The Warm Up
Join your hosts, Jah and Ben, as they dive into all things NBA! With the perfect blend of banter and analysis, this duo will bring you the latest updates, insights, and even debates from the realm of the NBA. Everything from jaw-dropping plays to nail-biting finishes, they cover it all with excitement. Tune in, whether you are a die-hard basketball fan or simply listening for fun. Get ready for a wild ride through the world of sports
The Warm Up
2026 NBA Mock Draft: Predicting All 30 First Round Picks + Draft Surprises
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
The NBA Draft is right around the corner, which means it’s time for our official 2026 NBA Mock Draft.
In this episode of The Warm Up, Ronnie joins the show as we go through all 30 first-round selections and debate how draft night could unfold. From the conversation around the projected #1 overall pick to potential steals and surprise selections later in the round, we break down every major storyline surrounding this year’s draft class.
If you love NBA Draft talk, roster building, and future stars, this is an episode you don’t want to miss.
Tune in and let us know what your own mock draft looks like.
Welcome back to the warm of everybody. Today I'm your host. Joining me today is Ronnie. Ronnie, how you doing?
SPEAKER_02I'm doing good, brother. Good to see you. Glad you had me on and uh ready for a fun time.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, let's go. So um we're gonna go into like a 2026 uh NBA mock draft. Um we'll do um he picks, I pick, and we'll just go to the first 30 picks. Um I haven't seen Ronnie's board at all. I have my board. Um, but before we get into it, please like, comment, subscribe on the video, turn on that notification bell so you never miss episode of warm-up. And yeah, let's get into it. So, Ronnie, uh, NBA draft is less than two weeks away. Um fast. It's coming up so fast, and I and I don't want it to end, but the NBA finals has been so great, but I am ready for the offseason. Uh same with 28 other teams, they're ready for this offseason.
SPEAKER_02You want some Lakers basketball to come back?
SPEAKER_00I want some Lakers basketball. I want some Lakers trades. I want I just want movement around the league. Um, I'm super excited. This draft, um, well documented. It's a historic draft. Um, not as historic as it was coming out of March Madness. I think a lot of people withdrew their names and it kind of lessened the pool, but still an all-time class, I think. Um, the top four picks, we'll get into it. Generational. I don't know if they're generational, but they're really good prospects. Um, uh, you got anything else to add before we get into it?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, no, just like you were saying, uh, I think some of these guys are probably generational, at least that's what they're being billed to us as. Yeah. Um, and then like you said, the withdrawal process, a lot of these guys going back, get big on NIL deals, definitely thins out kind of that 25 to 35 range, you know, some really good prospects. Um, but uh I think the lottery's still as strong as you would hope it would be. Uh, if you're a lottery pickle, you're not going back to school. So the top end talent is still there, it's just kind of that depth uh whittled down a little bit. But no, it should be fun time and uh ready to get going.
SPEAKER_00All right. So with that being said, yeah, um, we're gonna use Draft Baller. This video is not sponsored by any means, but this is a new drafting site where you could do mock drafts, redrafts, it shows stats on players, and it just overall I thought was just the easiest way we could go about this. Um, so with the first pick with the Washington Wizards, they select Ronnie. The floor is yours.
SPEAKER_02Giving me the Wizards, man. Um if you're the Wizards, uh you really can't go wrong. I mean, you get your pick. I'm going DeBanza. I think it's probably what they end up doing. Uh, I know you're a big DP guy. Um, just kind of thinking about what they have on the team. Like Sarr, you know, is going to be there. Trey Johnson kind of had a rough end to his rookie season. You got some other guys, Carrington. Um, I think DeBance is kind of like the plug and play guy. He's got positional versatility. The scoring is insane for a guy his size. Uh, gets to the line like crazy. He's probably gonna, I don't know, eight, ten free throws a game at some point in his career. Like it's it's kind of uncanny the way he draws fouls. Um, and I also think he's a guy who is gonna benefit from NBA spacing. Uh Trey's on the team, you know, we'll see how long or you know, what that kind of looks like, Trey, Trey Young that is. Um, I think he could get Devansa some really easy looks. And uh Devansa's gonna be my pick for rookie of the year if this goes, you know, if if he goes to Washington, I think he's poised for some really big scoring numbers. Uh, and then there they kind of have some stuff around him that like complement his weaknesses, so to say. Um but I think projecting forward, he's just like an all all-star, maybe all NBA level wing scorer, and just excited to see how he progresses as the years go on.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean, I really don't have an argument against the Bonsta, really. Um, as you said before, like I I have Darren Peterson as my number one overall player, but like you said, like AJ is gonna be super plug-in play. He's the 6'10, probably 6'11 forward. The kid's probably still growing. Um, just freak athlete, um, real defensive. Uh I mean, I don't know. I think he'll be really good, like help defender, shot blocking, and then like a really good, not like an elite on ball perimetered player defensively, but I think for sure, like like you said, like his scoring is through is gonna be through the roof. And then if you watch them last year with BYU, they had like hardly any floor space spacing. And I think I think it'll be super eye-opening, even for him when he gets into NBA. You're surrounded by Trey Johnson, a Trey Young, um, Alex Sarr who can shoot, um, Anthony Davis who can shoot from time to time, Keyshawn George. Like, I think the floor will be super.
