Hoops Tonight - NBA Draft Predictions: Bronny James to Lakers? Hawks decision at #1 w/ Sam Vecenie

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are having a great week. Well, we are going to be diving headlong into the NBA Draft today, which is tomorrow. It feels like the NBA Finals were yesterday and here we are. The draft has already to take place. I can think of nobody better than mister Sam Besini, my good friend, somebody that I trust as a basketball mind more than most. But I know I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna come off as pandering here, but I think he's the very best at covering the draft as well.

In addition to diving into a year round, he also gets the players themselves on his show with him. They go over tape together, he picks their brain. It's just it's an incredible Uh, it's just an incredible process that he goes through to properly cover the draft. If you guys haven't checked out his draft guid yet, you have to. If you're not following or subscribing to his YouTube channel yet, you need to. But Sam, I'm really excited to get into this draft today.

like that for you as well. So why don't you just tell us a little bit about this draft and what it's been like covering it this season.

in the same tier to Markelle Fultz. It was very clear that Markell was gonna go number one that year. I would argue, there's not even you know, for instance, I do tiers in the draft guide every year, and I don't have a Tier one or a Tier two player. Tier one guys are like guys I expect to be all NBA players.

top fifteen guys in the league, like All NBA bucket. Right, I had Victor in that bucket last year. I don't have anybody in those two tiers. And I'm not like Stingy with those grades. In the four years I've been doing the draft guy prior to this one, I've ranked sixteen players with a Tier one or Tier two grade. Look, sometimes it works out and you have Brandon Miller with a Tier two grade. Other times it doesn't work out,

and you have James Wiseman with a Tier two grade. Right, And I think I had Tier two's on like Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball year. You know, I think I had you know, I think Evan Mobley was two. I think Jalen Green was two. I think Sugs was the two, and I still believe in basically all those guys in some respects. But yeah, I would say that this class does not have a guy that I look at and I can confidently project all star like an all star future onto them undeniably just by the law of large

numbers in the way that development works. Once these kids get into situations, guys will emerge as all stars, no questions asked. But when trying to find like a middle ground in terms of that evaluation and like an expected outcome, I don't know that I can like confidently tell you this specific player like I have Alex R at number one. I don't know if I can tell you that Alex aar I am expecting a number one level of production or an all star quality level production for him. I

think he has a chance to be that player. I think there are certainly outcomes that he can hit where he becomes that player. But I don't know that I can sit here and tell you for sure that you know that that's what I expect of him either, And that goes all the way through my top group of prospects, So you know there will be all stars that come

out of this class. It's just going to be really hard to identify them, and I think that they're going to be maybe even a little bit more development based than what we've seen in previous years.

I'm like, good player, really good defensive player. Doesn't feel like a number one overall pick to me, you know, And so like that makes sense to me, and like and to your point, like just that kind of that kind of tier that you're talking about, that tier too, And I by the way, Chet and Pawlow like they both have exceeded expectations. I would say, when they got to the NBA, they both have been better faster than we expected. And that's I think that those sound properly

rated to me. So like I wanted you had mentioned to me before we started too, that you wanted to that you were expecting a lot of draft d a trades or things surrounding the draft that involved trades. Let's get to that as we kind of go through the picks. So I want to start with number one here. So according to DraftKings, Zachary Versace is the heavy favorite.

then groundcoverage on defense. And I thought about his length, and he's pretty mobile, and he's pretty good on the weak side, like jumping passing lanes and being a help defender. But again, I I don't even see the angle there over Alex sar So, like, what is what is? What do you think is driving the intel that Zachary's gonna go potentially number one overall? Do you expect that to happen? And if so, is it gonna go? Do you think he'll end up in Atlanta or do you think there'll be a trade there?

