 00:44:00,280
D'Angelo Russell, even Karl Anthony Towns. Oh I would argue at this

673
00:44:00,320 --> 00:44:04,920
point, I'd probably rather put this
is this is an exaggeration, But if

674
00:44:04,920 --> 00:44:07,880
Patrick Beverley is going to be your
backup point guard, like maybe just darting

675
00:44:07,880 --> 00:44:10,280
those lineups, let's let Jay McDaniels
be the point forward. I don't trust

676
00:44:10,320 --> 00:44:14,800
Patrick Beverley with the ball in his
hands on offense is basically what I'm saying,

677
00:44:14,800 --> 00:44:17,719
and who he might be traded again
at this point, who knows he

678
00:44:17,920 --> 00:44:22,159
is the fact that there are more
layers to his offense. My main point

679
00:44:22,280 --> 00:44:24,639
is that's a pretty big friggin deal
because he's already shown that he can fill

680
00:44:24,719 --> 00:44:29,440
gaps, run the floor, slip
through cracks in the in the defense and

681
00:44:29,480 --> 00:44:31,320
the half court, hit the set
threes like I talked to. But if

682
00:44:31,360 --> 00:44:35,079
you can put the ball in his
hands and count him to do more than

683
00:44:35,119 --> 00:44:38,440
just attack in a straight line,
you have an instantly really good player at

684
00:44:38,519 --> 00:44:43,280
one of the most desirable sought after
positions in the league. Whether you view

685
00:44:43,320 --> 00:44:45,840
him as a three or four,
I think he can just shuffle somewhere in

686
00:44:45,880 --> 00:44:51,559
between, especially now. I love
the idea of lineups though as of now,

687
00:44:51,800 --> 00:44:53,559
just because I don't think they have
a bunch of other options, unless

688
00:44:53,559 --> 00:44:58,920
you think I'm assuming they'll restart Jared
Vanderbilt, who I would consider picking him

689
00:44:58,920 --> 00:45:01,239
if Jay McDaniels wasn't on this team, or if you'd signed a contract yet.

690
00:45:01,280 --> 00:45:06,639
At this recording, I want to
see more Towns and Jay McDaniels as

691
00:45:06,679 --> 00:45:09,280
the five four you can round that
out with. I'd probably rather see for

692
00:45:09,320 --> 00:45:14,000
defensive purposes, Patrick Beverley on the
court with Anthony Edwards and maybe Malie Beasley

693
00:45:14,039 --> 00:45:16,400
because then you have a nice mix
of size. But give me three of

694
00:45:16,440 --> 00:45:22,159
Patrick Beverley, Delo Molik Beasley,
and Anthy Edwards with Karl Anthony Cowles Jay

695
00:45:22,239 --> 00:45:24,599
McDaniels in the front court. And
I think that base, that lineup base,

696
00:45:24,679 --> 00:45:27,800
it's not gonna make it to move
as the playoff team because you need

697
00:45:27,840 --> 00:45:31,320
to fill the minutes around them.
That lineup base is so tantalizing. And

698
00:45:31,440 --> 00:45:35,239
I don't know if I've said it
enough. I'm in love with Jane McDaniels.

699
00:45:35,320 --> 00:45:39,639
And there's if they win the Ben
Simmons Sweek Stakes without giving up D'Angelo

700
00:45:39,719 --> 00:45:44,199
Russell because they're not giving up Edwards, which I would just agree with.

701
00:45:44,400 --> 00:45:46,719
At this point, you play the
upside game there. They have to give

702
00:45:46,800 --> 00:45:50,800
up Molik Beasley, but then it's
sort of iffy. It's how many picks

703
00:45:50,800 --> 00:45:53,480
are you giving up? Who else
is included? Is it Delow? I

704
00:45:53,480 --> 00:45:58,440
would argue that six or should probably
want Dlow. I don't think they will.

705
00:45:58,599 --> 00:46:00,719
I think if that deal gets done
if and I don't think it does,

706
00:46:01,480 --> 00:46:05,760
I mean maybe it does. I
think Jane McDaniels ends up being a

707
00:46:05,800 --> 00:46:08,800
bigger ass reason why than people are
crediting, because you can give Philadelphia all

708
00:46:08,800 --> 00:46:12,480
the picks in the world that they
can use in other trades for the next

709
00:46:12,519 --> 00:46:15,599
star. I'm going long distance on
a team in Minnesota that is not necessarily

710
00:46:15,679 --> 00:46:20,199
proven that it's the best. Even
with Gerson Rosas here, it's just he's

711
00:46:20,199 --> 00:46:22,639
taken some risks, but the team
is still on spectacular right now. I

712
00:46:22,639 --> 00:46:27,960
would argue that's how high I'm on
Jane McDaniels. Is My point is,

713
00:46:27,960 --> 00:46:30,440
I think he can be and it
might even be more valuable leading into the

714
00:46:30,440 --> 00:46:35,400
trade deadline if you're looking at candidates
to trade four to either get the next

715
00:46:35,400 --> 00:46:37,599
star or really high end four.
I don't know that I view him as

716
00:46:37,599 --> 00:46:43,679
a cornerstone type prospect. He's certainly
someone who can be the second best asset

717
00:46:44,239 --> 00:46:49,679
in a deal of that magnitude.
I really really wish that you had just

718
00:46:50,000 --> 00:46:53,880
left it off after the first time
you said how much you love Jade McDaniels,

719
00:46:54,159 --> 00:46:58,480
because then you mentioned Ben Simmons and
the trade and ruined the entire joke

720
00:46:58,559 --> 00:47:00,440
that I was going to go for. I was gonna just launch into this

721
00:47:00,599 --> 00:47:06,760
Ben Simmons monologue about how he was
the next most likely chance candidate for Minnesota

722
00:47:07,039 --> 00:47:08,079
and just see how long I could
get before you were like, what are

723
00:47:08,119 --> 00:47:12,000
you doing here? So then you
had to go talking about the trade.

724
00:47:13,000 --> 00:47:15,800
Ben Simmons is a breakout player.
Is very insulting, but I'd be here.

725
00:47:15,840 --> 00:47:19,679
I'd be here to listen to it. You. I think you the

726
00:47:19,719 --> 00:47:23,039
moment's ruined though you just you murdered
that moment. I will if you want

727
00:47:23,039 --> 00:47:27,239
to get timmer with fans hopes.
I can't remember on the last part our

728
00:47:27,280 --> 00:47:30,000
specific Ben Simmons segment, whether you
said that you think it's Minnesota or bus

729
00:47:30,119 --> 00:47:32,360
for Ben Simmons at this point is
that we said or was at Sacramento.

730
00:47:34,360 --> 00:47:37,440
I think it's either going to be
he's in Minnesota at the start of the

731
00:47:37,480 --> 00:47:40,599
season or he's not dealt before the
season starts. I'd lean the ladder,

732
00:47:40,639 --> 00:47:45,480
but Minnesota is the one that I
think Jade McDaniels helps right away, Malik

733
00:47:45,519 --> 00:47:51,400
Beasley helps right away. And if
you're giving picks into the distance because it's

734
00:47:51,440 --> 00:47:53,639
this team and maybe it ends up
failing, you have to calculate the fact

735
00:47:53,719 --> 00:47:57,360
that, oh, this team all
of a sudden has Karnathy Towns and Ben

736
00:47:57,400 --> 00:48:01,920
Simmons, two potential Top fifteen players
who work really well together. I think

737
00:48:01,960 --> 00:48:06,840
that's basketball fit. Why that's the
team I want to see Simmons on.

738
00:48:06,920 --> 00:48:08,519
Yeah, I almost don't even care
who you give up. Just give me

739
00:48:08,559 --> 00:48:12,880
Simmons and Cat. I would be
curious to see what the dynamic between Auntie

740
00:48:13,000 --> 00:48:16,159
Edwards and Simmons is. It'd be
similar, I think to what Jimmy Butler

741
00:48:16,159 --> 00:48:21,719
and Simmons were and that didn't work
out. Edwards continues on this offensive trajectory,

742
00:48:21,719 --> 00:48:24,199
though I don't think it matters what
Simmons does on offense. I think

743
00:48:24,239 --> 00:48:29,760
what the difference is is that and
this isn't an insult to Jimmy Butler,

744
00:48:29,800 --> 00:48:31,480
who was a better player than Ben
Simmons. The fact that at the Edwards

745
00:48:31,519 --> 00:48:35,920
is not better than Ben Simmons right
now probably helps and just hasn't had the

746
00:48:35,920 --> 00:48:38,840
time to establish that type of offensive
ego. And he seems just based off

747
00:48:38,840 --> 00:48:43,559
his interviews, like I know people
were kind of insulting he's commitment to basketball

748
00:48:43,559 --> 00:48:46,679
coming new league. I feel like
he'll just do what it takes to maximize

749
00:48:46,719 --> 00:48:52,079
what the team wants. And that
dude is also just fucking hilarious in interviews.

750
00:48:52,280 --> 00:48:54,199
He is a better interview than him, right, No, one,

751
00:48:54,320 --> 00:48:59,360
right now. No, absolutely,
It's so great And like it's funny you

752
00:48:59,400 --> 00:49:01,599
say that he hasn't had a time
to develop enough of an offensive ego.

753
00:49:02,480 --> 00:49:07,199
Yes he has. Have you listened
to him in interviews? He thinks he's

754
00:49:07,360 --> 00:49:10,599
but it's like a it's a mocking
eg It was just it was one of

755
00:49:10,639 --> 00:49:15,679
those things where you said, and
I was like, that's that sounds a

756
00:49:15,719 --> 00:49:19,119
little weird to say about any Edwards. Like I get it, and I

757
00:49:19,159 --> 00:49:22,599
agree with it, but it just
it was it was it was an interesting

758
00:49:22,679 --> 00:49:25,000
choice of words. I guess just
the type of character that he is,

759
00:49:25,199 --> 00:49:28,840
and then just based off where he
is at his career, it seems like

760
00:49:28,880 --> 00:49:30,760
there can be more of a given
take between he and Ben Simmons than a

761
00:49:30,840 --> 00:49:35,960
Jimmy Butler and Ben. And look
also the Maniacal where they seem to diverse.

