What's Wright - Nick Wright reacts to NBA Draft, Cooper Flagg-Mavericks, Dylan Harper-Spurs, Ace Bailey falling?

Excel spreadsheet at least in what my return is. I'm not sure if that's what our YouTube audience is seeing. That'd be fine if they are. And now I'm seeing our boost Mobile read that's fine too. We're gonna figure this out as we go along. But there we go. Now we're back. Like rate subscribe review. I have a couple rules about podcasting, and one of them is if I'm doing a podcast after six pm, I'm drinking while

we're doing it. So I have a nice glass of uh what is this, Oh, a nice glass of Barolo Chill just right that I will be sipping on as we go through at least the first ten picks, probably the entirety of the lottery. And again, appreciate our friends at boost Mobile for getting this going for us, which is a really cool fun thing that we're able to do. And this is an odd draft in this not odd, but what is unique is there is no intrigue whatsoever

about who the Dallas Mavericks are taking. They are on the clock, we know, and we can spend the first really ten minutes of today's show talking about what the first and second picks mean for the Mavericks and the Spurs because we know definitively who the first and second picks of this draft will be. Number one will be Cooper flag Number to the Dallas Mavericks, not even Nico Harrison's gonna screw that up. Number two will be Dylan Harper to the San Antonio Spurs. And then it gets interesting.

Will Philadelphia take VJ Edge That's where my money would be at right now. Will they say we don't care that Ace Bailey doesn't want to come here, We're taking him. Will they actually use the number three pick as a carrot to get off the Paul George contract and kind of remake their team that way? The draft here starts at pick three, but everybody knows that. And with three and a half minutes left on the clock. The MAVs are clapping. Here's one interesting MAVs point I would like

to make. If you have been watching the NBA news of late, the MAVs are losing a lot of assistant coaches, reportedly either not renewing contracts or not coming to a contract agreement. And I say that to say this, I am still I still have a few chips on the roulette table on the spot of Jason Kidd is going

to be the coach of the Knicks next year. I still feel like that is a simmering potential story until the Knicks hire a new head coach, or until Jason Kidd gets what ima Udoka got after the Knicks tried to flirt with him, which is a contract extension. I'm gonna consider it certainly possible that this ends up being uh, that he still ends up being the Knicks head coach. And the pick is in. It has not yet been announced.

We know it's gonna be Cooper Flag and Bron came out and said, you know, he has the benefit of walking into a situation with Hall of famers, which is I mean, Lebron was talking about it as if it's a positive. I know there are some Ace Bailey doesn't want to go to a situation where he is, you know where he's gonna be anything other than the number one option. In Ace Bailey's defense, you look at Reed Shepherd last year, the third pick of last year's draft.

That was a team that was trying to win, that was ready to win, and the guy really couldn't get off the bench. Cooper Flag would not be in that situation anywhere. He's a good enough prospect and good enough player, he'd be playing for anybody. And to Lebron's point, there haven't been many number one overall picks that were drafted by teams that had minted, no doubt Hall of famers.

But when it's happened, it's worked out pretty brilliantly. When you have in nineteen eighty Magic gets drafted to the Lakers, they already have a team and are a team, they already have Kareem. They win the title that year. Oddly, James Worthy also drafted by the Lakers. They win more titles a team, and those are number one picks a game. Drafted by the Rockets. Ralph Sampson wasn't yet a Hall of Famer, but he was a great player, and within

two years they make the NBA Finals. Shack goes to Orlando. The very next year, they have the number one pick again, they trade that number one pick for I think pick four and Chris Weber for Penny. They're in the finals. Within two years, the San Antonio Spurs draft Duncan when they already have Robinson, they're within the finals in two years now. I do not think the MAVs are going to be a finals team with Cooper Flag. But what I do think is definitely true is this team neck

not this coming year, but the year after this. And this is a huge if. If they're healthy, could be a legitimate I would say fringe contender, not top line contender. But when we go in the twenty six twenty seventh season, if Kyrie is healthy they just resigned him, Ad is still a d and Cooper Flag in year two with those other pieces around him, that's a team that should be able to do some damage in the Western Conference playoffs. Now some folks are trying to use that as a

way to reverse engineer. Almost credit to Nico Harrison, when this was not his plan at all. He did not trade Luka Ancic because he wanted to or expected them to fall into the lottery or them to end up with Cooper Flag. He did it because he thought they could contend. Right now now, for MAVs fans, it's a

happy accident. It is certainly not something that validates that trade Luca decision for Niko, So it certainly might make it feel less bad for the fans that pick is in and that pick, as everyone expected, the least surprise imaginable. That pick, of course is Cooper Flag. So Cooper Flag goes number one overall, and we know Dylan Harper is going to go number two overall. I want to spend a little more time on Cooper Flag here. This, by the way, is the second time in history MAVs history,

they have had the number one overall pick. In nineteen eighty one they got they drafted Mark Aguire. This is, they hope, the second time in franchise history they end up coming out of the draft with the no doubt best player of that draft. That happened once before when they went into the draft with the fifth pick and ended up trading up to three four. Of course Luke Adncic And this is at the moment their only pick in this year's draft, and so I I am and spurs are on the clock and we will get to

them in a moment. I want, like for the listener or the viewer on YouTube or the listener on the podcast to right now, I want to go through some other number one overall picks and I want you to like determine in your head if Cooper Flag has this level of career, is that a six? Did he meet expectations or fail to meet expectations? Because my worry for any of these number one overall picks that have been the way two of the last three have been wildly hyped.

And I'm not saying it's unjust by the way the hype. I'm not saying it's incorrect the hype, but so wildly hyped is are we setting them up to be Hall of famers and somehow still be disappointments? And by that I mean I said this on the show today, like if Cooper Flag has Chris Weber's career and they're not the same player, obviously they do have some similarities, really good passers, similar size, I think people would be like, oh, he didn't really pan out the way we had hoped.

But Chris Webber's a Hall of Fame player. He was a great player for ten plus years as a number one overall pick, even though it took his career a little bit of time to get going, maybe the way people had hoped. I when we look at the last handful of number one overall picks, like, do we expect Cooper Flag to have a better career than we currently expect Anthony Edwards to have? Anthony Edwards is multiple time All NBA at twenty three years old, has been in

back to back conference finals. Is you know, face of the league adjacent conversation and it feels like people and now listen, maybe Cooper Flagg is going to outshine those guys. But where are we What is meeting expectations for Cooper Flag? Does he have to one day be in the discussion for best player in the league? If that's the expectation, I don't. I think he comes up short on that.

