Hoops Tonight - NBA Draft Preview

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Don't nearly have enough time after that WorldWind of a playoff run to get into every single guy available in this draft. And there are a lot of guys out there who do have that the time to do that kind of thing. And one of them actually happens to be our very own Carson Um. I know he's done

it a little bit more in years past. That said, this is his favorite time of year and this is right up his wheelhouse, and so I'm very, very excited to be bringing Carson on today to talk about just the top guys in this year's draft, mainly the top

five players that I see in this set. Now, before we get started and before I bring Carson on, I wanted to take just a couple of minutes to talk about something that I've always paid very close to Engine two in the draft, because I do think it's very interesting.

You know, every NBA team, even poorly run NBA teams like the Lakers, have a scouting department who they don't care about what's happening, you know, when the Lakers are preparing to play the Orlando Magic, or or what's going on with free agent signings or things along those lines.

For the most part, they pay attention to collegiate basketball players and they look or overseas basketball players or players who are out of the league in some capacity, and they look for opportunities to add talent to their teams that goes to the top of the draft all the way down to the undrafted UH players around the world.

And yet they still make mistakes all the time. And you know, Andrew Wiggins is a great example of that of a player who was taking number one that has played a lot more like somebody who's towards the tail end of the lottery, right. And the short answer is is, no matter how hard you work at this stuff you met, you have misses. And there are four really quick reasons why I wanted that. I wanted to point as to

why that kind of thing happens. One is situation. You know, look at Andrew Wiggins as an example there and him being in Minnesota on a poorly run team alongside stars and other players that didn't really bring the best out of him. And then he goes to Golden State, he gets around a smart team, he fits into a role that makes more sense to him, and he immediately takes off. And then you have injuries. I mean, we look at

Marquelle Folts. He has some sort of weird shoulder issue and then suddenly he has to reconstruct his jump shot for him and his entire game falls apart. Or after that, he finally goes down to Orlando and kind of settles in a little bit and he gets hurt. That kind of thing can happen. Number Three, like your work ethic, it's very very difficult, especially for a guy like me who is only taking a short amount of time in the year to try to analyze this kind of thing.

It's difficult to get a feel for a player's work ethic, especially when they're young. There are a lot of players who suddenly, right around age twenty three something clicks for them in terms of their maturity, and they step things up a certain amount. When you're evaluating them when they're eighteen, it can be difficult to make those types of judgment calls.

And then, last, but not least, and this is to me one of the most important things and one of the most difficult things to evaluate in a young player, but their competitive nature. You know, there are it's kind of like that fight or flight response that we always

talked about. I played against a lot of really high level basketball players in my career, uh, guys who played in the NBA, guys who play elsewhere overseas, and guys who got close or guys who flamed out, and you know, there's always a sliding scale there between a guy that when you step to them, when you challenge them, when you put them in a situation where they have to fight out, they either fight or there are guys that

are more willing to disappear into the background. And those guys that disappear, they end up being the kinds of players where you're watching a forty eight minute basketball game and ten fifteen minutes can go by and you forget they're even involved, whereas the real fighters out there always scratching and clawing for every single advantage on the court,

and it is readily apparent on the screen. And those four things are the main reasons why so many draft picks get missed over the years, and it's very, very

difficult to interpret those things. So one of the main things that we're gonna be focused on today are things that are absolutely measurable and discernible on tape, like their physical tools, their skill sets, the way that their specifics tools and skill sets can factor in to an NBA team right now, and what they could potentially develop into in the future. But I just wanted to take a couple of minutes to go over that because I do think it's a very interesting dynamic that takes place in

the NBA draft. Before I get started here, I wanted to bring on Carson Um. Carson, it's good to see you again. I know we didn't get to see you too much during the NBA Finals, but it's sure is good to see you right now. How you doing, Yeah, well, it is great to be here. And like you said, this is my favorite time of the year. And I think this is a really interesting class that we have.

