Speaker 1: Your afternoon dry just got a little better. Well that's
Speaker 1: the hope at least. Now back to in the zone
Speaker 1: with Brandon Kravitz. Let's keep the NBA talk rolling.
Speaker 2: Bring it on my good pal Nick Whalen, NBA analysts,
Speaker 2: among other things, over at rodawire dot com. You can
Speaker 2: also catch him on prop Points every weekday from two
Speaker 2: to three pm on Vson, the sports betting network. Nick
Speaker 2: was gracious enough to have me as a co host
Speaker 2: for a week plus a ton of fun.
Speaker 1: Nick.
Speaker 2: I had a blast, and I don't know, maybe Nick
Speaker 2: didn't have as much fun. We'll let's see if we
Speaker 2: can reconnect with Nick. I have a feeling that might
Speaker 2: have been on us all right, Oh yeah, oh Tyler.
Speaker 1: Tyler's giving me the old thumbs up. Okay, double thumbs up.
Speaker 1: What's up? Nick? I don't know if you've heard any
Speaker 1: of that.
Speaker 3: What's going on? What's going on?
Speaker 1: We're good, We're good, We're all set.
Speaker 3: I don't know who's responsible for this, but bottom line is,
Speaker 3: I'm on, let's talk.
Speaker 2: Nix like I'm a TV superstar now. Will not be uh,
Speaker 2: we will not be told around like this. So we
Speaker 2: we got a chance on Visan to chat about the
Speaker 2: Desmond Bayne News early in the week. This was a
Speaker 2: couple of days after it happened, and so it really
Speaker 2: kicked things off for us, all part of what seems
Speaker 2: to be the ever changing landscape of the current NBA.
Speaker 2: To me, this has to be the most fascinating that
Speaker 2: this league has been in years heading into an off season,
Speaker 2: between the old guard phasing out, the new guard coming
Speaker 2: into their own, we don't know who's gonna pop and
Speaker 2: who's not, all the injury question marks in the Eastern
Speaker 2: Conference and the second apron shortening these windows. Are you
Speaker 2: with me on this that this feels like perhaps the
Speaker 2: toughest read of where exactly we are in the NBA
Speaker 2: that we've seen in years.
Speaker 3: I think that's accurate. I think it is Brandon, particularly
Speaker 3: in the Eastern Conference, where you know, we know the
Speaker 3: East has always been the weaker conference. You know, basically
Speaker 3: for as long as I followed the NBA, there's been
Speaker 3: a power struggle in the West where you go into
Speaker 3: every year and it feels like twelve or thirteen teams
Speaker 3: think they're making the playoffs, and in the East it's like,
Speaker 3: all right, there's like maybe four or five teams that
Speaker 3: we think are contending for the title. The East is
Speaker 3: as wide open as I can remember any conference being.
Speaker 3: You know, I think Cleveland is a great example. They're
Speaker 3: favored right now to win the Eastern Conference, and they're
Speaker 3: coming off of a really disappointing playoff run in which
Speaker 3: this great regular season felt like it didn't matter. Right,
Speaker 3: they fizzle out in round two. And I think in
Speaker 3: a typical off season, there would be a reaction to that, right,
Speaker 3: You'd be scrambling. If you're the cap, You're thinking of
Speaker 3: what do we have to change? You know, who do
Speaker 3: we have to keep up with in the Eastern Conference?
Speaker 3: And instead, all of a sudden, you're still the favorite.
Speaker 3: You're the incumbent because of the Jason Tatum injury in Boston,
Speaker 3: the salary cap catching up to the Celtics, to Alburn
Speaker 3: expected to miss most about all the next season. Damian
Speaker 3: Lillard of course in the same boat in Milwaukee. And
Speaker 3: you know, I think the other thing is just broadly
Speaker 3: brand and we've moved out of the super team era.
Speaker 1: Right.
Speaker 3: It felt like for the entire previous decade like there
Speaker 3: was at least one Kingkin team in each conference, right,
Speaker 3: you know, for a while, it was who's going to
Speaker 3: knock off the Miami Heat or basically whatever team Lebron
Speaker 3: James is on. You could just pencil them in to
Speaker 3: the NBA finals. The league is wide open, and we
Speaker 3: could criticize the new CBA. I have plenty of bad
Speaker 3: things to say about it if we want to go
Speaker 3: down that route, but I think it has at least
Speaker 3: helped accomplish this goal of preventing teams from stacking superstars.