762
00:49:36,000 --> 00:49:37,079
It was Jimmy Butler is like,
if you're not getting up at two

763
00:49:37,159 --> 00:49:39,199
thirty in the morning to join me
for a three year work out, I

764
00:49:39,280 --> 00:49:43,519
fucking hate you. So, oh
my god, we need to I'm gonna

765
00:49:43,519 --> 00:49:45,519
have to put an explicit like parental
advisorything on this podcast. This is what

766
00:49:45,519 --> 00:49:49,840
I would say, Like, we're
gonna it's gonna be demonetized on YouTube,

767
00:49:49,880 --> 00:49:53,599
except we don't have enough subscribers yet
to monetize it. So everyone just go

768
00:49:53,760 --> 00:49:58,679
subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks YouTube channel. Look after watching my mouth and only

769
00:49:58,719 --> 00:50:01,880
cursing once with Davy in the Vicinity
of your Son in Colorado while I was

770
00:50:01,880 --> 00:50:05,760
there a couple of weeks ago,
I'm just letting it all out. I'm

771
00:50:05,800 --> 00:50:08,360
catching up for lost time. That's
totally fine. Did you like my super

772
00:50:08,519 --> 00:50:12,960
organic plug? Yes? I don't
think anyone is going to notice that we

773
00:50:13,039 --> 00:50:15,760
had an agenda there, Like there's
it will not it will just fly right

774
00:50:15,880 --> 00:50:20,199
under the radar. Hopefully we just
get a bunch of Timberwolves fans that subscribe

775
00:50:20,199 --> 00:50:24,559
to the YouTube because we love Anthony
Edwards. We want the timbolve with the

776
00:50:24,559 --> 00:50:28,480
trade Ben's immage. We think Jane
McDaniels is a future top five player of

777
00:50:28,480 --> 00:50:30,039
all time. Let's move on to
the next team, which is yours,

778
00:50:30,039 --> 00:50:32,920
and I won't hijacket because I'm not
as selfish as you are like you did

779
00:50:32,960 --> 00:50:37,840
with the Timberwolves. It's the New
Orleans Pelicans. And this was a confusing

780
00:50:37,840 --> 00:50:42,599
one because I at once felt like
there were a bunch of candidates and no

781
00:50:42,719 --> 00:50:49,840
candidates, So I ended up going
with DeVante Graham. I think, yeah,

782
00:50:50,119 --> 00:50:52,840
I didn't think that would be a
popular pick. Definitely not the conventional

783
00:50:52,840 --> 00:50:58,760
one. It feels like a really
ideal situation for him because he has a

784
00:50:58,760 --> 00:51:04,559
phenomenal lob target and transition threat in
Zion Williamson. He has a great wing

785
00:51:04,599 --> 00:51:07,760
scorer in Brandon Ingram, who can
allow him to serve as a primary creator

786
00:51:07,840 --> 00:51:13,679
sometimes but also work off the ball
more. He has never worked as a

787
00:51:13,679 --> 00:51:20,320
cutter. He actually did not register
enough possession finishing plays on cuts to register

788
00:51:20,519 --> 00:51:23,840
on the play types within NBA dot
Com. So I don't really know that

789
00:51:23,920 --> 00:51:28,639
this would work, but I just
feel, given his instincts and his length,

790
00:51:28,880 --> 00:51:32,760
that there's something there. He's not
tall, but he is surprisingly long,

791
00:51:34,880 --> 00:51:38,320
and that coupled with the passing vision
which is legitimately excellent. Like you

792
00:51:38,360 --> 00:51:44,119
saw that from the very start of
his surprising rookie season, where like he

793
00:51:44,199 --> 00:51:46,559
was making advanced reads, advanced passes, they were hitting guys in the right

794
00:51:46,599 --> 00:51:52,360
spots right away. It feels like
a good situation for him to re establish

795
00:51:52,480 --> 00:51:57,400
himself as that player we thought he
was coming out of his rookie season,

796
00:51:57,719 --> 00:52:04,159
where like, maybe this guy is
a legitimate dual threat point guard who can

797
00:52:04,199 --> 00:52:07,920
excel as a scorer, sometimes excel
as a passer most of the time.

798
00:52:08,440 --> 00:52:15,440
I love that pick, even though
it's not my pick because I loved Devonte

799
00:52:15,519 --> 00:52:19,360
Graham. When you're looking at the
twenty nineteen, twenty and twenty season he

800
00:52:19,400 --> 00:52:22,559
had in Charlotte, there is I
don't think he's ever going to be a

801
00:52:22,559 --> 00:52:24,719
good finisher. I think we've proven
that, but he was among the best

802
00:52:24,760 --> 00:52:30,199
in the league at assists generated near
the rim because defenses due respect his dribble

803
00:52:30,239 --> 00:52:34,920
penetration and he had hit off the
dribble threes and he meant something to Charlotte's

804
00:52:34,960 --> 00:52:37,639
offense. This is a number that
I knew existed, which is why I

805
00:52:37,679 --> 00:52:39,199
was able to look it up so
quickly, like you were talking again.

806
00:52:39,360 --> 00:52:45,159
Twenty nineteen, twenty twenty. So
it's going back beyond this past season.

807
00:52:45,519 --> 00:52:47,880
But among every single player to log
at least seven hundred and fifty minutes,

808
00:52:49,480 --> 00:52:54,639
Devonte Graham had the seventh highest offensive
ratings swing in the league, eleven point

809
00:52:54,639 --> 00:52:58,360
two points per one hundred possessions better
the Charotte Hornets were when he was on

810
00:52:58,400 --> 00:53:01,199
the court. Offensively, he was
so electric, it was so fun.

811
00:53:01,360 --> 00:53:05,760
He was obviously working from a lower
baseline. But just consider the names that

812
00:53:05,800 --> 00:53:08,280
are in front of him, Dame
kat Trey Young, Devin Booker, CP

813
00:53:08,400 --> 00:53:12,119
three, and Gallo was number one
in the league, by the way,

814
00:53:12,119 --> 00:53:15,159
when he was an okay see that
year. But yeah, I think he's

815
00:53:15,159 --> 00:53:19,880
a viable candidate, especially because they
need him where in Charlotte. It felt

816
00:53:19,880 --> 00:53:22,239
like he wasn't able to do enough, or at least the dynamics changed when

817
00:53:22,239 --> 00:53:25,719
you have LaMelo Ball, Gordon Hayward
in there. Even with Trey Rosiere playing

818
00:53:25,760 --> 00:53:30,360
so well, he's going to have
more responsibility, I think, which which

819
00:53:30,400 --> 00:53:31,840
suits him. He's almost one of
those players where I think, yeah,

820
00:53:31,840 --> 00:53:36,280
he will hit so many catches,
shoot threes, but he does really need

821
00:53:36,320 --> 00:53:38,519
to be involved to get within the
flow of the game. I though,

822
00:53:38,599 --> 00:53:44,679
went with Naji Marshall because the Pelicans
wing Depp is still just it's all over

823
00:53:44,719 --> 00:53:47,480
the place. I love the Trey
Murphy pick. I like Josh Hart still.

824
00:53:47,519 --> 00:53:51,599
I can't believe he only got one
guaranteed year, but as someone who

825
00:53:51,760 --> 00:53:53,320
Marshall is someone who could play the
three in the four, shoot the three

826
00:53:53,320 --> 00:53:58,760
ball fairly well, matchup defensively at
you know, probably three different positions at

827
00:53:58,840 --> 00:54:00,880
this point. And I still think
they need him to play, and they're

828
00:54:00,920 --> 00:54:04,800
also when you look on paper,
they're not good enough to say, you

829
00:54:04,840 --> 00:54:07,199
know, we can't play him because
the didn't have enough experience. You still

830
00:54:07,199 --> 00:54:09,800
need wings. You have Brandon Ingram, you have Trey Murphy, who's a

831
00:54:09,840 --> 00:54:14,159
rookie, you have Josh Hart,
and those are your wings. Really,

832
00:54:14,239 --> 00:54:17,880
I don't know. I might might
get there, maybe so, but I

833
00:54:17,880 --> 00:54:22,480
mean, like Garrett Temple is there. I'm not putting Garrett Temple ahead though

834
00:54:22,000 --> 00:54:25,239
yes he really I would look,
I do think I was with you.

835
00:54:25,239 --> 00:54:29,400
You framed it perfectly. I simultaneously
feel like there are a ton of candidates

836
00:54:29,679 --> 00:54:32,239
and not many because I really want
to say Kyra Lewis junior. I just

837
00:54:32,239 --> 00:54:37,360
don't know what type of opportunity he
has, and he is, he is

838
00:54:37,400 --> 00:54:42,039
a human blur. But you have
DeVante Graham, Thomas Hederanski plus points on

839
00:54:42,159 --> 00:54:45,360
had plus who I think is a
viable other candidate, Nikkil Alexander Walker,

840
00:54:45,639 --> 00:54:49,760
And so just what does the roles
look like there? I just I love

841
00:54:49,880 --> 00:54:52,840
naw someone. I was infatuated with
him. He was coming out of the

842
00:54:52,840 --> 00:54:57,440
two thousand and nineteen draft or is
that twenty yeah, two twenty draft nineteen?

843
00:54:57,480 --> 00:55:00,000
I think two nineteen, Yeah,
yeah, he wasn't in a rookie

844
00:55:00,000 --> 00:55:02,679
this year, so twenty nineteen he
just hasn't put it together for me.

845
00:55:04,320 --> 00:55:07,400
On offense is sort of really just
all over the place. He does feel

846
00:55:07,400 --> 00:55:13,079
like he has that juice when he's
going downhill. Can he piece it together

847
00:55:13,119 --> 00:55:15,800
into something that's cohesive though when you
look at his game or can you just

848
00:55:15,840 --> 00:55:20,679
count on him to do that?
But then also kind of be more of

849
00:55:20,719 --> 00:55:23,400
a complimentary device, an accessory device. However, you want to frame it.