We've had a few strong classes over the last few years, and this one, certainly, I think is comparable in the caliber of guys in the top is really interesting as well. So I'm pumped to talk about all of it. Yeah, and there are like some straight up home run picks in there too, like like it's it remains to be seen how great they will be, but there, you know, I think the top three guys in particular are guaranteed

quality NBA players. Quick funny story. I was I was having a beer with a buddy of mine that I hadn't seen in a little while yesterday, and I showed him your TikTok page and like, I've always been so blown away by your memory. But we were watching your Aaron Brooks one. But when we're where, they were reading Aaron books resume, and like my buddy and I were like shooting guesses out as you were going and you're

kind of methodically working through it. And I was just telling him, I'm like, I'm like, dude, this is what this guy does. Just he's an encyclopedia with this kind of knowledge, so uh to get you know, I looked at eight or nine players over the course of the the last few days. UM the seven that I thought separated themselves and had a case to be in the top five.

I've or Benedict Matherin, who came through UH the University of Arizona and my local hometown Tucson, UH, Keegan Murray out of Iowa, Shaden Sharp out of out of the G League. He was excuse me, he was at Kentucky and he ended up not playing this year. Then there's Jaden Ivy out of Purdue, Jabari Smith out of Auburn, UM, Chad home Grin out of Gonzaga, and Pala Boncero at

a Duke. Those were the seven that I considered. If we have time at the end, we can talk a little bit about why the two that I left out were left out. But I'm gonna start from the top down and just kind of give my two cents and then we'll go back and forth. And I'm really curious to hear your opinion on these guys. So I know there's a lot of debate about who's gonna go number one. I know there's a decent amount of reporting that says it's gonna be Jabari Smith. Uh. My initial interpretation as

I view him lower than that. We'll get there in a minute. To me, the best prospect that I noticed in my time watching film UM was Paulo Bontare. And there are a couple of specific reasons why. I mean, he definitively, unquestionably has a lower defensive ceiling than Chet

or Jabbar. That goes without saying um. But like I've always talked about on my show, and then as Colin and I talked about a lot during the finals, I do believe that it is easier to coach a player up to become a fun, functional defensive player, especially if he's surrounded by the requisite talent, and and to focus his offensive energies in a ways that are in ways that are more impactful than it is to do the reverse.

And we will get to that specifically when we get to Chat and Jabbar, because I do think there's chances with both of them that they become role players, guys who are very very good role players. Because they don't they potentially have some limitations on the offensive end. In my opinion, Paolo is on the low end, a guy who will one day average twenty points a game in the n b A he act actually reminds me in

terms of a ceiling of Carmelo Anthony. Now, I don't see it anywhere near the perimeter flashes yet in terms of the fact that, like when Carmelo was at Syracuse, he was a gunner from the perimeter and deadly out there. Uh, Paulo's more a guy that shows flashes, but he's still streaky out there. Where I really see it is the face up game and the arsenal of moves in the mid to short range. And I always talked about how the short range is kind of like under under evaluated,

under utilized in the NBA. Those are those like little floaters and push shots and hooks and things that are like crafty finishes around the basket. And I was super impressive, impressed by just the overall versatility of Paolo's offensive approach, his ability to um to use his body for leverage to get closer to the rim. His he's got all the turnaround fade aways and step backs, he's got the hesitation pull up jump shots off the dribble, and he's

got everything around around the rim. But his overall face

of approach reminds me of Carmelo. The scary thing is he doesn't quite have that great first step, and as a result of that, I think he's gonna become a guy who has to turn his back to the basket often, and that will put a lot of pressure on him over the first five six years of his career to really develop his ball handling more and his shooting more, because if you do not have a first step, that can consistently compromise that initial defensive player, like let's pretend

Andrew Wiggins is guarding him. If you don't have the first step, to get that initial separation, you have to be incredibly sharp with your handle, your change of pace, and your shop making ability, which I do think he's capable of with his size and strength. But those are those are just I have a couple other notes that I want to hit on, but that was just my initial takeaway. Where are you at right now with Paolo Carson? I think Paulo is an incredibly unique and really impressive prospect.

