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Speaker 1: What is up, fellas it goes, I am Dana Valley

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coming at you with another twenty twenty five twenty twenty

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six NBA season look ahead. The Washington Wizards are up next,

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which means we get to speak with Matt Maderno. He

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hosts the Believe in Wizards podcast with former Wizard Jahati White,

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and he is also a writer for Bullets Forever. He

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does fantastic work. Love listening to that podcast, chopping in

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throughout the regular season. Excited to talk to him about

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a team that just has so many I've said this

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a lot this year. They have so many dudes. Wizards

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just have so many dudes. But first and most importantly, Matt,

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how the heck are you doing?

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Speaker 2: I'm great. We said this before recording, but I'll say

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for the people listening, if you've checked these out in

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the past, I'm usually kind of a Debbie downer, only

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because the Wizards have been bad most on adult life,

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but this might be the most excited I've ever been

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about a Wizards team that may not win twenty games.

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So I'm excited to get into the roster here and

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talk about all those dudes you alluded to.

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Speaker 1: Are those are kind of the fun teams to root

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for where they're they're like the perfect amount of like

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the right kind of bad. Maybe not the perfect, but

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they're the right kind of bad, and it feels like

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that's what the Wizard's like, that's the direction they're headed in.

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Speaker 2: We're usually the wrong kind of bad, old and expensive

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and not very good. So to be young and about

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to have some money and not be very good, it's

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pretty great.

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Speaker 1: And to be fair, because you and I have both

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been pretty complimentary of the process, and like since they've

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the front office has changed over so but this is

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like a year where it feels like they're stakes coming

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after the year, so it makes this year more interesting.

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But I want to start here. So we're entering year

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three of this rebuild. How have you felt about the

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navigation and execution of it so far?

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Speaker 2: It's funny, Like I don't know, maybe this is how

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every fan is about their own team, but I have

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a tendency to nitpick with them a little bit, but overall,

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like more good than bad, and I considerably like the

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way they're going about it more than I like the

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way the previous two general managers went about it, especially

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toward the end of both of those tenures. So you know,

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like we talked about this before, I didn't love the

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Denny Avdya trade. I still wouldn't have gone about it.

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I love getting bub Carrington. I think there were probably

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other ways to make that happen. We'll see what happens

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with that twenty nine pick, you know, So giving up

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some of your young guys to have to get the

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other dudes I didn't love, like giving Danel Gafford up

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when they did. I really like Keishaan George, so like

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it ended up working out pretty well for me, but

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I felt like there were maybe other ways to So

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it's splitting hairs on a few of those things. But

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I'm just ultimately happy with where they are. And you know,

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there are a few things like well they didn't flip

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Tyas Jones at the deadline one year where there were

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two second round picks on the table, So I'm going

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to give them a hard time over that. It's like,

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in the grand scheme of things, it's not really that

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big a deal, so more good than bad, and this

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they've accumulated intrigu guys, and ultimately, I think this comes

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down to however many of them pop I personally I mean,

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we're going to go guy by guy here, but like

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they're all interesting. One of them could turn into like

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a dude. But I still feel like they need to

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get the dude, like capital T, capital D the dude.

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And I don't know that that guy's on this roster yet,

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but the I don't know, the outline of a really

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good team is starting to form.

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Speaker 1: I think, Yeah, that's what's tough but also intriguing about

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their situation. I think you could probably point to, depending

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on how you feel about Trey Johnson, three guys who

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might in theory as of right now. No, I don't

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think you would call them the dude, but any one

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of them could turn to the dude. But it's also

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what makes their future fascinating because they have basically infinite

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amounts of cap space next year as of now. Do

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we read into that at all as oh, they're going

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to try and take some major steps forward next summer?

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Is that just kind of like the byproduct of they

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might they're not going to be hesitant to burn that

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flexibility in season, which is they want have cap space,

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but they'd be willing to take money that spills into

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their books over the next couple of years.

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Speaker 2: I think the real magic trick that this front office

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pulled off was convincing owner ted leonsis that, like, you

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have to rip this down to the studs and just

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like bottom out completely to actually rebuild this thing properly,

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and you have to give us a couple of years

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to do it. My big fear that entire time was

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that eventually they would get impatient if they don't start

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to show some signs of growth. And you look at

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it a little bit with like this latest of the

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OKC rebuilds, like that's the model they clearly want to

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go for. They were just pretty bad for a handful

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of years, and then you just saw jump one year

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of like, oh there's an extra twenty wins they got

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by adding the key veteran here, and like, guys just

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sort of naturally developed. So I don't know if they'll

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go like all in you know, the next free agency here,

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but I do think you might start to see here's

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a big upgrade, or maybe we consolidate a couple of

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these guys, you know, to go add a particular particular

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trade target that they couldn't have gotten otherwise. So and

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you want to have the room to take on some

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of that salary. So I think they it's a long

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win way of saying, I don't think like they're really

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going to fastward the timetable a ton, but they're not

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gonna want to be another fifteen win team again the

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season after this one. So if they're not like young

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and fun and competing for at least like a play

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in I do, that's when I think there's gonna be

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like real trouble for them from an ownership perspective.

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Speaker 1: Because I was gonna ask you that too. There has

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to be a level of amongst the fan base existential

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dread that like ted Leonsis is going to come in

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and force them to fast track this after three what

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should be pretty bad years.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I think that should be the fear

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from the fan base. Whether it is or not, I

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don't have a great sense for at the moment. I

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think everyone just has like their sort of honeymoon you know,

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rose colored glasses on about the front office, so they're

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not thinking about they all have a boss ultimately, and

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like at some point they're going to have to be

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accountable to him to show that growth and to start

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to sell some tickets like NBA teams. I think you

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can be a little bit more patient now because for

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him it's still like an asset that's accumulating, you know,

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long term value. But it's just hard to have a

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totally empty arena and they're putting some money into it.

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The city's putting some money into it to rehabit. They

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had this big public feud with the city and trying

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to move out of the city. So at some point,

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if DC is going to pour money back into this arena,

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they probably also want some return on investment of like

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put butts in seats and people are in the surrounding area.

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So they're not going to be like the worst team

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in the league again in twenty twenty eight. He won't

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let that happen. It's whether there can be enough organic

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growth to not lock yourself into some bad contracts. And

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I forgot one thing I just want to circle back to.

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Just look at what's going on with Bradley Beal where

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a team had to buy him out this summer, and

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you have to give this front office like even extra

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credit for That's really the amazing thing here is that

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they got off of that deal to get to this

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cap space, like there was a world where they could

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have still been locked into that deal you know right now,

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and that's crazy.

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Speaker 1: Sometimes things just come down to having that eshb his

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number and.

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Speaker 2: That so that's the smart to have him on speed dial.

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Speaker 1: I think, before kind of digging into the players, what

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have you taken away so far philosophically, stylistically, anything about

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Brian Keith at the head coach bot and how difficult

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is it to evaluate them, not when they're just going

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through this part of their life cycle where they're rebuilding,

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but also when there has been some roster chare and

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when it comes to the veterans.

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Speaker 2: I'm just pretty indifferent on Washington's equivalent of Brett Brown.

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I think, like, to me, he's he's the guy that's

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just sort of minding the store while the the tanking

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you know, rebuilding process is going on or deconstruction FAI

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or whatever term they were using for it. I can't

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imagine him being the guy here long term when they

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turn this thing around. Wizards fans I think kind of

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collectively are out on him because maybe he was slow

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to play a few of the rookies ahead of some

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of the older guys last year. So I think the

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majority of fans would say that they're not huge fans.

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He just can't tell. I mean, he seems to be

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a good enough player development focused coach that some of

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these guys are starting to show some steps. My one

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major nitpick with him is he was asked about, Hey,

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you've got a lot of guys on this roster that

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can't shoot. Who is the wizard shooting coach? And he

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gave this very flippant like, what do you mean. We

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all know how to shoot, so we can all teach

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people how to shoot equally. And if you're front office

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that drafted all these like physically gifted toolsy guys, but

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none of them are particularly good shooters other than like

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maybe Trey Johnson being the exception. I would throw money

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at bringing on as many elite shooting coaches as I

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could to this staff, particularly because it is the swing

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skill for everyone on this roster pretty much. So that

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poed me a little bit personally. But overall he's just

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like perfectly fine, I think, And I bet they give

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him like one year when they start to be good

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again before they bring in like the guy to lead them,

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you know, back into like playoff relevance.

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Speaker 1: He did Seeven work some nice Little Wonders with Jordan

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Poole and then they were able to trade him.

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Speaker 2: So yeah, maybe that's point.

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Speaker 1: They don't really have a contract on the books that

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they need to view through that lens. This this season though,

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very true though, So let's start talking about some of

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the players. So let's start with Alex Sar What most

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stood out to you from him during his rookie season.

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Speaker 2: I think last year was just like what you expected

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him to be good at, he was pretty good at,

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and what you expected him to be bad at, he

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was pretty bad at. Like it, it just sort of

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played out like I think people who watched him play

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a good amount pre draft thought it would play out.

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He's a big man who doesn't really do big man things,

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and they used him a lot as a stretch big,

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but he hasn't really shown he can actually shoot yet.

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But there was like a month year where it was

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really good for a while and he saw more of

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the flashes. So I think we're still in that, like

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see some flashes stage of things, and I think somebody

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we're gonna have to be patient with as a fan base. Offensively,

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I think this is a dude that has like just

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chaos agent defensive potential as somebody who can cover a

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ton of ground. And I think this is something you

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guys have talked about it, just like there's some rangy

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dudes from like this core that I think the defensive

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blueprint and infrastructures is going to be ahead of the

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offensive stuff. But when you're that big that you can

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switch out onto guards capably or you know, block somebody

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big at the rim, like it's it's you see enough

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of the vision to be like, Okay, don't worry about

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the efficiency until like year three or four at this point,

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because it's not going to be good.

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Speaker 1: I don't think yeah. And I think they because some

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of the questions had been like are they going to

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try and maybe play him alongside another big and their

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roster just telegraphs that like that's not And I think

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defensively he's probably still needs to get stronger, but like

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the range you mentioned that he can give you and

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just the defensive playmaking overall, I think that's spot. I

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think he's probably like he's gonna be the biggest mismatch

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offensively as a five. And so I think there's you

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mentioned the stretch with a three point shot was going

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down is there anything like the one thing if you

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could like wish upon a star and say, like Alexar

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did this this year? Is it? Oh he was pancaking

241
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dudes on screens or he was finishing through contact and

242
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at the rim a little better? Is it?

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Speaker 2: Like?

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Speaker 1: What would it be to me?

245
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Speaker 2: He'll have a slower guy on him, and he'll have

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the ball like seventeen feet from the hoop and he'll

247
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back up to shoot a three, and that drives me

248
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a little crazy. I also just don't want to see

249
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my seven footer take like a twelve foot floater or

250
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even a three foot floater. I want to see him

251
00:12:04,879 --> 00:12:07,399
just try to put guys on posters a little bit

252
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more and he'll dunk sometimes and you're like, oh shit,

253
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Like I actually didn't know he Like I forgot he

254
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could do that because it'll be a while, you know,

255
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in between. So like I think just a it's maybe

256
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a more between the ears mentality kind of thing of

257
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I'd love to see him have a little bit more

258
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of that swagger. It's the thing I hoped would rub

259
00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:31,200
off from Jordan Poole onto both he and Kolabali of

260
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just like b Psycho, I can take over a game

261
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a rational confidence guy even if you can't, I'd be

262
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okay with him trying and failing at that then like

263
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never kind of trying it. So he strikes me more

264
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as just like a complimentary piece. Offensively, there's some really

265
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cool short role passing stuff that he does. But yeah,

266
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this screen one is actually interesting. I'd love to see

267
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him just like demolish a guy on a screen. He

268
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kind of slips everything, but that's important, and he does

269
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those kinds of things well. I think the model is

270
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probably you mentioned it with the roster, like long term,

271
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I think the best version of him is like this

272
00:13:08,799 --> 00:13:11,840
a poor man's Anthony Davis kind of mold where maybe

273
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you start a game with him next to a traditional

274
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center to eat up some of the pounding, but like

275
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you can't. The best version of him is closing games

276
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at the five. He gets offensive mismatches, He's not going

277
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to get played off the floor and hunted defensively, And

278
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I think you're seeing them now, trying to give him

279
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as many of those growing pains as the five early

280
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so that when they are relevant again, you know in

281
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the postseason, he's just ready to hit the ground running.

282
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Is like the lone big and I say that to

283
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Wizards fans, and I get the well, look at Cleveland,

284
00:13:41,440 --> 00:13:44,679
they're doing twin towers. It can work here, But I

285
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don't know has Cleveland done anything in the playoffs yet

286
00:13:47,320 --> 00:13:51,039
to show us that that model actually works in the postseason.

287
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So to me, I would keep, you know, focusing on

288
00:13:54,879 --> 00:13:57,080
like the hymn at the five mold and just have

289
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like long rangey switchable guys around him.

290
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Speaker 1: The other thing is is that you can't just say

291
00:14:02,399 --> 00:14:04,879
go find Jared Allen. It's not like a big that

292
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you could just say go get him. So it's just like, yeah,

293
00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:09,440
if you can get him, sure, then you could talk

294
00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:11,200
about it. But it's tough to just say, like you

295
00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:13,600
don't I don't want to see Alex r and Daniel

296
00:14:13,639 --> 00:14:14,279
Gafford together.

297
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Speaker 2: It's like a we may go get Jared Allen in

298
00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:18,240
twenty twenty eight when he's on the down string of

299
00:14:18,279 --> 00:14:20,000
things like that, that's a wizard's move.

300
00:14:20,039 --> 00:14:22,840
Speaker 1: It feels like, what So, You've mentioned a lot of

301
00:14:22,879 --> 00:14:26,799
stuff that I think can contribute to what's been relative

302
00:14:26,799 --> 00:14:29,559
for a big man. Just a lack of volume at

303
00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:32,600
the rim for him. Is that a physical thing or

304
00:14:32,639 --> 00:14:35,039
is it more of a physical thing a decision making thing.

305
00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:36,879
Could he stand to be more aggressive when he's doing

306
00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:39,480
his grabbing goes? Is it the takeoff points? What contribute?

307
00:14:39,519 --> 00:14:42,039
Is it the the spacing environment in which he's being

308
00:14:42,039 --> 00:14:44,000
brought up? Like what do you could view as the

309
00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:45,559
biggest contributing factor to that?

310
00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:52,200
Speaker 2: Yes, yeah, I mean move it on. Yeah, it's just

311
00:14:52,399 --> 00:14:54,519
I think you nailed some piece of all of it.

312
00:14:54,519 --> 00:14:57,240
It really is kind of a perfect storm of those things.

313
00:14:57,240 --> 00:15:00,399
Like I mentioned the shooting right, like there aren't papers

314
00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:02,879
around him. They create these lanes for him to drive

315
00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:05,399
by a bigger guy and actually go attack the rim

316
00:15:05,879 --> 00:15:08,559
he hasn't also really had, Like I was not a

317
00:15:08,639 --> 00:15:10,639
Jordan Poole guy the first year. I thought he was

318
00:15:10,759 --> 00:15:14,559
markedly better last year, but I still wouldn't say he

319
00:15:14,639 --> 00:15:16,200
was like gonna.

320
00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:18,799
Speaker 1: Takes helicans to the four seed. Like they apparently believe.