Speaker 3: You know, unless you're willing to pay an exorbitant luxury
Speaker 3: tax bill like the one the Boston Celtics were facing
Speaker 3: had they not gotten rid of Drew Holliday and Kristaps
Speaker 3: Porzingis this week. It makes it really, really difficult to
Speaker 3: build a roster where other teams look at it and say,
Speaker 3: we just can't beat this team. And you know, for
Speaker 3: a while in the previous decade, we saw teams essentially
Speaker 3: taking themselves out of the race. You know, they're they're
Speaker 3: looking at the Lebron Caves or they're looking at the
Speaker 3: Kevin Durant Warriors and saying, there is no way that
Speaker 3: we can build a team that can compete with this team.
Speaker 3: That's not happening right now, even with a team like Okay,
Speaker 3: see very very good roster. They've built it organically. The
Speaker 3: Thunder are not undeatable. We saw that in the NBA Finals.
Speaker 3: I mean they were trailing at the half at home
Speaker 3: in Game seven after Tyres Albert went out. So the
Speaker 3: Western Conference is going to be incredibly stacked up. I
Speaker 3: think there are a ton of teams that can sell
Speaker 3: themselves on maybe toppling the Thunder. And like we said,
Speaker 3: the Eastern Conference specifically your Orlando Magic, Brandon, there we
Speaker 3: go teams like that. You don't often go into a
Speaker 3: season doing like, hey, this might be our year.
Speaker 2: It is crazy the confidence that I see building in
Speaker 2: this city.
Speaker 1: And I feel like.
Speaker 2: On this show we've been pretty measured in our expectations
Speaker 2: going into next season. Perhaps that will change as we
Speaker 2: feel the buzz of the season starting, and maybe our
Speaker 2: listeners even disagree with me having that assessment that we've
Speaker 2: been measured. When I look at the Eastern Conference specifically,
Speaker 2: the Magic are going to be a factor. But if
Speaker 2: is there a team that you think is that people
Speaker 2: aren't maybe paying enough attention to that you think, in
Speaker 2: this quote wide open Eastern Conference can really make a push.
Speaker 2: We seem to be all in on Detroit on this
Speaker 2: show as one of those teams that can make a leap.
Speaker 2: Is there one that you've identified that said people need
Speaker 2: to be talking about them as well?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think Detroit's in the mix. I still would
Speaker 3: like to see the Pistons make some upgrades this offseason.
Speaker 3: I don't know if they're necessarily in a position to
Speaker 3: do that, partially because there just aren't those obvious names
Speaker 3: out there right This is, you know, one of the
Speaker 3: most boring free agency classes that we've had in a
Speaker 3: long time. So if you're Detroit, you know you're I
Speaker 3: think you're in a similar place to Orlando. You know,
Speaker 3: the Pistons on balance, we're healthier than the Magic last season.
Speaker 3: I like Orlando more than I do Detroit going into
Speaker 3: next year. Still need to see the Magic add some
Speaker 3: depth pieces right now. They were one of the shallowest
Speaker 3: teams in the NBA last year and kind of got
Speaker 3: even shallower with the Desmond Baine trade. But much like
Speaker 3: Orlando gets Jail and Suggs back, the Pistons gets an
Speaker 3: IVY back. You know, maybe that is kind of what
Speaker 3: you're selling yourself as the big free agent quote unquote addition,
Speaker 3: but beyond those teams, Brandon I really liked what the
Speaker 3: Atlanta Hawks did this past week. You know, I think
Speaker 3: basically taking a free flyer on Christaps Porzingis. And look,
Speaker 3: our last memory of Porzingis is him huffing at puffing
Speaker 3: through the playoffs against the Knicks, you know, barely able
Speaker 3: to stay on the court. Who knows what's going on
Speaker 3: with that mysterious illness. But my guess is at the
Speaker 3: Atlanta Hawks did their due diligence before making that trade,
Speaker 3: and again they basically got Porzingis for free, and they
Speaker 3: got off to the Terrence Maan contract as a part
Speaker 3: of that trade. So even if that's all you accomplished,
Speaker 3: that's still a net positive for Atlanta. And if they
Speaker 3: can get Porzingis right, he's on an expiring contract, you know,
Speaker 3: there's very little risk here. If Porzingis is the guy
Speaker 3: that he was two seasons ago, I think that is
Speaker 3: a huge, huge edition for a Hawks team that gets
Speaker 3: Jalen Johnson back from injury. Dyson Daniels of course, took
Speaker 3: a huge step forward. So if you're looking for the
Speaker 3: best value right now to win the East, I think
Speaker 3: Atlanta at twenty two to one is really interesting. You know,
Speaker 3: I don't know what's going on with the Toronto Raptors, Brandon.