He's actually not my number one guy on this class. He is my number two though. But I completely agree with you in terms of the point about offensive development in vision there because the mellow comparison is interesting. When I watched Paullo, the guy who I see the most similarity to that has been a star at the NBA

level in recent times is probably Julius Randall. I think the big distinction is that Paolo is bigger, He's more dynamic athletically, and I think he has much more ability to be versatile within an offense, whereas Randall kind of has tried to religiously stick to that point forward role and force the issue and rely on the really tough midrange shot making all that stuff that we saw go really south this year as compared to two years ago when he was a legitimate all NBA guy, I just

think Powell has more ways in which he can kill you. I mean, he is kind of a dream modern wing, big hybrid offensively because I think you can initiate in so many different ways from him. Right, he can be that point forward and stretches. His playmaking is good enough, His pull up jump shooting is good enough. Needs to be a little bit more consistent. He's confident, he's willing, and he's certainly solid. But you can all see him

as a roll man. You can use him to pop because he has the ability to score on all three levels and he can be a dynamic lab threat like he's a six ten to fifty legitimate plus athlete with high level basketball skill too. It needs to be refined. His decision making needs to be a little better, you know, taking care of the ball can be a little bit better. He needs to get more efficient as a score overall, and that's really a product of shot selection and some

of the pure jump shooting ability. But the tools are there. I completely agree with you. If he doesn't score twenty a game at the next level, I will be surprised. In the defense, I mean, he has the tools. You never know completely with these guys, because so often guys are just lagging behind on defense and they don't come into the league as high impact guys obviously, but Polo has the tools. He's a good athlete with a seven

one wingspan. He moves his feet pretty well, so I think if you see him committed consistently, he's a good defensive playmaker. Like I think he has good hands, so I think he should be a star. If he's not a star, I think that that's disappointing. But the reason I don't have them number one, I think is just a testament to the strength of this class. And like

we're just seeing crazier prospects every year. You know, guys like Palo have rarely existed, you know, to come in at this size and level of athleticism and also basketball skill, it's crazy, And I absolutely think you should be a star. You know that that uh, that last part is super super interesting because you know, I was thinking the same thing as I was watching the film this morning, is like basketball players are getting so damn it's so ridiculous. Like I used to think of, like, you know, a

certain level of skill as a differentiator. You know, like when you see a player, it used to be like when we were younger, you know, like you'd watch Jabari Parker go down the lane for Duke and do this wild hesitation left right and then do like an up and under finish off the glass, and you'd be like, oh my goodness, I can't believe we just saw a six ten guy do that. And now it's like, if you can't do that, I'm not sure you could play in the league anymore. It's like, it's crazy how the

league is developed. And here we are looking at the top of this draft. I've got three massive basketball players who are all incredibly skilled already for their positions, some more than others. The other thing you said that thought was really interesting is that big wing hybrid. And this is a key you know, as we get into the position list league. It's not so much that you know, uh,

it's all the same position. It's more just that the positions have kind of melded into combinations of each other, right Like, instead of it being like kind of one, two, three, four five, it's more like it's more like guard wing, wing and big wing, you know what I mean. And what's what's interesting about the idea of a big wing is they kind of have a different level of mismatch

potential than a normal wing does. So for instance, like look at how Andrew Wiggins was able to contain Jason Tatum in a good defensive scheme because he had the

physical tools to match what Jayson Tatum was doing. And then you even saw Clay Thompson, who didn't even have the same set of physical tools as Jalen Brown have a ton of success containing Jalen Brown over the course of that series because Jalen Brown did not have that back to the basket game to punish with his size, and and even if Tatum did, he just doesn't have

the physical tools over and Andrew Wiggins. You know, like that type of player, that type of wing defender against Paolo might be too small, and he might have the ability to get to fight for position in certain spots on the floor where his handle doesn't matter as much.

Allah Mellow in a face up role feet from the basket, and suddenly it's like, even if he does a hard dribble to the right and Wiggins cuts him off, he can bump him, turn his back and immediately have an arsenal of moves to go to where Wiggins can't defend him because he's just a touch too small and and and you know in the modern NBA, when you go five out and it becomes matchup attacking, I think that

can be a huge weapon. Because even Steph Curry on switch Is was having success sitting on Tatum in Brown's right hand and forcing them into step backs and things along those lines. Back to the basket game is so rare in the NBA, the NBA these days, and it's not just post up back to the basket fade away over Bull's shoulder. It's kind of like the Lebron thing where it can be like a full court post up where you're turning your back and spinning and going into

moves and hooks and things along those lines. So I just in general, also that I didn't even hear about his wingspan. That's crazy over seven foot wingspan. That's another good piece for him Defensively. That kind of means that the very least he can be a decent positional defender that can force people to shoot over the top by giving ground, you know what I mean. So I I I'm really curious to see. So I'm I'm gonna guess. I'm gonna guess, Carson that your number one is Chet