321
00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:20,799
Speaker 2: Hey, we'll see I mean, more power to him if

322
00:15:20,799 --> 00:15:22,720
he can do it, give him that contract bonus. But

323
00:15:23,799 --> 00:15:26,200
they they still sort of lacking, And this is the

324
00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:28,039
piece I hope they can add on. The rebuild is

325
00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:33,159
sort of that explosive collapse of defense. Put everybody on

326
00:15:33,200 --> 00:15:36,480
their heels. Offensive guy someone to like probe into the lane,

327
00:15:37,399 --> 00:15:40,440
who's like the dynamic pick and roll partner with him

328
00:15:40,960 --> 00:15:42,919
long term, And I think there's a lot of picking

329
00:15:42,919 --> 00:15:45,720
and popping because he's playing next to a guard that

330
00:15:45,759 --> 00:15:48,399
they don't really have to They don't have that kind

331
00:15:48,399 --> 00:15:50,840
of gravity, so he just floats out and gets out

332
00:15:50,840 --> 00:15:54,159
of the way. Whereas if someone's you know, if if

333
00:15:54,159 --> 00:15:56,480
two people have to kind of account for this dynamic

334
00:15:56,480 --> 00:15:59,480
point guard, it would leave Sar a little more open

335
00:15:59,519 --> 00:16:01,399
to roll with the rim, be more of a vertical

336
00:16:01,399 --> 00:16:03,679
spacer and things like that. We just don't see much,

337
00:16:04,240 --> 00:16:06,120
but you get like a flash every once in a while.

338
00:16:06,200 --> 00:16:08,639
And you know, played a few minutes next to Trey Johnson,

339
00:16:08,679 --> 00:16:12,159
who again not like this spring loaded offensive guy, but

340
00:16:12,279 --> 00:16:16,320
because he's so crafty, there were just a few moments

341
00:16:16,399 --> 00:16:18,559
even in just like summer League, we're like, oh, okay,

342
00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:21,039
like there there might be some fun stuff we can

343
00:16:21,080 --> 00:16:21,919
do here with him this year.

344
00:16:22,799 --> 00:16:25,000
Speaker 1: Yeah, I didn't think I was gonna be as high.

345
00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:27,000
I was pretty low on alex are actually when he

346
00:16:27,039 --> 00:16:29,000
was coming out of the draft, and now just because

347
00:16:29,039 --> 00:16:33,919
it's redraft season, I am like very reed. Shepherd pilled.

348
00:16:33,960 --> 00:16:35,519
I know he didn't play a lot last year, but

349
00:16:35,720 --> 00:16:38,159
I would take Alex r I think no lower than

350
00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:40,039
two in a redraft, which is where he went. So

351
00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:42,600
let's not really give praise, but I think the Wizards

352
00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:44,480
made the right pick. We're gonna look back and say,

353
00:16:44,559 --> 00:16:46,840
right like, that was the right pick there. And you

354
00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:50,679
also hell of a segue from you. You mentioned some

355
00:16:50,799 --> 00:16:54,399
things why I find blaw Cool Bali actually so fascinating.

356
00:16:54,399 --> 00:16:56,960
We joke around here how much we love Blowcool Bali

357
00:16:57,000 --> 00:16:59,120
the basketball player. But I've seen a lot of people

358
00:16:59,159 --> 00:17:00,759
kind of say, like, no, he's gonna need to be

359
00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:03,679
like more of this three and D guy on offense.

360
00:17:04,119 --> 00:17:06,559
And you just mentioned something about having someone who can

361
00:17:06,599 --> 00:17:10,119
be on the ball, getting downhill, drawing in defenders. When

362
00:17:10,160 --> 00:17:13,599
I look at this roster, I don't like someone who

363
00:17:13,599 --> 00:17:17,839
can generate that like paint touch, like with the ball

364
00:17:17,839 --> 00:17:20,599
in their hands. Maybe it's Trey Johnson now, but like

365
00:17:20,680 --> 00:17:23,559
blow Cool Bali might just be their best bet there,

366
00:17:23,599 --> 00:17:25,559
which is why I think it's too soon to say

367
00:17:26,119 --> 00:17:27,720
they need him to be more of a three and

368
00:17:27,799 --> 00:17:28,759
D guy on the offense.

369
00:17:28,799 --> 00:17:32,359
Speaker 2: Event I think that it was hard just to really

370
00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:34,240
evaluate him last year. It was kind of like a

371
00:17:34,319 --> 00:17:37,359
lukewarm start. I mentioned maybe some emphasis on some of

372
00:17:37,400 --> 00:17:39,559
the veterans to start the year from Brian Keith, and

373
00:17:39,599 --> 00:17:42,880
then at some point either he got more comfortable or

374
00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:44,759
they made more of a decision to just like give

375
00:17:44,839 --> 00:17:49,079
him the ball and let him try things. It just

376
00:17:49,160 --> 00:17:50,960
there were like there was like a month where you're like,

377
00:17:50,960 --> 00:17:53,480
oh shit, could he win Most Improved Player in the league,

378
00:17:53,519 --> 00:17:57,319
Like he just had enough stuff going on that was like, Okay,

379
00:17:57,440 --> 00:17:59,799
I see what you just mentioned in him. Then he

380
00:17:59,799 --> 00:18:02,000
gets it's hurt and it wasn't kind of the same

381
00:18:02,039 --> 00:18:03,720
and they ultimately misses the end of the year. So

382
00:18:04,279 --> 00:18:06,079
it just I think last year was almost kind of

383
00:18:06,119 --> 00:18:09,079
like a throwaway year from a real evaluation, and this

384
00:18:09,119 --> 00:18:11,759
is the year where we need to see more of

385
00:18:11,799 --> 00:18:13,880
those things. I think the handle has to get tighter.

386
00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:17,559
This was always sort of my nitpick with Denny Avdiya

387
00:18:17,599 --> 00:18:19,519
and when we did these previous you know, did these

388
00:18:19,599 --> 00:18:21,680
previous seasons, like we were kind of split on him

389
00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:23,519
a little bit. It's like for me, it was if

390
00:18:23,519 --> 00:18:26,200
he could shoot enough, he can maximize the other things

391
00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:29,759
he can do, Like if Coolbally can get downhill, he

392
00:18:29,799 --> 00:18:32,440
can do some of this creative passing and collapse the

393
00:18:32,480 --> 00:18:34,680
paint but guys are just kind of sagging off of

394
00:18:34,759 --> 00:18:37,480
him a little bit too much right now. So the

395
00:18:37,480 --> 00:18:39,000
handle either has to get tighter so we can just

396
00:18:39,039 --> 00:18:41,240
drive by some dudes, or he's got to be able

397
00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:45,759
to shoot enough, or realistically both. But he's I'm not

398
00:18:45,839 --> 00:18:47,880
out on that. I think some Wizards fans are a

399
00:18:47,880 --> 00:18:51,200
little more out on that sort of offensive potential for him.

400
00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:54,240
But I don't know. If he's Jaden McDaniels. That's still

401
00:18:54,279 --> 00:18:56,359
not a bad draft pick to me at number seven

402
00:18:56,480 --> 00:18:58,720
in that particular draft.

403
00:18:58,680 --> 00:19:00,960
Speaker 1: No, not at all. I look, I'm not I wouldn't

404
00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:02,319
be out on that. I don't know if I would

405
00:19:02,359 --> 00:19:04,440
predict him like hitting that highest end outcome as an

406
00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:07,200
offensive player. But we also have to chalk up to

407
00:19:07,799 --> 00:19:09,920
is so you go through your rookie year where you're

408
00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:11,680
just not, at least not until the end of the season,

409
00:19:11,680 --> 00:19:13,240
you weren't being used in the same way, and then

410
00:19:13,279 --> 00:19:15,319
all of a sudden, they're just shooting up your pick

411
00:19:15,359 --> 00:19:17,559
and roll volume. As one example, like that's gonna take

412
00:19:17,799 --> 00:19:19,680
that You mentioned the injury. That just takes some adjusting.

413
00:19:19,720 --> 00:19:21,160
So I think you're right that this is kind of

414
00:19:21,160 --> 00:19:24,079
the year where it's we know, kind of like his

415
00:19:24,240 --> 00:19:26,680
floor or where it's, oh, he could just be like

416
00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:29,960
a really valuable three and D player, but I still

417
00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:33,079
think his ceiling is like TBD in a very good

418
00:19:33,599 --> 00:19:36,559
mystery box way to where no, you can't can't guarantee anything,

419
00:19:36,599 --> 00:19:39,440
but like let's not rule out anything here just yet.

420
00:19:39,720 --> 00:19:43,000
Speaker 2: I think he could like genuinely make an all defensive team,

421
00:19:43,119 --> 00:19:45,960
maybe not this year, but not too long after that. Like,

422
00:19:46,119 --> 00:19:48,039
I think he has the potential to be like that

423
00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:51,640
good and if that's all you get from him, that's

424
00:19:51,680 --> 00:19:55,519
still a really like exciting, complimentary guy to have on

425
00:19:55,559 --> 00:19:59,319
a roster. And just you know, maybe the chances of

426
00:19:59,359 --> 00:20:02,680
him hitting that maximum outcome offensively you have like dropped

427
00:20:02,680 --> 00:20:05,640
a little bit, in my opinion, there's still not zero,

428
00:20:06,039 --> 00:20:08,839
and he could definitely take a big jump. Like this

429
00:20:08,880 --> 00:20:10,400
is a dude, you almost have to throw away the

430
00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:12,839
rookie year because he just wasn't even supposed to be

431
00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:14,960
in the league that year, Like he was still a

432
00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:17,960
guy that was projected to be a year away from that.

433
00:20:18,079 --> 00:20:20,559
So he's like got a year and a half a

434
00:20:20,559 --> 00:20:23,440
seasoning and it really doesn't even feel like that yet.

435
00:20:23,480 --> 00:20:25,200
So I think this is really the big year to

436
00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:28,200
just truly get a sense for what kind of player

437
00:20:28,240 --> 00:20:30,839
he could be and how they envisioned him to and.

438
00:20:30,759 --> 00:20:35,240
Speaker 1: I look and I whatever version of himself he becomes,

439
00:20:35,319 --> 00:20:37,960
like the Yeah, okay, a more steadier three ball is

440
00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:39,720
going to be important if you want him to be

441
00:20:39,799 --> 00:20:41,880
a three and D guy. The three ball arguably becomes

442
00:20:42,119 --> 00:20:43,720
more important if you're not going to rely on him

443
00:20:43,720 --> 00:20:46,279
to do some of the ball handling exactly stuff and

444
00:20:46,319 --> 00:20:48,839
that I don't know why. Okay, So he's at twenty

445
00:20:48,839 --> 00:20:50,440
eight percent or whatever it was on catch and shoot

446
00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:52,759
THERESI last year, and I still kind of just believe

447
00:20:52,799 --> 00:20:56,319
he'll get to maybe not og Anenobe levels of that

448
00:20:56,480 --> 00:20:58,680
reliable as a three guy, but maybe at Jade McDaniels

449
00:20:58,680 --> 00:21:01,160
to where there's peaks and valley. But at the end

450
00:21:01,160 --> 00:21:02,880
of the day he might be shooting thirty six or

451
00:21:02,920 --> 00:21:05,880
thirty seven percent on threes, hopefully with more volume than

452
00:21:06,039 --> 00:21:06,960
Jane McDaniels.

453
00:21:07,039 --> 00:21:07,680
Speaker 2: Yeah, I agreed.

454
00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:12,240
Speaker 1: Trey Johnson, I felt I was not Trey Johnson guy

455
00:21:12,279 --> 00:21:14,799
coming into the drugt I'm just not anyone's guy coming

456
00:21:14,839 --> 00:21:17,240
out of the draft. He sold me a bit, not

457
00:21:17,440 --> 00:21:19,799
like at Summer League, like the shooting like oh no,

458
00:21:19,839 --> 00:21:23,119
like that's gonna translate really freaking well. What are your

459
00:21:23,160 --> 00:21:25,240
early impressions of him and what type of role can

460
00:21:25,279 --> 00:21:27,880
we expect him to have? Off rip for Washington.

461
00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:31,319
Speaker 2: I wasn't a huge Trey Johnson guy early in the

462
00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:34,559
year last year at Texas and then got a little

463
00:21:34,599 --> 00:21:36,920
more into it, and then got to see him in

464
00:21:36,920 --> 00:21:38,599
person at the end of the year in the tournament,

465
00:21:38,640 --> 00:21:41,039
and I was like, oh, okay, like there's a little

466
00:21:41,039 --> 00:21:45,119
something extra here that I didn't realize. And I just thought,

467
00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:47,079
like that Summer League performance, like the Wizards have not

468
00:21:47,119 --> 00:21:50,160
set the world on fire at Summer League despite having

469
00:21:50,160 --> 00:21:52,559
so many guys from their actual roster that play on

470
00:21:52,559 --> 00:21:55,200
the team, like Alexar probably had the worst Summer League

471
00:21:55,200 --> 00:21:58,079
game in Summer League history, which says something.

472
00:21:58,119 --> 00:21:58,359
Speaker 1: I thought.

473
00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:00,920
Speaker 2: Trey Johnson was just like everything you would have wanted

474
00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:04,359
him to be in that sample size of just you know,

475
00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:07,799
he was like a dynamic offensive player. He can shoot,

476
00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:10,759
he can drive, he's creative. I think eventually you'll see

477
00:22:10,759 --> 00:22:14,279
more passing from him too, just based on that role. Yeah,

478
00:22:14,319 --> 00:22:16,200
that's the role he's going to have to play to

479
00:22:16,319 --> 00:22:19,119
be able to play those minutes. What is he long

480
00:22:19,200 --> 00:22:22,200
term is he only a two you know, if he

481
00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:24,160
can't be a playmaker, and he's got to be off

482
00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:26,839
ball a little bit more than maybe he only profiles

483
00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:30,480
as like an elite sixth man kind of guy microwave scorer.

484
00:22:30,640 --> 00:22:33,039
I think that's still not a bad player. I think

485
00:22:33,039 --> 00:22:36,279
that's probably worst case scenario for him personally, is just

486
00:22:36,319 --> 00:22:40,119
like this Lou Williams sixth Man of the Year kind

487
00:22:40,119 --> 00:22:42,880
of guy. But I think, you know, if the passing

488
00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:45,880
comes along and he can be, you know, part of

489
00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:47,799
a two headed monster in the background with another guy

490
00:22:47,799 --> 00:22:50,920
that does some playmaking as well, there's something there and

491
00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:53,160
I think he'll unlock a lot of these other guys

492
00:22:53,200 --> 00:22:57,039
just from a consistent shooting perspective. I get why they

493
00:22:57,079 --> 00:22:59,519
moved on from Jordan Poole when they did, just to

494
00:22:59,599 --> 00:23:01,920
kind of re up some of that role for Trey.

495
00:23:02,079 --> 00:23:05,279
So they may take a step back offensively just because

496
00:23:06,279 --> 00:23:08,960
Pool had so much gravity, But just given those reps

497
00:23:09,039 --> 00:23:11,200
to Pool or to Johnson this year, I think it's

498
00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:13,160
going to be important. But I do think he needs

499
00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:16,400
like another guy next to him in the backcard. And

500
00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:19,839
so whether it's he and you know, Bubb makes sense,

501
00:23:19,839 --> 00:23:22,160
Bub Carrington makes sense. Long term together, or one of

502
00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:24,440
them is a sixth man, or you can go get

503
00:23:24,440 --> 00:23:27,319
a Darren Peterson from Kansas in the draft after this year,

504
00:23:27,400 --> 00:23:30,640
like somebody's got to unlock that could be an elite wing,

505
00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:33,960
could be another elite guard. But I think I see

506
00:23:34,039 --> 00:23:36,519
Trays more like an option to kind of guy on

507
00:23:36,559 --> 00:23:39,599
a really good team offensively. And if that's the case,

508
00:23:39,680 --> 00:23:41,759
like you knows, he's pretty done good.

