You're in the Zone with Brandon Kravitz on FM ninety six nine The.
K It's always fun after the NBA Draft to get a chance to learn about some of these prospects. And I think I have found Tyler Karen's spirit animal out there in the Western Conference. A guy by the name of Yan Hansen from China who was asked during his introductory press conference with the Portland Trailblazers.
Tell me about yourself. What do you like?
What do you like to do outside of playing basketball? And his interpreter told him the question, and then he spoke into the microphone and said, I sleep, I play PS five, and I like to eat. If that is not my co host, I don't know what is. I also would have included that I like to play basketball. But here's the difference, said other than oh okay, okay, all right, That changes things a bit.
Yeah, I mean, you know, he already has the job. It's not like as this is a job interview. But I don't know if I'm whipping that out day one. Hey, I have a lot of koalafications to me, if you will, with sleeping and just kind of lounging around.
But pay me a lot of money to be athletic. You know the two. The two don't necessarily go together.
Right If I didn't, if I didn't play basketball, I would be I would basically be a loser in my mom's basement sleeping and playing PS five. Not that you're doing that, Tyler, not necessarily necessarily could.
Devolve into that. You never know who radio is gonna take you.
By the way, if you're hungry, Pizza Bruno can help you out. This segment is presented by Pizza Bruno in College Park. Delicious meatballs, salads, and they have a pizza called the Spicy Stetson worth of look. Go and work up an appetite at Pizza Bruno fl dot com. By the way, Siko's The NBA Summer League schedule for the Magic has been released. The team will begin play on July tenth against the Sacramento Kings Jace Richardson versus Nick Clifford.
Sign me all the way up for that, and then the Magic will be taking on the Toronto Raptors on July thirteenth, the Oklahoma City Thunder on the fifteenth, and then the Brooklyn Nets on the sixteenth. There will be a fifth game that would be scheduled at a later date. How excited are you a scale from one to ten.
Not as excited as what I generally am heading into Summer League, partially because.
You have.
It feels like this year's second round is a lot of guys that because of how nil is affecting the NBA Draft and college basketball and players staying longer, the second round includes so many players that I do love coming from college basketball, but it kind of takes away I don't even know what I'm trying to get out here with them being selection instead of being picked up. I'm excited on as excited as what I used to be, but there's gonna be a lot of really fun names.
It feels like this second round the NBA Draft was even more college studs that I absolutely adore that will be in Summer League than ever before, so I should be more excited for it.
That was a whole lot of word soup to get to where we are, like the Jeni.
Brooms of the world and Elijah Martin, Cam Jones, Chez Lanier, guys that we became very, very familiar with even the college basket casual college basketball fans like myself right around tournament time. The NBA draft in the books, all two glorious rounds of it, and we have grades, well mostly Tyler has grades, and I have some underdeveloped takes to share as well. I saw Jonathan Givanni, who I think
does a really good job with analysis. I'm honestly surprised they let him on TV, but he gave the Heat an A grade on ESPN today. They had one pick they took. They had Casparus Yak and Tunas that just fell into their lap. This is why you need us, hey, we give out the real grades. I'm gonna give you my a's, my bees, I have us C. I didn't grade everybody, and I have a couple of f's, and then I will step to the side for real analysis as I kick it over to you.
Okay, it's a.
Lot of pressure, but yeah, let's do it. I'm ready to go. I just kind of did best and worse. I don't have the exact greens, but I'm here.
Well, just just throw a letter out, all right, just for the fun of it.