As far as the guys who number one overall picks consensus, no doubt guys over the last post Lebron that I thought, Yeah, I think one day they'll be the best player in the league. The Anthony Davis is the first one that comes to mind Zion, I felt that way about that appears to be a huge miss. And while I wasn't ready to say Wimby was, you know, his floor was a chem Olajuan. I did think that Wimby, and I do think Wimby's you know, has the potential to one

day be the best player in the league. But there have not been any other number one like and that is he is considered, you know, not in line of the prospect of Wimby and Lebron, but that very next level and and so and I'm not mentioning Durant, even though I did think Durant had the potential to be exactly what he was, because he wasn't the consensus number

one pick. I I worry a bit that whenever we level set for a guy ten time All Star, seven time All NBA, two time third place league MVP finish and second best player on a champion one time that career as wow, kind of disappointed. That always worries me across the board. That always worries me unless I look at you as a just transcendent, holy shit force of nature, which, by the way, since Lebron, I have felt there's really only been three and again, people will say, Nick, you

didn't think that about Wimby. My Wimby skepticism was about his rookie year. Would he play enough games to win Rookie of the Year and is he going to be in the goat conversation. It was not that this guy wasn't going to be a world changer, but it was ad Zion and Wimby. And I still feel like, man, the Zion thing, who's the last number one overall pick out of Duke is such a sad missed you know what if career that we're going down the wrong path on all right, the second pick is in. This is

an obvious one. It is Dylan Harper. It is San Antonio Spurs. And now this is a very interesting team to talk about for different reasons, which is, first of all, is Dylan Harper going to grow old with Wimby in the NBA? Or is Dylan Harper going to be the prized asset that the San Antonio Spurs use in order to get Giannis or the next superstar player that comes available. And there's a lot of Dylan Harper's stuff that I find interesting. These draft shows we got, you know, we've

got to move fast. On it. So maybe, well, if we hit a lull, which I doubt we will. And there is a very interesting is the NBA about to become in ten years? Are thirty five percent of players in the NBA going to be sons or nephews of NBA players Because Dylan Harper obviously is Ron Harper's kid. Used he is one of the first like super blue chip prospects to be the son of a guy we all remembered. Obviously, I say one of the first steph was, and there are others, but it is happening more and more.

Jay Caspy and Kang just wrote a really interesting article on that, by the way, But set that aside. The other thing that I think is smart for the Spurs is that they do not care that they already have Dylan Fox and they have Stefan Castle. This Dylan Harper was clearly and unequivocally the second best player in this draft. And when you have this unicorn of an asset in Wimby, you're not drafting for team need right now. You are drafting for best players possible and to figure out, you know,

figure out as you go. So what does it mean for Fox? What does it mean for Castle, what does it mean for Harper? Because again, maybe Harper and Wimby grow old together. Maybe this is their version of SGA and Chet or SGA and JDub. I say check because he's second pick like Chet or maybe Dylan Harper is the best piece of team, either at this year's deadline or in next year's next year's off season trades to get a superstar.

wine that thousands of dollars a bottle. I don't when those I don't even I might like have like a glass or taste it, but I feel like that level of wine is wasted on me. But I'm a big fan of like a good I don't know at the store, like sixty to one hundred and fifty dollars bottle of wine, which again is like expensive, but wine can go, you know, the upper bounds of that are boundless. So so it's some,

you know, it's some I think nice. I think some people think very nice, and some people are like, I can't believe you drink that Italian wine? Uh to the Robert asked, do you think the Thunder able to trade into the top ten or the Nets into the top five? I? I I yet certainly both teams are able to. Now will it be worth the I mean the Nets have five picks, including the eighth pick. The Thunder have what

do they have? Fourteen, twenty two something else? And there so there are there's I don't know why am I sorry? My phone keeps ringing. They certainly can, there is no doubt that they can. Would it be smart, would it be the right way to do it? Would it be pragmatic? It depends on what the price is. But I right now we'll come back to the spurs. I right now want to focus on this pivot point of the draft, because the pivot point of the draft right now is Philadelphia.

I don't know, and some of our producers, you know, if because I'm obviously not able to monitor Twitter, I don't mind if you know. I don't want to necessarily spoil picks, but if there's news about, you know, movement or reports on whatever it is, I'll take it. My guess is they take Edgecomb, and I think the consensuses agree with me that Edgecomb out of Baylor is the move here. And I think that Conk Nipple is interesting. I think Trey Johnson is interesting, but I think the

answer is Edgecomb. I have thought ever since it seemed like Ace Bailey was not interested and they maybe weren't super interested in him, it has seemed pretty clear that this was going to be Edgecomb, and we'll find out momentarily if it is. I the Sixers are such an interesting team right now because one of the things that was lost in their terrible season was that Tyrese Maxi was coming off his you know, Superstar blow up if you will, Superstars too Strong, but for in Superstar in

twenty twenty four. That twenty twenty four season, Tyrese Maxi averaged twenty six points six assists a game. In that postseason, he played forty five minutes a night. He averaged in last year's first round thirty points per game, and in one of those games I think I might have been the game I was at. He had damn near a fifty piece in their overtime win in New York. I went to two games that series. I think I went to that win, but I also went to a game

in Philadelphia. And then this year he averaged twenty six again and nobody cared because the team was no good and that pick is in and it is in fact VJ Edgecombe to Philadelphia. So here's the reason I mention any of that. MAXI is a really good player. Jared McCain was the favorite in my eyes for Rookie of the Year last year. But despite what I can, you know, I could do without some of the I'm gonna sound like such an old man, some of the ticktocking. But

he was awesome as a rookie, A nice surprise. I thought he was, you know, as a just outside the lottery pick. I thought he was really good and fun and interesting last year. But then he gets hurt. Paul George's career goes totally sideways, at least for a year, and Embeid. They're talking about breaking his hip to fix

his knee. Doesn't sound good to me. With that said, if Paul George can just bounce back a bit, if Embiid can be healthy, if Maxie can stay Maxie, and if Jared McCain go back to being Jared McCain and you had this kid Edgecomb, Like, can that team win the East? I don't know, Like, have you looked at the East recently? Don't forget they have? If they potentially

are gonna bring him back, which I imagine they would. Quentin Grimes like, and I understand, I know I am, you know, probably biased towards Daryl Morey because he's my pal, But I trust Daryl Moray to fill out the roster around him. Daniel our great producer who I probably unfairly maligned on the pod yesterday. Sorry about that. Daniel says, does embiad need to make it out around two? Of course he does. And Simmons makes the point a lot and he's not wrong, Like,

can you at this point trust Joelle? Like when you think about the NBA Playoffs? I said this to Wilds and Brew. The NBA Playoffs ended Sunday night and went Monday, I said to Wilds and Brew, I'm like, man, the think about how long ago we were talking about JJ Reddick playing all five starters for the entire second half. That feels like that was a year ago. That was

during these playoffs. And so the reason I mentioned that is, can you realistically see em Bed making it through those four rounds when we've never really seen him make it through two full rounds fully healthy? And the answer to that question is probably not. But is it definitely not in this year's East, I don't know. All right, Before we get to the Charlotte Hornets, one last point on what is will become the story of the draft, and the Hornet's got a few minutes left to make their pick.

I would I would imagine, and I promise I you know, I am not if somebody is tipping picks, I'm unaware of it. So this is just guessing. I know, if Jordan was there, they would be taking Conkinipple. I could see Charlotte saying screw it, we're gonna take the most talented guy and take Ace Bailey. I'm a Malawac fan. This is probably I don't know, I don't know who it is. The options are Bailey, Trey Johnson, Conkinnipple, Fears, or Malawac. I'll tell you another guy who I if

I were. If I were Brooklyn at eight and this player was available, I would be taking Derrek Queen. I like Derrek Quinn, and I think Derrek Queen could be, outside of Bailey and Flag, the best player in this draft. So the reporting is the Pelicans and the Wizards are trying to trade up to four. See and I would have to imagine, so listen, if they are trying to trade up to four, I would think that is for

Ace Bailey. I would and if that's the case, if one of these teams is I'm looking, I'm now realizing I can just look at my phone to see if there's news on here. Dallas fans were chanting fire Nico at the Mavericks draft watch party. That, by the way, because Bruce said on the show today that Cooper Flag being awesome might take some of the sting out of this for Nico, and I just totally disagree with that.