home Grint. Is that okay? So let's do this. Explain to me why you would take Chet over pal Out, not just as a player, but also specifically for Orlando who seems to be having plenty of length defensive athletes and not enough offensive creation. So this is true, However, I would argue that Orlando drafting based on their current roster in kind of every anyway is probably shortsighted beyond like,

you know, trying to get another Cole Anthony. But even it's like, nobody to me on the Orlando Magic roster is irreplaceable. So I think they should be in best player available mode fundamentally. Uh, it certainly seems like they're gonna take Jabari. That's what really all the reporting is right now, and Jabari Smith is a very good prospect. But when it comes to Chet, I think what you

said is really interesting about who. You can see both Chet and Jabari becoming kind of just role players offensively,

whereas Paolo you don't see that path. I think the thing is, if Chet's a role player offensively, it's a damn good role player, like a fifteen eighteen point per game score still, because he just is so perfectly built in terms of his skill set to fit in as a modern NBA big I think, like, obviously everybody will talk about the fact that he pounds, that's a problem, but his blend of athleticism and skill is completely ideal. Like he's a thirty nine percent three point shooter. So

the pick and pop game is absolutely lethal. He's legitimately very quick for his position and is a slippery lob threat and a massive target in there because the guy is huge and ridiculously long. So it's just like playing off of good NBA guards. Well, great, you feed him anywhere. He's a thirty three point freeter. He's got sev on twos in college and okay, somebody clothes out hard on him. He's quick enough to attack the clothes out. His ball handling is easily good enough for him to go out

and make you pay there. He even has a little bit of that intermediate game. So I just think Jet is not gonna be an offensive centerpiece. To me, I don't think Jet is every twenty five point per game score. I don't think it is, hey, we're running tons of offense through him in the post, because I don't know that he'll ever be strong enough to have that really

high level back to the basket game. But I think it is is like, hey, we have a guy who is a better Christian it offensively and is also, by the way, a really good positional past, and I think we'll see more and more of that in the league. Who is also like potentially best defensive player alive because he's just an absolute freak on that end. I mean, I don't know that we have seen a better shot blocker in college since Anthony Davis three point seven a game.

It's unbelievable, and he is so incredibly instinctual there. His length is unfathomable, like he can just block a shot from anywhere. He's perfect as a help side ring protector. He fared shockingly well against really good post scorers. Like obviously everything is different in the league, like Joel Embiid is a different beast. Nicol Yokes, those guys are gonna

cook him when he comes in the league. But because of his positional instincts and his length and just his i Q, Like I forget the exact number, but he held people to a really low field goal percentage out of the post this year. So I just think he is an all encompassing defensive weapon because he's crazy switchable. Like for his size, I mean, he's so good on his and again that length can just affect people from anywhere.

So that's what it is to me, is he's too skilled and too athletic to be a non factor offensively. In fact, you know there's only Jason. Like, how many offensive big men are there who are the centerpiece of their teams in the league right now, like like center, Yeah, I think it's three. I think it's Embiid, Yoki, chen Cat and so. So I don't think it's realistic to

look for one of those guys in every draft. More often, what we see is that the most valuable big men who are outside of that, oh my god, it's Yokich. Its embide tier is they're great defensive players and they're really good, efficient, versatile offensive players. I think Chet is that to the extreme. And yeah, I mean, I understand the weight thing, but I just think he is such a optimized modern center in every other way. So I'm

very high on Chet. I think he's an exceptional, exceptional prospect. The wait thing just doesn't matter to me. Yeah. I first of all, I can't tell Hi how many times on tape I saw a player attempt to cave his chest in successfully do so, try to go up and then still he's just he's just so impossibly long, you know. I I I've heard the camp of you know, Rudy Gobert with offense, that's the one that everyone keeps throwing around.