509
00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:45,119
Speaker 1: It does seem, and it's way thoroughly to say this,

510
00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:47,079
it does seem that if he's going to make some

511
00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:50,359
type of playmaking leap or impact, it's not going to

512
00:23:50,440 --> 00:23:53,440
be as you would trust Bub Carrington to slow down

513
00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:55,279
the half court offense and maybe play make out of that.

514
00:23:55,279 --> 00:23:56,759
With Trey Johnson, it feels like it's going to be

515
00:23:56,880 --> 00:23:59,519
very reactive. He got downhill and that's what he's doing.

516
00:23:59,599 --> 00:24:01,640
Maybe not, but like that is kind of my read.

517
00:24:02,039 --> 00:24:03,759
But when you can shoot and score like he can,

518
00:24:03,839 --> 00:24:05,920
that's if you can get him to pass out of drives,

519
00:24:05,920 --> 00:24:06,640
that's perfectly fine.

520
00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:09,200
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's that's gonna be enough, I think, especially if

521
00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:11,480
the guys around him show they can actually make enough

522
00:24:11,519 --> 00:24:12,200
shots to do that.

523
00:24:14,119 --> 00:24:16,400
Speaker 1: What were your thoughts about the cam Whitmore trade and

524
00:24:16,400 --> 00:24:18,839
what are you kind you know that's I mentioned perimeter

525
00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:21,240
players who can get paint touches on the ball. He

526
00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:23,400
can certainly do that, but he is not going to

527
00:24:23,519 --> 00:24:26,000
pass on those paint touches, which is why I singled

528
00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:27,160
out cool Bali there.

529
00:24:27,559 --> 00:24:30,160
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think he makes actually a lot of sense

530
00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:32,440
for this roster. And it was a guy Wizards fans

531
00:24:32,480 --> 00:24:35,079
wanted a lot out of that particular draft, So this

532
00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:36,880
a little bit of like, oh, you went out and

533
00:24:36,920 --> 00:24:40,279
got our guy, and like this front office their approval rating,

534
00:24:40,400 --> 00:24:45,240
Like Bob Carrington was a huge Wizards fan based darling

535
00:24:45,319 --> 00:24:47,799
in that draft. So was Keshan George and same with

536
00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:50,039
Cam Whitmore. So to go back and get like the

537
00:24:50,160 --> 00:24:52,400
other guy the fan base liked, I think was at

538
00:24:52,480 --> 00:24:57,440
least big, you know, for their approval rating overall. And

539
00:24:57,440 --> 00:25:00,400
the thing with Cam, like my take on the guys

540
00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:03,440
they've drafted so far, like there's positional size, there's all

541
00:25:03,599 --> 00:25:05,079
like every one of these dudes has a little bit

542
00:25:05,079 --> 00:25:08,200
of like passing ability and some playmaking. Like they're all

543
00:25:08,240 --> 00:25:10,920
maybe slightly better than you expect as like not really

544
00:25:10,960 --> 00:25:14,319
ball stoppers, which is great, but they're all also kind

545
00:25:14,359 --> 00:25:16,640
of willing to like take a back seat a little

546
00:25:16,680 --> 00:25:19,880
bit too much. In my opinion, I want like a

547
00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:22,759
a rational confidence guy like I mentioned, and so like

548
00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:25,160
you need Kid Moore to pass or Kim Wentmore to

549
00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:28,039
pass a little bit. But I'm okay with the dude

550
00:25:28,079 --> 00:25:29,920
that just wants to come in and like rip rims

551
00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:32,400
down and kill dudes out there, and maybe that just

552
00:25:32,480 --> 00:25:35,599
rubs off on people enough. And I think he's another

553
00:25:35,599 --> 00:25:38,640
guy that if they got that sort of dynamic guard,

554
00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:41,319
like maybe him and Trey having some minutes together would

555
00:25:41,319 --> 00:25:44,119
be great. But he's more of a slasher to me,

556
00:25:44,599 --> 00:25:46,440
and I'd actually maybe use him more as like a

557
00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:51,000
small ball, you know, four sometimes because he's like sturdily built,

558
00:25:51,079 --> 00:25:53,440
but he's not maybe the best shooter of his own,

559
00:25:53,519 --> 00:25:56,200
So just let him be a power player and attack

560
00:25:56,240 --> 00:25:58,680
the rim and just can you get him to do

561
00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:01,759
some like I don't know, rush Brownie type things. Is

562
00:26:01,799 --> 00:26:05,160
like a short role passer and stuff like that too,

563
00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:07,920
like that if there's just enough playmaking there and enough

564
00:26:07,920 --> 00:26:11,319
shooting to unlock the physical gifts, I think he's the

565
00:26:11,359 --> 00:26:13,440
amazing kind of guy to take a flyer on. If

566
00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:17,119
you're this Wizards team, there's like literally reasonable reward and

567
00:26:17,160 --> 00:26:19,200
no risk to do it. So I love that move.

568
00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:22,640
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I don't. I don't think the past like

569
00:26:22,720 --> 00:26:24,599
I just don't think the passing is ever Maybe maybe

570
00:26:24,640 --> 00:26:26,160
I'll be wrong. The short wold thing is not really

571
00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:29,200
something I considered. So if you have the spacing around him, maybe.

572
00:26:28,839 --> 00:26:30,599
Speaker 2: That's got to be what it is. If you're playing

573
00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:32,839
him around other wings that can shoot, and.

574
00:26:33,119 --> 00:26:35,359
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think and a lot of this will depend

575
00:26:35,359 --> 00:26:37,400
on the environment too. I actually think that his shooting,

576
00:26:37,440 --> 00:26:39,279
he's gonna end up being like this lights out guy

577
00:26:39,279 --> 00:26:41,880
who's he will score off the catch, he can even

578
00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:44,079
score off motion, and so that I'm so interest to

579
00:26:44,079 --> 00:26:47,160
see what his offensive fit looks like in the larger ecosystem.

580
00:26:47,480 --> 00:26:48,880
I thought it was a home run move by them,

581
00:26:48,920 --> 00:26:50,720
like they were. The second round picks they gave up

582
00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:52,720
were like real second round picks. But to get someone

583
00:26:53,079 --> 00:26:54,960
with his pedigree when they have not one but two

584
00:26:55,079 --> 00:26:57,599
years left on their rookie scale is actually kind of insane.

585
00:26:57,839 --> 00:27:01,200
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, no one can really explain to me, Like

586
00:27:01,279 --> 00:27:03,599
I know enough guys here locally to be able to ask,

587
00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:05,960
like what they thought went on with him draft wise?

588
00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:09,160
And I still don't have like a great, like concrete

589
00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:11,960
answer why he fell. So you got a dude that

590
00:27:12,119 --> 00:27:15,240
was top five on draft boards for like a large

591
00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:17,200
portion of the year, which was you know, probably too high,

592
00:27:17,200 --> 00:27:20,960
but he dropped the twenty and you got him as

593
00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:24,880
a reclamation project already, Like cool, Like what There's just

594
00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:26,759
literally no harm in trying to do that, And I

595
00:27:26,799 --> 00:27:28,599
wish they would do that as many times as possible

596
00:27:28,599 --> 00:27:30,119
between now and whenever they're good again.

597
00:27:30,599 --> 00:27:32,680
Speaker 1: I gave up trying. I asked like a couple of

598
00:27:32,720 --> 00:27:36,400
like Rockets people that I interact with, not Rockets team sources,

599
00:27:36,400 --> 00:27:38,960
I'm not sourcing him here, and just nobody had answers,

600
00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:41,000
and I gave up. But I just assumed that we

601
00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:43,599
would eventually find out. And now that you mentioned, I'm like, yeah,

602
00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:45,680
it's two years later. We still haven't really found out. Though.

603
00:27:45,680 --> 00:27:47,680
Speaker 2: It's weird, right, like you usually hear some of the

604
00:27:47,839 --> 00:27:51,200
leaks out at some point. But the one thing I'll

605
00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:54,680
say is like he's been an underwhelming defender, and if

606
00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:57,119
anyone's not familiar with like Cam wentmore, why he was

607
00:27:57,160 --> 00:27:59,880
an exciting prospect, like go watch him do like feed

608
00:28:00,279 --> 00:28:05,039
under eighteen stuff or Team USA. He was just everywhere

609
00:28:05,079 --> 00:28:08,279
and like swarm dudes and like overwhelmed people with physicality

610
00:28:08,319 --> 00:28:11,599
and athleticism, and I don't know, never really saw him

611
00:28:11,599 --> 00:28:13,400
do that when he got in in limited minutes with

612
00:28:13,440 --> 00:28:15,440
the Rockets, and maybe some of that was just frustration.

613
00:28:16,799 --> 00:28:19,440
But this Wizards team, like the young guys, are exciting

614
00:28:19,480 --> 00:28:24,119
because they profile as better than average defenders almost across

615
00:28:24,160 --> 00:28:26,440
the board, like Keishan Georgia. I'm sure we're gonna get

616
00:28:26,440 --> 00:28:29,160
too private next or whenever, Like he was kind of

617
00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:31,240
all over the place and he's an octopus and he's long,

618
00:28:31,319 --> 00:28:34,000
and like Kim Wimore, could do more of those things.

619
00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:37,799
So I hope he rubs off on them with offensive aggressiveness,

620
00:28:37,839 --> 00:28:41,200
but I hope they kind of hold him accountable defensively.

621
00:28:41,920 --> 00:28:43,880
And if not like it, it's not quite as an

622
00:28:43,880 --> 00:28:45,640
exciting to me as a move if he's not going

623
00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:46,640
to do much on that end.

624
00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:49,559
Speaker 1: Yeah, you mentioned that maybe he's frustrated, so perhaps if

625
00:28:49,559 --> 00:28:51,559
he's having a bigger role, it'll get an easier buying.

626
00:28:51,599 --> 00:28:54,440
But I also wonder, I like with a lot of players,

627
00:28:55,400 --> 00:28:58,400
the buy in when you're getting closer to that second contract.

628
00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:01,559
He's extension eligible after next season, right, is it real? Right?

629
00:29:01,720 --> 00:29:03,480
So well, no, not even is it real? Is that

630
00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:07,039
going to convince him to have to give a fuck

631
00:29:07,079 --> 00:29:10,079
factor on the defensive end basically, so that'll be something

632
00:29:10,119 --> 00:29:13,440
because the Rockets had a similar ecosystem of it's all

633
00:29:13,480 --> 00:29:15,759
these young dudes who really work on the defensive end,

634
00:29:15,759 --> 00:29:17,240
and you're like, well, why did that rub off?

635
00:29:17,880 --> 00:29:18,279
Speaker 2: Exactly?

636
00:29:19,759 --> 00:29:22,359
Speaker 1: Let's talk Kishan George, how you feeling about him after

637
00:29:22,359 --> 00:29:23,000
his rookie year.

638
00:29:23,759 --> 00:29:26,480
Speaker 2: I love him, and I don't really is that what

639
00:29:26,519 --> 00:29:29,279
it is? It's probably their Yeah, he's just cool looking dude,

640
00:29:29,319 --> 00:29:32,680
and he's funny and he's charming, and it just could

641
00:29:32,759 --> 00:29:35,480
keep going on and on about Bakishan, but no, he's

642
00:29:35,640 --> 00:29:38,680
just I think there's something there. And this is like

643
00:29:38,759 --> 00:29:41,720
a stupid way to phrase this, I realize in advance,

644
00:29:41,759 --> 00:29:44,119
so take this with a grain salt, But it's not

645
00:29:44,160 --> 00:29:47,000
like a scientific way to analyze a guy. But certain

646
00:29:47,079 --> 00:29:50,799
dude just kind of move differently on a basketball court,

647
00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:54,640
and like for his biggest Kishan is like, this is

648
00:29:54,640 --> 00:29:56,400
a dude who grew late and he feels like he's

649
00:29:56,440 --> 00:29:58,519
still kind of growing into his limbs here a little bit,

650
00:29:58,599 --> 00:30:03,039
but just like a very fluid, smooth guy on the court.

651
00:30:03,079 --> 00:30:06,160
And he'll do some things we're like, oh, like he

652
00:30:06,160 --> 00:30:08,680
showed a little wiggle here as he grabbed, grabbing and

653
00:30:08,680 --> 00:30:12,440
going through traffic, and he'll like do a swaggy step

654
00:30:12,480 --> 00:30:14,960
back and like brick it horribly. But like the fact

655
00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:18,000
that he took it is just I don't know, is

656
00:30:18,039 --> 00:30:22,079
intriguing to me. I actually I might be higher on

657
00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:25,240
him than any of the other young guys currently on

658
00:30:25,319 --> 00:30:27,680
this court, which is maybe crazy to say. I think

659
00:30:27,680 --> 00:30:29,680
the shooting will take a big jump forward this year,

660
00:30:30,319 --> 00:30:31,920
so you know a little bit already here it's some

661
00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:35,759
international play, Like it just looks a little more fluid,

662
00:30:36,519 --> 00:30:38,359
and not that it was broken, like he shot well

663
00:30:38,359 --> 00:30:41,000
at Miami but on low volume. But it just last

664
00:30:41,079 --> 00:30:44,000
year he started off so bad. I feel like that's

665
00:30:44,039 --> 00:30:46,799
almost you almost have to wipe the slate clean and

666
00:30:46,839 --> 00:30:49,440
start over the whole next year for somebody when you're

667
00:30:49,480 --> 00:30:51,160
just that bad out of the gate as a rookie.

668
00:30:51,240 --> 00:30:54,240
But I buy the shooting, and so now it's he's

669
00:30:54,279 --> 00:30:56,799
got enough handle to get downhill. I think there's some

670
00:30:56,799 --> 00:31:00,240
playmaking chops there. Yeah, So like he's exciting to me

671
00:31:00,319 --> 00:31:01,759
as a wing that can just do a little bit

672
00:31:01,799 --> 00:31:04,960
of everything. And I thought he was way ahead of schedule. Defensively,

673
00:31:04,960 --> 00:31:06,799
I expected him to do very little on that end,

674
00:31:06,839 --> 00:31:09,240
but he gets He's got good feel and he's got

675
00:31:09,240 --> 00:31:11,440
good positioning on things, so he gets steals and some

676
00:31:11,480 --> 00:31:14,680
blocks and some runouts from it, and I just, yeah,

677
00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:17,119
he's he's got some some real ceiling.

678
00:31:17,200 --> 00:31:20,839
Speaker 1: To me, he's definitely a eye test and vibes guy.

679
00:31:20,880 --> 00:31:23,160
For the first two years of his confute efficiency's not there.

680
00:31:23,200 --> 00:31:25,160
You just dismiss it because it looks he looks the

681
00:31:25,200 --> 00:31:26,920
part of like somebody who could be even a connector

682
00:31:27,400 --> 00:31:30,480
the passing. I certainly see it. I have not seen

683
00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:32,000
any of his time with Canada, but I know he

684
00:31:32,039 --> 00:31:34,039
should because summerally worry me a little bit when he

685
00:31:34,079 --> 00:31:36,039
shot like twenty four percent from three or whatever it was.

686
00:31:36,440 --> 00:31:39,160
But he's at like fifty something percent with Team Canada.

687
00:31:39,160 --> 00:31:40,839
Have you seen any of that? Like, what is it?

688
00:31:40,960 --> 00:31:42,640
What is it that makes you buy into like him

689
00:31:42,640 --> 00:31:43,720
being able to hit those shots?