850
00:55:23,760 --> 00:55:27,320
His game is also sort of wired
to be like the ball probably needs

851
00:55:27,320 --> 00:55:30,760
to be in his hands. Maybe
this roster is better suited to him getting

852
00:55:30,760 --> 00:55:35,079
more minutes in general, without Eric
Blitzo there and without a Lonzo Ball there.

853
00:55:35,280 --> 00:55:37,079
Maybe I don't like, can he
take on the Lonzo ball roll but

854
00:55:37,159 --> 00:55:40,280
just have a little bit more on
ball creation than the half court That would

855
00:55:40,280 --> 00:55:44,599
be huge for them, And I
wouldn't rule it out defensively either. By

856
00:55:44,639 --> 00:55:46,400
the way, he would be my
second choice, But I'm going with Marshall

857
00:55:46,480 --> 00:55:52,280
just because I'm not. They have
brandon Ingram, they have Josh Hart,

858
00:55:52,280 --> 00:55:54,480
so they have guys that are ahead
of him in the depth chart. But

859
00:55:54,519 --> 00:55:58,960
if they are looking to compete for
something, how many minutes do they give

860
00:55:59,039 --> 00:56:00,880
to Trey Murphy because if you gnaw, it's sort of a wing or maybe

861
00:56:00,920 --> 00:56:04,519
he plays a lot of two or
maybe even some three in certain lineups.

862
00:56:04,800 --> 00:56:07,760
I'm gonna roll the dice on Naji
Marshall because I think he's a really good

863
00:56:07,800 --> 00:56:12,440
player that fits like they need plug
and play guys. I think because you

864
00:56:12,440 --> 00:56:15,599
have Zion, you have brandon Ingram. Even if Jonas sound Rudis who's kind

865
00:56:15,599 --> 00:56:17,760
of plug and play, but he's
also gonna want touches on the offensive end.

866
00:56:19,119 --> 00:56:22,000
And I think you need to cater
to the guys at this point who

867
00:56:22,039 --> 00:56:24,840
are going to work their asses off
defensively for you, and when you're looking

868
00:56:24,880 --> 00:56:30,639
at this roster, I'm not talking
about effectiveness necessarily, but I would argue

869
00:56:30,639 --> 00:56:34,800
you of Josh Hart and then Marshall
is just like the guy that's gonna work

870
00:56:34,840 --> 00:56:37,880
and Murphy, those are your three
guys that are gonna work their tails off

871
00:56:37,199 --> 00:56:42,239
defensively every single possession. I find
it. I don't want to say alarm

872
00:56:42,280 --> 00:56:45,199
made because he did so show some
growth, but that neither of us mentioned

873
00:56:45,320 --> 00:56:51,119
Jackson Hayes probably is, you know, a referendum on just how blah the

874
00:56:51,199 --> 00:56:54,280
Pelican sort of seem for next season. But I don't know, maybe he

875
00:56:54,599 --> 00:56:59,039
do. I do want to give
a shout out to Winning Gabriel as well.

876
00:56:59,159 --> 00:57:01,119
I don't think that there's a path
to him playing enough minutes to be

877
00:57:01,199 --> 00:57:05,440
a true breakout candidate, but I
fell in love with his game during the

878
00:57:05,480 --> 00:57:08,920
twenty twenty playoffs for the Portland Trailblazers. He showed a lot of growth as

879
00:57:08,920 --> 00:57:14,239
a shooter and looked a little bit
more comfortable, like passing off the short

880
00:57:14,360 --> 00:57:17,840
role wasn't really turning into assists yet. But I think there's still something there.

881
00:57:19,599 --> 00:57:22,039
I think he needs though, and
this isn't the roster to do it

882
00:57:22,280 --> 00:57:25,400
is because he can't log minutes.
At the three, he needs to be

883
00:57:25,599 --> 00:57:29,920
one of the primary backup fours or
even five. I know we'd be under

884
00:57:29,960 --> 00:57:32,159
size there, and I think they're
gonna you have Jackson Hayes and you want

885
00:57:32,159 --> 00:57:35,840
to spawn and shootis at the five, maybe they even still like Willie Willie

886
00:57:35,880 --> 00:57:38,079
Herding Gomez is still there, right, maybe they even like him a little

887
00:57:38,079 --> 00:57:43,119
bit better. And again Gabriel size. And then at the four, I'm

888
00:57:43,199 --> 00:57:46,760
hoping they go with more Marshall at
the four minutes alongside Brandon Ingram. I

889
00:57:46,800 --> 00:57:51,320
don't maybe they don't do that so
winning Gabriel can crack it there. I

890
00:57:51,480 --> 00:57:53,320
just I don't think there's much of
a path. But I just I like

891
00:57:53,559 --> 00:57:58,119
him enough as a player still that
I want to at least mention him in

892
00:57:58,199 --> 00:58:01,360
this conversation with it. Like you
said, there's a ton of candidates and

893
00:58:01,480 --> 00:58:07,320
there's also not at the same time
that brings us to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

894
00:58:07,800 --> 00:58:12,039
I'm on fire with the alphabet in
this podcast. That's two consecutive podcasts

895
00:58:12,039 --> 00:58:15,559
in a role where I'm just lights
out with the alphabet. I think this

896
00:58:15,719 --> 00:58:17,440
is one of those teams where you
can go with any sort of candidate.

897
00:58:17,679 --> 00:58:22,039
Anyone who thinks that jermyshe giljis Alexander, I'm writing you off jails. Alexander

898
00:58:22,119 --> 00:58:25,559
is already a star. It's just
he's so good. He's by the way

899
00:58:25,920 --> 00:58:30,000
he would he would have been most
improved player for me last season if he

900
00:58:30,000 --> 00:58:34,400
didn't get injured. Over Julius Randall, over Jeremy Grant, whoever finished the

901
00:58:34,440 --> 00:58:38,079
finalists there. I'm actually going and
I thought about Darius Basley here too,

902
00:58:38,599 --> 00:58:44,800
because he's just He's shown flashes of
so many different things. I'm just we've

903
00:58:44,880 --> 00:58:47,000
yet to see him really put it
together. You could go with, let's

904
00:58:47,000 --> 00:58:51,199
say post Kaschevski if you want,
I'm going to go with ken Rich Williams.

905
00:58:51,800 --> 00:58:54,840
The fact that they didn't bring back
Spee, the fact that they traded,

906
00:58:55,760 --> 00:58:59,760
well, they traded Hamauviato four Steed, but the fact that they didn't

907
00:58:59,760 --> 00:59:04,840
really do any thing in free agency
for real, the fact that they weren't

908
00:59:04,880 --> 00:59:07,679
involved in any salary dumps at this
point. Aside from there was the Keema

909
00:59:07,760 --> 00:59:10,159
Walker Al Horford stuff. But whatever, I think they view him after what

910
00:59:10,199 --> 00:59:14,360
do you get last season as an
actual rotation player at the three and the

911
00:59:14,440 --> 00:59:17,079
four shot threees Well can do some
things with the ball in his hands,

912
00:59:17,079 --> 00:59:21,679
whether it's in transition or in the
half court, and then he just gives

913
00:59:21,719 --> 00:59:25,119
you so much defensive portability. I'm
talking someone who can legitimately defend two,

914
00:59:25,199 --> 00:59:30,440
three or four maybe last year or
sort of this flash in the pan for

915
00:59:30,599 --> 00:59:34,559
him. But I think you know, when you're looking at the three four

916
00:59:35,039 --> 00:59:37,599
rotation, which is very much up
in the air to me, you have

917
00:59:37,719 --> 00:59:40,760
Poku, you have Darius Baisley as
sort of your long term investments there,

918
00:59:42,000 --> 00:59:45,760
and I'm just I'm viewing maybe Ludort's
part of the three or Shay Jose Alexandrews.

919
00:59:45,960 --> 00:59:50,599
So let's say there's three guys,
you have three key pieces when you're

920
00:59:50,639 --> 00:59:53,119
looking at the two, three,
four spots in or four. Let's just

921
00:59:53,199 --> 00:59:59,679
go lu Shay, Poku, and
Darius Baisley like there are that's four guys

922
00:59:59,719 --> 01:00:01,679
for repositions, even though they can
all play a bunch of different areas.

923
01:00:02,280 --> 01:00:06,800
Kendrick Williams is the next most intriguing
guy to me after that, and so

924
01:00:06,880 --> 01:00:12,239
there should be plenty of reps within
him. If I had to guess where

925
01:00:12,280 --> 01:00:15,400
I think he could take a leap, it's with on ball offense. And

926
01:00:15,480 --> 01:00:21,920
I still think this team has the
flexibility to give him more opportunities on the

927
01:00:21,960 --> 01:00:23,639
ball. I know that Shay will
be healthy. I know that they have

928
01:00:23,719 --> 01:00:29,360
Tayo Maladone who could be another pick. They have Josh Giddy pass or extraordinaire

929
01:00:29,639 --> 01:00:31,360
who doesn't even really seem like he
wants to score. To be honest with

930
01:00:31,440 --> 01:00:35,280
you, I just I think there's
more for Kenny. I don't think they'll

931
01:00:35,280 --> 01:00:37,000
feature him, but this is someone
who I think they can even if he

932
01:00:37,000 --> 01:00:39,639
plays the same amount of minutes.
I think we can see just a noticeable

933
01:00:39,760 --> 01:00:45,840
uptick in the you know, just
the overall boundaries of his game. I

934
01:00:45,880 --> 01:00:51,679
think they can be extended everywhere.
And I remain after all these years he's

935
01:00:51,679 --> 01:00:53,079
been kind of this fringe roster guy
in the NBA for a while, it

936
01:00:53,119 --> 01:00:57,280
feels like maybe he's sort of found
a nice long term home or a long

937
01:00:57,440 --> 01:01:00,159
term stock. Maybe he doesn't even
finish the season in Oklahoma's get roll anything

938
01:01:00,199 --> 01:01:05,159
out on that front. I don't
see it yet from Tao Maladon, but

939
01:01:05,400 --> 01:01:08,000
every other candidate I'm totally on board
with. I've liked ken Ridge Williams game

940
01:01:08,079 --> 01:01:12,880
for a long time, would love
to see him continue to expand it.