certainly a voice in that room. They convinced him to come, you know, out of after he left Utah, and like they didn't convince him to come just by telling him, you know, you're the coach and that's it, right, Like he has a voice in the room whenever it comes down to crunch time. Landry Fields certainly is a voice, you know there is there are differing degrees to which you will hear from folks that ownership and uh, you know, Tony Wrestler and his son Nick Wrestler will have a

voice when it comes to it on draft night. So that creates a lot of differing incentives. It creates a lot of very challenging things for opposing teams. Is they're trying to get a plan for what Atlanta's trying to do to parse through. I would say that right now, look, I have the Nachary Risichet marked or mocked right now at number one. They I know that Atlanta has certainly reached out to a few different teams looking at potentially moving down the board. They're trying to figure out is

there a way we can trade down? Which makes sense? Right, They're looking at a number of different options on a board where one through five or so looks pretty steady. Right in terms of talent. There are teams that have preferences in that group. There are teams that maybe have one of those guys a little bit ahead of the other. But it makes sense why you would try and trade down when all of the talent is relatively flat. The problem that I understand the running into is like who's

gonna move up in that case? Who's trying to you know, get to Zachary versus Chet When you know, I kind of just outlined that I don't think that his likely outcome is necessarily like all star. I think he's going to be a really good starter. I think he's gonna be a guy that you know, like you said, like great week side shooter. I think he can attack closeouts, But the problem is, I think he struggles to maintain

advantages after attacking. He's very skinny right now, So it's a big hope that he can continue to develop his frame and really get stronger. Despite being like kind of thinly framed, Like he doesn't have a lot like wide shoulders. He's actually like quite skinny in terms of his shoulders. So like the worry there is how does the frame develop? Is he going to be able to actually maintain the

advantages that he creates in space? In traffic? I think that he generally has struggled a little bit with contact this season. If you look at him when he's like driving to the ram and trying to finish, if he gets bumped, I think that like he kind of loses control of the ball, loses control of his touch a

little bit. So I I have him at number five. Personally, I really like him, and again I have him in this top group, So anybody in that top group of players, like I'm not going to crush Atlanta for taking them, because I just don't see it as all that different. But yeah, like you mentioned Dlex Sar Like, I just think Sara is bigger, covers ground a little bit better.

He's definitely a worse shooter than what risus Schet is, but I think that if you look at where the league is going, like these dribble pass shoot bigs are kind of worth their weight in gold, and I would just rather take in informed. This NBA draft is all about. This is the easiest way for me to explain it. This NBA draft is all about informed bets.

I think that he can play through traffic. I think he's a better defender than risus Chet, But undeniably his floor is lower than risus Chet's because risus Chet can shoot it, and Steph Castle right now struggles to shoot it. If Steph Castle continues to struggle to shoot it, it's gonna be a problem for Steph. But if the shot comes to, the informed bet that you're taking would be that Steph Cassel is probably going to become an All

star if the shot comes together in time. So thinking about this draft almost more in terms of like bets and like informed bets, And I don't like love it seems like dehumanizing on some level, and I don't necessarily love framing it that way, but that's the way that you almost have to think about it in terms of like investing in this class in some way.

if Atlanta were to take Risus Shay. How does that clash with Jalen Johnson, because don't they kind of are they viewing him more as a threat.

you can have guys at the three and four. Jalen Johnson's like this immense athlete who's you know, driving and trying to pass and playmake and do everything that we've seen him do in his breakout season this year in his third year, Versus Shay can be the you know, kind of off wing who can really knock down shots and be able to like have like high level defensive capabilities on the weak side, uh, taking up a bunch of space with his frame and with his length. And

Jalen Johnson as well is a pretty good defender. So I actually really like that fit. I do like have questions about what it would mean for somebody like DeAndre Hunter. Do they try and just move you on Hunter the summer at the end of the day. Uh, I have some questions about, you know, what it would mean for

their guard room just in general. That's another piece of this Atlanta conversation is nobody knows with the rest of the well straight up, just with the rest of their roster, Like, you know, how are they going to get under the tax Like are they gonna trade Clint Capella? Are they going to try and do it via the potential to John sat Murray trade like it? You know, will they consider moving Trey Young if someone tried to blow them

away with an offer. There's just so many different variables with the Hawks right now, and that's what makes rejecting their pick hard. Folks around the league that I talked to do tend to say risset Chet's name more than others.