Speaker 3: They just might go beside you, Jerry earlier this morning,
Speaker 3: that was nowhere. You know, we're not that far removed
Speaker 3: from beside you jury being like VGM, right, it's like
Speaker 3: other organizations. You know, we're jealous of this guy. I
Speaker 3: get it. You know when you look at the track
Speaker 3: record outside of the Kawhi Trade, not a whole lot there.
Speaker 3: You know, Raptors have missed the playoffs and for the
Speaker 3: last five years that there is some intrigue with that roster.
Speaker 3: We need to see and how some of these pieces
Speaker 3: come together. I don't think the Raptors are going to
Speaker 3: win the East, but I do think fifty five to
Speaker 3: one is a little bit long for the amount of
Speaker 3: pure talent that's on that roster and the last team
Speaker 3: I'll bring up, Randon. I'm hesitant to even do this,
Speaker 3: but look there, they're ten to one right now. If
Speaker 3: Joel Embiid can stay healthy, now Joel and b can
Speaker 3: stay healthy, the Philadelphia seventy six ers will be in
Speaker 3: the mix. Now what I bet on that being the case?
Speaker 3: Absolutely not well, I be drafting Joel and Bian in
Speaker 3: fantasy Hell, no, I will not be doing that. But
Speaker 3: this is a team that we had penciled in as
Speaker 3: maybe the second or third best team in the Eastern
Speaker 3: Conference last year.
Speaker 1: Is Joel Embiid getting sidebar?
Speaker 2: Here? Is Joel Embiid going to be a first round
Speaker 2: pick in fantasy basketball.
Speaker 1: For most people?
Speaker 2: Not me?
Speaker 1: Think so.
Speaker 3: I don't think so. We were saying this last year, Brandon,
Speaker 3: you and I were saying, don't draft him. It's not
Speaker 3: worth it. You know, you need sixty plus games for
Speaker 3: this to be worth it, even if he gives you
Speaker 3: that crazy per game production. I think people will be
Speaker 3: out this time around. And you know, and too many
Speaker 3: people made that mistake last year.
Speaker 2: Yeah, completely agree. It is too punitive to have a
Speaker 2: first round pick in fantasy basketball that doesn't play. Talking
Speaker 2: to Nick Whalen, NBA analysts from rodewire dot com, the
Speaker 2: Mavericks welcome Cooper Flag into the fold. They're fortunate enough
Speaker 2: to get that number one pick. That's a team that
Speaker 2: could potentially compete once they get Kyrie back. But looking
Speaker 2: at things statistically, I know that this is something you
Speaker 2: guys have talked about extensively on your NBA shows on
Speaker 2: and on Vson. What do you expect Cooper Flag's numbers
Speaker 2: to look like in year one?
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's interesting. You know, Draft Pings actually added some
Speaker 3: Cooper Flag specific markets early this morning. You can now
Speaker 3: bet on the over under for points per game and
Speaker 3: rebounds per game for Cooper Flag as well as some
Speaker 3: special markets. Cooper Flag have a triple double? Will Cooper
Speaker 3: Flag have a forty point game next season? So the
Speaker 3: over under for his points per game is set at
Speaker 3: sixteen point nine for next season. I think that's a
Speaker 3: really accurate projection. I would lean under. You know, he's
Speaker 3: not going to the type of team that typically holds
Speaker 3: the number one pick, right. This isn't the Washington Wizards,
Speaker 3: this isn't the Charlotte Hornets. This is a Maverick team
Speaker 3: that you know, was making the playoff push last season.