I think Dallas fans are never gonna forgive Nico for that, and I don't think they're gonna give him credit for lo fucking into Cooper flag. But if the if Ace does go four and it ends up being you know, he maybe at most cost himself one draft spot, but it's because he wants to go somewhere he can be a featured part of the offense and you know, build immediately towards the second contract. Then you can't say definitively that he played this wrong, even if he turned some

people off. Now, if he falls all the way to eight, it's a different situation. But the Hornets are on the clock, it looks like they are making the pick now. One of the weird things about the NBA draft, unlike the NFL draft, is what you absolutely never see on the NFL draft is a team picks a player and then post pick trades the player. I've never understood. Sorry, I gotta fix. I know he's been running the whole show.

You never see a team pick a player in the NFL draft and then an hour later later trade him. In the NBA, this happens pretty often. Guy does the hat, does the whole thing, and then finds out ten picks later that he is in fact going somewhere else. So if the Pelicans and the Wizards were trying to trade up to get the fourth pick. I would imagine that even if they the Hornets end up making this pick, maybe it could be on the move. But I'm really

curious who this is gonna be. You would have to imagine because they have LaMelo there that Fears and Trey Johnson are incredibly unlikely they have. They have two early second round picks as well. They are also, you know, in the process of turning the page from Jordan's horrific draft history, and the safest pick is probably Conker Nipple. The highest upside pick is probably Ace Bailey. And this is not a team that I know. I said there. You know, they probably think they can't take Johnson or

Fears because they have LaMelo. They should not be worried about need at all. This is a team that needs everything, and this is a team that I think if they could find a way to turn the page from LaMelo and get cool stuff back for him, I don't think that necessarily would be a problem, but it's definitely not something they want to do. But this pick is in Adam Silver is walking to the podium, and it is

in fact Conknipple. I think that's the right pick. It's I think that he is a guy who's draft stock really shot up in the last year. I don't think going into listen, I'm not a huge NBA mock draft guy the way I am NFL, but I don't think a year out mock many of them had Conk Nipple being the fourth player taken. But I think I thought he was awesome at Duke. I think that he played a style of basketball that is going to fit in

great with the modern NBA. And I think he is as maybe not the upside, certainly not the upside of Ace and maybe not even the upside of Trey or in my opinion, Derek Queen, but a absolutely as clean of a prospect as you can get, and I think it's the right pick. I think the Hornets need solid, serious NBA players, and he strikes me as a guy that checks those boxes. By the way, this show is possible tonight thanks to our friends at boost Mobile. So I want to tell you guys about our friends at

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speeds not available in all areas. All right, I let me real quick. I am going to retweet the link to this so people can if they want to check us out on YouTube, they can do that. I'm gonna see if I can. Sometimes they'll like try to there we go and let me also quote tweet it live now on YouTube. Come join? Uh? So this is and again I am not and I have never pretended to be. I do try to be a uh a NFL draft expert. I don't think. I don't try to be an NBA

draft expert. So this is maybe just you know, I don't want to say dumb luck or just following the people who are experts. The first four picks have gone the way if I were running those Let me put it like this, if I were running those four teams the way I would have done it. Now, the first two everyone would have done, and the third I think most people would have done. But this is where this is where I might differ in that I do not think that at five, Utah is going to take Derrick Queen.

I do think if I were Utah at five, I would take Derrick Queen and listen, Utah at some point, I have to decide whether or not they want to win basketball games, and it is in my interest is someone that will root for the Lakers as long as Lebron's there to have them sell off Walker Kessler and

you know, continue to be unseerious. But the Jazz, the Jazz striving to be bad every year post Donovan and Rudy, I think is disheartening and them intentionally getting rid of or wanting to get rid of any of their quality players and the guys who end up turning into quality players kind of putting them on ice as they go from thirty seven wins to thirty one wins to seventeen wins. Is I think Jazz fans deserve better and I just don't see it coming to an end any time soon.

And when you look at the team, there are there are two guys in Marketing and Walker Kessler that you're like, Okay, I unequivocally definitely want to be, you know, in in that in their business as far as the moving forward, and one of those guys might be gone this offseason

they last year. You know, I'm not talking about the guys they've just now drafted the last year, in the year before, but as far as guys that are either veterans like market In or assumed to be veteran like Walker Kessler, and I don't think they're good enough obviously yet to win or compete at a high level. But if you this year again trade away one of your better players and it seems like both of them in Marketing and Walker Kessler, are available, what are you doing?

Especially when I think the draft gods have you know, they slapped your wrist this year by having you fall to five, and so I'm very interested in who they end up picking. I think that they won't have I don't think they're gonna have the guts is the wrong word. I don't think they're gonna roll the dice on Bailey because he made for reasons that I'm not entirely sure on, except for maybe he just doesn't want to live there,

because they every other thing. If you want to be featured, if you want to have a place where they'll run the offense through you, all that. I think Will Hardy's a fine coach, that makes a lot of sense. And so oh, they do take him. They do take Ace Valley, and now I'm watching for his reaction. So that is a that's a gutsy move by Danny Ainge that I will give credit for. I didn't think. I thought that maybe he was gonna be able to force his way

to Washington or Brooklyn, his preferred destinations. And now, by the way, we haven't had we haven't had any trades, and we need to remember trades absolutely do happen in the NBA draft. And by the way, one of the reasons we're doing this live is so we can answer your guys questions. And so you guys, can you know, put those in the chat right now if you'd like, and we'll get to him where you can. I think that's the right play. I think if you're Utah, you

simply it's the gutsiest play for sure. Of the guys on the board, he has the highest upside, the only guy who I think, and again I'm higher on this guy than most I guess has similar upside as Derek Queen. And he made it very clear he wants to be featured. He wants to be the centerpiece of an offense. It's why he had no interest in Philadelphia. Well, lucky you

man in Utah, you will be now I do. I am hesitant on at this point in the draft talking about fits for almost any of these guys, because I would imagine some of at least one of these guys is going to be traded to another team in the next thirty minutes. That's what draft's history has told us. Thus how far it hasn't happened. And so now all right, So now let's reset, because listen, I'll be interested to

see who Ace Bailey ends up being. He was supposed to be going into this year the second pick of this year's draft. His teammate Dylan Harper snagged that spot for him. He then kind of orchestrated his own ineligibility almost from being the third pick. He ends up falling only to number five. But now so we are now at flag one obvious Dylan Harper too obvious VJ. Edgecombe three less obvious but likely uh Conkininpple four, and then

Ace Bailey goes five to Utah. And so now the question that I think is most somebody asks, is there a chance they trade Bailey tonight? That's what I'm talking about. Absolutely. I mean, if you guys have watched the NBA draft throughout your lives, Guys do whole interviews wearing the hat talking about how excited they are. There was the kid who was it his mom worked for the Sixers? Was it Mikhale Bridges whose mom worked for the Sixers? He got drafted by the Sixers. He was all excited and happy,

and then he got traded to the Suns. And and so yeah, certainly Bailey getting traded tonight's on the board. Any of anybody really other than Flagg and Harper getting traded tonight or on the board. But in the meantime, as the broadcast goes to commercial, let's just reset for

a second on who might attempt to move up? So the top guys on the board if we just go by consensus big board standards really or Trey Johnson in the Guard out of Texas, Jeremiah Fears the Guard out of Oklahoma, who I know from just listening to guys who have been covering the draft really year round, is a guy that some teams are absolutely in love with.