But Donovan Klingon went in there, had a great workout with Atlanta from what I understand, really, you know, fits a lot of what Quinn Snyder particularly is looking for from the center position, having come from Utah, having had Rudy Gobert, who was this unbelievable screener, unbelievable drop coverage

rim protector big. I think that Quinn Snyder would do a lot of really great things with Donovan Klingen, But Donovan Klingon would not be a particularly sexy number one overall pick, right as I'm sure you watched when you saw Klingon, you know, really good player, like gonna be an awesome player if he snuck like an All Star Berth kind of like how Jarrett Allen did that year in Cleveland, would by no means surprise me. But I would say he projects as like a top ten starting

center in the league. And that's just like not something teams are wildly enthusiastic about taking it. One.

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Alex Sar being a really functional piece there. I liked the short role reps he was getting with Bryce Cotton out in Perth to like just when he was just making quick decisions on the role. Like I just kind of see him as more of a shoe in natural fit.

But to your point, like what it's like, if you like Zachary Rissasche, how how long how big of a drop off is it to like a Cody Williams as a big, lanky wing that can that can play if you were to trade down, how big of a drop off is it to go from an Alex Sar to a different big further down in the draft. But at the same time, if you can't actually trade down because no one else wants to trade up, then you're kind

of stuck. And so like to me, Alex Sar just kind of seems like a more natural fit in Atlanta. But I mean, the Vegas numbers seemed pretty confident that he's going to be headed, that it's going to be Zachary Resachet. So if ver Sachet goes one, who do you think goes number two?

same agent that he's represents chet Holmgrin. It's it's a pretty easy connection to make there in terms of you know, Will Dawkins, I think wants guys that have this immense upside athletically and allows him to play a potentially interesting five out brand of basketball in a similar way to how Oklahoma City has built their roster. It is difficult to find senators who can dribble pass shoot, or at

least that have potential to dribble pass shoot. It's part of the reason, like we're not going to talk about this guy today, but you know, Kyle Philipowski seems to be a guy that's like kind of falling down boards whenever I talk to teams, Like, I don't know where his flora is on draft night quite yet, but I'm way higher on him because he's a genuine dribble pass shoot big man in an NBA that is like begging

for those guys right now. Alex Aar has potential to genuinely be that on offense, even if it is trying to think about the extent to which I want to say is quite theoretical right now at this point. The jumper, you know, when I watched him throughout the year, I thought it had way too much offhand interaction more than anything, he'd get like a bit of a side spin on the ball. When I saw him later in the year, he clearly had been working through cleaning that up in

a real way. It looks a little bit less side spinny. And then I saw him in a pre draft workout, and you know, look, there was like a very very small amount of side spin, but it was clear that like he's making that adjustment, you know, in real time being a teenager kind of fixing his shot. I think

he has good rhythm through the shot. I think he has very good balance for a guy he moves like a wing at seven feet tall, right, like seven foot four wingspin, and you know that ground coverage defensively is really critical. He's very comfortable dribbling with the ball in his hands. You mentioned kind of the dribble handoff game, the short role passing that I think he's flat, but it's all it's all in flashes though right now with Alex it's not you know, this is not chet Holmgrin.

When chet Holmgren came out Againzaga, I was like, this is the most like anticipatory big defender that I've evaluated. Like he just doesn't have Victor's tools, right, you know, Victor is foot four with an eight foot standing reach, which gives him this like immense margin for error. But like Chet's anticipation defensively is unbelievable for a guy that is,

you know, seven foot with seven foot five winspan. And then on offense, he's a forty three point shooter at Gonzaga who could like grab and go on the break and like be functional with his balance and coordination. Like Alex isn't any of that yet, but he has potential to get to a point where he is like a fifteen point you know, eight rebound, you know ree assists per game guy that's also a really high level defender with like all defense level upside because of how much

ground he can cover on the weak side. And I think even in switch scenario down the road.

aggressive on the ball handler. And one of the reasons why I think that could be beneficial is, like, especially against certain types of teams with the guards are a little hesitant to make those passes or when they struggle to make those passes. His length, being aggressive in ball screens I think could be useful. I think he does have a pretty damn high floor, which is why it made sense to me that you had him at number one.