Speaker 3: It's a Mavericks team that, if you look at the
Speaker 3: odds to win the West right now, is essentially projected
Speaker 3: to be the eighth or ninth best team in a
Speaker 3: loaded conference. You know, I think early in the season
Speaker 3: we're going to see some more ball handling opportunities, the
Speaker 3: more primary creation opportunities for Cooper Flag. But once Kyrie
Speaker 3: Irving comes back, I think Cooper Flagg is your third option,
Speaker 3: right assuming Anthony Davis is healthy. At that point, you
Speaker 3: have two all NBA guys at the top of that roster.
Speaker 3: You know, you have some really good rebounders on that
Speaker 3: team as well. You can bet on Cooper Flag's rebounding
Speaker 3: right now. It's basically over under six boards per game.
Speaker 3: He's a really good rebounder. He's a really good, you know,
Speaker 3: overall staff producer. But you haven Davis, you have Daniel Gafford,
Speaker 3: you have Derek Lively will be back healthy. So I
Speaker 3: think Cooper Flag is going to be an excellent player
Speaker 3: in the long term. I don't know that we're going
Speaker 3: to see one of those monster statistical rookie seasons out
Speaker 3: of him. I think his impact is going to be
Speaker 3: more so felt in terms of wins and losses, more
Speaker 3: so felt in the icest, you know, as opposed to him,
Speaker 3: you know, coming out and averaging like twenty two points
Speaker 3: and eight rebounds per game.
Speaker 2: Right away, all right, last thing for you, Nick, more
Speaker 2: troubling development for you the Ace Bailey situation in Utah
Speaker 2: or VJ Edgecomb wearing the number seventy.
Speaker 3: Seven equally troubling, equally troubling. You know, you never want
Speaker 3: to see a young player who hasn't even played an
Speaker 3: NBA game yet picking a number really north of I
Speaker 3: would say, like thirty five. That's kind of a cap.
Speaker 3: You know. You think of some guys who've warned numbers
Speaker 3: in like the seventies, the eighties and nineties. You know,
Speaker 3: that's that's Chris Weber when he went to the Pistons.
Speaker 3: That's Blake Griffin when he was wearing like ninety one
Speaker 3: for the Celtics. I remember Baron Davis wearing eighty five
Speaker 3: for the New York Knicks, Mellow wearing like seventy seven
Speaker 3: in Portland. I mean, these are that's the number you
Speaker 3: take when you know your career is over.
Speaker 2: Right, It's an over the hill number. It slows you down.
Speaker 2: Those are big, the big number. Nobody could define me
Speaker 2: on this. The big numbers, the higher numbers slow you down, no.
Speaker 3: Question, no question. Now the counter to that is one
Speaker 3: of the best players in the NBA, Luka Doncic, wears
Speaker 3: seven to seven, So we need to keep that in mind.
Speaker 3: There is a counter example here.
Speaker 1: Well, he's slow though, so it kind of fits. It's slow.
Speaker 3: He is slow. Bj Chcomb is a completely different type
Speaker 3: of player than Luka Doncic. The evidence strongly suggests that
Speaker 3: you don't want to wear number seventy seven, But you know,
Speaker 3: Lucas kind of pulling that the other way. The eighth
Speaker 3: Bailey situation, I don't know how this is going to
Speaker 3: go down. I think we're going to have our answer
Speaker 3: by Sunday or Monday, because the Utah Jazz begin their
Speaker 3: mini camp ahead of Summer League on Monday. It is
Speaker 3: very rare for a prospect to not essentially immediately go
Speaker 3: to his destination, and you go through the whole dog
Speaker 3: and pony show, You do the press conference, you hold
Speaker 3: up your jersey, you meet with the local reporters. Of now,
Speaker 3: East Bailey has not made his way to Utah. I
Speaker 3: don't know if we're looking at some sort of borderline
Speaker 3: on precedent, a holdout. I don't know what east Bailey
Speaker 3: expected the way that he handled the pre draft process.
Speaker 3: But I don't think the Utah Jazz are gonna budge.
Speaker 3: I think they know what they signed up for.
Speaker 2: Runtalwire dot com is how you can find his work
Speaker 2: on Twitter at Waylan the l is a one go and.
Speaker 1: Find him great stuff. As always good to catch up again,
Speaker 1: Thanks Nick anytime.
Speaker 3: Man.
Speaker 2: Coming up next, we grade the NBA Draft a's, b's.
Speaker 2: I've got a few f's. We'll get to all of
Speaker 2: that in just a bit.