And that a guy that I think some teams might if he slips a bit, try to move up and snag Malawak, who I floated out there would is there a team would the Lakers consider trading Austin Reeves straight up for Malawak? For the pick for Malawak? Derek Queen, who I like a lot, and that's kind of the and the other guy that I guess people really know is Carter Bryant. But there are most people have said there's a very, you know, firm top eight. I feel there's a firm top nine because I like Queen. And

then it gets a little trickier. Then we get to a bunch of European guys and guys that we're gonna spend less time on at least here, Is there a player? Or more accurately, yeah, is there a Do the Brooklyn Nets now look at it and say we have eight, nineteen, twenty two, twenty six, twenty seven, and thirty six. That's obviously an absurdity. We obviously cannot draft six players tonight. We can't certainly can't draft five first rounders with guaranteed contracts.

Does Brooklyn have a guy they really want? And do they package eight and twenty to move up two spots with Washington? Does Oklahoma City look at Malawak and just with their kind of you know, ten thousand year vision and say, all right, we are likely in two years not gonna have Hartenstein on this team anymore. Would we like to have a guy who can catch Lob's defensive

minded big man to back up Chet? And is it worth using some of our far you know, almost superfluous draft capital to move up from fifteen to try to snag him if he drops? Like? Those are those are now the questions I think teams are going to be asking. And I have been shocked, And I'll get to listener questions in a second, I shocked is maybe too strong. Uh?

I have been. I'm surprised we've had no trades. It felt to me like this was going and not only trades of picks for picks, but potentially trades of veteran players, you know, being involved in draft day trades, which we have seen in the past. But five picks in there have been none. Uh. Andrew asked, do you really think the Jazz aren't trying to win or is the West just that tough? No, man, if you the Jazz, I'm pretty sure got fined for not trying to win last year.

The sixth pick is in Adam Silver's at the podium, and in his trade, Johnson goes to the Washington Wizards. So the consensus mock mocks, by the way, are they had one through four exactly right. NBA dot Com actually published the consensus mock and they had Tray five A six. It ends up Ace five Tray six and so what does oh and Jonathan Givoni, that's a useful note, says

the Utah Jazz are keeping Ace Bailey. Okay, So whenever you've got to send that tweet out, By the way, that kind of verifies, at least to me, validates for me at least my instincts that it was. Some people were curious, are they drafting him to keep him or drafting him to trade him? So the Wizards have another first rounder they have picked eighteen. They also, of course traded away Oran Poole. Uh yesterday or the day before yesterday.

The day's all run together. Trey Johnson out of Texas, the SEC Freshman of the Year, and he goes to Washington and instantly, I mean becomes I mean, are they gonna ask now that Jordan Pool's gone, They're gonna ask him to be their number one score? Maybe the producers say thoughts on the shorts for Trey Johnson. I guess I didn't see if he wore a suit with shorts. That's not really my style, but I've got to see

it in order to actually respond to it. Let's k twenty two m ask who trades for Deer and Fox. Ain't room for all them guards in San Antonio? Uh No, there's certainly there is room net right now. There certainly is Like you can have remember Oklahoma City the one year had shrewder Sga and Chris Paul Like you can have three quality guards that you for the time being, at least I don't, and so I think San Antonio is just trying to keep all of their options open.

Nathan asking any team truly draft into being championship caliber tonight, Well, sure, if we're if we're not talking about next year's championship. Fact of the matter is, in the NBA, rookies don't help you win titles like Daniel's Nuggets did it with Christian Brown having a small, small, small role. But rookies don't help you win titles in this league. They just never have. I shouldn't say never. Obviously magic did, but historically that that's not where it goes. But yeah, teams

can certainly. Oh I'm looking at the picture now. Oh that's a fine look. Listen. I I'm just gonna sound like an old man. I'm not gonna you know, the fashions change over the years. It's a fine look. I'm not even gonna venture into it. Uh So one flag, two Harper to San Antonio, three, Edge Comb to Philadelphia, four Canipple to the Hornets, five Ace Bailey to the Jazz and six Uh just happened, my goodness? Uh, Trey Johnson, sorry to the Wizards, And now the Pelican's on the clock,

and I am unstunned at this point. Now we've had no trades, and I also wonder if Brooklyn like Brooklyn. At some point, Brooklyn's gotta figure out what the hell they're gonna do with these picks. You can't draft five first rounders. You literally don't have the roster spots for him, like I don't. I'm sure their plan is to package some together, but you're not gonna It's pretty clear you're

not packaging anything together to move up from eight. So maybe you're thinking you'd put nineteen and twenty two together and that moves you up to I don't know what's that worth fifteen. I'm really not certain. All right, So now we're on New Orleans, which just New Orleans just acquired Jordan Poole in a move. I don't totally understand the Pelicans right now. They're kind of cap sheet, so to speak, which also can be a de facto depth chart.

They just got Pool and Sadiq Bay, They obviously have Zion, They have Dejonte Murray coming off in Achilles, and then they have two guys that I like, and I think everybody likes and Trey Murphy and he and Herb Jones, Alvarado's fine, and then young player Jordan Hawkins. Uh I I would imagine, well, I don't know. Maybe the answer here is they go Malawac. I think Derek Queen and Zion together is a bit of a curious fit. I would have said Jeremiah Fears if they hadn't just traded,

if they hadn't just traded for Jordan Poole. So I think the smart pick would be Malwac. I think the consensus pick here is Fears, And maybe they don't care they traded for Jordan Poole. Maybe it's like, no, you know, Jordan Poole should not dictate our draft plans, which I agree with. But you still just traded for a guy who's third million this year and thirty four million next year.

And if they do well, we should be able to Let's just find out here in a second exactly who they are picking, because it will obviously greatly inform for Brooklyn. If if they go Fears, then I think Brooklyn is in a really interesting spot, and I'll explain why in a second. But is the is Adam Silver gonna walk to the podium and the producers ask our Pool and Zion one of the most fun league pass teams. Maybe, I mean is certainly if Shackton a fool's gonna exist,

You're you're gonna get some fun out of it. And for the handful of games Zion's fully healthy and awesome, you'll get something out of it. I just don't look at them as neither one has taken their career super seriously. Jeremiah Fears is the pick. So New Orleans does take Jeremiah Fears, and so that is that is a hell of a chain. I like that. So New Orleans next year is gonna trot out. It'll be Fears, Jordan Poole as you're starting back court, Zion, Trey Murphy as you're

starting front court. I don't know who you're starting. Sinner is going to be, and then Herb Jones. I guess Herb or Trey Murphy alongside Zion, and then Dejonta Murray when he comes back from his achilles. I don't understand the Pelicans. And again that's nothing against Fears. Fears fine player. I the at one point last year it looked like he might you know, finish top three in the Wooden Award. It's nothing against fears. I guess there's not a lot of players that I thought would have made a ton

of sense thereof than Malawac. But all right, so here is what I was saying about the Nets that I think is interesting. So if you are the Brooklyn Nets now and you know that a team like the Lakers would probably pay a little more than they should for Nick Claxton, does that inform at all your opinion on whether or not you want to just seamlessly draft Claxton's replacement in Malawak and with the plans of having a

higher upside in my opinion, defensive minded center. You can catch lobs and not that Clason's got a bad contract. It makes twenty five to twenty three twenty and and whether it's the Lakers or someone else, Claxon has some value or do you is your plan if you're Brooklyn that you are going to you know, you obviously are going to package some of those other picks. You have to. I know, I keep saying there's going to be trades.