690
00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:46,319
Speaker 2: It just he just looks confident in taking it. And

691
00:31:46,599 --> 00:31:48,400
I don't know if that's just I had a whole

692
00:31:48,440 --> 00:31:51,400
summer to put in work and like do my thing

693
00:31:51,480 --> 00:31:53,319
and and now I'm feeling good or I get to

694
00:31:53,319 --> 00:31:56,319
be more of the guy on this Canada team. Like

695
00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:00,759
you know, I'm not really sure what's driving that change,

696
00:32:00,799 --> 00:32:03,920
other than just like he some guys shoot because they

697
00:32:03,960 --> 00:32:07,119
have to shoot in certain situations. Last year, I think

698
00:32:07,119 --> 00:32:09,480
he shot to like try to show he could make it.

699
00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:12,079
And this year I feel like he just is just

700
00:32:12,079 --> 00:32:15,359
like clean shooting the ball because like the situation presents

701
00:32:15,400 --> 00:32:17,440
itself and he expects him to go in. So it

702
00:32:17,559 --> 00:32:21,279
just you almost don't feel him thinking so much about

703
00:32:21,279 --> 00:32:23,759
it as he's kind of playing through so many situations.

704
00:32:23,759 --> 00:32:25,599
So we'll see if it if it holds up, but

705
00:32:25,960 --> 00:32:27,799
I expect him to be like mid thirty to high

706
00:32:27,799 --> 00:32:29,000
thirties kind of guy.

707
00:32:29,200 --> 00:32:32,319
Speaker 1: Which is people are gonna say some inflammatory things about

708
00:32:32,359 --> 00:32:34,680
him this season if he's a high thirties three point shooter,

709
00:32:34,759 --> 00:32:36,400
and they will all be deserved.

710
00:32:36,519 --> 00:32:39,759
Speaker 2: And I will give one of the people saying those things, yeah, exactly, and.

711
00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:42,079
Speaker 1: I will be aggregating what you say on this podcast

712
00:32:42,119 --> 00:32:45,480
and just agreeing with it. The more I think about

713
00:32:45,480 --> 00:32:46,960
this team though, and you could vie hit the lens

714
00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:50,880
of like maybe it makes Keishaan George's role easier, certainly

715
00:32:50,880 --> 00:32:54,359
would help Alex Sar maybe even Kolabali, maybe even Trey Johnson.

716
00:32:54,759 --> 00:32:58,759
They need like the primary playmaker that or needs to

717
00:32:58,759 --> 00:33:03,279
be like this playmaking by committee approach. Can Bob Carrington

718
00:33:03,359 --> 00:33:06,279
be that guy? I've gone back and forth.

719
00:33:07,960 --> 00:33:11,279
Speaker 2: I don't think so. Personal I'm not saying he can't.

720
00:33:11,599 --> 00:33:14,279
I wouldn't bet on it being the most likely outcome

721
00:33:14,519 --> 00:33:18,000
is probably the way I frame it. Everybody talks about

722
00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:21,039
this dude is like a psycho competitor and a crazy

723
00:33:21,039 --> 00:33:24,480
hard worker. Like that's been a thing here locally from

724
00:33:24,519 --> 00:33:27,359
people that don't have any need to bes that kind

725
00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:30,400
of stuff. So like I buy it, and people around

726
00:33:30,480 --> 00:33:33,000
the team say that sort of thing of like that's

727
00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:35,039
the first name that comes up every time, is like

728
00:33:35,400 --> 00:33:37,319
this is the dude who wants to win every drill

729
00:33:37,359 --> 00:33:40,519
and win every scrimmage. So I love those sorts of things.

730
00:33:41,240 --> 00:33:43,960
I don't know if like the physical tools are there

731
00:33:44,039 --> 00:33:48,640
to be like that elite, you know, like high offensive

732
00:33:48,640 --> 00:33:52,799
option for him, Like he's just he's not too bursty necessarily,

733
00:33:52,839 --> 00:33:54,799
He's got decent size, but he's not going to like

734
00:33:54,839 --> 00:33:57,720
over He's not Kid Cunningham where he's so big, you know,

735
00:33:57,759 --> 00:34:00,480
he's seeing over the defense the whole time, Like so

736
00:34:01,160 --> 00:34:02,680
if you're not one of those two things, I just

737
00:34:02,720 --> 00:34:06,279
think it's hard to be like a starting, primary initiator

738
00:34:06,359 --> 00:34:08,239
in the league of like a high end kind of guy.

739
00:34:08,280 --> 00:34:11,000
If he's your fifth starter to run the offense because

740
00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:13,320
you have some elite wings like that, that's fine. But

741
00:34:14,079 --> 00:34:16,199
to me, if you get to a situation where he's

742
00:34:17,440 --> 00:34:19,960
like your first guard off the bench, now you've got

743
00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:22,760
a really good team because he can he can be

744
00:34:22,800 --> 00:34:24,719
on ball, he can be off ball, like, he's got

745
00:34:24,800 --> 00:34:27,239
enough size to guard ones and twos, like he would

746
00:34:27,280 --> 00:34:31,360
be an elite roster unlocker. I think if you had

747
00:34:31,360 --> 00:34:32,960
the ability to bring him off the bench.

748
00:34:33,719 --> 00:34:37,599
Speaker 1: He's like, this isn't like a perfect analog. There's an

749
00:34:37,639 --> 00:34:40,159
on ball poise there with him, especially when he gets

750
00:34:40,199 --> 00:34:41,960
into the link and know how to maintain his dribble.

751
00:34:42,519 --> 00:34:44,800
But just I don't I don't even know who the

752
00:34:44,880 --> 00:34:47,199
right comp of a player is. It feels like post

753
00:34:47,280 --> 00:34:50,360
prime CP three with the way that he just doesn't

754
00:34:50,400 --> 00:34:52,360
get to the basket and you can maybe trust the

755
00:34:52,360 --> 00:34:54,840
efficiency is not the same. You could trust it maybe

756
00:34:54,840 --> 00:34:57,960
to make the right decisions. But I like that version

757
00:34:58,000 --> 00:35:00,239
of CB three could still drive an offense and it's

758
00:35:00,280 --> 00:35:02,599
even thought about Malcolm Brogden, who is just his teammate,

759
00:35:02,639 --> 00:35:05,079
But that's that's not even like his drives are a

760
00:35:05,119 --> 00:35:07,960
little bit more brogged in prime. Brogden's drives are more forceful,

761
00:35:07,960 --> 00:35:11,039
And I don't know, I'm with you, I need to

762
00:35:11,039 --> 00:35:12,400
see more of them, of course, I just don't know

763
00:35:12,400 --> 00:35:14,400
if he has that extra gear to where there's either

764
00:35:14,440 --> 00:35:17,760
going to be a downhill force or just a thrust

765
00:35:17,800 --> 00:35:18,880
about the way he plays.

766
00:35:19,719 --> 00:35:22,719
Speaker 2: The majority, I'm not saying all, but like greater than

767
00:35:22,719 --> 00:35:25,840
fifty one percent of Wizards fans, like I feel confident

768
00:35:25,880 --> 00:35:29,119
in this percentage, are obsessed with his ability to make

769
00:35:29,199 --> 00:35:31,880
tough mid range pull ups over guys, and he can

770
00:35:31,920 --> 00:35:34,360
do this at an elite level, you know, right out

771
00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:36,840
of the gate as a rookie. And I'm more of

772
00:35:36,880 --> 00:35:39,159
the but why does he have to take so many

773
00:35:39,199 --> 00:35:42,840
of them? You know? Thing? Because it's just it's it's

774
00:35:42,840 --> 00:35:46,239
hard to maximize value on that particular shot if you're

775
00:35:46,280 --> 00:35:49,679
not like a star player on a team, and maybe

776
00:35:49,719 --> 00:35:52,960
being surrounded by more shooting would help him have a

777
00:35:52,960 --> 00:35:55,199
little bit more space to drive and get a little

778
00:35:55,239 --> 00:35:57,519
further to the basket. So I don't think it's totally

779
00:35:57,559 --> 00:36:00,159
a hymn thing, but I just don't ever see it

780
00:36:00,239 --> 00:36:03,199
take a big enough jump where he can be like

781
00:36:03,360 --> 00:36:07,000
the guy driving an offense necessarily and that that's okay

782
00:36:07,039 --> 00:36:08,960
for me too. I think he's just like a really good,

783
00:36:10,079 --> 00:36:13,719
solid contributor here for a long time, fringe starter kind

784
00:36:13,719 --> 00:36:14,000
of guy.

785
00:36:14,880 --> 00:36:17,320
Speaker 1: How many free throws does he get? This guy makes season?

786
00:36:18,880 --> 00:36:21,519
Speaker 2: Not enough, whatever the number is, it just sort of

787
00:36:21,559 --> 00:36:25,079
probably won't be enough for me too. And he's a

788
00:36:25,119 --> 00:36:28,039
solid dude. Like there was this play even on Opening

789
00:36:28,119 --> 00:36:32,599
Night where like Drew Holliday try to like back him

790
00:36:32,639 --> 00:36:35,039
down and like he held his ground and like we're like,

791
00:36:35,079 --> 00:36:41,280
oh okay, like he's he's tough there. So honestly, actually

792
00:36:41,320 --> 00:36:44,159
maybe it's kind of like Drew Holliday ish offensively, Like

793
00:36:44,199 --> 00:36:46,880
he's not that kind of defender, but like a little

794
00:36:46,880 --> 00:36:50,360
bit of a tweener, you know, not crazy athletic, but

795
00:36:51,320 --> 00:36:53,599
he can create enough for people and just be sort

796
00:36:53,599 --> 00:36:56,880
of solid. Like maybe maybe that's the kind of role

797
00:36:57,000 --> 00:37:00,199
you look for, is like the the lower end, the

798
00:37:00,280 --> 00:37:04,320
offensive kind of guard, you know, not a top half

799
00:37:04,519 --> 00:37:07,280
offensive point guard in the NBA, but just solid enough.

800
00:37:07,360 --> 00:37:10,599
It just he won't be the top one percent defender

801
00:37:10,639 --> 00:37:12,719
that Drew is. So it's a little harder to get away.

802
00:37:12,519 --> 00:37:14,760
Speaker 1: With that, I think offensively because I think he'll be

803
00:37:14,760 --> 00:37:17,400
better than defensively. It's like what is like a lesser

804
00:37:17,480 --> 00:37:21,280
version or it's DeMar Derosen without the athleticism like live

805
00:37:21,280 --> 00:37:22,719
from the mid range. But I think he's a really

806
00:37:22,719 --> 00:37:25,039
like DeMar Rosen's passing over the last half decade or

807
00:37:25,079 --> 00:37:27,400
six years for the most part, I feel like that's

808
00:37:27,440 --> 00:37:29,719
a terrible comp But bub Carrington's given me a headache.

809
00:37:29,760 --> 00:37:32,159
Now I'm trying to find a good comp for him. Yeah.

810
00:37:32,480 --> 00:37:36,639
Speaker 2: Yeah, I had said, like Gabe Vincent coming out of Pittsburgh,

811
00:37:36,639 --> 00:37:38,800
but he's not that kind of player now in the NBA,

812
00:37:39,000 --> 00:37:42,199
So it's just, yeah, it's a weird analog. And I

813
00:37:42,199 --> 00:37:44,480
think maybe that's why it's harder for me to envision

814
00:37:44,519 --> 00:37:46,280
the ceiling with him, is I don't have a guy

815
00:37:46,360 --> 00:37:49,480
to like point two and be like that's the you know,

816
00:37:49,599 --> 00:37:51,400
the model I want you to follow.

817
00:37:53,159 --> 00:37:55,320
Speaker 1: So before getting into kind of something, we'll call them

818
00:37:55,320 --> 00:37:59,400
the accessorary accessory youngsters. Excuse me, this team just has

819
00:37:59,400 --> 00:38:02,039
so many dudes. How do you see them going about

820
00:38:02,519 --> 00:38:05,679
juggling playing time? Especially when they do have their on

821
00:38:05,800 --> 00:38:07,960
expiring contracts probably won't be around long term. But you

822
00:38:07,960 --> 00:38:10,599
have a CJ. McCollum, you have a Chris Middleton there

823
00:38:10,639 --> 00:38:13,320
as well. So how do they also juggle that dynamic

824
00:38:13,360 --> 00:38:17,719
of having two veterans who stood should still play.

825
00:38:17,960 --> 00:38:20,159
Speaker 2: I think they're gonna have to pick their spots a

826
00:38:20,199 --> 00:38:22,320
little bit with this and kind of ease into some

827
00:38:22,400 --> 00:38:25,320
things like Chris Middleton is not going to play eighty

828
00:38:25,360 --> 00:38:27,679
two games this year, even if he's on the Wizard

829
00:38:27,719 --> 00:38:31,159
Truster the entire time, and nor should he. I don't

830
00:38:31,159 --> 00:38:32,800
think his minutes are going to be as high as

831
00:38:32,840 --> 00:38:36,119
they've been, you know in previous stops. The same kind

832
00:38:36,159 --> 00:38:38,039
of thing for Chris Middleton, Like if you want to

833
00:38:38,079 --> 00:38:41,159
extract trade value from those guys, you want to keep

834
00:38:41,199 --> 00:38:43,559
them fresh and rested enough to help their new team.

835
00:38:43,719 --> 00:38:46,639
So do neither of them play on second night so

836
00:38:46,719 --> 00:38:49,840
back to backs, or do you alternate them and give

837
00:38:49,880 --> 00:38:51,800
them kind of like more shift work between the two

838
00:38:51,840 --> 00:38:54,440
of them, or you know, if they if they're even

839
00:38:54,480 --> 00:38:55,960
a little sore one night, you just give him the

840
00:38:55,960 --> 00:38:58,320
whole night off. Like there's no incentive to drive either

841
00:38:58,360 --> 00:39:01,119
of these guys into the ground. It's can you show

842
00:39:01,159 --> 00:39:03,800
that they're healthy enough to have some value for some

843
00:39:03,960 --> 00:39:06,039
other team that may want to trade from them, and

844
00:39:06,079 --> 00:39:10,960
then also extract like all the off court value you

845
00:39:10,960 --> 00:39:14,039
know from them from a leadership perspective and things like that.

846
00:39:14,119 --> 00:39:17,360
But they'll just make some of these guys lives easier

847
00:39:17,559 --> 00:39:19,239
enough that you want to play them with a mix

848
00:39:19,280 --> 00:39:22,559
of the young guys, Like I trust C J. McCollums

849
00:39:22,599 --> 00:39:24,360
to mostly do the right thing on an NBA court.

850
00:39:24,440 --> 00:39:28,599
Provide some spacing, you know, be an outlet offensively, you know,

851
00:39:28,719 --> 00:39:30,519
do some of the ball handling, some of the creating.

852
00:39:31,039 --> 00:39:34,039
Just make everybody a little lives a little bit easier.

853
00:39:34,079 --> 00:39:36,480
Chris Milton's going to just shoot it at a reasonable clip.

854
00:39:36,880 --> 00:39:39,239
I don't know if he can defend anybody anymore, but

855
00:39:39,280 --> 00:39:43,880
maybe that's okay in Washington around some other athletic rangeye defenders.

856
00:39:43,880 --> 00:39:47,400
So I think they're like it was gonna be bad,

857
00:39:47,400 --> 00:39:48,960
like this may be the worst record in the league,

858
00:39:48,960 --> 00:39:50,920
but like, so this is gonna sound stupid, Like they

859
00:39:50,960 --> 00:39:53,280
may just be floor razors for their minutes when they're

860
00:39:53,320 --> 00:39:57,239
on the court for everybody else, and I think that's valuable.