You know, in general, I think Robert Williams. The Celtics use Robert Williams is a great example of this too. Like you know, the truth of the matter is is there are not any defenders in the league except for maybe one or two that can successfully garden and beat or Yoki. So, like we're talking like Anthony Davis or Gobert or Janice might be the only three guys in the league that can go head up with a guy

like that and contain them to a certain extent. So like the idea of Chet Homegron being able to guard those guys who cares like I don't expect anybody to I see them defensively. Uh, the way Boston used Robert Williams in the playoffs, I thought was really interesting, consistently putting him in a position where he can roam, where it's not about what he can do in an isolation situation. It's more just he's kind of flying around just making

plays defensively. And I could see Chet, especially early in his career, when he doesn't have the physical tools to really hang in a in a bullyball situation, I could see him doing a lot of that roaming and most importantly, like you guys know, I'm super high on five out basketball. I think it's the best way to successfully allow your

slashers to have opportunities to be comfortable on offense. And even like one of the subplots of the Finals was Robert Williams was playing so well defensively that they played him big minutes and consistently throughout the playoff run. Whenever Rob Williams was on the floor, the Celtics sucked on offense, and whenever he was whenever he was off the floor, they were great on offense. And the reason why is they went five out without Horford kind of tucked in

the corner or atop of the key. So point being like having a center who can successfully do what Robert Williams does, but also has the ability to one stretch the floor in a five out situation to attack closeouts because that dude can put the basketball on the floor and make plays. I'm glad you pointed out his passing him getting all those reps in high schools an on ball player I think are so important in this specific situation.

And most importantly, he could push the break at the rebound and bring the ball up the floor and hanging an up and down style of game because he has the foot speed, uh to be able to do that. So I'm with you, I'm I am very high on him. The thing again, like that concerns me, is I just I've seen way too many times that the guy who ends up determining these series is that top top, top end offensive talent. Now here's the thing. There's no guarantee

that Paulo is gonna be mellow. You know, like, for instance, there are a lot of players around the league to have kind of similar skills. This is gonna don't take this comp seriously because it's not a direct comp. I'm just focusing on a specific thing. But Kyle Kuzma, for instance, doesn't didn't have a great first step and had these scoring flashes where when his jump shot was going and his handle was going, he looked like an All star.

But his handle and jump shot were so inconsistent that he was monstrously inconsistent because he couldn't con instantly beat people off the dribble. So there's a lot up in the air for Paolo. And obviously he's a way better player than Kuzma was, but that similar dynamic I could see being an issue if he doesn't develop in that first five six years of his career, whereas Chet Holmgren, It's like Rudy Gobert With's offense is like a guaranteed floor for him. So like you you're you're gonna get

that really high level play at him. So I do think you're. I guess I'll give you this. I think he's a safer number one overall pick. But I but I I think I personally would go for defences with with Paolo so Um. First of all, why in the world do you think Orlando wants to take Jabari Smith first? That's a really good question. And I don't know, because I think Jabari is really good. But I think he is a clear third guy to me. I do too,

I do too. Like, I mean, he's right out the gates three and D guy right but like and he has a star ceiling. But like we were talking about how Paulo needs to develop his handle and become more system as a jump shooter. But like Jabari Smith's handle right now is weak by NBA standards. Um, I don't know if there's an NBA wing in the world right now that wouldn't have trouble holding him in his spot because of his weaker handle at this point, I you know, and what worries me is like, would you be the

least bit shocked if Jabari Smith turned into Michael Bridges? Now, Michael Michael Bridges is a great basketball player. I think he finished second Defensive Player of the Year voting this year close to that. I can't remember exactly what it was. Michael Bridges is a great player. But what happened this year when Devin Booker started to struggle and Chris Paul basically went down, Like Michael Bridges wasn't capable of creating

offense at a high enough level. And so, you know, my thing is like there's obviously a version of his story where he becomes a much much better player than he is. He's already a fantastic shooter with audacity rivaling the greatest shooters in the league. He just it's some

of the footage on him, of him on tape. His coaches had to have been like, like, like, he will just dribble the ball off the floor, take contest at three is like not even not even off a step back, Like he'll just elevate and go because he's so much taller and more athletic than everybody, and it's it's it's super intriguing player. But I just see him having potentially the lowest floor out of these three guys, and that's

what concerns me the most. That's interesting because I actually think his floor is a really good basketball player because of two things. He is such an exceptional shooter. I mean from deep at six ten, and like you said, it's off movement, it's from everywhere. It's ridiculous, it's highly

contested all the time. He's an otherworldly shooter. So because of that, and because of the fact that he is a really good defensive toolbag seven one wing span, legitimate defensive playmaker, was over a steel and a block of game. Moves his feet really well, and as a high motor, he's a good positional rebounder. To me, it's like three. Indeed, he'll be very good. I don't see how he doesn't score fifteen a game efficiently and isn't a really good defender.