SPEAKER_02Oh, yeah, I didn't even talk about Keyshawn George.
SPEAKER_00He but Barrington, like they have like I re if AJ really is the pick for Washington, it's a super, super fascinating just fit-wise, where it's like this could be one of those quicker rebuilds than we think, just because they have so much young talent. And I think, like you said, like AJ is gonna be super, super um benefited from this NBA spacing.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I uh like I said, he's my early pick for rookie of the year. If he goes to the Wizards, I think with Trey setting the table for him, he's poised. Uh, I would be shocked if he averages less than 19, 20 points a game. Like he should be one of those guys that really can just put the ball in the basket from a very, very early, you know, point in his career. Now, the thing that kind of does worry me about it is like some of those young guys have had success, like Keyshawn George, like how long is AD around? He's already you know, there's already been some noise of whether or not he's actually gonna suit up for the Wizards. Um, but you just take DeBanza and you worry about everything else later. Like you're just gonna take the best player available, and I think that's him.
SPEAKER_00I think with the AD situation, too, like if AD does get moved on, that might even benefit AJ even more. Yeah, get some early touches, yeah. Yeah, and then like you said, like AD can shoot the three, but I think spacing wise, like their best unit would be with 80 off the floor, right? Or 80 at the five at least, and then it's like, well, what are you doing with Alex Sarr? It's like it's like let these young kids grow. Um, but I really like the point you said with Trey Young. Um, Trey Young just had played with uh Jalen Johnson. Now I know they traded Trey Young because they love Jalen Johnson, right? But like he's give him some more on ball touches, yeah. Right, yeah, like Trey Young has this familiar like he's played with this wing where like hey he could kind of do everything, and I think I think because Trey Young left and got traded and disrespected the way he did, I think going into this situation his mindset will change a little bit and he'll know how to play more of that floor general kind of yeah, that pure point guard. W which he can clearly do. He can clearly do that. Um so yeah, so I got the Utah Jazz. Um so I'm gonna just go Darren Peterson because he's number one on my big board. Um what's so fascinating for me with Darren Peterson is that he like the for some reason I think it's just like a personal preference. Like these six, six, six, seven guards that could are like built like super strong and play defense and they can shot create. I think that's what leads me to Darren Peterson overall. Um especially with the three-point shooting. I think Peterson will be always a better three-point shooter than AJ. Not saying AJ can't develop into that, but I think just day one, Darren is is that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, he's much further along.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and as an overall like um shot creator as well. The thing with me with Darren Peterson that does uh cause for pause for me is like his assist numbers. His assist numbers were really good in high school. Um but you know, at Kansas last year, he just struggled so so hard to like facilitate the ball. Where like he would have these games here that have like 22 points in the first half and have like one assist to end the game. It's like well, are what like what are we doing here? Like you are a point guard, shooting guard. Like, you gotta give me at least three to four assists. And then I mean, being on the on the Utah Jazz, I mean, he will not be the number one option. He I don't think he'll be the number two option. Um, and he might not be the number three option offensively. So being able to play without the ball, which he can already do, but also creating for others to get the rest of the team involved would help a lot.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, no, with with Peterson, it's a case of you're pretty much thrown out to college tape. Like what he was asked to do at Kansas was just be a score. He's even stated like he sees himself as kind of a point guard, you know, more of like the point guard in the high school tape shows that the athleticism is jump off the page. Now the story, he puts on some weight, doesn't look as springy as bouncy in college. So it's gonna be what version of him do you get? Um, so I I totally understand having him one on your big board. Um, just those couple of questions is what gave Devanza the edge for me. But I totally think he goes to the jazz.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Do you think like do you buy into that creatine story, or do you think it was like a mix of the creatine with like kind of some outside NIL money noise?