Like he's going to be a solid NBA center. It's just a question of whether or not he has that true upside, and obviously only time will tell. As you said, it's an informed gamble. So number two on your big board, you had Reed Shepherd out. Obviously he had that rough game in the NCAA tournament, but he had just a historic shooting season at Kentucky. I was really fascinated reading in your draft guide his his background and just the pedigree that he came from, and just like, just like

that's crazy. His dad was the most outstanding player in the NCAA tournament back in ninety eight, was it ninety eight? I think, yeah, like that, that is crazy. He's Kentucky royalty. Like it's the easiest way to put it, like he is University of Kentucky royalty. Like his dad, Jeff is one of the like beloved players in the University of Kentucky's basketball history, and his mom, Stacey is like one of you know when she retire, you know, stopped playing

at Kentucky. I think she was like one of the ten best players in University of Kentucky history.

Just a deadly shooter from all these different ranges. He's got the ability to get shots off from every kind of footwork, Like he can hop into it, he can left right, he can right left, he can come off the movie, he can go off the bouts. Like, there's so much that he can do creatively a little bit. Ausa reeves in there with some of the creative rise and fire stuff from the fifteen to eighteen foot range. Where where do you see? Where do you want him to go? Where do you expect him to end up?

be an All Stars soon as next season. And the one thing that I think they're missing there is like a super high level shooter at the end of the day, getting read to like operate in dribble handoffs with Aupura

and Shngun like that would be disgusting to me. I also think Reid like really fits well with a men Thompson in terms of like having that secondary playmaker out there if you want to try and make a man a point guard, which is what he was drafted as, even though this year he played kind of more on the wing and like even in the front court at times after sheng Gun went down. I think that Reed just makes a ton of sense for them as like a connector and is the kind of guy that helps

you win. I think that his anticipation defensively is just like outstanding. He has physical tools that are very limiting. He is six foot one, not super long in terms of his uh, you know, arm length or anything. He has like a six three six four wingspan something like that. But he blocked shots. You know, he has a forty inch vertical leap and he blocked like point seven shots this year, which is a crazy number for a guy

that measured in just under six foot two. He is somebody that like really scrambles well on the back line defensively, Like he makes these crazy like scramble reads where he'll just like force steals at a super high level. And one thing that like I've watched a lot of recently, and we'll talk about this when we talk about Devin Carter.

to operate away from help defense. If you can change pace and you can shoot from thirty feet, it's just hard to stay in front of guys just point blank. At this point in the NBA, Reid made fifty percent of his threes from beyond what is the number here? I have from beyond twenty seven feet this year, So, like crazy, I kind of think that you're gonna have to account for him in such a real way. It's kind of like Tyrese Haliburton, right, Tyre's Halliburton has that kind of funky load into his shot.

he's still figuring it out. But I also think that like that shooting gravity gives him way more upside than what people are thinking in the class when mixed with the fact that he can also handle the ball.

him being able to find those reads. I enjoyed watching him today.

pace heavy. I know, I know, but you gotta remember, like like I've I that that burned me too.

mid range that allows him to operate. And like, honestly, like I didn't see anything with his jump shot. He's a little down in front of the face, a little bit of a long load, but I think that can be worked out in time. I'm I'm pretty high on Stefan Castle. I saw you had him way up at third on your list. Where do you see him ending up?

to his left. I think when he's going to his left, because like most right handed shooters right just more comfortable stepping back to their left or kind of you know, drifting to their left a little bit, just helps them get into rhythm a little bit easier. But with him, what I see is he drifts a little bit too far to his left, and I think it kind of like throws off his grat like center of balance. And everything, And I think the SHOT's a little bit hitchier when

he's going to his right. He tends to take those shots off the hop, and I think that, like it just looks way cleaner, And I think that everything like kind of tracks a little bit easier. And if I was an organization kind of working through his shot, like I would love to just you know, kind of with his shot prep and like you know, getting into the shot and his load into it, just like start having him take things off the hop a little bit more.