The San Antonio Spurs Land on my A list, Dylan Harper, Carter Bryant, two guys that can play an immediate role in this team. The Spurs are loaded with young talent and they continue to build the right way around Wenby. They probably need more three point shooting, but hey, who does it. I also gave an A grade to the Atlanta Hawks a sinnowle Georgia kid nails athletic upside. Love the pick. He was one of my favorite middle portion
of the draft guides. But the big win is landing the twenty twenty six first round pick the most favorable from New Orleans or the Milwaukee Bucks in the deal where they moved back ten spots and let the Pelicans draft Derek Queen, who has major bust potential. They also, I believe he was the twenty second pick and the Kris steps Porzingis trade, so they got better through the draft portion of the year. I also give an A to the Utah Jazz. I admire the fu to Ace
Bailey's camp. I think that's brilliant Ainge junior, very shrewd move, and then to balance that out with the pure baller of Walter Clayton Junior. It was a superb draft. Even if Bailey never plays for Utah and they got john Tonjay. I'm sure it was another one of those guys that you're excited to watch in summer League. I think they did a really good job. No matter how this turns out, I just like the approach. So those are my three A's Jazz Hawks Spurs.
If you think I wasn't gonna bring it with the john Tonjay notes, then you are sadly mistaken. I love the Jazz and the value that they got if it all plays out. If Ace literally does play for the Utah Jazz, the high upside to be the second best
player in this draft. I had him as a top three or four prospect in this draft, and you can't deny that the upside that the kid has the skills that he already does have now, I think he can be a major impact player, and if he commits to Utah, it could be one of those things where you're looking at a franchise player in a very short amount of time. You get Walter Clayton along with that, we know how much that we love Walter Clayton here on this show, and then even john Tonjay in the second round.
It's great value. At fifty three.
In his last season at Wisconsin, he had more points and assist per game than the second overall pick Dylan Harper, who played in the same conference. He was close to a fifty to forty ninety player, an experienced player as well. Jan Tanjay. It's kind of a mess with Utah. They have a lot of prospects right now. How many players do they have that's a question, but they have a lot of prospects, a lot of guards. It's going to be kind of interesting to see how it messes together.
I love the value with Utah. With Atlanta, I personally don't love a Saknewle. I think that he's good. I don't think he'll ever be great. And that's exactly what you want from a twenty third overall pick. And it's a guy that I saw report Atlanta had given promises that he was going to be their selection at thirteen if he was available. You're talking about a guy that Florida would being a top ten pick. You get him at twenty three. Great value and for the San Antonio Spurs.
I still won't see it with Carter Bryant. I'll be waiting around. But if this guy does a Stanley Johnson and is out of the league in a couple of years, I will not be surprised.
He has a lot of tools, but you got to put it together.
And I haven't seen enough to make me convince that he's going to put it together.
So he could be great.
But I'm not as sold as what the public is on Carter Brian at fourteen.
My bees include the Philadelphia seventy six ers. They did their own version of a guy that works right next door, Howarree Roseman.
This is how Howie Roseman drafts. He goes.
All of you guys spend way too much time on this. You live at the combine. You're obsessed with these measurables.
You know what I do.
I draft players that were really good in college the end, and then I go back to sleep vj Edgecombe culture changer type of player, really good at Baylor, Jani Brome, best player in the SEC. Maybe his skills were more suited to the college game, but hey, he was a really good college basketball player. Maybe the guy's just really good at basketball. So I give them a solid bee for their approach. I give a bee to the Orlando Magic.
Call me biased, but maybe I am love the Jace Richardson pick exactly what they needed in terms of offensive upside. Then they trade up for an international superstar who already looks like a legit pro in the second round, and they used the sixteenth pick to get Desmond Baynes. I'm gonna layer that in as part of the grade. And then my final bee is the Phoenix Suns. I feel like they filled some obvious needs throughout the draft process. Come on, malawatch for Sheer Fleming is somebody that Tyler
loves quite a bit. And they traded for Mark Williams. They said, hey, we don't have size, watch this and they took care of it. I like when teams use the drafts process to take care of all of their needs, and they did that. So those are my bees, the seventy six Ers, the Magic and the Suns.
Here's the interesting thing with the seventy six ers. For me, neither of their selections would have been my picks. If I was at number three, I wouldn't have gotten VJ.
Edgecumbe.