SPEAKER_02Or yeah, I don't know. It's so hard to tell without like having actually in actual intel on it, like knowing some of the folks in that situation. Um I think I don't know if it's necessarily the creatine, but I do think him putting on muscle and weight, he's not like his body's still filling out, and I I think he might have just put on too much too fast. You saw some kind of reduced athleticism, he was you know cramping up, and I I just think it was kind of that more than like an NIL thing, or at least that's what I would want to believe if I was the jazz. Uh so I I don't think it's necessarily like a character issue or any of that concerns me, but um it's it's something you gotta think about.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I I mean just one last thing on this. I I think what's important too is like um Utah Jazz have Danny Ainge, and Danny Ainge is famously taking um players that he didn't care if they wanted to be there or not. He famously traded back into the draft to get Jason Tatum.
SPEAKER_02Um he's not afraid to go against consensus.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, exactly. Yeah, like he is he is like he believes in your player, he's just gonna take it. And I think it'd be super telling like if like if the if the Jazz just take Darren Peterson and don't think twice about it, because that means Danny put his uh fingerprint on it, he completely believes in the player. And I mean, yeah, this is just an one of the four generational athletes that we'll get into. It's just yeah, insane that this is um this this year's class. So yeah.
SPEAKER_02Back to me for number three.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, Grizzlies, Grizzlies on the clock.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, Grizzlies have an interesting decision to make. Um on my personal big board, I have Caleb Wilson three, but I think the Grizzlies would I think Boozer is probably a little bit better fit. So if I'm Memphis, I probably take Boozer.
SPEAKER_00Um you want you wanna pick Boozer? I mean, you could do your personal board too. Is it's up to you?
SPEAKER_02No, I I'm I'm gonna take Boozer. Um and I'll talk you kind of through why. Okay. I think Jaws days in Memphis are kind of numbered. 100%. And I don't think that as it stands right now, they have anyone who can create offense like for them. You're the kind of building blocks that you have right now are Edie and um Cedric Coward. And so like those are the two guys that you know for sure. Jalen Wells is a really good young player, but none of those guys are guys that I would trust to have the ball in their hands a ton. Uh, and they're not guys that you know known as great passers, getting their teammates involved, and Boozer, I think, can be that offensive hub. Um if I'm the Grizzlies and I pick Boozer, the kind of my mandate for him, though, is I want you to like have your body as more of a wing player, lose some of the weight that we saw at Duke, um, go back to kind of more like the high school body type. Obviously, as he ages, like he's gonna fill out, he's gonna become you know stronger and that kind of thing. Um, but I want to bring some athleticism back into his game. Not to say that he's not athletic, but right um I think at Duke he was playing a little bit different style of ball. But I would take him. I feel really good about his ability to see the floor, make reads out of the short roll, out of the post. Um I his three-point shooting was a little bit better than I expected. I didn't really buy the shot coming into college, and I know there's still some work to do, but I think he will get to a point where he's a really good three-point shooter. Um, but just his potential as an offensive hub is what what makes me select him here at three.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean, I think you I think you nailed it. Like, as a lifelong Duke fan, like watching him in high school, I thought he was definitely more of like a three-four. And I thought when he got to Duke, it was like he was more of a four-five, but mainly that five. And I I think when he's gonna be in the NBA, like I think the misconception about him is like a lot of people think is he's like the 6'11, 6'10 forward, and he's only like 6'8, like AJ DeBonis is taller than him. So I I I just think a lot of I think a lot of like of like the diss on him is like is he gonna be athletic enough to play the three or the four? But I I I just trust this player. Um, I would even go as far to say he's probably the safest floor out of the three players we've talked about so far. I would agree with that. Um I just think this is a guy, especially in on Memphis. I think, like you said, John Morant, he's probably on his way out, probably gets traded this summer. And then you have him and Edie in the backcourt with Cedric Howard. Like that's a really solid defensive um or front court, I'm sorry. And uh I I I like that moving forward. I I think the underrated thing too about him, and you hit on it earlier, was his playmaking. I think this guy's a willing passer. Um, I know I've seen the comps of Kevin Love because of the outlet passes from Dude, but um I I don't know if the three-point shooting will ever get to like where Kevin Love was, but I'm not gonna bet against it.
SPEAKER_02Right. Yeah, he's just a fun player. I think he processes the game, probably the best out of the first three guys we've talked about. That's that's his superpower, is his basketball IQ and how he sees the floor. Um, and I think Memphis kind of has the personnel that will uh accentuate that. Yeah, 100%.