Like he does this a one to two step from the left side, take it off the hop in the right, Like, I just think it looks cleaner, uh, going off the hop. But in terms of where I see him going, you know, san Antonio has been connected with him, you know, for a while now, you know, for a couple of months. It feels like that is a situation that everyone would be like pretty amenable to in terms of both san

Antonio and Castle's camp. If you know, there was somebody who fell to number four, Like if Red Shepherd got there, I think it would be a question. If Rissuschet got to four, I think it'd be a real question. But and then I think the Castle would very likely probably go six at the latest. You know, maybe eight would be the latest, let's say, because I would be surprised if he would get beyond the San Antonio second pick

at number eight, right. But somewhere in that four to eight range, I would say is where Steph will end up. I think that you kind of hit the down on the head in terms of what the offense is. I

think he's a really sharp passer. If you'd even go back to his high school stuff, you can see some like really impressive ball screen reps utilizing his passing ability where he'd hit skip passes pretty well and he'd be able to really really be able to get downhill out of that screen and maintain that advantage, kind of like you mentioned keeping guys in jail, kind of on his hip and everything. The big question is the shot though.

And the other thing I will say is I don't know if I think of him as an all defense level defender, but I think of him as this incredible chess piece defender who is kind of above average doing every assignment on defense. Like they had him in the tournament. Guard Marks, who was an All American point guard at the point of attack and just make his life miserable. You know, they had him guard produce point guard Braydon

Smith throughout the season. They would have him like Chase Baylor Shireman, another potential first round pick this year, off of screens because you know, Creyton just ran Baylor off of screens constantly. They would have him guard like true off guards, like scoring guards and things like that, as opposed to winings. I think he can guard fours with

how physical and strong he is. There's just a lot of versatility in what his role can be on defense, and I think that, particularly in San Antonio, it would be really valuable to have somebody like that next to Victor wen Binyama, next to Devin Vessel, particularly as well, because Vassell looked like a guy who's going to be a really good defender coming out of Florida State, and it just hasn't really happened at this point for him.

In the NBA, I would love to get somebody like Steph Castle in there that can like just take on a lot of different assignments, and you know, hopefully the offensive game just continues to grow and develop.

to slip like he always can. He always just kind of has his eye on when his defenders showing, and as soon as his defender decides the show, he just doesn't even bother seting the screen anymore, just gets out of there and then like he just he's got good hands. He finishes most most of his catches around the basket. The one thing that freaks me out with him is I worry about him being a little bit matchup dependent because I don't think he's quick footed enough to guard

in space. What's your take on, Dovin klingon No.

cutter like a super super high level. He manipulates defenders already really good at that. But if he gets down to like the three to six range on draft night, there are a bunch of teams, So like the three six range, the Rockets have Shengun, the Hornets have Mark Williams, the Pistons have Jalen Duran and then four is San Antonio. They Victor Weeb Nyama, Right, So like those teams don't need a center in theory, right, there are a number of teams in the like seven to twelve range, or

so let's call it seven to eleven range. I throw Oklahoma City and I guess that have like a real degree of interest in him, and that's kind of the one that I'm targeting, Like I if I'm Memphis in particular, right, Like that's my favorite fit in this draft would be

Memphis ending up on draft night with Donovan Klingon. Maybe if he falls to five, they trade a future first round pick and number nine to move up to number five to assure themselves Donovan Klingen, who would be this incredible fit within their scheme setting screens for John Morant being the drop coverage defender to let Jaron Rome on the backside defensively. But if Donovan Klingon gets into that three to six range, look for somebody to move up

to get him. In my opinion, because if you hear as I hear things from teams, it seems like there's a lot of interest in him in that like seven to twelve range, and I think somebody will try and spike up to grab him.

If they get a legit center and it's Morant Baye Jackson and then Jaron Jackson and then a legit center like that, I think they're going to be right back in the mix at the top of the conference next year, especially as a regular season team with all their youthful exuberance.

two biggest Jalen Williams fans in the world. Although I did almost get in trouble with Sam the other day on the phone because I told him that I thought that Jalen Williams has potential to be better than Shay and and Sam had to quickly put him put me in my place.

a little bit taller, a little bit skinnier. Tell us a little bit about Cody Williams and where you want him to end up.

enormous seven foot two wings fan. Cody is six ' seven seven foot one on wings band, so big and long, just very skinny and is continuing to grow into his frame. I think that the footwork is a driver is where I see the similarities. I think that a lot of that looks quite similar. I'm glad you brought up the pull up game, because you know Cody's pull up game is definitely still developing. I would say you didn't take a ton of pull up jumpers in high school where

he went to. I think Perry down in your neck of the woods in Arizona. You know, just a really really good upside bet. I think is a wing that could be like a playmaker. I think he passes really well. I would like to see him be like a little bit more disruptive defensively, but I think he can get there just with his lengthen with his physical tools. So I look at what Cody Williams has and I ended up with him six on my board. You mentioned the

Britischet comparison earlier in the show. I have them literally five and six, So I don't see an enormous difference between the two of those players. They're different types, but I quite like j Cody Williams as well.