There has to be trades. At some point, package some of those other picks to move up to where you have the eighth pick and then also have like the tenth or the eleventh pick, and you want to take Derreck Queen. Now, I I think Derek Queen has if I were how about this? This is a fun game. Guys most likely in this draft to at one point in their career show up on someone's MVP ballot. Number one with a bullet is obviously flag. Number two I think is pretty obviously Harper. I think number three is

Derek Queen. Now that also might be top ten picks, you know, most likely to be traded before the end of their rookie contract. Maybe Queen's also that. But if I'm Brooklyn, for me, the talent and upside of Queen is impossible to pass up unless I already know I'm trading Claxton. And I feel like, you know what, even if even if I am trading Claxton, I probably shouldn't be drafting for this year anyway. I still think you

probably take Queen. But I could totally see them going mall lock here and then signaling to the entire league. Nick Claxton is available, and for Brooklyn, their best the what Brooklyn has going for it is their future draft picks. Really, so Brooklyn after this year they have they have all these picks this year, and then in twenty seven they have a Knicks first. In twenty seven they have a

Philly first. They have their own obviously that year in twenty six they have their own, and then whore what's the other? I thought they had one really juicy first round pick. Oh, maybe it's just they got all their own picks back. And then there's they they are one of the teams that is involved in like a seven way pick swap in twenty twenty nine that I just

can't quite figure out. But so that's what now. I remember Brooklyn got their own draft picks back, which was very important for them after they didn't have those, which kind of allowed them to reset everything they were doing. All Right, the nets are celebrating. I wonder what they're celebrating. Maybe they're just celebrating that they made their pick. Are

we gonna get any trades tonight? I'll be honest, And I appreciate my friends at boost Mobile for setting this up and for us doing this today, and I enjoy doing it. But I thought one of the reasons I was excited to do it was because I thought it would be live reacting to a bunch of trades. There have been none, and the Nets draft room, I don't. It seems to me like they are reacting to uh making a pick. So maybe there's still no trades. Kin

asks no concern about Queen's motor. No, there are concerns. That's why I said, I think he is a you know, low floor, high ceiling guy, maybe the low floor high ceiling guy of this draft. But it's still it's still to me if you're the Nets worth a dice roll because you need you need a high ceiling player. And as much as I like Malawak Malawac, you know exactly what he's going to be. He is not going to be a high ceiling player. He is going to be

a very useful player. And the hope is that he can be like a better version of Clint Capella, which is again a very useful player, and we'll have a long career in this league, but no chance of being a star. Wow, I'm just looking at the screen. It says Jay Billis is five best available and Queen's not even one of them. So maybe I'm just way out to lunch on Queen. But I love him. All right, I'm very fascinated by him. To me this, this is either if I'm running Brooklyn, it's either Queen or Malawoc

and Adam Silver is going to it's Egor Dimon. I gotta tell you that one I didn't see coming. That is the guard out of BYU. Where So so let me or I'm pronouncing his name wrong, Yegor Denham. My apologies. Adam Lefgo just texts me demean my guy. So that was and I'm trying. I'm this is the first pick that is I think far outside the consensus. Now again I don't think that that is a negative necessarily, but ESPN's final mock had Yegor going thirteenth. The Ringers final

mock didn't have him in the lottery. The Athletics final mock didn't have him in the lottery. Yeah who sports is didn't? Bleacher Reports didn't? Is that right? Let me just I mean that's what it seemed the I'm looking So who did, NET Scouts did, and CBS sports is Gary Parrish, my old buddy, and they all had him at thirteen. So let me this. I'm doing this on the fly. I apologize. See what his consensus spot was and again that's not everything, but it is. This is

the first reach is too strong. But this is the first one that is kind of off the board from where we had seen it before. So the ESPN, which who is it for? ESPN? I want to be fair here. Who wrote this? Oh? This is Gavoni? So Gavoni? Who is the best at this? I think Gavoni had him going thirteenth, so not a huge reach. And it's so funny, he writes, Let me pull this up real quick. I apologize there it is. Deman Is another player has been tough to pin down in terms of his landing spot.

He got that exactly right. Having worked out for the vast majority of franchises inside the top teams believe he's a possibility for Toronto, Portland and Chicago as well. Good for you, Gavoni, as well as a sleeper target for Brooklyn. But it's possible to slip past that, at which point there's a best available case for a club such as the Hawks. Simply take a swing, okay, And then he writes at his size, Demon's potential versatility as a perimeter

playmaker stands out in the context of this class. The development of his jump or something he has worked on to showcase in private is one of the more pivotal swings for any prospect. Oh and that wasn't Cavoni, that was Wu. But this is Wu. In Cavoni's article, my apologies want to give credit words due, Jeremy Wu wrote that section of it. So that is that is a a surprising one to me. Caavoni, who lives and breathes this,

you know, probably not as surprised as he says. A potential sleeper, but still he was considered, you know, a guy that might fall out of the lottery and obviously didn't. Before we get to the Toronto Raptors pick, which is not yet in let me remind you, guys, hotels in Vegas maybe book solid this weekend, but there's one vacancy left to be filled. At UFC three seventeen, a new lightweight champ will be crowned. Grab your own crown at

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I feel like there is at this point, Messi has to feel a real pressure, even though he won the championship in twenty nineteen, to put a real product back on the floor. I also feel like, and again I'm gonna sound like a broken record about my guys, and not the my guys, but about these two players. But Toronto's got a long history of being good with NBA

international players. They also, when you already have Scottie Barnes are obviously trying to establish something of a physical defensive identity. But when you already have Barnes and you already have Ingram and you already have Barrett. Does uh what you McCall it? Does, Derek Queen make a lot of sense? So is this where Malawat goes like it? You feel like he's probably becomes their day one starting center. And

I also am just really curious. What. Oh man, it looked like some one of these guys girlfriends whoever they just showed on the broadcast, looked like his girlfriend was crying, like nobody has fallen too far yet. And maybe I maybe I don't want to use Uh they're showing Colin Murray boils from South Carolina. Maybe she wasn't crying. Maybe I just glanced at it wrong, but she looks when I saw, she looked very upset. Like nobody's having an

Aaron Rodgers style drop right now. Nobody should be upset. Everybody'd be very happy, uh with it, with how this is gone. No, there's nobody that was expected to go top five that's still on the board, and still we're only on the ninth pick. We're on the ninth pick and we have, by the way, salmon got in the trade, which if it sounds like I'm annoyed by it. I guess I am a little annoyed by it because I expected there to be like some insane action which just

hasn't happened. Now. It's great for these kids, but I don't know, I expected there to be wild trades up to this point. Colin Murray, oh maybe is that oh man? So? Colin Murray Boyles so was just so? Is that? Aw man? Is that why the girlfriend? I feel bad speculating about this, but is that why she was so? Was she crying tears of happiness because he just got the text? Who's being drafted? Or was she crying? Is she sad because he's good? I mean, he's going to Canada. I don't know.

That's a really weird one. I don't know why that. The person sitting next one would have been upset. I am and if anybody, by the way, the if any of our producers, if they have we have audio, they have audio on the actual broadcast, and like it's not like the broadcast is gonna tell me anything about that, So I I don't I don't know. That was a weird one because I couldn't figure out why she was sad. But then the guy just got drafted and so obviously he knew, you know, a minute before or so, that

he was gonna be drafted. I also fact check me on this. Is he is Colin Murray Boyles. Is he the first two year player to be drafted? Is he the first non freshman to be drafted? Am I forgetting somebody? I think he is? Check this for producers if you guys don't mind check that for me. I think he. I think he's the first non freshman to be drafted, which is kind of a sign of where we're at

in the NBA and the college basketball. And again it's not even a value judgment, but the first eight picks of the draft, we're all one and done player so far. It also makes him that's so funny. Let me see exactly how old he is. It also makes him the oldest player drafted, and he is. That's unbelievable. He turned twenty two weeks ago. He's the So he's the oldest. He's the first twenty year old that's been drafted. He is also the only two year college player who was drafted.