941
01:01:13,559 --> 01:01:17,039
Darius Baisley probably would have been my
backup selection, but I did go with

942
01:01:17,159 --> 01:01:22,480
Shay here just because while I recognize
that he's already a star, he did

943
01:01:22,599 --> 01:01:25,920
technically qualify for the criteria because he
doesn't have an All Star appearance, and

944
01:01:27,119 --> 01:01:30,480
I am similarly high on him and
think that we're talking about him as an

945
01:01:30,559 --> 01:01:35,280
All NBA candidate by the end of
this season, like the level of growth

946
01:01:35,400 --> 01:01:39,800
he's already shown, just reaping every
benefit possible from playing alongside Chris Paul,

947
01:01:40,239 --> 01:01:45,760
expanding his role and not seeing his
efficiency suffer for it. Stephen Curry and

948
01:01:45,840 --> 01:01:49,400
Kevin Durant are the only other players
last season who average over twenty points and

949
01:01:49,480 --> 01:01:53,039
five assists while shooting as well on
two's fifty four point seven percent and three's

950
01:01:53,119 --> 01:01:57,880
forty one point eight percent. And
you're laughing because you've realized I'm just reading

951
01:01:57,920 --> 01:02:00,920
your article back to you. SGAs
sustained this production, despite more than eighty

952
01:02:01,000 --> 01:02:06,159
seven percent of his made baskets going
unassisted, the highest mark among the four

953
01:02:06,239 --> 01:02:09,199
hundred and thirty nine players to appear
in at least twenty games. His responsibility

954
01:02:09,239 --> 01:02:15,760
on this Thunder team last year was
so ridiculous that as this team gets better

955
01:02:15,920 --> 01:02:20,000
around him, which it's going to
because there are so many breakout candidates that

956
01:02:20,280 --> 01:02:23,119
one of them is going to hit, if not multiple candidates. He is

957
01:02:23,199 --> 01:02:28,480
going to get that recognition next season
in the most Improved Player race, which

958
01:02:28,480 --> 01:02:31,280
he would have been a fixed yere
in had he not gotten hurt last year.

959
01:02:31,719 --> 01:02:35,639
He's going to make an All Star
team. He's going to get All

960
01:02:35,800 --> 01:02:40,639
NBA votes. There's still so much
room for growth here. I'm not going

961
01:02:40,679 --> 01:02:44,880
to argue with you get I think
we've given a nice tug of war or

962
01:02:44,880 --> 01:02:46,840
a nice balance here to where you're
willing to pick the breakouts that might go

963
01:02:47,000 --> 01:02:51,280
from fringe stars or actual stars and
the megastars, and I'm focusing more on

964
01:02:51,400 --> 01:02:53,960
guys that are maybe bursting onto the
team. So I have no arguments.

965
01:02:54,039 --> 01:02:59,119
Che Gelsoxander spectacular. It would not
It would only shock me if he's in

966
01:02:59,119 --> 01:03:02,039
the All NBA conversation because the summer. The summer, the thunder is going

967
01:03:02,079 --> 01:03:06,400
to be so deliberately awful. I
just don't think he's gonna get that type

968
01:03:06,400 --> 01:03:10,280
of recognition. Are they If they're
anywhere near five hundred within twenty games of

969
01:03:10,320 --> 01:03:14,119
the season, Shay Gillissander is getting
shut down for the next half decade.

970
01:03:14,599 --> 01:03:17,079
That's what Sam Presty. I just
don't know that we're going to see it.

971
01:03:17,360 --> 01:03:21,519
They don't do the same extent now
because they have so many picks from

972
01:03:21,559 --> 01:03:22,840
other teams coming in. Yeah,
but the problem is is that all of

973
01:03:22,880 --> 01:03:29,840
a sudden, those rocket picks that
they've they have two years of no rocket

974
01:03:29,920 --> 01:03:32,880
picks, and the Rockets I think
have gotten on an interesting course. The

975
01:03:32,960 --> 01:03:37,280
Clippers next season without Kauai still kind
of a middling playoff team. I think

976
01:03:37,280 --> 01:03:39,960
they still package things together at this
point to move up in the draft.

977
01:03:40,079 --> 01:03:43,880
I think that we're beyond Yeah,
but they couldn't. They could do that

978
01:03:44,000 --> 01:03:45,880
this year off They tried, and
they couldn't do that this year, I

979
01:03:46,000 --> 01:03:50,800
think because they don't have that clear
cut number two guy, and of everyone

980
01:03:50,880 --> 01:03:53,280
we could have mentioned, whether it
was Basley, whether it's Polkachevski, I

981
01:03:53,360 --> 01:03:57,519
mentioned Ken Williams they don't. I
don't even know if they like even Josh

982
01:03:57,559 --> 01:03:59,800
Giddy, I don't know if they
have the option. I don't think they

983
01:03:59,800 --> 01:04:02,800
do, so I my guest would
be no, it won't be as egregious

984
01:04:02,800 --> 01:04:05,280
as it was this past season.
And to be fair, he was dealing

985
01:04:05,280 --> 01:04:10,760
with plant or fascio, which is
just like that, that's a legitimate shutdown.

986
01:04:10,920 --> 01:04:13,679
He didn't play any He didn't play
for Team Canada this year either,

987
01:04:14,119 --> 01:04:16,360
so it was clearly an issue.
But I just don't think they're gonna be

988
01:04:16,360 --> 01:04:20,239
goodenough for him to get that.
I wouldn't surprise he already had the statistical

989
01:04:20,320 --> 01:04:26,800
credentials to enter that conversation, though
your team is the Phoenix Suns. THOUGH

990
01:04:28,320 --> 01:04:33,559
struggled with this one too. I
mckill Bridges was my first instinct, and

991
01:04:33,639 --> 01:04:36,920
I get go with your first instinct, and I get it, but I

992
01:04:38,400 --> 01:04:43,599
didn't see enough during the playoffs where
I really expected him to become an even

993
01:04:43,679 --> 01:04:48,079
more important offensive fixture, and I
just I don't know that we saw that,

994
01:04:48,239 --> 01:04:51,119
and it makes me question what his
role is going to be like on

995
01:04:51,199 --> 01:04:57,360
a team that's largely similar. Cameron
Johnson is another good option. Jaalen Smith

996
01:04:57,480 --> 01:05:00,800
after his summer League. But I
I'm gonna stick with the theme of like

997
01:05:00,960 --> 01:05:05,440
I'm going on the higher trajectory players, I want to go with DeAndre Aden

998
01:05:05,519 --> 01:05:12,480
here. Even though he disappointed in
some games in the playoffs, he showed

999
01:05:12,679 --> 01:05:16,639
a lot more upside than we had
realized with his defensive ability, where all

1000
01:05:16,679 --> 01:05:23,159
of a sudden he was this super
impactful interior defender who could switch out to

1001
01:05:23,199 --> 01:05:27,400
the perimeter and smaller doses, which
is not something that we really expected coming

1002
01:05:27,400 --> 01:05:31,119
out of his rookie season. He
started to show more flashes of a capable

1003
01:05:31,360 --> 01:05:35,239
mid range game, of a consistent
post up game. He was more aggressive

1004
01:05:35,280 --> 01:05:39,880
on the boards. It wasn't consistent. I don't know that it's going to

1005
01:05:39,960 --> 01:05:44,239
be consistent this season, but he
is becoming a bigger part of this core

1006
01:05:44,920 --> 01:05:48,440
than would have been the case this
time last year. And given Chris Paul's

1007
01:05:48,599 --> 01:05:53,360
increasing age, and I know that
Chris Paul is good enough that he could

1008
01:05:53,400 --> 01:05:58,199
be snaking to the opposite elbow and
nailing mid range jumpers well into his seventies,

1009
01:05:58,960 --> 01:06:01,880
I do think it. Given the
postseason success they've already had, they

1010
01:06:02,000 --> 01:06:05,719
know this team is good. Now
that his role is going to decrease a

1011
01:06:05,840 --> 01:06:10,760
little bit, and those opportunities probably
go to Aiden, whether he's finishing and

1012
01:06:10,800 --> 01:06:14,519
picking rolls instead of just serving as
a decoy, are just getting featured more

1013
01:06:14,599 --> 01:06:16,599
in the post. I just I
think that there's a lot more to plumb

1014
01:06:16,679 --> 01:06:20,400
here. Yeah, I don't.
I'm not so old on featuring him more

1015
01:06:20,400 --> 01:06:24,840
outside of the picking roll I just
I didn't see enough of that. He

1016
01:06:25,000 --> 01:06:27,800
is making quicker decisions on offense,
but I think the moment you ask him

1017
01:06:27,800 --> 01:06:30,800
to post up more, maybe face
up more, that might go out the

1018
01:06:30,840 --> 01:06:32,360
window a little bit. I still
he's a very good to be a very

1019
01:06:32,400 --> 01:06:36,119
good player. I'm so much higher
on Michael Bridge's future though, what he

1020
01:06:36,199 --> 01:06:40,519
can do defensively. I think he
had a case to be all defense last

1021
01:06:40,599 --> 01:06:45,280
year. And I think there's more
to plumb with him as well, because

1022
01:06:45,280 --> 01:06:47,440
we've seen him hit dribble into some
triples, not a ton. We've also

1023
01:06:47,480 --> 01:06:53,119
seen him make these passes on the
move. I think they could expand that

1024
01:06:53,239 --> 01:06:56,599
role for him next year because,
and this is a questionable decision in itself,

1025
01:06:57,400 --> 01:06:59,920
there's a They are a team that
went to the finals last year,

1026
01:07:00,679 --> 01:07:04,480
lost four straight to Milwaukee. They
didn't do anything to materially upgrade their roster,

1027
01:07:04,800 --> 01:07:09,280
which is I think it's a missed
opportunity. I know their flexibility was

1028
01:07:09,320 --> 01:07:11,599
limited, but they didn't even use
all of their mid level exception. And

1029
01:07:11,679 --> 01:07:14,719
nobody in the West is running away
with the way with it anymore, and