SPEAKER_00Um Chicago Bulls, Ronnie. This is your team.
SPEAKER_01It is my team.
SPEAKER_00I'm I'm gonna go with Caleb Wood and uh just because that that's my top four. But like you're you're the Bulls fan. I'll I'll take it to you. Like, where do you see the Bulls? Like, what would you like to see the Bulls do here? Like in a dream scenario.
SPEAKER_02In a dream scenario, yeah. Oh man. Well, I don't think there's gonna be a dream scenario. I think the top three is gonna go some version of what we see here. I don't really see any of those top three teams uh breaking out of there and grabbing Wilson. It's kind of agreed that he's you know it's the top three, and there's a small gap, and then Wilson. Um, so I I've kind of been preparing myself for Wilson, and you know I'm a big Wilson guy. Um I think he's kind of exactly what the Bulls need. He just a super high energy player. Um, and if you've watched any Chicago Bulls basketball over the last two to three years, there's been a severe lack of energy. Uh so I think you know, pairing him with Buzelis in the front court, uh, you still have Giddy who had a pretty good year, showed some you know, promising strides with his three-point shooting. But with Wilson, what you're getting is a guy who has to lock in a little bit um play-to-play on defense, but the loud defensive plays are there. Chase down blocks, coming across the lane, and just throwing the ball into the fifth row. Like he he has the defensive playmaking that the Bulls have really been sorely lacking. Um, and then on offense, I think his mid-range game is kind of being severely underrated. I think his post-up and face-up game is kind of where he's gonna make, you know, make his money early on. The energy plays are gonna be there, the offensive rebounds, the running the floor, the loud dunks. But I think kind of the underrated part is his his mid-range face-up, you know, one power dribble past the guy, and then you're you're at the rim. Um but he's super promising. The the thing that you're not sure about with him is is the three-point shot gonna become a it's a weak, I it's a weakness, can it become a strength? Um, and if it falls somewhere in the middle and it just becomes okay, you'll take that because the rest of what he is as a player is super promising. Um, but those are those are the kind of the two things you're looking for. Does he lock in play-to-play? Um, you know, just on team defense, not necessarily making the big play, and then what happens with his perimeter shooting?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, um, no, I I totally agree. I I like on my big board, I do have Caleb Wilson um three as as well as you do. Um, but fit-wise, I do think Memphis will take uh Boozer. But at four with Caleb Wilson, like you immediately just think of your like like Chicago Bulls need something to root for. Like I love Buzelis, but putting Wilson next to Buzelis, I think, is super fun. Um I'm so happy you touched on his mid-range shot because when I watch the film, I think that's that's there. Like I think that will be his like not his bread and butter, but like I think he could get to a point where like he can make one or two for every one, or whatever I'm trying to say. You know what I'm trying to say. Like I think I think he he'll get to a point where like he could be like at like 55% from the mid-range, right? And then his face up game. I don't know if there's too many NBA players now that like when he faces up and he takes one jab step and he pump fakes and goes to the rim. I don't know if there's too many NBA players that can stop him already.
SPEAKER_02It's just explosive. It's really, really explosive out of that like triple threat stance. Um, he kind of knows how to get to his counters already off of that. Um, so I I look for him to develop, you know, that kind of mid-post face-up game because I I really think he could be dangerous there. So yeah.
SPEAKER_00And then like with the defensive, like I think he'll be an awesome help defender. Um, I think on ball, he won't be a slouch. Um seal ceiling-wise, I would argue besides Peterson, he has the him and Peterson are close to who has the highest ceiling in this group. Um I like I I love Caleb Wilson. I think his um I think what he brings overall, like I know a lot of people say he's like a Kevin Garnett mixed with like a Sean Kemp. That's like a lot for me. I just feel like we could let's be yeah, you know what I mean? That that's just yeah, like you said, a little rich, but like I just believe in this player so much to the point where like I know the the Bulls will probably be looking to add like a big man this season, so it's probably gonna be Buzelis to or maybe Caleb Wilson's your three, or Buzelis is your three, but I think I think either one of them could play it to be honest. It's more like positionless.