Where I actually struggle beyond that is seeing the likely path for him to some sort of superstar ceiling. Because I understand that people look at the pure shot making and they think that it is durant Esk or whatever, like reminiscent of you know, the great Wings. The problem is he does not separate in any way because his first step is not remotely impressive for his position, and like you said, I mean, his handle is so far away. He's upright, it's awkward, it's not controlled, and he's not

even close to a standout playmaker. He's not a good passer at this point. So it's like, yeah, the pure shot is there, but you need so much more than that if you're gonna be an offensive centerpiece as a wing. And I just think Jabari has a really long way to go, and it's not honestly easy for me to see him figuring all that out. Yeah he's he's clearly in the top three, but to me, he's clearly number three, and he's far too risky to take number one, Like

how can you? How can? And there's there's all sorts of intel, like there's intel that Orlando might trade down to get him, and things along those lines. My thing is like with prospects like Chet and Paolo on the on the board, I don't know how you could go for a player like Jabar you you talk to the awkwardness is what stands out to me most on film, there is a you know, because we're gonna we're gonna get to this a little bit here in just a second with Jade and Ivy and Shade and sharp Um.

But like, there's a there's a certain amount of polish in fluidity that separates the top level scores from the

guys just beneath them. For instance, I'll give you like, on the top level, it's the difference between Kevin Durant and Lebron, Like, as Lebron is a very good score and he's the second best basketball player ever to play the game, but optically there's an obvious difference in fluidity between him and Kevin Durant and the smoothness with which he gets to his moves and it, and I do think that that does end up manifesting and something like I do think Kevin Duran's a better score than Lebron,

not statistically because Lebron is more of a p hour player, but in terms of his like fluidity as a score, he has an edge there. And so I I just think, like in general, just like, and here's the other thing. Last thing, I'll say about the bars before we move forward. Handle in particular, there's a reason why there's so many great players around the league to half weak handles. It is the most tedious and boring thing to work on,

and the progress is slow. Like it's very similar to jump shooting in that the progress is very slow, Like you have to shoot thousands of jumps. You have to shoot like a thousand jump shots every day every summer for years to get to the point where you're a functional, like dependable NBA three point shooter. The differences. It's fun to go up to the gym and shoot, you put

some music on, you shoot all day. But like when when it comes to like doing legit ball handling drills at game speed, usually with usually it helps to have someone they're hitting you to add contact because handling, just ask Jalen Brown how easy it is to dribble when someone's hitting at your arm like you like you that

that left. That type of development is so tedious that when I see a guy like Jabari Smith, I'm like, he's got so long to go for that handle to become functional that it just it just seems like more of a long shot to me. Regularly so go ahead. He regularly turns his back to the basket because he's so uncomfortable with his handle. And the last number I'll say that I think is trumbling with him is he

was forty three and a half percent on two's. It's like, if you're gonna be a great score, you gotta get the easy stuff. You can have the beautiful, difficult shot making and the turnarounds and the crazy three's off movement or whatever, but you gotta be able to get to the rim. You gotta be able to get to the line. And he just really struggle. I mean, he's actually pretty crafty drawing fouls on jump shots, but like the easy stuff, exploding to the cup, just getting by people, getting those

easy twos, he doesn't really do yet. So I'm with you. I think we have a lot of the same concerns about Jabari with his physical tools. That's inexcusable in terms of that load of percent. I shouldn't say an excuse, but it's just not a good sign. Um. I liked what you said earlier to where you're like, it's like he's not getting separation, he's just shooting over the top.