He is. If you're interested in his numbers. Last year at South Carolina, he was sixteen and eighth and super efficient and his freshman year. You know, was a good player ten and six last year even better sixteen and eight. Why is this girl so sad they're showing her more? I am flummixed by that. That is the biggest surprise of the night. Oh, I have a trade? Finally, what is hull? Wait a second, here, do we have a trade? Okay?

So this is okay. The broadcast is being that's you know what, I'm gonna go ahead and say that's a bad editorial decision. I apologize to the audience because it says I'm looking down at the at the ESPN broadcast and it says number picking number ten Houston with the Rockets logo, and then it says proposed trade with the Suns. And I guess this is because that trade technically can't take place yet. And so maybe it's this isn't an ESPN thing, Maybe it's an NBA thing where technically this

is the Rockets pick. Technically the Rockets will be making this pick, but in reality, this is the Sun's making this pick. All right, So this if there is an again, if he doesn't get picked here, I'll stop bringing him up. But if if this isn't Maluwak. Then I don't know

what the hell's going on. If there's ever been a team that needs some semblance of reliable rim protection more than a team that's gonna trot out there Booker Bradley Beal, Jalen Green, and it has no bigs to speak of at all, and does not need a guy like Queen who's going to want you know, I would think a fair amount of shots and to run the show this, I would think. Now again, never doubt the power of

Mattishbia to Mattishbia situation. But this has to be Malawac and they have to be thrilled that he fell to here like this is a guy that they will ask to be as a rookie, a suit their starting center from day one. And if they end up, I mean, who else could They're not gonna take Queen that I'm

very very comfortable in. You can't take another guard, So you can't take the Illinois kid, You're I don't think Ishbia is gonna let him take an international player that he didn't see and so and I mean, you could take Carter Bryant. I suppose who's another guy that would greatly improve your defense. But I would imagine that this is madawock and it's so weird that they're putting all rockets that the NBA makes at the draft then put rockets logos and all this rocket stuff up there when

we all know this is not the Rockets pick. But I suppose it is what it is. And I'm also you know, you guys know this. I am not a I don't feel a lot of obligations to the audience except for honesty. I am not gonna pretend if this ends up being that Noah Singway, any of the international guys, I'm not gonna pretend I know anything about them. I have not been uh, I have not been on the international beat sort of speak. All right, hold on, so let's see so we I see this right now, we

do have a trade. The whole Hornets are trading center Mark Williams to the Phoenix Suns for the twenty ninth pick, that and a twenty twenty nine first round pick. So hold on, hold on a second, What the hell pick did the Suns just trade? All right, first of all, let's do this. Now we have some action boys. All right, this is the Rockets pick, but it's actually the Sun's pick. The Rockets pick, which is actually the Sun's pick. It it is Malawak and he is sobbing and that is

a great scene. This kid from South Sudan, what a story. So happy for him. I was just saying, how Phoenix has to get some type of defensive big Did they just draft one and trade for one? I don't actually hate that, but I don't know how they're allowed to trade their twenty twenty ninth pick. So I've got to look this up. So the Sun's what in twenty twenty seven, I guess they have a swamp, so that's fine. In twenty twenty eight they have their own. In twenty twenty nine,

oh they have a swamp. Okay, So one of the only draft picks that they are allowed to trade they just traded for Mark Williams. So gosh, this is put in the doc. What the original Mark Williams trade was, if you would guys, it was Dalton connect and a first. I believe they end up getting the twenty ninth pick of the draft, which Phoenix had from some other trade, and a twenty twenty nine first. All right, where I will give the Sun's even though I do not think

they are going to be good at all? All right, So the initial trade was Dalton Connect, Cam Reddish, a twenty thirty swap, and an unprotected twenty thirty one first The new trade is the twenty ninth pick of this year's draft and a first rounder in twenty twenty nine, uh, which is here. It is the least favorable of Cleveland, Utah, and Minnesota's first round picks. So yeah, if you're the if you're Charlotte, you're a little more than a little annoyed.

This is not nearly the same package the Lakers were gonna give you. The Lakers were giving you Dalton Connect, who was a top what was he the nineteenth pick last year, the eighteenth pick something like that, an unprotected twenty thirty one, and a swap in twenty thirty. Instead you are getting the twenty ninth pick and the worst of Cleveland, Utah, and Minnesota's twenty twenty nine picks. So that's not great. Now, what I will say is the Suns all of a sudden have two like and Dalton

Knack was seventeen thick. The Suns all of a sudden do have now real depth at center, and they you know, Mark Williams is an injury risk, and so I don't I don't hate that trade for Phoenix. Fair is fair the twenty ninth pick and a crummy first rounder in twenty twenty nine, like a guaranteed to be crummy first rounder, because again you take Cleveland, Utah and Minnesota's first and it's the worst of those three is what they're getting.

I think it's a good trade by Phoenix, and now they do have their center position taking care of it. I still don't know who there are point guards going to be, but that's not bad. By the way. Something else I want to do for you to do with my friends at boost Mobile Instant Boost brought to you by boost Mobile. So the teams that I think thus far through the first ten picks got the biggest boost

of the draft. I'm you know what, after spending so much time kind of making fun of the Phoenix Suns for how they were run, I think that was a good little ninety seconds for them. I think getting Malawak, who is a player I like a lot, obviously, I've been talking about him for a half hour, and getting Mark Williams and the tenth pick on Malawauc makes a ton of sense. The twenty ninth pick this year. I mean, I know it's a first rounder, but not really, it's

kind of a second rounder. And then what is guaranteed to be a pick somewhere in the twenties in twenty twenty nine. I think that's a really good I think that. And by the way, you now have forty eight minutes of defensive and lob catching center play next year when you had zero minutes of it last year. That will make a tangible difference for them. So I do like that. Now, is it enough for them to make the playoffs in the West? I do not think so, but it is.

I still think that is a really useful I think that's a really useful maneuver for them. Say that again, Daniel, we have a trade coming in. I didn't hear you. I apologize. Oh, Memphis is trading up with the Blazers. I'll get to that in a second once we get those details, but first let me finish up Instant Boost brought to you by boost Mobile. The to me the other two obvious ones, the Phoenix one's less obvious, the

obviously the Spurs. Adding Dylan Harper is a super impactful addition, and you either because he gets to pair with wimby long term, or because sorry, there's a fly in here I'm trying to catch, or because they will use him in a huge future trade and Flag listen, Flag's gonna get to run the offense in Dallas while Kyrie's out and see if you can keep him in the playoff hunt. So Dallas and San Antonio, we knew we're gonna get

an instant boost boost. I do like what Phoenix did standing Pad at ten getting Malawac and I think getting a good deal on Mark Williams. So that was the instant boost presented by boost Mobile. So here is the Portland Trailblazers are drafting and trading Cedric Coward. So the Portland Trailblazers at eleven are going to go ahead and draft Cedric Coward, who was a guy who was kind of on the fringes of the consensus mock drafts in the lottery. Well he wasn't, I shouldn't say on the