1030
01:07:14,880 --> 01:07:18,920
so I think they had the ability
to establish themselves as if everyone was always

1031
01:07:18,960 --> 01:07:21,800
going to gravitate towards the Lakers.
It feels like there could have been a

1032
01:07:21,840 --> 01:07:27,199
no brainer, number two option and
that they missed the opportunity to actualize that

1033
01:07:27,400 --> 01:07:29,960
chance. I might still pick them
to come out of the West, but

1034
01:07:30,559 --> 01:07:34,079
they need by doing what they did, or maybe doing what they didn't do,

1035
01:07:34,480 --> 01:07:38,719
you are banking on internal growth.
And when you look at Cam Johnson,

1036
01:07:38,800 --> 01:07:41,000
who I think could get better.
When you look at Jalalen Smith,

1037
01:07:41,039 --> 01:07:43,239
who I think might be able to
play an actual role after what I saw

1038
01:07:43,280 --> 01:07:45,559
from him in the summer League,
when you look at DeAndre Yeah, sure,

1039
01:07:45,800 --> 01:07:50,719
McHale Bridges is the bigger offensive swing
peace to me as a self creator

1040
01:07:50,960 --> 01:07:54,519
or someone who can do more off
the dribble, because I don't think he's

1041
01:07:54,519 --> 01:07:59,039
ever going to hit these really difficult
off the bounds unassisted jumpers. But I

1042
01:07:59,119 --> 01:08:02,320
could really see a scenario which Michael
Bridges is auging four plus assists per game,

1043
01:08:02,440 --> 01:08:05,719
and maybe he's not running conventional pick
and roll. Maybe it's just making

1044
01:08:05,800 --> 01:08:11,079
quick decisions with the ball. Maybe
it's just pumping and driving. We've seen

1045
01:08:11,119 --> 01:08:13,679
it from him, and if you
can rely on that more, that to

1046
01:08:13,800 --> 01:08:15,720
me seems like more of the missing
piece than anything else on this roster.

1047
01:08:16,000 --> 01:08:20,359
Is that bigger wing who can be
featured a little bit more than what mcaal

1048
01:08:20,399 --> 01:08:24,920
Bridges was last season. I think
it'll be easier to find that balance now

1049
01:08:24,960 --> 01:08:28,560
that you have a year of operating
with Devin Booker, Cameron Payte, and

1050
01:08:28,600 --> 01:08:33,239
Chris Paul altogether, But there's still
that usage vacuum on the perimeter, specifically

1051
01:08:34,000 --> 01:08:39,640
on the wings at the three four
spot. I not sold on DeAndre Ayton

1052
01:08:40,039 --> 01:08:44,319
eating up more touches as the center
in what in the capacity that I think

1053
01:08:44,319 --> 01:08:47,439
they would need him too, And
that's I think he's so much further along

1054
01:08:47,479 --> 01:08:51,039
defensively than it is offensively, which
is a compliment because he told me pretty

1055
01:08:51,079 --> 01:08:55,439
good on offense. But I'm still
all on on Michael Bridges and this is

1056
01:08:55,479 --> 01:08:58,680
the first player I think I've picked. Although I defaulted to MPJ with the

1057
01:08:58,760 --> 01:09:01,760
Nuggets after I cheated with Bones Thailand. Of everyone that I've talked about,

1058
01:09:02,239 --> 01:09:05,000
if you told me, not necessarily
next season, but the next couple of

1059
01:09:05,119 --> 01:09:10,600
years, that any of my picks
are going to ascend into All Star territory,

1060
01:09:11,119 --> 01:09:14,439
it would be, and it would
be pretty easily by a fairly substantial

1061
01:09:14,479 --> 01:09:17,760
margin. Based on everyone else that
I've picked, I still feel like I'm

1062
01:09:17,840 --> 01:09:23,439
high on his potential, just less
so than you and I just without the

1063
01:09:23,600 --> 01:09:29,199
changing construction of this team. I
just tend to think that it's Aiden who's

1064
01:09:29,239 --> 01:09:33,720
going to be experimented more with.
Portland is my team, and there are

1065
01:09:33,760 --> 01:09:38,079
only two options here for me.
It's na Year Little or Anthony Simmons.

1066
01:09:38,199 --> 01:09:41,920
Unless you're coming up with someone else, I'm gonna go with this Yer Little

1067
01:09:42,600 --> 01:09:46,000
I Anthony Simons. It seems like
there's a flip that switched, a switch

1068
01:09:46,079 --> 01:09:50,640
that flips every like late March early
April type in the season, like that

1069
01:09:50,760 --> 01:09:54,560
part of the schedule. Since the
schedule has been different, we're just all

1070
01:09:54,560 --> 01:09:57,920
of a sudden starts hitting these off
the double jumpers. I just haven't seen

1071
01:09:58,079 --> 01:10:01,359
him do anything else aside from that, where I just don't think he's good

1072
01:10:02,239 --> 01:10:09,600
I think he's anyone who can hit
those tough jumpers has value. But it's

1073
01:10:10,279 --> 01:10:14,680
it's like it's one dimensional multidimensionality,
if that makes any sense, because he

1074
01:10:14,720 --> 01:10:18,159
can score from different levels, different
ways, but he's also doing it at

1075
01:10:18,199 --> 01:10:23,600
a point in the schedule when like
teams are experimenting or resting players, You've

1076
01:10:23,640 --> 01:10:25,840
seen enough from him to be like, you know what, they should probably

1077
01:10:25,880 --> 01:10:28,880
give him some backup point guard minutes. I think this year, more so

1078
01:10:29,039 --> 01:10:31,199
than any other year, they're probably
counting on him for that, Like you're

1079
01:10:31,239 --> 01:10:35,159
not you have Dennis Smith Junior.
Now, they're very intentionally not bringing in

1080
01:10:35,279 --> 01:10:39,159
players to fill that role. And
they've never done that and I've never done

1081
01:10:39,199 --> 01:10:42,159
that. Yeah, that's just been
something they don't do. Butnsieur Little battled

1082
01:10:42,199 --> 01:10:45,199
injuries, had the COVID stuff last
year. Maybe the front court rotations more

1083
01:10:45,279 --> 01:10:49,239
closed off now that they do.
They did sign Marky's Chris Cody Zeller and

1084
01:10:49,239 --> 01:10:51,920
they traded for Larry Dannis Jr.
Home run acquisition. By the way,

1085
01:10:51,960 --> 01:10:56,479
I love Larry Dana Jr. But
like, if you want to go the

1086
01:10:56,560 --> 01:11:00,239
small ball five route, I think
Little might be better equipped to defend and

1087
01:11:00,279 --> 01:11:04,000
Larry NaN's junior at this point.
He is also just like deceptively when he's

1088
01:11:04,039 --> 01:11:08,920
at full strength, just strong.
It feels like he can throw some guys

1089
01:11:08,960 --> 01:11:11,840
around. So I feel like he
gives you a lot of different options on

1090
01:11:11,920 --> 01:11:15,520
defense. And if he's going to
be a smaller guy who can score off

1091
01:11:15,600 --> 01:11:18,479
catches, I don't want to say
rolling to the basket, but maybe cutting

1092
01:11:18,479 --> 01:11:21,479
to the basket or just being around
the basket making those hustle plays. And

1093
01:11:21,640 --> 01:11:26,520
maybe this is the year where we
see him stay healthy enough to kind of

1094
01:11:26,680 --> 01:11:30,079
establish his no we know him this
year. Little is not going to come

1095
01:11:30,119 --> 01:11:33,239
in and shoot eighty percent on a
bunch of pull up jumpers, but he

1096
01:11:33,279 --> 01:11:36,479
shot thirty five percent from three last
year on one point seven attempts per game.

1097
01:11:38,159 --> 01:11:42,600
Modest volume might be the best way
to frame that. So there still

1098
01:11:42,640 --> 01:11:45,039
seems like there's the bandwidth to play
him. It's smaller now that Larry Nance

1099
01:11:45,159 --> 01:11:48,000
Jr. Is there, And when
you look at the makeup of the backcourt,

1100
01:11:48,920 --> 01:11:51,359
I think you could argue, well, there's more of a runway for

1101
01:11:51,399 --> 01:11:55,439
Simons, even if you want to
play Norman Powell as your day facto backup

1102
01:11:55,560 --> 01:12:00,640
one, just because you have Pawell
mccolluman Lillard across three positions, like there's

1103
01:12:00,680 --> 01:12:03,520
just going to be inherently more minutes
opening up there. And when you look

1104
01:12:03,520 --> 01:12:06,560
at the other options, where it's
a Ben mackamore, a Tony Snell,

1105
01:12:08,119 --> 01:12:11,479
like there's just there's going to be
more minutes open for Simon's I think than

1106
01:12:11,560 --> 01:12:14,560
to see your little well because of
his defensive value, if he can hit

1107
01:12:14,680 --> 01:12:16,479
enough of his threes and then again
make those hustle plays around the rim,

1108
01:12:17,199 --> 01:12:21,960
I still remain kind of intrigued by
his future in the league. So I

1109
01:12:23,039 --> 01:12:28,119
broke the rules and went with Damian
Lillard here, oh ustauss broke out as

1110
01:12:28,439 --> 01:12:32,479
left Portland or another city that was
a good good in the moment comeback.

1111
01:12:33,680 --> 01:12:36,760
No, I mean, obviously I'm
not picking Damian Lillard. I also picked

1112
01:12:36,880 --> 01:12:42,439
the sire little. He only exceeded
twenty minutes in a game nine times this

1113
01:12:42,520 --> 01:12:45,239
past season. He averaged ten point
eight points per game in those games.

1114
01:12:45,720 --> 01:12:48,880
He still has a lot of room
to grow as a havoc wreaking defender.

1115
01:12:49,479 --> 01:12:54,840
The deflections just haven't been there,
which could partially be because of the illness

1116
01:12:54,880 --> 01:12:59,039
and injuries last season, or because
he's still getting used to defensive rotations.