And you see that a lot on like his post up fade aways where it's like a good post up fade away, you pound the basketball and hit someone in the chest to create initial separation, and then you spin either way into the shot. And usually if you get really good lift and you hit them hard enough, you'll not only get a shot off, you'll get a great, high quality fade away up. He kind of just turns and fires and he's getting smothered. He just happens to be so damn big and such a good shooter that

he can knock some of them down. And I think that honestly leads to how he draws fouls. Um So, the two guys that I cut out, we're Keegan Murray and Ben Matherin. I think Ben Matherin is a lesser version of Shade and Sharper Jade and Ivy in a lot of different ways. And I'll explain why in a second. Kegan Murray to me, athletically, I think he's gonna have a lot of issues and and his heat to me. To me, he will be a very good NBA role player, but I just don't see him as having anywhere near

the up side as these other guys have. So to me, it was a tough decision between Jade and Ivy or Shade and Sharp to go with number four, and I ended up I ended up going with Jade and Ivy, But I do think Shaden Sharp has a higher ceiling. What concerns me with Shaden Sharp is he kind of reminds me of Kevin Porter Jr. A little bit in the sense that the highlights and the flashes are so so good, but at the end of the day, he's

addicted to the difficult jump shot. His shot profile is that of a uh like he hunts the most difficult shots on the floor, and he he kind of fits the profile of like the bigger athlete, but the one that's a little bit more thin and spindle e easily easier to knock off of his line, whereas Jade and Ivy is like that power athlete. And he almost reminds me of Dwyane Wade in the sense that his center of gravity is low. He takes these long steps, guys

bounce off of him. When I talk about center of gravity, low center of gravity means it's it really is just like fancy speak for when you're on a line, if you run into somebody, do they bump off of you or do you bump off of them? Like to me that it's what brings power to athleticism, and I do think I think Jaden Ivy is the right kind of NBA athlete the combination of power with the low center of gravity, the vertical athleticism, and the size and length to be good. But I just don't think Jada Ivy

is nearly is polished from the perimeter. Is Shaden sharp right now? But Jaden sharp? It's like, dude, how many times have we seen a guy like Kevin Porter Jr. Who has all the skill, who has the shot making, but for whatever reason, it just doesn't amount to an impactful basketball player. I also think Jade and Ivy is a better defensive player at this point. But what what's your initial takeaway on those two guys after that? I'll

I'll ask you if you would replace them entirely. But with those two guys, what do you like dislike about them? And which one would you take over the other? I would take Ivy as well. I think he's a pretty clear fourth guy, and I think he's just got a lot of skill offensively. You know, you mentioned the athleticism, and I think he also has really nice change and pace. I think he maneuver's traffic really well. I just think he's like a great paint guard and he has the

big time pull up jump shooting. His percentages weren't always great. We'll see exactly what they end up being at the league, but I mean, the shot creation is there, right. He can get the shot that he wants. It's just a matter of making it consistently. But in the lane, I just think he's crafty and he kind of gets what he wants. And I also think, you know, he probably has more of a playmaking ceiling. I think he's too chaotic as a passer right now is kind of the

word I would describe. I don't think he always has a plan, but I think that that stuff will probably develop and sharp. I think is really interesting because I think he belongs in the top five. But at the same time, you know, he's kind of a bigger question mark just because we haven't seen him for a year. And I mean, he was the top prospect in the class, So you know, a guy like that always has the

potential to be an absolute stud. It's just are going to naturally follow it when people don't see you, but I mean, I agree with a lot of you said really impressive athlete. I think that the jump shot with him is like very legitimate. I think it's kind of all the tools are there for him to be a really high level scoring wing. It's just strange when the last time you saw a guy play was you know, against high school talent. Like it's it's a weird dynamic

with him. I still think his talent alone is evident on that tape where he should be fifth, but I wouldn't be comfortable taking him higher than that. To me, that not playing thing is a huge red flag, um.

And I put that in my notes for Jade and Ivy, like like I would talked earlier about the four things that that are difficult or more difficult to scout and the reason why people have misses in front offices, and Jade and Ivy has this readily apparent competitive fire, like he attacks every basketball game, and I just kind of think about, like if I was in Shade and Sharp's position and I'm not And again I'm not trying. I'm just saying I disagree, so I'm not This might end

up being the best decision he ever made to not play. Um. But like, there's no way in hell you're keeping me off of Like, if I'm healthy, I don't care if I've got an agent knocking down my door saying, hey, dude, don't play so you can get rich. I'm like, that's great.

I want to play basketball and and I sure as how I want to play basketball for Kentuct, So get me out on that court it you know, But the the jump shot is the huge differentiator in terms of the skill sets right now, Like Jade and Ivy has just a little bit of a hitch and it's very in front of his face as opposed to up higher.