fringes of the consensus. He was outside of the lottery in the consensus mocks, but just barely. He was projected to go fifteen sixteen. Memphis trades and goes up and gets him. I am very curious and once we have it, what the details of that trade are? Guy? What is I mean? He'll probably be the oldest player taken in this draft. He's a senior and that is almost unheard of in the lottery these days. And he was at Washington State after I think starting he went to three

schools only one. That's an interesting profile on him. So he went to Wilmington I think went to Eastern Washington. One year at Washington State and only played six games, I believe due to injury, and he ends up going not only in the lottery, but Memphis wanted him enough and was worried enough he wasn't gonna be there they traded up for him. And it does not appear there's any details yet. Memphis was sitting at sixteen, so I would imagine you know that that was the key part

of that trade. I know that he that excuse me, coward was considered its strong biggest strength, pardon me, was athleticism and a potential three and D guy. I don't think many people thought he was going to be a lottery pick. I will say it is kind of nice to see a four year college player and a guy who was. I'm gonna look it up. I don't think he uh was he even rated. I'm gonna look, I'm

looking up his rivals ranking. Uh So that's that's so a guy who had to go to a small school and didn't have like that, to me, is a pretty cool story for him to end up being drafted where he was. The Grizzlies are sending the sixteenth pick, a twenty twenty eight first round pick via Orlando, and I mean that's a lot and two seconds. So I mean they loved him pretty clearly, and that is, I you know, a pretty aggressive move for a guy that I think a lot of people thought was would have been there

when they were drafting. And so he he had a really good combine going into the comp because he had you have producers can check me on this. I think

he was. What I remember is that he was gonna go play at Duke because he was gonna be his fourth school and he was gonna what I don't even remember what I read about it, but it was that he had gone from like D three to small D one to big D one and then he was gonna end up at Duke over the course, and then he crushed at the combine so much, he's just like, you know what, screw it, I'm staying in the draft. And now he ends up being a lottery pick, and so

that is quite the price the Grizzlies paid. That's an interesting one. Like I don't again, I don't mind being aggressive, and I don't mind uh moving up to get a guy you've got to have. I just I don't think a lot of people thought you needed to move that far up to get that player. And I also think that that Orlando first round pick, like maybe it's all good in Orlando and that it all works out well with Bain and they are, you know, one of the

next really good Eastern Conference teams. But I don't know that that one that feels like a rash move by Memphis. So I find that I find that interesting. The Bulls are on the clock. We've got two more picks we're gonna be doing. We'll do the Hawks in the Spurs, And I'm telling you right now, I'm gonna be bummed out if my guy Derek Queen doesn't get drafted during the lottery and the the Bulls are on the clock.

There are reports that they're taking you know what, I don't even want to say who the reports are that they're taking. We'll find out when everyone finds out. I haven't spoiled any picks yet. I just saw in the doc who they're you know what the reports are. I'll

wait and see on it. The Bulls are another team that, aside from Kobe White being fun and being good, you wonder what exactly the plan ever is with them, other than they are hoping every year to win more than thirty six games in less than forty six games, and they seem to be very very adept at accomplishing exactly that. And they are I'm trying to see if there's more details on any or if there's any more trades. I'm not seeing any more trades at the moment. Oh, there

is a trade hold on, all right. Well then since there's a trade for thirteen, all right, I'm gonna spoil the Bulls pick real quick. It would appear the Bulls are taking the French kid Noah a singue, A singue, I apologize if I'm saying your name wrong, young man, that's who they're taking, and the Atlanta Hawk a singe. The Atlanta Hawks are trading the number thirteen pick to New Orleans Pelicans. Wow? Wait this is this right? Hold

on this tweet? This post has been deleted. I'm taking a screenshot of the shams because i want to see what they're actually trading it for. All right, let me okay, so is this post still up? The Hawks are trading the thirteenth pick in the draft to the Pelicans for the twenty third pick and an unprotected twenty twenty six first which will be the most favorable of New Orleans

and Milwaukee. Hold did New Orleans just earmuffs kids? New Orleans just fucking traded away their next year's first round pick unprotected to move up from twenty three to thirteen. That might be the most reckless draft day trade I've seen in five years, with absolutely no due respect. Who the hell does New Orleans think they are? What is New Orleans doing trading away? If Shams is? If that again?

I am base? I am trusting Shams implicitly. Noah Singue, whose name I'm mispronouncing, is the twelfth pick and now at thirteen again, I'm gonna read this exactly. The Atlanta Hawks are trading the number thirteen pick of the draft to New Orleans for the number twenty three, pick okay, thirteen for twenty three got it, and an unprotected twenty twenty six first, which will be the most favorable of

New Orleans and Milwaukee. Sources tell ESPN, All right, now, listen, Even if this is to take my guy that I have been begging someone to take for thirty minutes, Derek Queen, this is one of the most reckless trades I can possibly imagine. Also, of all the places I would be nervous about derreck Queen, going New Orleans is high on the list. Now I have no idea who they're taking here.

We're gonna find out in a minute. But you cannot if you're New Orleans trade away next year's forund pick unprotected. You could be terrible, Like I know you don't want to think you can be terrible, but you absolutely could be terrible. You Zion is a risk every year. Dejonte Murray will be coming off an Achilles? And when do when? When do we expect de Jonta Murray? Do we even and when I say coming off an Achilles, like, are we even sure de Jonta Murray will be coming off anything? Uh? Like?

When do we think we're going to be seeing de Jonte Murray. Maybe not next year? He could he I mean he could miss the season. You have, Jordan Poole. I how can you possibly trade away your unprotected first round pick next year? Atlanta? Great job? This is the credit words do man. That is a hell of a job by Atlanta. You move back ten spots and you get a lottery ticket for next year. Like, who's here's a fun exercise? Whose unprotected first round picks for next

season are more valuable than New Orleans? Like? Who are the teams that we feel like are have a better chance to just bottom out than New Orleans? Utah for sure, Washington, Charlotte, that's the list. New Orleans won twenty one games last year? What are they thinking? I'm maybe I shouldn't be as stunned by this, h but I am. This is one of what a baffling baffling? Who? Who is hold on Pelicans GM? Hold on the Atlanta Hawks? Oh? My goodness? Is it Dumars? Hold on a second? Here is the

so the Atlanta Hawks? How about this? The Atlanta Hawks and new general manager on Cisala are finalizing deals to hire New Orleans Pelicans GM Brian Graham as the team's senior vice president of basketball operations. So hold on, the Hawks hired away a Pelicans guy. I was gonna say, if the Pelicans had just hired away a Hawks guy and then they just gave the Hawks this deal, this guy was gonna call for an investigation. But this is Joe Dumars. Oh my god, Joe Dumars. Oh no, this

is Joe Dumars's first big move. This is gonna be the new two Phones meme. I maybe I don't want to be overreacting. And by the way, the it was I it is Derek Queen, and I like Queen. I don't I his fit next to Zion. I'm not sure about it, but I was advocating that the Pelicans could have taken Derek Queen with the seventh pick, so there's nothing wrong with that. But they might have just traded the number one pick of next year's draft to move up from twenty three to thirteen. How do you not

get a protection on it? And by the way, here's the other thing on that, Just to be totally clear and fair about what they traded. It's Milwaukee or New Orleans, the best of those, So it's even if New Orleans like, no, it's not gonna problem because we're gonna be good. We know we're gonna be good. What if Milwaukee trades Giannis or he gets injured and they're terrible, then that pick goes. I'm glad we stayed on through the lottery. This is