1117
01:12:59,079 --> 01:13:01,239
In the NBA, he hasn't really
been featured much as a slasher, but

1118
01:13:01,279 --> 01:13:05,079
those are the two areas that he
really excelled at in college, and those

1119
01:13:05,119 --> 01:13:09,960
were expected to be his primary strengths
coming into the NBA. So the fact

1120
01:13:10,039 --> 01:13:14,399
that there should be room for growth
there and he's already contributing in other unexpected

1121
01:13:14,479 --> 01:13:17,359
areas means that there's something more there. I also think it matters that per

1122
01:13:17,399 --> 01:13:21,920
the athletics Jason Quick, he didn't
participate in summer League because the coaching staff

1123
01:13:23,000 --> 01:13:27,079
didn't think he needed to, and
that's enough of a vote of confidence that

1124
01:13:27,199 --> 01:13:30,640
I think he's going to play a
significant role in this rotation, and if

1125
01:13:30,640 --> 01:13:34,479
he does with minutes, he has
a chance to be very productive. Yeah,

1126
01:13:34,479 --> 01:13:38,439
I think the only question there is
how what's the extent of that opportunity

1127
01:13:38,439 --> 01:13:41,079
after the Larry Dad shoot your trade. I guess you can count on use

1128
01:13:41,119 --> 01:13:45,680
of marriage being not healthy enough that
they'll will be pockets of playing time available

1129
01:13:45,720 --> 01:13:49,279
somewhere. But yeah, for sure, we're on too. The Sacramento Kings,

1130
01:13:49,319 --> 01:13:51,960
though, and they are nailing the
alphabet. I'm really proud of you.

1131
01:13:53,720 --> 01:13:55,720
I think it's because of all the
time you spent with my toddler.

1132
01:13:56,800 --> 01:13:58,880
It helped you move in the right
direction. Yeah, because I had to

1133
01:13:58,880 --> 01:14:00,359
look up all the letters, because
he is naming all the dinosaurs that I

1134
01:14:00,439 --> 01:14:05,439
can't pronounce exactly. I'm hoping I
know who you picked here so that I

1135
01:14:05,479 --> 01:14:11,119
don't feel compelled to pick him.
Good Please carry on, I this might

1136
01:14:11,239 --> 01:14:15,760
just be wishful thinking on this one. I'm going with Robert Woodard, so

1137
01:14:17,000 --> 01:14:21,159
very quick aside, because this podcast
is already too bold. You picked shake

1138
01:14:21,239 --> 01:14:28,319
Yo, just how example, Michael, and you're not picking and I'm not

1139
01:14:28,359 --> 01:14:33,520
picking Aron Fox. Carry on.
I think that Fox's reputation has advanced a

1140
01:14:33,600 --> 01:14:39,000
little bit beyond the others. That's
part of it. Yeah, because Michael

1141
01:14:39,039 --> 01:14:42,119
Porter Jr. And SGA are basically
unknowns. I get it. I'm not

1142
01:14:42,159 --> 01:14:46,039
saying they're unknowns, but Fox is
like already viewed as that guy on his

1143
01:14:46,159 --> 01:14:50,159
team. Let the record reflect that, based off Adam's criteria, someone should

1144
01:14:50,199 --> 01:14:54,439
pick Daron Fox. I'm not going
to because I am so high on the

1145
01:14:54,479 --> 01:14:59,560
Aaron Fox already. And I wrote
an extensive piece about Breakout I wrote an

1146
01:14:59,600 --> 01:15:02,079
extensive piece about Breakout Stars for next
year. And I know Darren Fox still

1147
01:15:02,159 --> 01:15:05,960
has the jumper element of his game
to figure out. He hit enough step

1148
01:15:06,039 --> 01:15:11,039
back junker step back jumpers. Some
of them might have been junkers. He

1149
01:15:11,159 --> 01:15:15,079
hit enough of those step backs just
to make me believe that this is the

1150
01:15:15,279 --> 01:15:19,600
guy. So Darren Fox has graduated
from this conversation. For me, Adam

1151
01:15:19,680 --> 01:15:25,399
is very inconsistent. I'm super inconsistent, and that's fine, just like Darren

1152
01:15:25,439 --> 01:15:30,680
Foxes jumper woodard is. It's definitely
just optimistic thinking on my part. But

1153
01:15:30,840 --> 01:15:34,880
I just loved him so much as
a prospect, like legitimately thought that he

1154
01:15:34,920 --> 01:15:39,760
should have gotten top twenty attention because
of his three D up side. He

1155
01:15:39,880 --> 01:15:43,479
only played forty five minutes as a
rookie, but those traits haven't gone away.

1156
01:15:43,800 --> 01:15:46,279
He's still really long and really athletic
with a quick first step. He

1157
01:15:46,399 --> 01:15:50,239
finishes well around the basket. He's
a good spot up shooter. He's comfortable

1158
01:15:50,319 --> 01:15:55,000
taking mid range jumpers, mostly of
the spot up variety, not really great

1159
01:15:55,039 --> 01:15:59,479
off the bounce. He has remarkable
lateral quickness. He's comfortable defending and one

1160
01:15:59,520 --> 01:16:02,479
on one situations and off the ball. He causes a lot of disruptive plays.

1161
01:16:03,079 --> 01:16:05,800
He knows what his role is and
he's willing to thrive within it.

1162
01:16:05,880 --> 01:16:11,359
I just loved this guy as a
prospect, and I don't think that Sacramento

1163
01:16:11,520 --> 01:16:15,000
is there yet. So I would
love to see experimentation to the point that

1164
01:16:15,079 --> 01:16:19,000
you're giving him more than forty five
minutes in a season and allowing him to

1165
01:16:19,079 --> 01:16:23,279
become a legitimate, high end part
of a rotation, because I think that

1166
01:16:23,359 --> 01:16:28,399
that's what he can become. Do
you know that it's a very unlikely pick,

1167
01:16:29,319 --> 01:16:32,239
but I'm just I'm still so high
on him as a prospect, which

1168
01:16:32,279 --> 01:16:35,600
he still is because again, only
forty five minutes as a rookie not a

1169
01:16:35,640 --> 01:16:40,760
bad team, obviously, there's nowhere
to go but up essentially for his minutes.

1170
01:16:40,880 --> 01:16:43,960
But do you think that the opportunity
will be there for him to actually

1171
01:16:44,000 --> 01:16:47,359
get those minutes this season if they
aren't good and start to make trades.

1172
01:16:48,359 --> 01:16:53,119
Yeah, I think so, because
is Buddy Healed going to finish the season

1173
01:16:53,520 --> 01:16:56,520
on the roster? Is Harrison Barn's
going to finish the season on the roster

1174
01:16:57,079 --> 01:17:00,960
If this isn't a playoff contender,
I would argue no, which means that

1175
01:17:00,039 --> 01:17:05,880
you're going to end up giving minutes
to youngsters. I mean that is that

1176
01:17:06,039 --> 01:17:13,399
is fair enough. So my pick
is I should pick for Shaun Holmes because

1177
01:17:13,399 --> 01:17:16,399
clearly, based off what happened in
free agency, people are not aware of

1178
01:17:16,520 --> 01:17:20,199
how good that Rashawn Holmes is and
it makes me incredibly sad. I would

1179
01:17:20,239 --> 01:17:26,159
just like to state, however,
I'm going with Tyris Haliburton because I think

1180
01:17:26,199 --> 01:17:31,039
people probably think he's low floor,
I mean high floor, low ceiling.

1181
01:17:31,479 --> 01:17:34,239
I think he's high floor, high
ceiling. I don't know if he'll ever

1182
01:17:34,319 --> 01:17:40,079
have like the rock explosive from scratch
creation. I'm fully believed that he can

1183
01:17:40,159 --> 01:17:43,199
run an offense and the fact that
he could do it efficiently but also play

1184
01:17:43,239 --> 01:17:45,520
off the ball, also be disruptive
on defense, get the flexion, hold

1185
01:17:45,560 --> 01:17:49,239
his own and one on one not
ball watch being the right place on rotations.

1186
01:17:49,479 --> 01:17:54,039
Showed all of this as a rookie, and so this is this is

1187
01:17:54,119 --> 01:17:56,920
mind willing to me. And I
know that some of these are cherry picked,

1188
01:17:57,319 --> 01:18:01,960
but the last rookie to match Aaron
excuse me, Tyris Haliburton's assist percentage,

1189
01:18:02,319 --> 01:18:08,359
steal percentage, block percentage, and
true shooting percentage. There was one.

1190
01:18:09,000 --> 01:18:12,600
It's only happened one time in NBA
history. Can you guess which player

1191
01:18:12,720 --> 01:18:15,119
that is. I thought we were
going towards Chris Paul until you said block

1192
01:18:15,199 --> 01:18:23,199
percentage, Michael fucking Jordan. I
know, I know, I cherry picked

1193
01:18:23,199 --> 01:18:27,319
those in the sense that there's no
like real bench marks. I'm just looking

1194
01:18:27,359 --> 01:18:31,039
at what Tyri's Haliburton posted. But
the only other rookie in NBA history to

1195
01:18:31,199 --> 01:18:36,119
match his assist, steel, block
and true shooting percentages was Michael Jordan.

1196
01:18:36,840 --> 01:18:40,439
Do I even need to say anything
else? Can I rest my case there?

1197
01:18:42,479 --> 01:18:46,479
I guess he had a pretty good
career. Look, I think there's

1198
01:18:46,560 --> 01:18:49,239
room for him to grow grow on
the Kings because they haven't done anything to

1199
01:18:49,239 --> 01:18:53,520
the roster that's like, oh,
his role might be diluted. I know

1200
01:18:54,039 --> 01:18:57,439
davey on Mitchell's there. I think
what's a I would amit an exception if

1201
01:18:57,479 --> 01:19:00,199
you picked him, by the way, because he's just so fun. On

1202
01:19:00,239 --> 01:19:03,479
Mitchell, I've said this before about
him wears other people's skin as decoration.

1203
01:19:03,800 --> 01:19:09,199
But I do think that they're more
If anything, having Davion Mitchell either makes

1204
01:19:09,239 --> 01:19:12,359
it more likely that Buddy heals minutes
get squeezed because they play a lot of

1205
01:19:12,359 --> 01:19:15,960
three guard lineups, or just more
they're more inclined to move Buddy Healed,

1206
01:19:15,039 --> 01:19:18,399
which clearly it seems like they are
given what almost happened with the Lakers.