861
00:39:57,320 --> 00:39:59,519
I would be shocked if both of them are on

862
00:39:59,559 --> 00:40:03,719
the ross after the trade deadline, just because it doesn't

863
00:40:03,800 --> 00:40:06,519
make a ton of sense to do that, and maybe

864
00:40:06,719 --> 00:40:08,559
keep one of them just because they're happy to be

865
00:40:08,639 --> 00:40:11,039
in that mentor phase of their career. You know, I

866
00:40:11,079 --> 00:40:13,280
don't know where their heads are at, but at some

867
00:40:13,400 --> 00:40:15,639
point I would love to see them find a way

868
00:40:15,679 --> 00:40:18,199
to get Will Riley and guys like that some minutes,

869
00:40:18,280 --> 00:40:19,960
you know, at least in the second half of the year.

870
00:40:20,039 --> 00:40:22,360
So that's kind of a weak answer to your question,

871
00:40:22,440 --> 00:40:24,639
I think, Dan, but like we'll see is sort of

872
00:40:24,639 --> 00:40:27,039
the answer. And I don't really have a great enough

873
00:40:27,039 --> 00:40:29,599
feel for Brian Keifyet to know how he'll make that work.

874
00:40:30,400 --> 00:40:33,239
Speaker 1: Also, man, bub carry, you just learned from Chris Middleton.

875
00:40:33,480 --> 00:40:34,920
That's a dude that never got to the room in

876
00:40:34,960 --> 00:40:38,360
his prime. So and carry Paul Handler. So there you go.

877
00:40:39,199 --> 00:40:41,960
The thing in clocking is that Chris Middleton and CJ.

878
00:40:42,079 --> 00:40:44,719
McCollum are still here, not that there hasn't been a trade,

879
00:40:44,719 --> 00:40:47,039
but because of the way the CBA works now, I

880
00:40:47,039 --> 00:40:49,320
feel like we're gonna see more off season buyouts and

881
00:40:49,360 --> 00:40:52,719
we Marcus Smart, DeAndre and being two examples. The fact

882
00:40:52,719 --> 00:40:56,320
that they're still in Washington is least me believe one

883
00:40:56,320 --> 00:40:58,440
of two things that the Wizards are prepared to make

884
00:40:58,480 --> 00:41:01,559
some in season moves that I involve taking back salary

885
00:41:01,599 --> 00:41:04,239
being compensated for it, or they really believe that these

886
00:41:04,280 --> 00:41:07,360
are two guys who can rehabilitate their values where they're

887
00:41:07,360 --> 00:41:09,920
getting value for them on the way out, where they're

888
00:41:09,960 --> 00:41:12,679
not just these vehicles to take on more money. And

889
00:41:12,719 --> 00:41:15,039
so still time for that to change, obviously, but that

890
00:41:15,159 --> 00:41:17,599
is something that I've clocked a little bit just in

891
00:41:17,639 --> 00:41:19,920
the age we are where it feels like these two guys,

892
00:41:20,360 --> 00:41:22,000
I don't think, if we're being honest, I don't think

893
00:41:22,039 --> 00:41:23,679
any of them wants to be on a team like

894
00:41:23,800 --> 00:41:27,000
Washington right now. They'd rather be contending for a title.

895
00:41:27,039 --> 00:41:28,679
And yes, they want to get paid. So maybe this

896
00:41:28,719 --> 00:41:31,760
could also be a reflection of the market for them

897
00:41:32,039 --> 00:41:34,480
where Marcus Smart and who's gonna wind up to the Lakers

898
00:41:34,480 --> 00:41:38,079
And but it's just something that I've clocked because the

899
00:41:38,119 --> 00:41:39,800
way it works, I could have seen one of them

900
00:41:39,800 --> 00:41:42,280
maybe brokering a buy out before the season started.

901
00:41:43,599 --> 00:41:47,800
Speaker 2: Whether it's them doing it themselves or who they talk

902
00:41:47,880 --> 00:41:49,400
to in the local media, do it four of them

903
00:41:49,440 --> 00:41:51,960
like this front office has not been afraid to sort

904
00:41:51,960 --> 00:41:57,119
of let it slip that they're prioritizing sending veteran guys

905
00:41:57,119 --> 00:42:00,920
to good situations. So I think from a good will perspective,

906
00:42:01,039 --> 00:42:04,519
they've gotten now some track record to say, hey, just

907
00:42:04,599 --> 00:42:07,000
be patient with us. We will try to send you

908
00:42:07,039 --> 00:42:09,199
somewhere you can be in a good spot, Like, just

909
00:42:09,840 --> 00:42:12,159
give us the time to try to get the most

910
00:42:12,199 --> 00:42:15,920
possible out of it. And like I said up front

911
00:42:15,960 --> 00:42:17,880
of it could maybe nitpick. They held onto a few

912
00:42:17,920 --> 00:42:20,480
of these older guys a little too long and didn't

913
00:42:20,960 --> 00:42:24,079
get the most value from them. But they seem content

914
00:42:24,199 --> 00:42:26,639
to just play this thing all the way down to

915
00:42:26,679 --> 00:42:30,079
the wire with guys, and when they do make a move, it's,

916
00:42:30,599 --> 00:42:32,719
you know, we'll let Marcus Smart go early and go

917
00:42:32,920 --> 00:42:34,679
be somewhere he wants to be. Or we'll send Kyle

918
00:42:34,800 --> 00:42:38,079
Kuzma to a playoff contender, and I will send Jordan

919
00:42:38,119 --> 00:42:40,559
Pool somewhere where they may have a blueprint of being

920
00:42:40,639 --> 00:42:42,480
good enough, but he can also still be the man

921
00:42:43,280 --> 00:42:45,320
and you know, shoot twenty times a game. So like

922
00:42:45,679 --> 00:42:47,679
they're putting guys in situations where it seems like they

923
00:42:47,760 --> 00:42:50,679
want to be. So if I'm I'm a Collum and

924
00:42:50,719 --> 00:42:53,119
Middleton's agents I'm like, Okay, they'll take care of me,

925
00:42:53,199 --> 00:42:54,599
so I can kind of just let this play out

926
00:42:54,639 --> 00:42:55,079
a little bit.

927
00:42:56,320 --> 00:42:58,760
Speaker 1: Can we go through some of your impressions on as

928
00:42:58,800 --> 00:43:01,480
we'll call them, the accessor the accessory youngster?

929
00:43:01,599 --> 00:43:03,960
Speaker 2: Can't I like accessorary announce with you like I think

930
00:43:03,960 --> 00:43:07,400
that's the it's the new NBA term we discribed. And

931
00:43:07,440 --> 00:43:10,239
I just saw something real quickly like poor Man's E

932
00:43:10,320 --> 00:43:14,000
manual Quickly. Could that be where Carrington goes? Like that

933
00:43:14,079 --> 00:43:14,679
kind of player.

934
00:43:15,760 --> 00:43:18,320
Speaker 1: I'm just wondering, like even Quickly just has like a

935
00:43:18,360 --> 00:43:21,000
little bit more like aesthetic pop to him than what

936
00:43:21,119 --> 00:43:23,639
Carrington is. But that would be like if he could

937
00:43:23,679 --> 00:43:26,239
score like on the ball the way that A Manual

938
00:43:26,320 --> 00:43:28,679
Quickly came from float range and like getting off those threes,

939
00:43:28,719 --> 00:43:30,599
Like yeah, hell yeah, that would be a great outcome

940
00:43:30,639 --> 00:43:34,559
for him. So let's start with how you feel about A. J. Johnson.

941
00:43:35,280 --> 00:43:38,280
Speaker 2: I don't unfortunately, And.

942
00:43:39,039 --> 00:43:43,320
Speaker 1: I was listening to your summer like really Reaction podcast.

943
00:43:43,400 --> 00:43:44,639
You did not seem like you were an A. J.

944
00:43:44,800 --> 00:43:45,440
Johnson guy.

945
00:43:45,760 --> 00:43:48,280
Speaker 2: Yeah, I just kind of don't see the vision personally.

946
00:43:49,360 --> 00:43:52,480
It's like Hamadu Diallo two point zero, like the Wizards

947
00:43:52,519 --> 00:43:55,119
tried to like see if there was anything there and

948
00:43:55,199 --> 00:43:57,480
kick the tires on him because he was a Will

949
00:43:57,559 --> 00:44:02,559
Dawkins guy. And okay, see, like you're basically a power

950
00:44:02,599 --> 00:44:04,960
forward on offense, like you know, like there's not a

951
00:44:04,960 --> 00:44:07,440
whole lot of like he's not like an elite ball

952
00:44:07,480 --> 00:44:10,079
handler because he can't really break anybody. He doesn't get

953
00:44:10,119 --> 00:44:12,360
anywhere with his ball handling, if that makes sense. Like

954
00:44:12,400 --> 00:44:16,400
the dribble moves might be nice, but doesn't really shoot it.

955
00:44:16,519 --> 00:44:19,639
It doesn't really play make much other than like in

956
00:44:19,719 --> 00:44:21,840
fast breaks he may kind of like skip the ball

957
00:44:21,880 --> 00:44:25,639
ahead a bit, but he's just so slender and hasn't

958
00:44:25,679 --> 00:44:28,159
filled out at all yet through a couple of years.

959
00:44:28,199 --> 00:44:31,119
That how does he guard like anybody at a high

960
00:44:31,199 --> 00:44:34,840
level enough to like use those physical tools. So I

961
00:44:34,920 --> 00:44:37,360
just can't I can't see the path forward for what

962
00:44:37,519 --> 00:44:40,639
he is. And this team could use a guy that's

963
00:44:40,679 --> 00:44:43,000
so explosive he can get into the paint, but like

964
00:44:43,679 --> 00:44:45,480
teams aren't going to worry about that because he's just

965
00:44:45,519 --> 00:44:47,800
going to bounce off of defenders and they're going to

966
00:44:47,840 --> 00:44:49,599
sag off of him until he can shoot it enough.

967
00:44:49,639 --> 00:44:51,840
So there's just there's too many things there that still

968
00:44:51,880 --> 00:44:54,039
have to go along way that I can't really see

969
00:44:54,079 --> 00:44:54,480
the vision.

970
00:44:55,840 --> 00:44:57,760
Speaker 1: How I feel about Will Riley, who took a lot

971
00:44:57,800 --> 00:44:59,960
more threes during Summer League than I was anticipating.

972
00:45:01,239 --> 00:45:04,039
Speaker 2: Yeah, the first game was rough, that was another tough

973
00:45:04,079 --> 00:45:07,320
wizard's performance, and then the second game was apparently good

974
00:45:07,400 --> 00:45:09,719
enough they felt content to kind of soft shut him down.

975
00:45:09,760 --> 00:45:11,880
I know they attributed to like a thumb injury or whatever,

976
00:45:11,920 --> 00:45:15,480
but you know they think they were okay with that

977
00:45:15,559 --> 00:45:18,440
performance being the last time people saw him. I don't know.

978
00:45:18,679 --> 00:45:20,599
I think he's a fine guy to take a flyer on,

979
00:45:20,960 --> 00:45:24,000
another kind of guy that checks some boxes for them.

980
00:45:24,199 --> 00:45:26,639
A little bit of a lake grower can do more

981
00:45:27,039 --> 00:45:31,800
like as good positional size, has some playmaking potential longer

982
00:45:31,880 --> 00:45:34,000
term here, and like can put the ball in like.

983
00:45:34,119 --> 00:45:36,199
They want guys who can all pass, durable, shoot at

984
00:45:36,239 --> 00:45:39,760
every position, which is a noble goal to be in

985
00:45:39,800 --> 00:45:43,199
search of. So I think there's a long way to

986
00:45:43,239 --> 00:45:45,159
go for him, and it's going to be like three

987
00:45:45,239 --> 00:45:47,280
years before you can have like a real opinion on

988
00:45:47,719 --> 00:45:48,480
what his deal is.

989
00:45:49,119 --> 00:45:52,840
Speaker 1: I think if he gets any minutes, they won't be

990
00:45:52,920 --> 00:45:55,000
short on guys who will make hustle plays. He seems

991
00:45:55,039 --> 00:45:56,599
like that's going to be the type of player he'll be,

992
00:45:56,719 --> 00:45:58,960
And maybe that's why they felt comfortable buying out Marcus

993
00:45:58,960 --> 00:46:00,679
smart as they say, hey, look we got Will Riley,

994
00:46:00,679 --> 00:46:03,280
but we don't mean Marcus Mark. Yeah, I'm kidding there.

995
00:46:03,280 --> 00:46:04,960
If anybody did not know he's.

996
00:46:04,840 --> 00:46:07,760
Speaker 2: He's an elite defender from day one, you know, it's

997
00:46:07,840 --> 00:46:11,480
like the Spider Man, mean, between he and and some

998
00:46:11,519 --> 00:46:14,440
of the elite defenders. I don't he tried a little

999
00:46:14,440 --> 00:46:17,559
bit in Summer League to just be competitive on that end,

1000
00:46:17,679 --> 00:46:20,639
and I think that's the end. He's actually maybe further

1001
00:46:20,840 --> 00:46:25,800
away on like than the offense. So if this is

1002
00:46:25,840 --> 00:46:27,280
the kind of dude you want to take a flyer

1003
00:46:27,320 --> 00:46:29,280
on in the twenties, like, I'm never going to have

1004
00:46:29,280 --> 00:46:34,800
an issue with it. Dylan Jones completely out. Yeah, I

1005
00:46:34,920 --> 00:46:36,920
just don't. I don't get that one o case.

1006
00:46:36,960 --> 00:46:39,079
Speaker 1: He basically traded him twice, So I don't. I don't

1007
00:46:39,119 --> 00:46:39,559
blame you.

1008
00:46:40,000 --> 00:46:42,159
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's not a great sign too, like some of

1009
00:46:42,239 --> 00:46:44,800
their buddies from Okay see, so maybe they were just

1010
00:46:44,840 --> 00:46:47,119
happy to give him a landing spot. I saw nothing

1011
00:46:47,159 --> 00:46:49,880
in Summer League to sort of change that opinion for me.

1012
00:46:50,559 --> 00:46:52,679
Just another guy where I just kind of can't see

1013
00:46:53,480 --> 00:46:55,880
what he is in the NBA, and I don't know

1014
00:46:55,920 --> 00:46:58,440
that there's enough space on this roster to give him

1015
00:46:58,559 --> 00:47:01,679
enough chances to figure it out. Like he was crazy

1016
00:47:01,679 --> 00:47:03,480
productive at we re stated, but he also had crazy

1017
00:47:03,519 --> 00:47:06,920
high volume and usage, Like he's never going to get

1018
00:47:06,960 --> 00:47:08,800
to do that on an NBA team. So I just

1019
00:47:08,800 --> 00:47:10,840
don't know what the other swing skills are there that

1020
00:47:11,079 --> 00:47:13,360
help him carve out and you know, a niche for himself.

1021
00:47:14,440 --> 00:47:18,400
Speaker 1: I do have a like a saft spot for Tristan Vuksovic,

1022
00:47:18,559 --> 00:47:20,400
and I'm kind of surprised that one it feels like

1023
00:47:20,440 --> 00:47:22,239
he's been on a two way for like eight years somehow,

1024
00:47:22,280 --> 00:47:25,239
I know that's not legal or possible, but also I'm

1025
00:47:25,280 --> 00:47:27,679
surprised that he wasn't converted yet. I know they have

1026
00:47:27,719 --> 00:47:29,360
a bunch of salaries on the roster, but I might

1027
00:47:29,400 --> 00:47:32,920
prefer to just have him at guaranteed money than Malachi Brandam.

1028
00:47:32,960 --> 00:47:36,239
At this point, he's it's so hard to judge.