I could do an hour on this move. Zach Lowe just tweeted out a picture of the Pelican in the hospital. Oh my goodness, hold on, I have to We're gonna stay on a little bit longer. Currently having a conniption about what the Pelicans just did. Come join me. Uh okay, so I we're gonna spend a few minutes. Congratulations to Derek Queen. I actually think he's gonna be good. I think that's a fun pick. I and the Spurs and

this will be this will be perfect. We can while while we really just react to what the Pelicans did. We'll find out who the Spurs and the thundertake at fourteen and fifteen and then we'll be out of here. And by the way, the the Nets still have all their picks, and the nets haven't moved up, and the nets right now we're on track to draft five guys in the first round, which seems like that's probably not a sustainable thing, but whatever. So I want this to

be very clear. New Orleans, which won twenty one games this year, which has not had a resoundingly excellent season since Anthony Davis was there. Their closest thing to a successful season in the last seven years was two years ago when they won four forty nine games snuck in as the eight seed. Forty nine games is not sneaking in, that's good, and got absolutely lambassed in Round one four h last year. They took those forty nine wins clearly they thought we could be good, and despite that, they

won twenty one games. Okay, Zion is obviously a huge

question mark. They also just traded for Jordan Poole, who calling him a question mark I think is fair at the very least, though, what they had was their own first round pick next year, which could be important because to Jonta Murray, someone they in theory were relying on, could miss most of the year, if not all of the year, with a torn achilles They they also had the option to swap that pick with Milwaukee, which, and this is why swaps are interesting, that was I think

that's the last piece of the Drew Holiday to Milwaukee trade, and that you know, if Milwaukee trades Yannis, or if something were to happen to Yannis, maybe that ends up being a super valuable swap. Not likely, but possible to give that up to move up, Tint, And you can't be like we thought this was a once in a generation player. You could have taken this guy an hour ago.

You draft the Fears, which again I'm fine with that, and I like Derek Queen, but to trade away your own unprotected pick next year, slash Milwaukee's unprotected pick next year to move from twenty three to thirteen is insanity. I would say that has a thirty percent chance, thirty five percent chance of being a top five pick, and a seventy percent chance of being a top ten pick that you just traded away. I am flabbergasted by that. The Spurs just took a fellow who didn't wear a

shirt the draft, did wear a sweet jacket. Though Carter Bryant, who I mean, is very spursy. He is he is the guy who fell the furthest if you will, compared to the consensus mock draft, so like by some people's metric, he you know, they just got the best value there. But Carter Bran out of Arizona is the final pick of the lottery. So the Spurs add Dylan Harper and they add Carter Bryant, who is I think the question mark on him is is he going to be a big time offensive player? Can he be a big time

offensive player? But people like the measurables athleticism and they like the defense. And so now we sit on Oklahoma City and then we'll ra this up. But I can't I apologize. I can't get over what the Pelicans did. The producers are asking me who could Oklahoma City draft to help them repeat? I don't want I'm not trying to be dismissive. Whomever Oklahoma City drafts this year will not help them repeat next year. Like that, Oklahoma City is too good and too deep for anybody who's there

at fifteen to be in their rotation next year. The rookie who will help them next year is their draft pick from last year. In topicch and so this is where I will admit my own ignorance. I don't know the international guys, but where Oklahoma City has a huge benefit is if there's a guy who you know there's questions when will he come over? Will he come over?

But he's super talented. That's a guy Oklahoma City can pick and just stash like they they're not gonna have enough roster spots, especially because they didn't package anything to trade up. So Oklahoma City can do whatever they want. They can take project guys, they can do anything. And Presty's gonna be drafting guys who he thinks can help them in twenty twenty eight, not necessarily guys who's gonna be helping them in twenty twenty six, and will find

out who that is in just a moment. I just and also, man, Atlanta's had a decent few days now, So hold on, what did you guys just put in the let me see this real quick. The oh, these are extra details on the Hornets trade. Okay, so the twenty twenty nine first rounder, we knew this is the least favorable of Cleveland, Utah and Minnesota. We knew that. And then Bobby Mark says, as part of the trade, Charlotte is acquiring Vasila Je Michic. Okay, I don't care

about that. That's I mean, I appreciate you guys giving it to me. But I don't I don't have anything to add to that. The the the point that I was trying to make there, I'm trying to remember. Sorry, I apologize. Was on Oklahoma City. Oh no is Atlanta. I was talking about Atlanta. I think Atlanta is an interesting team next year now in this East. I've never been a huge Tray young guy, but he does have to his credit playoff experience. I do really like Jalen Johnson,

who I think is going. I think Jalen Johnson's a good player. I think Jalen Johnson, you know, it hurt them last year that Jalen Johnson uh got injured. I think that he is somebody like that surprised me at how good he was two years ago and last year before he got hurt proved it wasn't a fluke. And so Trey's Tray is. It's not like Trey is not a useful player. He obviously is. He has some limitations,

but Jalen Johnson's good. Resa Scha was the number one pick of the draft a year ago, so they obviously that's an important piece for them. Dyson Daniels is just definitively a really good player now like an awesome defensive player and a good player Chris STAPs in a contract year if he's healthy, I think could be good for them. And now you also have waiting for you in a year. And if you're a Hawks fan, you have this kind

of fuck. You get to root for your team while also just rooting for either the Bucks or the Pelicans to stink, and you have this kind of double interest next season. And so I like these moves the Hawks have made. I gotta give you know, credit where it's due. And you know, I mean, I've got to think that who's picking sorry, I had it up, who was picking twelve? I can't. I mean, maybe the Bulls turn. The Bulls are maybe I know the Spurs. I am certain the Spurs are like, oh my god, we were a pick

away from being offered an unprotected Pelicans pick. Oh like the everyone sitting around Atlanta's draft position has to be like, how did we not get that phone call? I am I'm stunned the Pelicans would do that. And I mean that is that is a potentially instantly uh disqualifying move by Joe Dumars. It's just truly baffling. So I would like to adjust or not adjust, Paul, I'm doing an extra or I'm adding something to our instant boost thanks to boost Mobile, the instant boost brought to me by

boost Mobile. Another team that got one of the biggest boosts this draft, the Atlanta Hawks and their fans for how much more fun next year will now be because no matter how good, mediocre or bad you are, you have two teams you get to just root against next season in the Bucks and the Pelicans, and just for one of them to be bad, and all of a sudden that be how you get the kid out of BYU or somehow get the number one pick of the draft, like what an I thought we were gonna have like

the Lakers, you know, trade Austin Reeves moving to the top ten. I thought the Pelican I'm sorry, the thunder who are picking right now, might package them stuff to move up. I thought there was a chance maybe that Paul George in the third pick went somewhere. We got none of that. Instead, we end up with the New Orleans Pelicans making a twenty three to thirteen trade that I'll simply never forget, and Oklahoma City, with the first pick outside of the lottery, takes Thomas Sorber Freshman Center

out of Georgetown. I'll be honest that if you an hour ago, I said, could I see Oklahoma City if Malawoc starts dropping, moving up to get him, because in a couple of years Hartenstein's probably not there and they need a guy who can be chats back up, who's ready to play by then they end up getting Malawac. Thomas Sorber fills that role. So it does seem like we were kind of of like mind there all right. Thank you to boost Mobile. Thank you a ton to the guy at Blue Duck and Volume. We thought this

might go an hour, It went two hours. For staying up late and working late. Thank you to all of you for watching. Thank you to this glass of red wine that helped us through it all. You guys, NBA Draft, first ever live draft show. Enjoyed it. See you guys. Oh, tomorrow morning, we're doing a show. See you guys then, what's right