Not saying that he can't be good, can't be great, he wouldn't have been my pick in that spot in the second round. Even which and I broom he has all of the makings to be a great college basketball player. That does not translate to the NBA and part of the reason why you see that is his seventeen inch vertical that he delivered at the NBA Combine. He's not athletic,
he's big. He works, he's big, he's physical. He works very well in college basketball in the SEC, and it's why he was second for National Player of the Year only to the number one pick in Cooper Flag. I just don't see it that you still have max. If you want to go big, you still had maxim Ra Noo on the board at that selection. I don't think that jan I Broom Joel Embid can miss all next year. And the Phillies front court is awful. I still don't know how much how many minutes jan I Broom gets
in Philadelphia, So I don't love it for them. And again, VJ, I think he's going to be great. I think he is going to be really good. He just wouldn't have been my third pick in the draft.
Who would have been your third pick?
So let's say you're the GM of the Philadelphia seventy six ers, Darryl Morey, you're in that spot.
But you and but you have also been turned off by Ace Bailey.
If it's not Ace Bailey, then it's Trey Johnson. In my opinion, it would have been one player or the other that I would have gone for. So he's in Ace Bailey drama in Philadelphia would fit the culture great, so I'm sure that he'd give him a get a couple of great seasons before ultimately being traded for nothing later on down the line.
And as for the Suns, they were one of my best grades.
I really I love the second round value that they get in Rashier Fleming, the first pick of the second round. I don't know how this guy slipped out. The only negative on this guy is that he played at Saint Jose, which is the A ten I believe, and he's playing against a ten competition. Everything else about this guy screams good NBA player. To get him in the second round absolute steel.
Beause they've traded up quite a bit in order to get him too, because they didn't have that pick.
Right that was from Minnesota originally, if I'm not mistaken. And Kobe Brea at forty one a knockdown shooter. He led the SEC in three point percentage at forty three percent. This guy is a sniper and I think that he can be dropped in and for a short a Suns team that lacks a depth, Kobe Bray could certainly see minutes. And of course, come on, malawatch. He is the best center in this draft. He has high upside to be the best center to come out of this draft. Have
the best NBA career. Interesting move with Mark Williams, but they said, hey, we're not going to give you one option, We're.
Gonna give you two options. Have fun my C grade.
I have the Charlotte Hornets, and I can throw the Raptors in there too, because I was I feel like they kind of fit the mold of what I'm looking at here with the C grade. For the Hornets, three solid college basketball players, you got Liam McNeely, Colin Knipple or con Kinnipple, and Ryan Kalchbrenner. Two out of those three guys are going to be good in the NBA. I'm convinced of that. And then for the Raptors, they
are just so on brand. And I find it ironic that I was thinking after they wrapped up their draft. They got Colin Murray Boyles at number nine, who is an undersized big with great athleticism that sounds like every Raptor that's currently on the roster other than Grady Dick. And then they get Elijah Martin, who is just nails. And that's like both of them feel like Raptors. And I like when teams address their identa they just continue
to kind of hammer at their own identity. And the Raptors, you can see a player and go, he would fit on the Raptors, and they keep drafting those guys. And then they fired the president of basketball operations. So none of it makes sense. But I got the Raptors and the Hornets with a rock solid secrete.
Yeah, the Hornets, they went with high floor and kN Ker Nipple. He's gonna he's gonna be good day one. He's gonna be really good for a long time in this league. He's a better defender than what he gets credit for. He's a better defender than what his athleticism provides, if that makes sense. And I still think he has plenty of room to grow. Is one and done freshman, so he's nineteen twenty years old. He's gonna have room to grow. Athleticism defensively, he's got he's got the chubby face,
you have the chipmunk face. That's gonna he's gonna slim down a little bit and I think he's gonna be rock solid. He just doesn't have the upside and potential in my opinion of what Ace Bailey would have had at that pick.
If Charlotte would have said, too bad, you're.
Coming here and we're gonna have one of the longest mid courts in the NBA. The rest of the picks, Lee McNeely mixed reports on him. He has upside to be a good player, James Konkin nipples teammate at Duke, really good potential to grow into a great three point shooter. And then we know what Ryan Kalchbrenner brings as well. So I'm good with the Charlotte grade. Maybe I would
go up to a C plus. As for Toronto, Yeah, I mean they they've got a type and they have the type, and you know what, We're just gonna keep loading up on him. So have fun with Jonathan Mogbo, Colin Murray Boyles, you guys, and Yaka Partle will hold it down.