1207
01:19:18,800 --> 01:19:23,560
So Tyrus Aliberton really good. I
would assume it'll only get better if you're

1208
01:19:23,600 --> 01:19:26,000
looking for the part of his game
where there's the most area for growth.

1209
01:19:26,640 --> 01:19:30,479
I think you can look at will
they give him more solo time as the

1210
01:19:30,520 --> 01:19:35,319
point of attack facilitator or can he
just show more from scratch square one shot

1211
01:19:35,399 --> 01:19:39,960
making and there were hints of it
last year, like he disarmed defenders,

1212
01:19:40,279 --> 01:19:43,880
shook a few of them, hit
some stepbacks, got around them out of

1213
01:19:43,880 --> 01:19:46,159
his sheer guile rather than you know, he's not like the most He's not

1214
01:19:46,239 --> 01:19:50,279
wearing a jet pack on his heels. But I love Tyres Haliburton. What

1215
01:19:50,439 --> 01:19:54,680
a fantastic pick up by the Kings
in the twenty twenty draft. I fully

1216
01:19:54,720 --> 01:20:01,439
expect him to ascend eventually into or
around All Star territory. He joins Janisan

1217
01:20:01,520 --> 01:20:05,640
Dan Kompo as they draft what could
have been for the Atlanta Hawks. The

1218
01:20:05,720 --> 01:20:09,159
fact that the Knicks didn't take him, or even the Sons. I know

1219
01:20:09,279 --> 01:20:12,960
people, the Sons, the Big
Nicks not taking him was the most egregious

1220
01:20:13,000 --> 01:20:15,319
one. They overthought it because it's
like, hey, you haven't had a

1221
01:20:15,479 --> 01:20:20,680
guard with skills on offense and forever
to build around. Stop overthinking it.

1222
01:20:20,840 --> 01:20:26,920
Take Shay Gil just Alexander, Take
Tyris Haliburton, but they have a manual

1223
01:20:27,039 --> 01:20:30,079
quickly. Tyris Haliburton to me,
is going to be way better. Yes,

1224
01:20:30,479 --> 01:20:35,079
which brings us to the San Antonio
Spurs. It's super tempting to go

1225
01:20:35,279 --> 01:20:41,760
with Dejante Murray, Derek White,
Devin Vassell because Demarta Rosen is now in

1226
01:20:41,800 --> 01:20:45,479
the Chicago Bulls. This is the
most we've seen the San Antonio Spurs embrace

1227
01:20:45,600 --> 01:20:49,760
more of a youth movement. Those
seem like the prominent pieces to get featured.

1228
01:20:50,079 --> 01:20:56,239
I'm still going with Kelton Johnson here. I saw Nicias Duncan compare him

1229
01:20:56,279 --> 01:21:00,520
to Gerald Wallace once and I just
can't unsee it the way that he plays

1230
01:21:00,560 --> 01:21:03,239
with that reckless abandon. You know, Gerald Wallace was nicknamed crash. Kelton

1231
01:21:03,319 --> 01:21:06,800
Johnson might as well. Like he
just does not have an off switch.

1232
01:21:08,159 --> 01:21:12,319
He loves playing off the ball.
It seems where he thrives as a slasher.

1233
01:21:12,600 --> 01:21:16,079
He always attacks the basket. There's
a developing pull up game, and

1234
01:21:16,279 --> 01:21:19,439
beyond that, He's coming off a
summer that he spent with Team USA as

1235
01:21:19,479 --> 01:21:23,600
one of the young guys who got
to learn from all the stars around him.

1236
01:21:24,039 --> 01:21:28,359
Typically we see big strides made from
those players because it is not every

1237
01:21:28,439 --> 01:21:31,720
day that you get to spend that
amount of quality time in a competitive situation

1238
01:21:31,840 --> 01:21:36,760
with players of that caliber. So
it all lines up for Kelton Johnson becoming

1239
01:21:36,840 --> 01:21:41,600
like the guy on this team.
For me, yeah, I think you

1240
01:21:41,640 --> 01:21:43,760
can go a number of routs there. I don't have anything to add on

1241
01:21:43,800 --> 01:21:46,720
me Kelton Johnson front, and he
was ultimately my pick looking at the rest

1242
01:21:46,760 --> 01:21:50,039
of the roster, though I came
very close to picking Trey Jones, more

1243
01:21:50,079 --> 01:21:54,239
so than I thought I ever would
have, based off what he did in

1244
01:21:54,319 --> 01:21:59,199
Summer League. I also think while
they are more established players, that you

1245
01:21:59,279 --> 01:22:02,119
could go with their Eric White or
de Jontay Murray in the sense that the

1246
01:22:02,239 --> 01:22:08,479
fact the Spurs weren't more interested in
bringing Jamardrosen back without entering a hole on

1247
01:22:08,560 --> 01:22:12,079
rebuild because I don't think they're there
yet, they've definitely skewed that direction.

1248
01:22:12,840 --> 01:22:15,960
I do think it shows more trust
in their ability to run an offense.

1249
01:22:16,439 --> 01:22:19,239
I'm just more intrigued, but I
think we've just we know what Jona Murray

1250
01:22:19,359 --> 01:22:21,840
is, we know what Derek White
is when he's healthy, and I don't

1251
01:22:21,880 --> 01:22:26,680
know how much of an extra gear
they're going to hit, Whereas with Kelton

1252
01:22:26,720 --> 01:22:30,079
Johnson you kind of outlined it.
If the three pointers starts to fall a

1253
01:22:30,119 --> 01:22:33,319
little bit frequently, if those off
the bounce jumpers can hit a little bit,

1254
01:22:34,279 --> 01:22:39,560
he ends up being like probably the
second best cornerstone, if not the

1255
01:22:39,680 --> 01:22:43,359
most important cornerstone on this team.
So yeah, he's the pick for me.

1256
01:22:43,399 --> 01:22:45,359
I think you could go with Devin
Fassel too. I don't think they're

1257
01:22:45,359 --> 01:22:47,359
gonna give me on ball opportunity.
I think he just plays more minutes and

1258
01:22:47,439 --> 01:22:50,960
maybe we're looking at him as just
like a you know, a three a

1259
01:22:51,039 --> 01:22:55,399
D guy, which is fine.
I just don't know how high Kelton Johnson

1260
01:22:55,439 --> 01:23:00,840
seems to have the higher ceiling both
enroll an actual ceiling. You could probably

1261
01:23:00,880 --> 01:23:02,159
go with Jako Pearle here too,
if you really wanted to, based on

1262
01:23:02,199 --> 01:23:06,199
the rim protection. But absolutely,
I think you could also go with Zach

1263
01:23:06,239 --> 01:23:10,239
Collins if you think he's gonna be
healthy enough to play. So you can't

1264
01:23:10,279 --> 01:23:13,680
go with Zach Collins. Wow,
that was rue, but I if I

1265
01:23:13,760 --> 01:23:15,920
didn't pick Kelvin Johnson, I'm not
gonna lie. I would have went with

1266
01:23:16,039 --> 01:23:21,479
Trey Jones, who he really He
showed a lot at Summer League, so

1267
01:23:23,720 --> 01:23:26,239
I think that that's someone if they
were you know, I don't know how

1268
01:23:26,319 --> 01:23:29,399
married they are to giving Josh Primo
minutes right away because he's so young,

1269
01:23:29,920 --> 01:23:32,760
and they did sign Bryn Forbes,
but for guard play, I'm really hoping

1270
01:23:32,800 --> 01:23:36,079
we get to see someone with Trey
Jones next year. I also wouldn't really

1271
01:23:36,159 --> 01:23:44,159
hate a Keita Bates job pick.
Really, you know, there's an opportunity

1272
01:23:44,239 --> 01:23:48,239
there now he has. His shot
has never really translated to the NBA level,

1273
01:23:48,560 --> 01:23:53,239
but I think that his effort level
plays well in San Antonio and that

1274
01:23:53,319 --> 01:23:58,359
there is more on offense than we've
seen so far. The final team was

1275
01:23:58,439 --> 01:24:02,359
the toughest team for me. I
wanted to break the rule, actively break

1276
01:24:02,399 --> 01:24:05,840
the rule, like on purpose,
as opposed to accidentally breaking the rule with

1277
01:24:05,880 --> 01:24:11,319
Bones Island and pick Jared Butler.
I'm not gonna do that because I honestly

1278
01:24:11,319 --> 01:24:15,479
don't know what type of an opportunity
he'll get there. I will say getting

1279
01:24:15,640 --> 01:24:18,439
him at number forty I think has
the potential long term to be the steal

1280
01:24:18,479 --> 01:24:21,000
of the draft. If they're able
to feel if he's able to stay healthy,

1281
01:24:21,359 --> 01:24:25,520
and if they actually fit him into
the rotation, I'm going to go

1282
01:24:25,680 --> 01:24:30,079
with Eric Paschcal here. I think
that getting him and getting Rudy Gay shows

1283
01:24:30,199 --> 01:24:33,920
that for the minutes Ruego bears on
the bench, you may see a lot

1284
01:24:33,920 --> 01:24:39,800
of Hassan Whiteside in certain matchups,
but Utah does feel a little bit more

1285
01:24:39,920 --> 01:24:43,720
willing to go small, and maybe
they'll do that by playing Gay and Paschcal

1286
01:24:43,760 --> 01:24:48,079
at the same time. A lot
in second unit heavy lineups with Pascal gives

1287
01:24:48,119 --> 01:24:50,840
you a lot of different shot creation
With the ball in his hands, he

1288
01:24:50,960 --> 01:24:54,720
wants to get to the mid range, take those baby jumpers. He'll do

1289
01:24:54,840 --> 01:24:57,840
some stuff in the post. I
don't know if you want him playing and

1290
01:24:57,920 --> 01:25:00,119
defending the five. I would argue
you probably, but he is kind of

1291
01:25:00,159 --> 01:25:03,840
girthy enough to defend fours and fives. And if he's someone that you look

1292
01:25:03,920 --> 01:25:10,880
at and you just look at the
shot quality that the Jazz generate for their

1293
01:25:11,560 --> 01:25:14,680
their players, and I would say
not named Donovan Mitchell, since he's tasked

1294
01:25:14,720 --> 01:25:17,079
with so much square one shot making, it would not surprise me if we

1295
01:25:17,159 --> 01:25:23,159
see Pascal's three point volume and percentage
go up, I don't expect him to

1296
01:25:23,159 --> 01:25:26,560
play a major role. He averaged
seventeen point four minutes and forty appearances with

1297
01:25:26,600 --> 01:25:29,640
the Warriors last year. I would
take the under on those minutes. I

1298
01:25:29,680 --> 01:25:31,920
don't really know what to do with
the appearances. Part of that. They

1299
01:25:32,039 --> 01:25:36,439
just have so few candidates because they
are they might be the most established team

1300
01:25:36,640 --> 01:25:42,359
in all of basketball, which is
a testament to how actually good they are.