1029
00:47:36,280 --> 00:47:39,079
Speaker 2: Actually, I think his game isn't all that hard to evaluate.

1030
00:47:39,159 --> 00:47:42,400
It's hard to evaluate their opinion of his game because

1031
00:47:43,360 --> 00:47:45,880
like they're keeping him around, so there's enough there that

1032
00:47:45,920 --> 00:47:49,800
they're intrigued. But you know, they drafted him, didn't feel

1033
00:47:49,840 --> 00:47:52,000
the need to bring him over, then brought him over

1034
00:47:52,079 --> 00:47:55,639
at the end. He played really well the final seven

1035
00:47:55,639 --> 00:47:57,679
games of the year, which is like full scold season,

1036
00:47:58,239 --> 00:48:00,960
so you can't read a whole into it, but he

1037
00:48:01,079 --> 00:48:03,960
did what they wanted him to do, and the cool

1038
00:48:04,000 --> 00:48:06,719
we're gonna convert you from a standard contract to a

1039
00:48:06,760 --> 00:48:10,599
two way after seven really good games, which you never see.

1040
00:48:11,159 --> 00:48:14,559
And then he came over like late before Summer League

1041
00:48:14,599 --> 00:48:16,679
and was like barely in shape enough to get up

1042
00:48:16,719 --> 00:48:18,039
and down the court. I don't know if it was

1043
00:48:18,079 --> 00:48:21,679
an injury, barely played his you know, his second summer league,

1044
00:48:22,159 --> 00:48:24,320
and they shut him down after like a half a game.

1045
00:48:24,960 --> 00:48:26,920
And then he didn't play for most of the first

1046
00:48:26,960 --> 00:48:30,199
two months of the season with a knee contusion, which

1047
00:48:30,360 --> 00:48:32,800
I've never seen a knee bruise keep somebody off the

1048
00:48:32,800 --> 00:48:36,000
court for months. He was just not great for the

1049
00:48:36,039 --> 00:48:39,840
go go early the G League team, and then kind

1050
00:48:39,840 --> 00:48:41,719
of came around at some point and was like super

1051
00:48:41,760 --> 00:48:45,000
productive on the offensive end and made some shots and

1052
00:48:45,039 --> 00:48:47,840
did some passing and you're like, oh, okay, like we're

1053
00:48:47,880 --> 00:48:51,920
back to seeing the vision to me. Ultimately, like best

1054
00:48:51,960 --> 00:48:55,480
case scenario, he's like a rotation big Can he be

1055
00:48:55,679 --> 00:48:58,519
Sandro Mama Kallaje Villi, you know, like one of those

1056
00:48:58,599 --> 00:49:03,159
kind of guys Like he does some exciting stuff offensively.

1057
00:49:03,199 --> 00:49:06,039
I just don't know who he guards either, so I'm

1058
00:49:06,079 --> 00:49:08,400
not gonna take it or leave it personally.

1059
00:49:09,280 --> 00:49:12,119
Speaker 1: Do you have any thoughts on Malachi Brandham, who seems

1060
00:49:12,159 --> 00:49:15,559
like if you put Cam Whitmore in a shrinking machine

1061
00:49:15,679 --> 00:49:17,960
and then had him not pan out as a player,

1062
00:49:18,039 --> 00:49:20,840
that's who. And look, I was in love with Brandham

1063
00:49:20,880 --> 00:49:23,400
after his rookie year. He's not like a trillion percent

1064
00:49:23,440 --> 00:49:25,079
on floaters. I was like, Oh, this dude, like he's

1065
00:49:25,119 --> 00:49:27,199
got then No, not since then. Nothing.

1066
00:49:27,239 --> 00:49:30,480
Speaker 2: Basically, he also strikes me as a guy that maybe

1067
00:49:30,559 --> 00:49:33,920
still has some like of the irrational confidence offensively left

1068
00:49:33,920 --> 00:49:36,920
over from like his college role, so I'm not mad

1069
00:49:36,960 --> 00:49:39,000
at it. In practice is like maybe he'll go out

1070
00:49:39,039 --> 00:49:42,039
and get buckets and give a tough cover for people

1071
00:49:42,119 --> 00:49:45,599
to cover, you know, in that setting. My hunches, he's

1072
00:49:45,639 --> 00:49:48,519
probably not an impactful member of this roster if he's

1073
00:49:48,599 --> 00:49:51,360
here longer term. Of the two guys they got, I

1074
00:49:51,400 --> 00:49:54,559
actually probably preferred Blake Wesley, the one who really moved

1075
00:49:54,559 --> 00:49:56,960
on from just from a like maybe he can be

1076
00:49:57,039 --> 00:50:00,519
a point of attack defender that they don't have a

1077
00:50:00,559 --> 00:50:03,960
ton of like guards to do that. But Brandon, I

1078
00:50:04,000 --> 00:50:06,880
don't think he's really ever going to guard anybody. And

1079
00:50:07,199 --> 00:50:10,159
is there enough offense there that it kind of offsets that,

1080
00:50:10,400 --> 00:50:12,039
you know, I don't know, but again, not a guy.

1081
00:50:12,079 --> 00:50:14,039
I'm mad at them taking a flyer on, like if

1082
00:50:14,079 --> 00:50:16,639
you think there's something there, like go go do it.

1083
00:50:17,320 --> 00:50:20,440
Speaker 1: I guess worst case scenario. And this isn't just about Brandom,

1084
00:50:20,440 --> 00:50:22,960
but the roster at large is they've probably created a

1085
00:50:23,000 --> 00:50:26,159
culture of competition to where it's if you're not going

1086
00:50:26,239 --> 00:50:28,800
to perform, like someone's right there to take your minute.

1087
00:50:28,800 --> 00:50:30,800
So there's probably some value in that.

1088
00:50:31,639 --> 00:50:33,920
Speaker 2: That's something the Wizards hadn't done well when they did

1089
00:50:33,960 --> 00:50:36,000
have young players in the past. It was just like

1090
00:50:37,119 --> 00:50:38,920
they could look left and right, it's like, Okay, that

1091
00:50:38,960 --> 00:50:41,519
guy's never going to take my minute, so I'm good.

1092
00:50:41,840 --> 00:50:44,280
I can just kind of do my thing. Like I

1093
00:50:44,280 --> 00:50:45,719
think the story, I think you nailed it. I think

1094
00:50:45,760 --> 00:50:49,639
that's been very intentional. Like I actually loved Jamiir Watkins,

1095
00:50:49,719 --> 00:50:53,079
their second round pick this year, maybe more than I

1096
00:50:53,159 --> 00:50:54,880
liked the Will Riley pick to be honest, even though

1097
00:50:54,880 --> 00:50:57,960
he went twenty spots earlier, because like, that's a dude

1098
00:50:58,000 --> 00:51:01,000
that is going to compete with people like the jump

1099
00:51:01,199 --> 00:51:04,960
and views himself better than anybody else views himself, so

1100
00:51:05,119 --> 00:51:07,880
like he's going to try to take lunch money from people,

1101
00:51:07,920 --> 00:51:09,079
and I think this team means that.

1102
00:51:10,039 --> 00:51:11,760
Speaker 1: I guess the only place where there wouldn't be a

1103
00:51:11,800 --> 00:51:14,840
cultural competition is the big man spots, like what have

1104
00:51:14,840 --> 00:51:17,800
we got sar Bagley and then maybe Buksovich And that's.

1105
00:51:17,679 --> 00:51:20,719
Speaker 2: That's really it at this point. Yeah, we might see

1106
00:51:20,719 --> 00:51:23,000
some small ball lineups with Keishawn George at the five.

1107
00:51:23,119 --> 00:51:23,960
You know, halfway through.

1108
00:51:23,800 --> 00:51:26,320
Speaker 1: The wa oh hey, you're talking to the right audience.

1109
00:51:26,480 --> 00:51:29,159
I'll watch a lot of Wizards game that comes to stable.

1110
00:51:30,000 --> 00:51:32,599
Are you ready to enter the cookie cutter portion of

1111
00:51:32,639 --> 00:51:35,320
the podcast? We've talked about a few of them, but

1112
00:51:35,599 --> 00:51:37,480
just as a review, what do you view as this

1113
00:51:37,519 --> 00:51:39,840
team's like single biggest need or weakness?

1114
00:51:41,559 --> 00:51:45,400
Speaker 2: The guy? I think this year's draft is really the

1115
00:51:45,480 --> 00:51:48,239
year to go get it. Like I'm really excited about

1116
00:51:48,280 --> 00:51:51,440
the twenty twenty six draft class and whether it's a

1117
00:51:51,519 --> 00:51:54,159
Darren Peterson to just be the break you down guard

1118
00:51:54,880 --> 00:51:56,639
or an Aj Debonsa can come in and be like

1119
00:51:56,679 --> 00:52:00,559
that elite playmaking scoring you know, tough bucket getting wing

1120
00:52:01,599 --> 00:52:04,440
or Cam Boozer can slot perfectly next to Alex Star.

1121
00:52:04,559 --> 00:52:08,000
Like they just need one really big, high level talent

1122
00:52:08,039 --> 00:52:10,599
infusion to kind of make all these other pieces work.

1123
00:52:10,639 --> 00:52:13,480
I think like if you could shift each of them

1124
00:52:13,559 --> 00:52:17,239
down one major slot in the pecking order, I think

1125
00:52:17,280 --> 00:52:19,239
it becomes a little easier to see. And then you

1126
00:52:19,280 --> 00:52:23,000
add one big time free agent like or trade partner,

1127
00:52:23,039 --> 00:52:24,400
you know, whoever's free agent.

1128
00:52:24,440 --> 00:52:25,880
Speaker 1: I'm like, what does that happen anymore?

1129
00:52:25,880 --> 00:52:28,360
Speaker 2: But that's that is now done. Yeah, that's an artifact

1130
00:52:28,400 --> 00:52:31,280
of the past, I think. But uh yeah, you can

1131
00:52:31,400 --> 00:52:35,119
salvage somebody from another team or distressed asset or whatever.

1132
00:52:36,119 --> 00:52:39,039
Like that's just probably where I think they need to

1133
00:52:39,039 --> 00:52:42,079
go and just shooting in general when this team's good again.

1134
00:52:42,159 --> 00:52:44,039
They can't do it with that front court that we

1135
00:52:44,119 --> 00:52:48,000
just talked about. Like Sar I think has that high

1136
00:52:48,079 --> 00:52:50,800
and defensive upside we talked about, but he's he's going

1137
00:52:50,880 --> 00:52:53,320
to get like bullied by certain bigs in the league,

1138
00:52:53,400 --> 00:52:56,519
the ones who bully everybody. But Marvin Bagley is not

1139
00:52:56,960 --> 00:52:59,440
a defender at this point, he's also not a shooter.

1140
00:53:00,039 --> 00:53:04,960
Vulksovic can't guard anybody. So like it's tough, right, Like

1141
00:53:05,000 --> 00:53:08,559
it's they're gonna have to get another guy in the

1142
00:53:08,559 --> 00:53:12,440
front court somewhere to be semi competitive, I think, is there.

1143
00:53:12,519 --> 00:53:14,599
Speaker 1: So when you're talking about the guy, if you had

1144
00:53:14,599 --> 00:53:18,000
to pick one that you believe has the best chance

1145
00:53:18,039 --> 00:53:20,440
of becoming out already on the roster between I'm assuming

1146
00:53:20,440 --> 00:53:23,800
it's Trey Sar and Kola Bali as of right now.

1147
00:53:23,840 --> 00:53:26,400
Who are you good? Unfair question without seeing Trey's rookie season,

1148
00:53:26,440 --> 00:53:28,199
But who would you identify right now?

1149
00:53:28,840 --> 00:53:31,159
Speaker 2: I just again, I like all of these guys, like

1150
00:53:31,199 --> 00:53:32,920
I like them a lot, and I think they could

1151
00:53:32,920 --> 00:53:36,119
all be like really good two through five on a

1152
00:53:36,119 --> 00:53:39,119
good team, you know, all things considered, I think Trey

1153
00:53:39,239 --> 00:53:41,719
is the guy that has the best shot at being

1154
00:53:41,840 --> 00:53:44,880
better than that just by process of elimination. Like, I

1155
00:53:44,880 --> 00:53:47,639
feel like I've seen enough of these other guys that

1156
00:53:47,719 --> 00:53:50,119
I know that there are There would be a lot

1157
00:53:50,159 --> 00:53:52,039
of things that have to go right for one of

1158
00:53:52,039 --> 00:53:54,360
them to turn into that guy. But they could be

1159
00:53:54,480 --> 00:53:56,559
like elite supporting members in that cast.

1160
00:53:57,039 --> 00:53:59,760
Speaker 1: That's interesting. But you know, you're kind of right, because

1161
00:53:59,760 --> 00:54:03,320
even if Kolibali turns into Jaalen Brown, I don't know

1162
00:54:03,360 --> 00:54:04,960
how many people I will find out this year. I

1163
00:54:04,960 --> 00:54:06,000
guess without Jason.

1164
00:54:05,840 --> 00:54:07,880
Speaker 2: Tatum or the one on a good team.

1165
00:54:07,920 --> 00:54:09,639
Speaker 1: Right, and then with Sar, it's okay even if he

1166
00:54:09,679 --> 00:54:12,800
turns into Anthony Davis, one of the biggest, like Danthy

1167
00:54:12,840 --> 00:54:14,639
Davis have been a top ten NBA player for a

1168
00:54:14,960 --> 00:54:18,280
like in a bunch of seasons. But he we tend

1169
00:54:18,320 --> 00:54:20,000
to associate and I don't. I don't think this is

1170
00:54:20,039 --> 00:54:22,400
incorrect to do so, like the guy needs to drive

1171
00:54:22,519 --> 00:54:23,119
your offense.

1172
00:54:23,239 --> 00:54:28,719
Speaker 2: Yeah, I agree, So that just that's I think you

1173
00:54:28,800 --> 00:54:30,840
just nailed it right, Like a lot so much would

1174
00:54:30,880 --> 00:54:33,360
have to go right for Alex Sar to be Anthony Davis,

1175
00:54:33,760 --> 00:54:36,519
and he's still best suited as your number two guy

1176
00:54:36,559 --> 00:54:38,320
on a team that's tough.

1177
00:54:38,679 --> 00:54:40,320
Speaker 1: Yeah, I hadn't given that. I've just been saying like,

1178
00:54:40,320 --> 00:54:42,119
oh yeah, like I could see anyone, and then it's

1179
00:54:42,159 --> 00:54:45,079
now you just made me, you know, recalibrate. I think

1180
00:54:45,119 --> 00:54:47,800
Wizards are fun. I'm down on the Wizards.

1181
00:54:47,920 --> 00:54:50,960
Speaker 2: Any of them, which I think is great, including Keishaw George,

1182
00:54:50,960 --> 00:54:53,159
who I would put in that mix too, Like I

1183
00:54:53,559 --> 00:54:56,320
really truly believe like they could all turn into a

1184
00:54:56,360 --> 00:55:00,800
third best guy on like that's they all have the

1185
00:55:00,840 --> 00:55:03,159
ceiling to do that on a really good playoff team,

1186
00:55:03,239 --> 00:55:05,280
which is great to have that many irons in the

1187
00:55:05,320 --> 00:55:08,360
fire that I don't think they've missed on any of

1188
00:55:08,400 --> 00:55:11,079
these picks so far, Like I'm not counting like Will

1189
00:55:11,159 --> 00:55:12,880
Riley and stuff like we haven't seen play yet, but

1190
00:55:12,960 --> 00:55:15,719
like I feel very confident Trey Johnson is going to

1191
00:55:15,719 --> 00:55:18,000
be a good NBA player. I feel very confident bubb

1192
00:55:18,079 --> 00:55:21,239
Belyle Kishan alex Ar will all be good NBA players.