I thought his motor really impressed me. Just in general. He just was like he just seemed like a Foxhole type of dude, Like a guard that I'd love to have competing alongside me. So tell us about Dev Carter and where you hope to see him end up.

It shows up all over his tape, like he blocks one shot per game. He gets into passing lanes and you know, creates transition opportunities. He had like thirty half court dunks or something this year at six foot like a six foot nine wingspan. He is a serious, serious leaper. And then the big thing is like what is the handle?

he ended up this year as well. I made like twenty seven percent from three this year got way better way up to the volume. Was it like thirty eight percent or so from three on seven? Three point attempts per game, a lot of pull up shots, a lot of contested shots. The thing I love about Devin though, is like I've seen him work out, Like I've talked to people about him everything that you see on tape.

In terms of why you love him being a fox hole guy, it's who he is off the court, like incredible work ethic, you know, great competitor, like all of the boxes get ticked there. I ended up with him at seven. I'm probably the highest person in the public sphere on him. I've talked to teams that are higher on that him than that honestly. So yeah, I love Devin Carter.

the game, relentless worker. Any elite athletic tools like that just automatically, to me, makes you a super interesting player and a guy that I'd be willing to take a bet on. All right, two more quick ones. Dalton Connect out of Tennessee. You and I talked a lot about him during the tournament this year.

He's gonna get several years to figure out whether or not he's an NBA player, So like everyone just needs to accept that that's the reality.

and college. Both of those guys were five star recruits coming out of high school. Avery Bradley a top five kid in his class. Gary Harris was like, you know, top twenty kid in his class. Gary Harris eventually went on I think he won Big Ten Player of the Year. If he didn't win Big Ten Player of the Year, he was first team All Big Ten. Was like an

outstanding outstanding player over multiple years at Michigan State. Top twenty pick, was fantastic, you know, became this awesome three in d guard, like you know, could guard even up to the three eventually. Avery Bradley was a guy that averaged like eleven three and three in his freshman year at Texas or maybe like eleven five and three and was by the end of his year at Texas one

of like the great perimeter defenders in college basketball. Like he was a monster at the point of attack, which is why he ended up going in the top twenty. Bronnie was I thought a good defender this year for a freshman. I didn't feel like he was particularly crazily disruptive anywhere. I would say defense was his best attube this season as a basketball player. And we really wouldn't be having this conversation if it wasn't for Lebron being involved. I kind of have gone back, I'm.

I think he makes like pretty solid passing reads. I think he's smart and like understands the game and in an intuitive level in a way you would expect from Lebron's child, right, just the genetics that kind of filter down whatever it is, Like I think he sees the game in the open court in a really positive way.

It's just really hard for me to envision a player that averaged, you know, under five points per game as a freshman at six foot one being a draft prospect, Like I've kind of gone back through, but like back to like two thousand and seven, two thousand and eight, like something like that. I believe Bronnie James would be the first player drafted that is like under six foot two and averaged under five points per game as a one and done player. It's just an extremely uncommon degree

of production and size to be entering the NBA draft. Now, you and I just talked about how much we love Devin Carter, and like we truly like adore that guy's game. I think that there are outcomes where if Bronnie had stayed in college for a couple of years, we could have been looking at Bronnie as a similar player to Devin Carter. Because Devin Carter started South Carolina averaged like

seven points per game, eight points per game whatever. First year, moved up to Providence average fourteen points a game, you know, and six rebounds or so, and then this year was you know, twenty points eight rebounds for as this like was one of the best players in the country. You could have convinced me of that pathway. But where I'm worried now about Bronnie is I don't think he can play point guard in the G League unless they force it, like if they might force the issue, Like let's just

be honest about it. So I'm worried about him getting reps, being able to develop his ball handling and develop his half court feel as a playmaker in the way that would allow him to get the most out of his

game long term. Maybe he will, maybe he won't. I wish the best for the kid, obviously, Like the kid has gone through a crazy number of difficult situations between the heart condition, the pressure that's on him as Lebron James's kid, the fact that he seemingly is as well adjusted as he is, and like everybody will kind of tell you he is quite well adjusted. And you know,