SPEAKER_02Yes. You just want you just want the size out there, you want them, want guys who can handle the ball, hopefully eventually shoot for Wilson. Uh Buzelis is already a pretty good shooter. Um, I I Just want to throw the two of them out there with Giddy and just see what happens, man. Just let them let them play, let them develop, work through mistakes, and then kind of reevaluate and say, Okay, now we have this guy. What do we do from there?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and like the pace and space and like in the open floor, like those three players are gonna be absolutely must see. Probably might be my lead team, honestly, at that point. Like they they all of a sudden become super fun to watch. And then if you're the Bulls too, you're finding a foundational piece. Do I think Josh Kitty will be there in two years? I don't know that, but I know Buzelis and Wilson will be, which is super exciting for a Bulls fan. As a Bulls fan, I'm sure that's like really exciting to have like at least two pieces you want to see them build with.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah, no, it is.
SPEAKER_00Um, all right, so pick five. We got the Los Angeles Clippers who who got this pick um because the pay from the zoo box trade and the Pacers are probably super upset about it. I I still don't I don't know if I still would have done it if I was the Pacers, like, but that's hindsight being 2020. But right you had that gamble where you could have got Zubox and a top four pick, which is super uh interesting for the Pacers getting Halley back, but nonetheless, the Clippers got the fifth pick, you got the fifth pick. Who's fifth? I think this is where the draft really starts, in my opinion.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. A lot of a lot of folks say that five is where it kind of opens up and you start to have some difference of opinion. Um, at five, I don't know if the Clippers end up keeping this pick. There's kind of been some talk of them trading back, but just for this exercise, I'm gonna have him go ahead and take Mikel Brown Jr. Um to me of the guys left on the board, he has the highest ceiling. Um and when he's on, it's super, super impressive. Um, his three-point shooting was kind of inconsistent. Um, just kind of he was dealing with some some back issues, I think it was reported, and was never quite healthy this season at Louisville. Um but he also had a game where he went off for like 45. And even when the shot isn't falling, I think he's really underrated as a processor of the game and passer. I think he's probably the most creative passer of the the point guards, and there's some really good point guards in this draft. Yeah. Early on, when um I was just kind of watching him, the size doesn't really scream this to me, but just watching him play, I actually got some kind of Devin Booker vibes from him. Early Devin Booker, where he was kind of playing point guard in some of those early Phoenix days, that's kind of what it looked like to me. That's not exactly the type of player I expect him to be. I think he's gonna be a more on-the-ball guard, you know, more traditional. Um, but there's something in there that makes me think, I think this guy might be able to be uh, if not a primary score, like a high, high-level secondary score, and then on top of that, have some really good uh passing vision and feel. Um, so I think you know, he has a varying range of outcomes. Um if the shot isn't as good as we think it is, obviously that limits his ceiling, but I buy it. I think is you know, I think he's gonna get there. And of those guys remaining, I think he's got the highest ceiling, so that's where I go.
SPEAKER_00I can't believe me and you have Mikhail Brown at five. I have not seen the athletic, I haven't seen ESPN, I haven't seen Yahoo have Mikhail Brown even in the top six. So the fact that me and you both think that Mikhail Brown should be the fifth pick, and um I mean I I'm with you. Like Mikhail Brown is super, super special to me. I think I that's super interesting you brought up the Booker piece because I could totally see like his processing and how he was how early Booker was distributing the ball. Um I I think overall Mikkel's like a more gifted passer, which is which which is super interesting. But yeah, he had that he had a couple games this year. You looked at him, you're like, whoa, like this guy's uh averaging like 20 plus points, and every shot he takes doesn't look forced, it doesn't look hard, like the game comes super easy to him. Um, I guess for me, my biggest question for him would be like his defense his defensive side of the ball. Right. Like, where do you where do you think like long term, like how does that get better?
SPEAKER_02The thing with him is you kind of hear this term event creation, like he finds ways to get hands on balls where like he might not necessarily come up with the steal, or um he does have a couple of like pretty impressive athletic like chase down blocks. It's kind of like the same story as Wilson though, like play to play, you can't let your attention you know lapse. And that's one of the things I think he has to lock down on. He has the tools, he's a he he's a little bit longer guy than like uh Flemings, who even though you know, due to the I think Flemings is a better defender at this stage, but a lot of that is because of trying, like just the the the effort from play to play, and so I think that's one of the things where uh Michael is gonna have to get into a team where that's really drilled into him early and kind of get some of those bad habits out, taking plays off or kind of getting lost off the ball. Um, but I I think the tools are there for him to be at least a passable defender, maybe a deep a pretty decent defender.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean, yeah, just to add on to that, I think my like my kind of comp for him defensively, and I could be completely wrong on this, is kind of like of an Austin Reeves, where like he's gonna get hunted, but he's not gonna just be this James Harden, Luca Dante's just getting hunted all the time. Like he'll be able to put up his own weight now. He's shorter than Reeves, so I don't that might you know be a little bit of concern. But like I think I guess my point was what I'm trying to say is like he'll fight on defense, right? Like he won't ever be this perennial all-star, all defensive uh player, but like he also just won't be a slouch. And I think if you're the Clippers and you're drafting this type of player at five, like this is a hell of a pick to have. I know I guess the Garland fit is a little weird, but I I I don't see Garland being there long term anyways, but Garland is young-ish still, so you up at uh number six here for Brooklyn?
