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