I don't know what to me.
I think I think CMB he wasn't in my top ten of prospects, and so I wouldn't I wouldn't necessarily taken him there, and also fit wise, it's just it's not in need for the Rapidors. So I'm good with them out of Sea because they got two talented players. I really like Elijah Martin in the second round. But again, how many copy and pace players do you have in one house?
They basically said, how many different versions of Scotty Barnes can we have on this roster.
Let's see if we can answer that question.
And then my fs are the Brooklyn Nets and the New Orleans Pelicans. For the Nets, they went way too guard happy, way too international, all this homegrown talent. I'm not anti international, but there's all this homegrown talent in the draft, and they Galaxy brained this thing. They had five first round picks. It turned out to be too many for them to handle. They had a chance to build out a starting five, which I think would have been a really cool move, or at least do something
like that. Instead, they draft a logjam of international point guards or Rubik's Cube that will never be solved. I absolutely hated that approach. And then for the Pelicans, I like Jeremiah Fears, but trading up for Derek Queen and giving up the draft capital that they did in order to get Derrek Queen. Probably the biggest mistake of the draft, an unprotected pick next year that could be coming from
a bad basketball team. Hard to overcome that one. So those are my two f's pretty easy to come up with that.
For New Orleans, I think at the end of the day, because yes, you gave up too much. It was a bad deal. It shouldn't have been done in order to go and get Derek Queen. But at the end of the day, you ended up with Jeremiah Fears and Derek Queen. And if you told New Orleans heading into the draft, hey, you're gonna end up with that, they're gonna put the stamp of approval. Knowing the details of giving up the unprotected first, that's where things get a bit more dicey.
But at least you got value that you feel good about.
It wasn't trading up and giving up a pick and going out and getting Hans and Yang you know where it's a guy who you didn't need to move up for he was going to be there.
It isn't mocked as a first round guy.
So at least you got guys that you took them in the appropriate spot of where they were supposed to go.
Are you saying that Portland should be on the F. Portland's an F for me.
I mean that center position is the best position that Portland has. You know, I think the future of DeAndre Ayton and the consistency with him. You can never get his head straight, but he's still a really good center in the league. Don Vin Klingen, you just took with a high pick last year. You still have Robert Williams the third on roster. You have a trio of centers that you can look to, and you go and get a seven footer that nobody else in the league would
have taken in the first round. It's just it's question marks where you're looking at the rest of your team and saying, we are so confident everywhere else that we're comfortable spending a pick just outside the lottery to add a fourth center to the rotation.
It just doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
Any other grade that I missed, anybody that you want to give a shout out to.
I really like what Indiana did we know that Cam Jones was one of my guys and they went and got him in the second round.
He's experienced. He'll play year one for Indiana.
He'll fill in some of the cracks in the absence of Tyrese Halburton. Very comfortable with the ball in his hands, you said through the roof. He led the Big East and assists last season per game and average under two turnovers a game. Beyond that one other that I have here, the Detroit Pistons only one pick in the draft, and it came in the second round. It was but Chas Lanier out of Tennessee. I thought Chas was going to be a first round pick when the college basketball season started.
He ain't afraid to put it up and he sends a lot of them through the net. And Detroit's at risk. This was maybe one of the best fits of the second round. They're at risk of losing Dennis Schruterer, Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway junior.
It's a lot of shooting there.
And Lanier hit the most threes in the SEC last season, and oh yeah, he did it at a forty percent clip. So yeah, I'm surprised he slipped the way that he did. He was a rollercoaster throughout the season. Consistency wasn't necessarily his thing. If he shot forty percent in a game, oftentimes it was four of ten, where if you are getting up to ten threes, it's I think shot selection also factored into it. The potential is undeniable. The skill
that he has undeniable. But he's a bit rocky and inconsistent and kind of all over the place.
Spat static if you will so
Well, I'll tell you somebody that's not spastic, and that's Kevin Craigor with LPT Realty