1193
00:55:21,280 --> 00:55:23,880
So to have that hit rate to fill out the

1194
00:55:23,960 --> 00:55:26,639
roster around them, you just need somebody for them all

1195
00:55:26,639 --> 00:55:27,400
to orbit around.

1196
00:55:27,480 --> 00:55:31,400
Speaker 1: Now, I think, is there something flying under the radar

1197
00:55:31,679 --> 00:55:35,679
about this team strength, weakness, storyline whatever that deserves some shine.

1198
00:55:36,519 --> 00:55:38,679
Speaker 2: They're going to play really fast and there's a lot

1199
00:55:38,679 --> 00:55:43,360
of young fresh legs on this team, and Kyle Kuzma

1200
00:55:43,480 --> 00:55:47,000
was like actively point shaving for a portion of last season,

1201
00:55:47,840 --> 00:55:51,079
and Poole just like didn't like he tried but wasn't

1202
00:55:51,079 --> 00:55:54,239
going to like drive enough winning by himself just based

1203
00:55:54,239 --> 00:55:57,159
on the way he plays to make them, you know,

1204
00:55:58,199 --> 00:56:02,480
surprise anybody realistically. So this team was just less competitive

1205
00:56:02,559 --> 00:56:06,079
more nights last year than I expected, and I don't

1206
00:56:06,079 --> 00:56:09,599
see that being the case this year. I think this

1207
00:56:09,679 --> 00:56:11,559
is going to be a team that isn't gonna win

1208
00:56:11,599 --> 00:56:14,519
many games, but all the veteran teams in the league,

1209
00:56:14,559 --> 00:56:16,519
and I'm like, oh god, we got to play them

1210
00:56:16,559 --> 00:56:20,440
on like a cold January night, Like that's that's kind

1211
00:56:20,440 --> 00:56:22,159
of what I'm looking forward to, at least, just like

1212
00:56:22,239 --> 00:56:23,880
some chaos.

1213
00:56:25,000 --> 00:56:28,320
Speaker 1: Beginning with the starting lineup and then through the reserves.

1214
00:56:28,360 --> 00:56:30,679
Who ends up being the top ten most used players

1215
00:56:30,719 --> 00:56:31,320
on the squad.

1216
00:56:33,400 --> 00:56:36,079
Speaker 2: I think who it is to start the year and

1217
00:56:36,159 --> 00:56:40,400
who it is to finish the year probably looks very different.

1218
00:56:40,559 --> 00:56:45,480
That would be my hunch at the very least. So

1219
00:56:45,800 --> 00:56:47,920
like I don't know how much a guy like a

1220
00:56:48,000 --> 00:56:52,199
cam Wentmore is, like how heavily he's in the rotation early,

1221
00:56:52,360 --> 00:56:55,280
like I think he has to play. But I would

1222
00:56:55,320 --> 00:56:57,840
be very surprised if bub Carrington doesn't start, just giving

1223
00:56:57,960 --> 00:57:01,119
what we saw last year. I think Cool almost certainly

1224
00:57:01,159 --> 00:57:04,119
starts given what we saw last year. I think alex

1225
00:57:04,159 --> 00:57:07,039
Are definitely starts, given that there's just no one else

1226
00:57:07,079 --> 00:57:10,519
that could theoretically start on an NBA team in you know,

1227
00:57:10,519 --> 00:57:14,719
in the front court here, So that's pretty interesting. Is

1228
00:57:14,760 --> 00:57:17,199
there a world where Trey Johnson could start right out

1229
00:57:17,239 --> 00:57:21,840
of the gate, We'll see c McCombs okay with coming

1230
00:57:21,840 --> 00:57:23,719
off the bench, or do they want to show him

1231
00:57:23,800 --> 00:57:27,480
enough to play? Is Chris Middleton just gonna stay healthy

1232
00:57:27,639 --> 00:57:31,239
enough to be consistently the starting you know, three or

1233
00:57:31,239 --> 00:57:34,239
four on this team, or do they go with Keishawn

1234
00:57:34,280 --> 00:57:37,280
George because he's ready to take the jump. Like my

1235
00:57:37,400 --> 00:57:42,599
gut is you start McCollum and probably Middleton definitely one

1236
00:57:42,679 --> 00:57:45,760
of the two of them, probably both early, and then

1237
00:57:45,800 --> 00:57:49,280
they're slowly maybe not even that slowly supplanted by Trey

1238
00:57:50,480 --> 00:57:54,719
Uh and Keishaan would be my next best get. I

1239
00:57:54,760 --> 00:57:57,400
think Corey Kissburg is probably the most likely to get

1240
00:57:57,440 --> 00:57:59,360
traded guy on the roster because it.

1241
00:57:59,400 --> 00:58:01,920
Speaker 1: Seems like he can get squeezed pretty easily out of

1242
00:58:01,920 --> 00:58:04,199
the rotation just because they have so many dudes, and

1243
00:58:04,320 --> 00:58:06,119
what is he to them long term?

1244
00:58:06,280 --> 00:58:09,599
Speaker 2: Yeah? Like they they definitely I can't really afford to

1245
00:58:09,599 --> 00:58:12,079
give up guys who can shoot yet. But if CJ

1246
00:58:12,199 --> 00:58:15,440
makes enough shots, if Trey makes enough shots, if Keyshan

1247
00:58:15,519 --> 00:58:17,800
makes the jump, I think if Middleton makes some shots

1248
00:58:17,800 --> 00:58:23,639
like he becomes pretty expendable. So I'd love to you know,

1249
00:58:24,320 --> 00:58:27,440
behind the scenes, people like you have Justin Champagne is

1250
00:58:27,480 --> 00:58:30,079
like maybe the first guy off right, Like it's I

1251
00:58:30,199 --> 00:58:32,559
just can't see them not finding a way to get

1252
00:58:32,599 --> 00:58:34,559
him minutes at some point during the year because he

1253
00:58:34,639 --> 00:58:38,159
was just so such a positive contributor and just the

1254
00:58:38,280 --> 00:58:40,480
guys seem to have fun playing next to him, so

1255
00:58:41,960 --> 00:58:46,000
that that's gonna be interesting. But dude, do the cam

1256
00:58:46,039 --> 00:58:49,199
wentmore or Justin Champennie guy, Like do they kind of

1257
00:58:49,239 --> 00:58:52,159
cannibalize each other's minutes in a roster like that? Like

1258
00:58:52,159 --> 00:58:55,800
it's probably one of the two of them plays meaningful minutes,

1259
00:58:55,840 --> 00:58:58,559
and is it the incumbent or the guy with the

1260
00:58:58,599 --> 00:59:01,360
higher pedigree? Curious to kind of see how that battle

1261
00:59:01,360 --> 00:59:03,559
shakes out a little bit more. And then Baggley just

1262
00:59:03,639 --> 00:59:06,559
has to play by virtue of you need someone else

1263
00:59:06,639 --> 00:59:09,280
over six foot eight to play minutes on an NBA team.

1264
00:59:09,480 --> 00:59:11,360
Speaker 1: Now if you decide you don't, that opens up a

1265
00:59:11,400 --> 00:59:14,880
lot of different parts, Like Corey kisspertend Justin Champette can play.

1266
00:59:14,880 --> 00:59:17,559
Speaker 2: I'm all about it, Like, just give me that forty

1267
00:59:17,559 --> 00:59:18,679
minutes a game. It would be cool.

1268
00:59:19,760 --> 00:59:22,559
Speaker 1: Uh, this is always to some extent matchup dependent, but

1269
00:59:22,599 --> 00:59:24,360
what do you think will be Let's say, by the

1270
00:59:24,400 --> 00:59:26,159
time the season ends, what do you think is going

1271
00:59:26,199 --> 00:59:27,639
to be their most used closing unit.

1272
00:59:28,800 --> 00:59:32,960
Speaker 2: I hope it's Trey Johnson, Bug Carrington, Belana, Coolboli Keishan,

1273
00:59:33,000 --> 00:59:36,480
George Alexar. That would be my hope personally, Like, I

1274
00:59:36,519 --> 00:59:41,079
think that's a fun group and it's you know, Johnson

1275
00:59:41,079 --> 00:59:46,039
can shoot like everybody except maybe sorry and cool Bally

1276
00:59:46,119 --> 00:59:47,920
can definitely shoot in the other two or at least

1277
00:59:47,920 --> 00:59:50,840
threats to do it. So could you potentially play fast

1278
00:59:50,840 --> 00:59:55,079
and five out and be fairly switchable like that would

1279
00:59:55,079 --> 00:59:58,199
be the lineup I would enjoy seeing games close, you know,

1280
00:59:58,239 --> 00:59:59,000
more often than that.

1281
00:59:59,559 --> 01:00:01,639
Speaker 1: I think part of me that if you really wanted

1282
01:00:01,639 --> 01:00:04,360
to get like ultra switchable, like let's throw Justin Champagnie

1283
01:00:04,360 --> 01:00:05,920
in there for Trey Johnson, I don't know what that

1284
01:00:05,960 --> 01:00:07,840
does to your offense, but oh.

1285
01:00:07,679 --> 01:00:09,039
Speaker 2: Well, yeah, I think that though.

1286
01:00:09,719 --> 01:00:11,719
Speaker 1: Is there a weird o lineup you want to see

1287
01:00:11,719 --> 01:00:12,960
Brian Keith try this season?

1288
01:00:13,440 --> 01:00:15,440
Speaker 2: Yeah? I was thinking about this one a little bit.

1289
01:00:15,599 --> 01:00:19,119
I think it's some combination of Trey Johnson at the

1290
01:00:19,159 --> 01:00:25,960
one next to Kolabali, Kim Whitmore, Keishawn, George, and then

1291
01:00:26,000 --> 01:00:28,239
like Champagny would be cool. But like maybe it's probably

1292
01:00:28,280 --> 01:00:31,280
just still Alexar. But but even that I think is

1293
01:00:31,400 --> 01:00:35,039
kind of just intriguing. But to me, if you just

1294
01:00:35,079 --> 01:00:37,280
took like all of the six foot five to six

1295
01:00:37,280 --> 01:00:39,280
foot eight guys on this roster and put them out

1296
01:00:39,280 --> 01:00:42,039
there together at one time, I would just personally enjoy

1297
01:00:42,079 --> 01:00:43,079
seeing how that plays out.

1298
01:00:43,480 --> 01:00:45,719
Speaker 1: Yeah, you sold me on that. I probably would have went.

1299
01:00:45,800 --> 01:00:47,400
I could have went with something different, but it needs

1300
01:00:47,440 --> 01:00:51,719
to be like Koli Bali, Kishan, George, cam Whitmore. Let's

1301
01:00:51,760 --> 01:00:54,039
just throw Chris Middleton and Justin Champagnie in there.

1302
01:00:54,719 --> 01:00:56,639
Speaker 2: Done that and that would be that'd be at least

1303
01:00:56,760 --> 01:01:00,320
weird enough to be something other teams would kind of

1304
01:01:00,360 --> 01:01:02,840
like eyebrow raise you for. So I want to see that.

1305
01:01:03,280 --> 01:01:05,360
Speaker 1: The problem with that exercise for the Wizards is that

1306
01:01:05,400 --> 01:01:08,159
they're so barren of big men after alex Are that

1307
01:01:08,239 --> 01:01:11,039
it becomes inherently hard to build a weird line up

1308
01:01:11,079 --> 01:01:12,679
in the sense that well, no, like Brian Kea just

1309
01:01:12,760 --> 01:01:14,639
might have to play that unit. Anybody might not have

1310
01:01:14,679 --> 01:01:15,159
a choice.

1311
01:01:15,199 --> 01:01:17,079
Speaker 2: I mean we could go the other way and just

1312
01:01:17,320 --> 01:01:19,920
go like with the least athletic group you could think of,

1313
01:01:20,199 --> 01:01:24,639
and just put you know, uh CJ McCollum, Corey Kispert,

1314
01:01:26,039 --> 01:01:29,960
Chris Middleton, Marvin Bagley, and Tristan Vuksovich out there together

1315
01:01:30,079 --> 01:01:31,400
or something like that.

1316
01:01:31,400 --> 01:01:35,119
Speaker 1: That would be something that be something good.

1317
01:01:35,199 --> 01:01:37,880
Speaker 2: But it would be five people on a basketball court.

1318
01:01:37,920 --> 01:01:38,719
At the very least.

1319
01:01:39,079 --> 01:01:41,199
Speaker 1: I think they'd be able to limit their turnovers. It's

1320
01:01:41,480 --> 01:01:44,920
about that. It might be fun. Yeah, before I ask

1321
01:01:44,960 --> 01:01:47,880
you for some prediction, prediction, is there anything any one

1322
01:01:48,000 --> 01:01:50,440
about this team we haven't discussed that you think warrants

1323
01:01:50,800 --> 01:01:51,480
some spotlight.

1324
01:01:53,079 --> 01:01:56,360
Speaker 2: I'm trying to think I mentioned him already, so I'm

1325
01:01:56,360 --> 01:01:59,480
just going to do it again. I I have a

1326
01:01:59,519 --> 01:02:03,559
weird high that like Jimmy or Watkins is gonna find

1327
01:02:03,559 --> 01:02:05,559
a way to get some minutes for this group. I

1328
01:02:05,639 --> 01:02:09,400
just think he'll be a guy that could see them

1329
01:02:09,440 --> 01:02:12,480
finding some kind of role for essentially, Like he just

1330
01:02:12,519 --> 01:02:17,320
plays so hard and is gonna be just super competitive,

1331
01:02:17,360 --> 01:02:20,719
and I feel like that's a thing they'll probably want

1332
01:02:20,760 --> 01:02:24,440
to reward. They also just love Anthony Gill, so like

1333
01:02:24,519 --> 01:02:27,679
he will play minutes for this team. He might actually

1334
01:02:27,679 --> 01:02:29,880
be the third big air quotes on this team.

1335
01:02:30,039 --> 01:02:32,039
Speaker 1: So he's like, there, get well, if he's actually gonna play,

1336
01:02:32,079 --> 01:02:34,360
he's not. But he's basically their Garrett Temple at this point.

1337
01:02:34,480 --> 01:02:37,679
Speaker 2: He's there Garrett Temple, Yadanis Haslam, you know.

1338
01:02:37,679 --> 01:02:39,239
Speaker 1: Like, but he's gonna play.

1339
01:02:39,360 --> 01:02:41,599
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, Like everybody would love to see him on

1340
01:02:41,639 --> 01:02:43,679
the bench in a polo shirt, but he just is

1341
01:02:43,800 --> 01:02:46,039
intent to keep playing, so more power to him. But

1342
01:02:46,400 --> 01:02:48,840
like he'll he will get minutes for this team at

1343
01:02:48,840 --> 01:02:50,960
some point during the season, so we'll.

1344
01:02:50,800 --> 01:02:54,000
Speaker 1: See what what is he know very little about him.

1345
01:02:54,000 --> 01:02:55,119
What is he offensively?