I've been in like media scrums with him before. He seems like a really really nice dude and like a again, like a mature beyond his years in some way like teenager, but like at some level, like the game is the game, right, and you got to be able to prove it. Like everyone talks about like Tony Allen, Right, Tony Allen's you know more our age ish, Right, do you remember how good Tony Allen was at Oklahoma State, Jason, Oh my god, Tony Tony Allen won the Big Twelve Player of the Year,

He won the Big Twelve Tournament MVP. He led Oklahoma State to a thirty one and four record and led them to the Final four. And that guy like Boston like tried to make him point guard for a minute or whatever, but he eventually settled in as like one of the great defensive players in the league. And that's the vision that people have for Brownie. And there's just like no to me, Like, I just don't know what the backing for that is based on what we've seen

so far. Is maybe the fairest way to put it, but maybe he can get there.

all of that is very strategic. Coming out and saying that he won't take a two way is trying to drive him down the board at the end of the day, because if you're you're trying to stop other teams from taking him, you know, coming out and saying that he'll only work out certain places, that that's trying to drive him to a specific situation. So I think the whole thing has been trying to control the process, drive him to specific situations.

respect it, like I understand the goal. I understand everything about it in terms of like making more an il lesson nil if he had just stayed in school. The most popular college that I got for Brownie because he did enter the transfert transfer portal, so college's you know, kind of had a sense of what was going on the most popular name. I'm not saying he would have

gone there. I'm just saying the most popular idea I got for Brownie James was for him to go to Dukane, which is where Drew Joyce just got the head coaching job. Drew Joyce played high school basketball with Lebron at Saint Vincent Saint Mary's his dad. You know, I believe Drew Joyce senior or the second, I can't remember, Drew coaching Ducaine now is the third or not was a coach

at Saint Vincent Saint Mary, you know, for Lebron. And then Drew Joyce who just took the Duquane job, was the head coach, or was an assistant coach under Keith Danbrot, who was Lebron's head coach, also at St. Vincent Saint Mary's early in his career, so there were a lot of familial connections where if you're gonna send Brownie somewhere, it would be very comfortable, right. That's a place where you know that Bronnie will be treated well, where you

know that he'll get every opportunity to succeed. And honestly, like in the A ten level, I think that'd be great for Bronnie to get a chance to like thrive and get a chance to play on the ball and showcase what he's capable of. But you know, ultimately they decided to go a different way, and I respect it. I just have concerns as to whether or not it was what was best for his development because the G League is a higher level of basketball.

of opportunity as a result of it. But guess what, no good coach is going to put him on an NBA floor in a meaningful basketball game if he doesn't earn his opportunity to be there. So like it at a certain point, like we talked, we opened the show with it, like this is the nature of the ruthlessness of professional sports. He might have his opportunity to grow and to learn on the fringes of the NBA, but like, no one's gonna just hand him a starting role on

a legitimate NBA team. He's going to have to earn it. He's just going to get an opportunity by virtue of this. But that is all we have time for today, Sam, Can you please just tell everybody how to find your draft guide, how to find your other NBA draft content.

I think it was. I can't even tell you how much it helped me today in my crash course on this NBA draft to just as a reference as I was going through film like it just was such an incredible product and I want you to shout it out to everybody's we can get as many people over there as possible.

Go to the Game Theory YouTube channel. I have interviewed like eight or nine or ten of these kids, where you'll be able to watch film of me breaking down film with them. Right today I released Donovan Klingen, Right, Donovan was super fun. He's like this awesome kid, really good personality. Tomorrow I'll release Tristan da Silva, who's like one of the most mature and like super high IQ basketball players I've gotten a chance to talk to as

a player rising from college to the NBA. So go to the Game Theory Podcast with Sam Senior YouTube channel. You'll see all that, and look, I'll be going live for the draft, so I'm excited to kind of run through it and talk through it all with you guys.