What concerns me with that is he's he's getting it off now, but against dominant NBA perimeter athletes on the on the defensive end, I think that higher release point that's a little bit more fluid that Shade and Sharp has is a more realistic jump shot for him to be able to get off. Um. The problem. So, like I see on the low end, Jade and Ivy being kind of like a Eric Gordon type of player, like a box like like built like a fridge type of smaller guard who has a really good jump shot when

he's set because like Eric Gordon. Everyone always jokes Eric Gordon has like the dream jump shot for him because his his elbow is perfectly tucked and it's very mechanical. But Eric Gordon had a slow release and Eric Gordon had a little bit of a hitch, and so as a result, he didn't have the ability to get as into his jump shot as fluidly as some of the

better guards around the league do. So like it's it's a tough one for me, Like I would take Jade and Ivy, but I wouldn't be the least bits of I mean, Jaden Sharp has potential to be the best prospect in this entire class, Like everyone keeps comparing him. He himself compares himself to Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. He's twice the athlete that either of those guys, and so like there's a version of that story with Shade and Sharp where he's flat out better than the than

than any of those guys ever could be. So it's really interesting. So before we get out of here, I wanted to hear your opinion. What would what would your top five look like? And if you have a different guy in the top five than I did, give me your two cents on them, So the only switch for me would be chatting Palo. So I would go Chet one Palo to Jabari three, Ivy four, and then Sharp five. I think that Keegan Murray is interesting. I agree with

you in terms of the athletic limitations. I mean, he is a beautiful, incredibly skilled offensive basketball player, and you know, a real defensive playmaker too, and like a versatile guy. I think he'll be really good at the next level. But he's old and he doesn't have a ton of room to grow, in my opinion, so I like him a lot, but I don't think he belongs in the

top five mathroin is. I mean in terms of just if you're looking at two things, which is explosive athleticism and really impressive three point shooting which can kind of be the launching point for any wing, to just being a good player. He's got those two things in droves.

I don't have quite as much confidence as him beyond that, compared to the the only guy who you didn't mention, I would say is in this same tier you had in a tier of seven, I would say there's a tier of eight, and I would include Dyson Daniels in that who was G League night guy, just because I think he's got really impressive feel for the game and I think it is really versatile. And he did not shoot the ball well from three, and he was twenty

five percent in the G League over fourteen games. That's to me kind of the only issue. I mean, it does look okay, and yeah, I just think defensively, I mean, he projects well, he's got good size, he's a pretty good athlete. You know, he's not mathroin levels certainly, but and then he has like real playmaking feel where you see him having these close to triple double games and he can just kind of control things as a wing. So those would be my couple guys. But I agree

with the top five. I think that sharp ceiling is too high to leave him off because after that, it's like, you know, the best version of Keegan Murray or of Dyson Daniels. I just don't think it can approach the best version of Sharp with that blend of pure athletic is um and shot making. Yeah, no, I agree, I I'll I think Dison Dyson Daniels probably belongs in this list as well. I allowed that. I uh, I I must have been doing something right, Carson, because our list

looks pretty similar. And I take that and I respect your opinion very much. One last note before we get out of here that one of the things that impressed me so much about Keegan Murray that I think is gonna be a really, uh powerful weapon at the NBA level.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a young basketball player, and I know he's older than typical college players, but I'm not sure I've ever seen a young player other than post players, because you'll see guys, you know, guys like Julia Locaffer that have this type of skill set. But it's very rare to see a young basketball player who's primarily a wing, even though he's kind of like a wing big kind of uh like Palo Is, who's

this comfortable with his back to the basket. He he can turn over both shoulders, he can keep his dribble alive. He's really good at finishing over the top of smaller defenders when he's closer to the basket with those like

classic bank shots, like half hook bank shots. And then he's incredible with deep seals, like he's very good at obtaining quick post position and then getting a catch and quickly scoring, making himself available for a post entry in a quick score that I think he's the kind of guy that like I could see a guy like he can. He won't make it to Golden State, but I could see a guy like that thriving for a really smart basketball team that is good at getting players like him

easy opportunities elsewhere on the floor. UM. Alright, guys, that is all we have for today. Carson, you were amazing. That was exactly what I was hoping to get from you today and you knocked it out of the park. UM. As always, I appreciate your guys support, enjoy the draft, and we will see you guys, probably on Friday or Saturday. The volume