1346
01:02:55,159 --> 01:03:02,800
Speaker 2: Though he is not Unfortunately, he's just like a very solid,

1347
01:03:04,119 --> 01:03:08,559
play hard energy, do the right thing, like would captain

1348
01:03:08,599 --> 01:03:11,760
the winning team at the YMCA, you know every time

1349
01:03:11,960 --> 01:03:14,719
kind of guy. And I'm not trying to disparag him,

1350
01:03:14,719 --> 01:03:16,079
like he's a YMCM player, but you know what I mean,

1351
01:03:16,119 --> 01:03:18,440
like just the dude that doesn't look flashy, but his

1352
01:03:18,480 --> 01:03:21,079
groups keep winning games because he does smart stuff like

1353
01:03:21,119 --> 01:03:23,920
that's coach on the floor, like all those kind of

1354
01:03:23,920 --> 01:03:27,079
bad cliches. Unfortunately, but they brought him in because he

1355
01:03:27,079 --> 01:03:30,800
had one crazy season to shooting the ball overseas and

1356
01:03:30,840 --> 01:03:32,760
they thought he was like a sniper, and he's not

1357
01:03:33,199 --> 01:03:36,360
shot more than like twenty percent in a season with

1358
01:03:36,400 --> 01:03:39,639
the Wizards, despite being a stretch forward. But he is

1359
01:03:39,639 --> 01:03:42,159
like a Tony Bennett uva guy, and he'll just do

1360
01:03:42,239 --> 01:03:44,840
Tony Bennett uv A guy things, if that makes sense.

1361
01:03:45,800 --> 01:03:48,519
Speaker 1: Yeah, sure, he's how old is he's always twenty four?

1362
01:03:49,400 --> 01:03:50,440
Speaker 2: Right, Anthony Gilkey?

1363
01:03:51,000 --> 01:03:52,119
Speaker 1: Oh no, not Anthony gil.

1364
01:03:52,000 --> 01:03:54,800
Speaker 2: Oh you mentioned here Watkins. Oh sorry, sorry, I was

1365
01:03:55,639 --> 01:03:57,639
meant take back everything I just said the last ten

1366
01:03:57,679 --> 01:04:01,480
seconds before that. Jimmie Watkins is old. He's maybe almost

1367
01:04:01,519 --> 01:04:04,599
as old as Anthony gill He's like a six foot five,

1368
01:04:04,760 --> 01:04:08,840
twenty four or twenty five year old, six year college

1369
01:04:08,840 --> 01:04:12,000
player that's just going to be skinny and but tough

1370
01:04:12,039 --> 01:04:15,480
defensively and cause havoc and run the floor and try

1371
01:04:15,480 --> 01:04:17,360
to dunk on guys and take their hearts out of

1372
01:04:17,360 --> 01:04:19,760
their chest while they're still beating but not being quite

1373
01:04:19,800 --> 01:04:22,880
good enough to do it yet. And the nice thing

1374
01:04:22,920 --> 01:04:24,320
is he just got to the free throw line a

1375
01:04:24,400 --> 01:04:26,960
ton at Florida State. And I think that at the

1376
01:04:27,039 --> 01:04:29,159
very least can still translate. So we'll see.

1377
01:04:29,559 --> 01:04:30,840
Speaker 1: I'm so old. He can be a member of one

1378
01:04:30,880 --> 01:04:31,719
of the small ball units.

1379
01:04:31,800 --> 01:04:32,360
Speaker 2: Yeah, there you go.

1380
01:04:32,679 --> 01:04:35,960
Speaker 1: I take that done. So how many wins do you

1381
01:04:36,000 --> 01:04:38,360
see this team ultimately ending up with factory in that?

1382
01:04:38,559 --> 01:04:41,519
Will they steer out of wins at some point? And

1383
01:04:41,599 --> 01:04:44,599
where do you see them landing in the Eastern Conference overall?

1384
01:04:45,000 --> 01:04:47,480
Speaker 2: Yeah, eighteen is the number I've been going with, like

1385
01:04:47,599 --> 01:04:51,039
exactly eighteen. I don't know why that's the number, It

1386
01:04:51,119 --> 01:04:57,239
just feels like it needs to be the number just because, Yeah,

1387
01:04:57,360 --> 01:04:59,760
there you mentioned with the steering out of winds at

1388
01:04:59,760 --> 01:05:02,760
some point point, like they may just organically be bad

1389
01:05:02,840 --> 01:05:05,400
because they're small, and maybe that's why they were content

1390
01:05:05,920 --> 01:05:08,400
to not add any front court players to this team.

1391
01:05:08,440 --> 01:05:11,800
But they won eighteen games last year, and it just

1392
01:05:11,800 --> 01:05:14,760
feels like that's exactly and they were fifteen year before

1393
01:05:14,800 --> 01:05:16,840
that though, but it just seems like they're probably on

1394
01:05:16,920 --> 01:05:20,920
paper about the same like kind of team. So this

1395
01:05:21,000 --> 01:05:23,599
is the draft class to like, you kind of let

1396
01:05:23,639 --> 01:05:26,239
yourself slip a little bit at the end of last year,

1397
01:05:26,360 --> 01:05:30,440
so you know, you probably need to do a better

1398
01:05:30,519 --> 01:05:32,320
job this year. But then they're may be just not

1399
01:05:32,400 --> 01:05:35,440
as much competition for that worst spot, So maybe eighteen

1400
01:05:35,480 --> 01:05:37,960
wins keepshit in the bottom three and that's good enough.

1401
01:05:38,679 --> 01:05:41,960
Speaker 1: Yeah, because the only team that's trying to be what

1402
01:05:42,079 --> 01:05:44,559
they are in the East right now is Brooklyn and

1403
01:05:44,599 --> 01:05:47,320
that's pretty much it. And I don't even know of

1404
01:05:47,360 --> 01:05:49,519
all the teams that even people might be low on,

1405
01:05:49,559 --> 01:05:52,320
whether it's the Bulls or the Heat or the Raptors,

1406
01:05:52,360 --> 01:05:55,000
I don't see any of those teams having the floor

1407
01:05:55,079 --> 01:05:59,159
that Brooklyn or Washington. I would be more worried about

1408
01:05:59,199 --> 01:06:02,280
Washington racking up too many late season victories though, just

1409
01:06:02,320 --> 01:06:04,000
if you have those teams that are kind of out

1410
01:06:04,000 --> 01:06:06,159
of the plane, sure, and they've decided to do the

1411
01:06:06,239 --> 01:06:09,519
late season punt, Washington just has get rid of the veterans.

1412
01:06:09,519 --> 01:06:11,800
You're just left with a bunch of guys who are

1413
01:06:11,800 --> 01:06:16,000
going to play their asses off. And that's that not concerning,

1414
01:06:16,079 --> 01:06:18,280
but that could be something that hurts their draft stock.

1415
01:06:18,960 --> 01:06:21,760
Speaker 2: I think that just again, the front court being that

1416
01:06:22,119 --> 01:06:26,679
on like underdeveloped, just kind of prevents that from happening

1417
01:06:26,719 --> 01:06:29,119
to a certain extent. Like you're just small and you

1418
01:06:29,119 --> 01:06:32,960
can't rebound. It's just hard to win games, even when

1419
01:06:33,000 --> 01:06:35,400
you're trying harder to win games than the teams you're

1420
01:06:35,400 --> 01:06:37,800
playing against. So they did a little bit of that

1421
01:06:37,920 --> 01:06:40,599
last year. I think and like, you know, bub Carrington

1422
01:06:40,639 --> 01:06:42,039
had his hero moment in the last game of the

1423
01:06:42,079 --> 01:06:43,920
season and won them a game, and like, but they

1424
01:06:44,199 --> 01:06:46,559
they still just dropped to the second worst record in

1425
01:06:46,599 --> 01:06:49,840
the league. So it like even factoring that in, I

1426
01:06:49,880 --> 01:06:52,599
still think they're probably safely in that bottom three mix.

1427
01:06:52,639 --> 01:06:56,639
Speaker 1: At least, can I get one additional wizard's prediction from you,

1428
01:06:56,679 --> 01:06:59,880
Matt mcderno, It could be anything that you want take

1429
01:07:00,119 --> 01:07:01,039
wherever you want to go.

1430
01:07:01,679 --> 01:07:04,280
Speaker 2: Kind of already said it. I'm really expecting a kish

1431
01:07:04,360 --> 01:07:08,360
On George Bump that that to me feels like a

1432
01:07:08,400 --> 01:07:11,719
guy that's gonna have enough opportunity and the skill set

1433
01:07:11,760 --> 01:07:14,480
is there of somebody that like they will they will

1434
01:07:14,480 --> 01:07:16,960
give him chances as a guy who can pass reubleshoot

1435
01:07:17,079 --> 01:07:20,280
and and will put an effort defensively and get a

1436
01:07:20,280 --> 01:07:22,280
bunch of steels and some runouts that will kind of

1437
01:07:22,320 --> 01:07:25,119
maybe sneak his way up into more points per game

1438
01:07:25,159 --> 01:07:28,599
than people think. And if kol Bali can stay healthy

1439
01:07:28,960 --> 01:07:30,599
and do what I think I can do, like if

1440
01:07:31,119 --> 01:07:33,719
if he were in like could he make second team

1441
01:07:33,760 --> 01:07:36,199
All Defense at the end of the year conversations at

1442
01:07:36,280 --> 01:07:38,079
least that wouldn't shock me either.

1443
01:07:39,000 --> 01:07:41,599
Speaker 1: I do wonder might be overthinking it when you mentioned

1444
01:07:41,639 --> 01:07:43,800
kish On George and how we feel about alex are

1445
01:07:43,920 --> 01:07:47,880
kool Bali, there's like a chance that they're kind of

1446
01:07:47,960 --> 01:07:51,639
like the way Portland last year, like the flip the

1447
01:07:51,639 --> 01:07:53,960
script flip for them defensively and they were all of

1448
01:07:54,000 --> 01:07:55,519
sudden like one of the best defense in the league

1449
01:07:55,519 --> 01:07:57,800
for a really long periods. Does that team have this

1450
01:07:57,920 --> 01:08:00,480
potential or is it just they at least had clinging

1451
01:08:00,599 --> 01:08:04,199
and Kamara is a friggin beast, But I mean Kamara

1452
01:08:04,280 --> 01:08:07,079
got all defense consideration of cool, Bali gets it. I

1453
01:08:07,119 --> 01:08:10,760
wonder if this team has that. Portland does have a

1454
01:08:10,760 --> 01:08:12,760
lot more size when you're looking at like what they

1455
01:08:12,760 --> 01:08:15,119
were running with their big man rotation. Though, I think

1456
01:08:15,199 --> 01:08:17,000
Jeremy gran can't rebound though, and he played a lot

1457
01:08:17,039 --> 01:08:18,119
of minutes, so there's that too.

1458
01:08:18,239 --> 01:08:20,359
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think you had Denny out there and things

1459
01:08:20,399 --> 01:08:23,000
like that too, And like there's just a few more

1460
01:08:23,079 --> 01:08:25,239
guys I think that are ahead of where those guys

1461
01:08:25,279 --> 01:08:27,319
are on the Wizards. I could see that two seasons

1462
01:08:27,359 --> 01:08:29,600
from now when they put a few more pieces on

1463
01:08:29,640 --> 01:08:33,079
the roster to like not even try to take that jump.

1464
01:08:33,119 --> 01:08:35,479
They're just ready to do it. So this year, I

1465
01:08:35,520 --> 01:08:38,119
just don't think this front office will let them. I

1466
01:08:38,119 --> 01:08:40,760
think they know, like the twenty twenty six draft is

1467
01:08:41,079 --> 01:08:43,880
just like objectively going to be better than the twenty

1468
01:08:43,960 --> 01:08:46,079
twenty seven draft, and they don't want to be bad

1469
01:08:46,079 --> 01:08:49,079
again in twenty twenty seven, So like, just fully commit

1470
01:08:49,159 --> 01:08:52,439
to being bad this year no matter what. Get your

1471
01:08:52,520 --> 01:08:55,880
top three or four guy, and then like we're talking

1472
01:08:55,880 --> 01:08:58,039
about the beginning kind of then go all in you

1473
01:08:58,039 --> 01:08:59,439
know from seasons.

1474
01:08:59,119 --> 01:09:03,800
Speaker 1: After that, Matt, this was great. Thank you so much

1475
01:09:03,840 --> 01:09:05,520
for your time. Are you able to just to tell

1476
01:09:05,520 --> 01:09:07,880
our listeners viewers where they could find you and all

1477
01:09:07,920 --> 01:09:08,960
the great work that you do.

1478
01:09:09,640 --> 01:09:12,239
Speaker 2: Yeah, thanks for having me. I promise to be a

1479
01:09:12,279 --> 01:09:15,039
little more positive this year just because I am more

1480
01:09:15,079 --> 01:09:17,920
so hopefully that that came across. Like I'm excited about

1481
01:09:18,319 --> 01:09:21,880
all the irons this team has in the fire. And yeah, Dan,

1482
01:09:21,920 --> 01:09:23,840
I'm a listener to the show.

1483
01:09:24,279 --> 01:09:26,880
Speaker 1: So I've said, oh, we know that one clip you

1484
01:09:26,960 --> 01:09:29,319
put were the quote sweet when more went off about

1485
01:09:29,319 --> 01:09:32,079
Cooper Flag. I loved it, by the way, so fun.

1486
01:09:32,439 --> 01:09:35,880
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's just Wizards fans like certain things to get

1487
01:09:35,880 --> 01:09:38,520
Ben out of shape about. So you know, we look

1488
01:09:38,600 --> 01:09:40,560
for that. But I love what you guys do, so

1489
01:09:40,640 --> 01:09:42,359
being on here is super cool for me. So thanks

1490
01:09:42,359 --> 01:09:45,239
for having me. If you want some more Wizard centric content,

1491
01:09:45,279 --> 01:09:48,920
it's Believing Wizards myself and Johanni White and you want

1492
01:09:48,960 --> 01:09:51,479
to read about the Wizards because you're a psycho head

1493
01:09:51,479 --> 01:09:53,880
over to Bulls Forever. Were happy, happy to have anybody

1494
01:09:53,880 --> 01:09:55,359
who wants to get on the bandwagon. Early.

1495
01:09:55,760 --> 01:09:58,159
Speaker 1: No, this team might look this team might be a

1496
01:09:58,199 --> 01:10:00,600
good league past team, thank you, in terms of good

1497
01:10:00,600 --> 01:10:03,119
reasons to where they might have had the comedic factor

1498
01:10:03,159 --> 01:10:07,159
with Kyle Kuzman, Jordan Poole before this is you make jokes,

1499
01:10:07,199 --> 01:10:09,520
but like, yeah, there's gonna come March. People probably are

1500
01:10:09,560 --> 01:10:11,439
gonna want to watch a lot of Wizards games maybe,

1501
01:10:11,439 --> 01:10:13,359
but like this, he feels like it could be really fun.

1502
01:10:13,399 --> 01:10:16,319
And if I said that last year, just I hope

1503
01:10:16,359 --> 01:10:18,239
everyone forgot about it, because I don't think I did.

1504
01:10:19,399 --> 01:10:22,560
Speaker 2: If we talked about that last year, I didn't feel it.

1505
01:10:22,600 --> 01:10:25,920
This year, I like truly feel it. Where like they

1506
01:10:26,520 --> 01:10:28,760
I think they will lose a lot of closer games

1507
01:10:28,760 --> 01:10:31,560
this year, but like push good teams hard and that

1508
01:10:31,600 --> 01:10:33,359
should equate to like pond basketball.

1509
01:10:34,279 --> 01:10:36,199
Speaker 1: Matt, thank you, so much for all your time again,

1510
01:10:36,239 --> 01:10:38,079
and as you know by now, I'll be pestering you

1511
01:10:38,159 --> 01:10:41,720
again in the future. Thanks so much, and until next

1512
01:10:41,760 --> 01:10:44,520
time to everyone. Shout out to the one the only

1513
01:10:44,640 --> 01:10:47,079
fun enough to be on the Wizards if they were smart,

1514
01:10:47,319 --> 01:10:48,439
mister Frank Neeli Keenan