1301
01:25:42,520 --> 01:25:45,439
I think if you forced me to
pick which team is gonna have the

1302
01:25:45,479 --> 01:25:48,920
best regular season record right now,
I'm going with the Jazz again. They're

1303
01:25:49,000 --> 01:25:55,920
just built that way, and I
totally think that you should. This was

1304
01:25:55,960 --> 01:25:59,199
a really hard one because I don't
really see that much of a path to

1305
01:25:59,319 --> 01:26:04,199
playing time for Pascal. That's the
only concern I have there, even though

1306
01:26:04,279 --> 01:26:09,760
he is a player that I have
thought can thrive in an off the bench

1307
01:26:09,880 --> 01:26:15,399
role as that energy, offensive spark
for a while. Royce O'Neil is another

1308
01:26:15,479 --> 01:26:16,680
guy I looked at, but I
don't know how much we're going to see

1309
01:26:16,760 --> 01:26:19,880
him make a jump. So I
had to go with a deep cut here

1310
01:26:20,000 --> 01:26:26,039
and went with Udoka Azabuki because he
can play over us on light side.

1311
01:26:27,039 --> 01:26:30,000
I'm getting there. So he only
played fifty seven minutes as a rookie,

1312
01:26:30,359 --> 01:26:35,840
which surprised me because that pick to
me in the twenty twenty draft really screamed,

1313
01:26:36,439 --> 01:26:44,000
we want a Rudy Gay Simulacrum off
the bench because he's not as good

1314
01:26:44,159 --> 01:26:46,319
as Rudy Gobert on the defensive end. Let's make that perfectly clear. The

1315
01:26:46,439 --> 01:26:50,119
way that he plays is a little
bit similar, where he has so much

1316
01:26:50,239 --> 01:26:55,479
length around the rim. He's a
great rim protecting option. He's comfortable funneling

1317
01:26:55,560 --> 01:27:00,560
guys toward him. He's competent enough
defending on the perimeter because he can recover

1318
01:27:00,680 --> 01:27:04,039
well. It seemed really similar to
the way that Gobert plays defense. But

1319
01:27:04,199 --> 01:27:09,800
Derrick Favors was there, So Derrick
Favors is no longer there. Hassan Whiteside

1320
01:27:10,039 --> 01:27:15,439
is how quickly, and I do
think that signing can work if Hassan Whiteside

1321
01:27:15,720 --> 01:27:18,319
embraces that kind of role, learns
from Gobert, who is by far the

1322
01:27:18,399 --> 01:27:23,439
best defensive big he's played with to
this point in his career. But there

1323
01:27:23,680 --> 01:27:30,680
is a realistic scenario in which Whiteside
isn't playable because much like in other locations.

1324
01:27:30,800 --> 01:27:33,319
He doesn't have the discipline, he
may not stay healthy, whatever the

1325
01:27:33,399 --> 01:27:36,319
case may be, there is a
path to him not being in the rotation,

1326
01:27:36,880 --> 01:27:42,800
and Ozabuki can fill that role.
So I don't think it's likely.

1327
01:27:42,920 --> 01:27:45,520
But on a team where I just
didn't feel like there was an option,

1328
01:27:46,760 --> 01:27:49,920
I felt comfortable going that route.
It would be wild if they just decided

1329
01:27:49,960 --> 01:27:54,560
to put the ball on Royce O'Neill's
hands more on offense before then they tried

1330
01:27:54,640 --> 01:27:59,560
that before Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson
were really there two let's say, varying

1331
01:28:00,119 --> 01:28:03,680
effect, and it really just wasn't
that great. I just think he's already

1332
01:28:03,760 --> 01:28:06,319
too good to be a breakout candidate. We know what he is on defense

1333
01:28:06,359 --> 01:28:11,319
and he just really fills look the
crevices nicely on offense. That's an interesting

1334
01:28:11,359 --> 01:28:14,239
angle with as a bookie, and
I guess what you could say one you

1335
01:28:14,359 --> 01:28:18,640
can't the song White signing was objectively
good. It was, but he isn't

1336
01:28:18,680 --> 01:28:23,560
guaranteed to go well well and no, here's so what you made an interesting

1337
01:28:23,600 --> 01:28:27,520
point is that there are second units. I would say with increasing frequency,

1338
01:28:27,920 --> 01:28:30,239
there are more second units. Is
the best way to frame it that are

1339
01:28:30,279 --> 01:28:32,319
downsizing. Maybe they don't downsize and
they're starting line up, they're downsizing in

1340
01:28:32,359 --> 01:28:35,640
their second unit. A sun Whiteside
can't play during those minutes. If you

1341
01:28:35,720 --> 01:28:40,520
think, as a bookie is more
likely to do that, I would argue

1342
01:28:40,800 --> 01:28:43,680
I was making that same argument basically
with Pascal and Gay, where I think

1343
01:28:43,720 --> 01:28:45,560
that maybe that at your front court, because they're gonna go up against a

1344
01:28:45,600 --> 01:28:49,720
lot of pocket sized lineups in the
in the second unit. But that's an

1345
01:28:49,760 --> 01:28:54,039
interesting way to frame it, and
I almost would argue had had a sound

1346
01:28:54,039 --> 01:28:57,119
Whiteside cost any more than the minimum, which for the jazz, he really

1347
01:28:57,159 --> 01:28:59,680
couldn't have. When you unless they
were going to use their non tax payersman

1348
01:28:59,760 --> 01:29:01,279
level on him, excumeing their taxplayer
has been level on him, which they

1349
01:29:01,279 --> 01:29:06,680
didn't, I might have like I
might prefer to take some swings behind Gobert

1350
01:29:08,039 --> 01:29:11,960
because he plays so many minutes and
it's so guaranteed anyway, rather than going

1351
01:29:12,039 --> 01:29:14,359
with more of the known with Whiteside, there's value in that. Why not

1352
01:29:14,520 --> 01:29:16,600
take a chance as a bookie,
or what I was saying with just see

1353
01:29:16,640 --> 01:29:19,439
what happens with the Gay past gal
minutes, which is in part why I

1354
01:29:19,439 --> 01:29:23,800
went with Eric Pascal there I do. The way you're friended as a booky's

1355
01:29:23,800 --> 01:29:27,600
super interesting though, and there's you
know, could you have picked anyone aside

1356
01:29:27,640 --> 01:29:34,560
from as a bookie or Pash Gallen
is maybe O'Neill because of how you mentioned

1357
01:29:34,680 --> 01:29:40,760
Yeah, only if they're trying to
experiment like Quinn. Snyder hasn't really messed

1358
01:29:40,800 --> 01:29:45,079
around with schemes like we've seen an
Eric Spoelstra do during the regular season if

1359
01:29:45,119 --> 01:29:48,239
he decided to, because he knows
how good this team is and how it

1360
01:29:48,319 --> 01:29:54,319
can just out talent its way to
a playoff birth regardless of what it's doing

1361
01:29:54,600 --> 01:30:00,239
schematically. There is a scenario I
can see in which O'Neill is a did

1362
01:30:00,319 --> 01:30:03,880
more ball handling opportunities and gets to
see if he can expand his role.

1363
01:30:05,760 --> 01:30:09,880
But you'll notice I didn't pick him
because I don't think it's going to happen.

1364
01:30:10,319 --> 01:30:13,720
Yeah, I just I think one
would be the third best guy,

1365
01:30:13,760 --> 01:30:16,239
and I won't even pick him just
because I think I'd rather see them just

1366
01:30:16,359 --> 01:30:19,720
go all in on Jared Butler as
a rookie event than with him. This

1367
01:30:19,960 --> 01:30:23,800
was a great podcast. We had
a lot of fun with it. We

1368
01:30:23,920 --> 01:30:27,560
love these doing these types of exercises
where we do something and go through every

1369
01:30:27,720 --> 01:30:30,479
NBA team. If you have not
already, please please pretty please remember to

1370
01:30:30,600 --> 01:30:34,479
rate, review and subscribe to hardwor
Knox on iTunes even if you don't use

1371
01:30:34,520 --> 01:30:38,880
it. Even if you don't use
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1372
01:30:39,039 --> 01:30:41,119
Throw us a fire, start rating
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1373
01:30:41,159 --> 01:30:45,119
ton. Please subscribe to our podcast
wherever you get your podcast though, download

1374
01:30:45,760 --> 01:30:48,119
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1375
01:30:48,199 --> 01:30:54,039
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1376
01:30:54,800 --> 01:30:57,800
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1377
01:30:57,800 --> 01:31:00,319
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01:31:00,359 --> 01:31:05,039
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1379
01:31:05,159 --> 01:31:10,760
on Instagram at Hardwood Underscore Knox.
We're on TikTok at Hardwood Knox. Until

1380
01:31:10,800 --> 01:31:14,680
next time, we with the shout
out to the one the only the breakout

1381
01:31:14,760 --> 01:31:17,159
candidate for the Los Angeles Lakers,
because he currently doesn't have a team,

1382
01:31:17,199 --> 01:31:21,279
the Lakers don't have a good amount
of breakout candidate options. Frankie Lakina