SPEAKER_02Got some decisions to make?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so I mean I think for me, especially just where the state of the Brooklyn Nets are at, I'm gonna take Darius Acuff. Um I'm I'm not like the thing with Darius Acuff for me is like I think he's this all around all-star potential uh offensive player. Like I I I don't think offense will be a problem for him to come to the league. Um kind of like AJ, I think the spacing in the NBA will just be automatically better with him. I hate his defensive upside. And I I but I I do think if you if you're the Brooklyn Nets, you need kind of a butts in seats type player. You need something to get the city excited for. He is that he had the five first last year, and I don't think Yeagor Demon is the answer. And I and in a weird way, I think Yeagor and Darius could play together just in these early stages of um the Brooklyn Nets rebuild stage. But um I I do think as a as a passer, Darius is the best point guard over all the guards. Um that might be a stretch, but I think he sees the floor at an NBA level. Really? Uh yeah, like when like when I watched him um at Bama, I thought he was the most NBA ready point guard. Sure. And uh I don't know, it I it's kind of corny to say, but like Calipari said this was the best player he's coached. And time and time. Calipari knows guards, yeah. You know what I mean? He just has all the he's had Derek Rose, he's had John Wall, he's had Shea Gildis Alexander. So to say a statement like that, um I think is super telling just from because he's seen all these players in the early stages, and the fact that Darius Acuff is you know ahead of the curve over all those players. Um, not saying he'll be better than those players by any means, because um Shea Gildis Alexander just won back-to-back MVPs and is way bigger and won't get hunted on defensively like Darius will. But for me, I think Brooklyn goes Darius, and that's where I have him on my board too.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I'm not gonna argue with you a ton. Uh his scoring output is really unbelievable, just a tough shot maker. Totally understand why Brooklyn would want a player like that. I think you're right in that he can play next to Yeagor. Um, I think Jaegor showed he's probably more of like a playmaking wing wing than he is like a full-time guard. Um, so I don't mind the fit there. And I I everyone kind of knows with Darius the defense is just not what you're hoping for. But if he's putting up 25 or 30 points a game eventually, you know, five, six, seven, eight years into his career, you're not really gonna talk about his defense that much. So uh you just kind of hope that he is this generational offensive shot maker and you know can distribute the ball and can be efficient when doing so, and you just let it ride.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and I think what's super interesting from like the Nets point of view, like we just had an NBA season just in this past year where Trey Young, kind of similar-ish scoring guard, like gets traded for absolutely nothing, right? He's super devalued, not valued around the league, and then fast forward to the NBA finals, and the only comp here I'm saying it's just an undersized scarred in Jalen Brunson, and he's you know doing his thing in the finals. So I think it's such a weird balancing act that the Nets have to decide like what's more likely to happen. Are we more likely to build the perfect team around uh Darius Acuff like the Knicks did with Brunson? Or is it more like hey, Trey Young will have he could get us to like maybe a conference finals once, and maybe that's what we'll get, but like I feel like if you're the Nets here, you you need something, you need you need this pick to hit. Yeah, I'm scared for them.
SPEAKER_02No, yeah, you're right. With uh that's where you know your skills as an evaluator are tested because the tape can tell you one thing the guy can score the ball, but then that's where the intel comes in, you do these interviews, you learn what kind of person he is, and you say, Okay, are you gonna put in the effort and become a passable defender like a Brunson? Or are you here to put up numbers and you're just kind of okay with what happens on the defensive end? Um, so interesting choice for them to make. I I don't blame you going Acuff at six. I I think, like you said, he's gonna put butts in seats and he's gonna put up points.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. All right, you're up Sacramento Kings at seven.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, Kings. Uh I think it's been pretty widely reported that Sacramento has a lot of interest in ACUF. Um he's not sitting there for them. In if this case were to play out. I again I don't know if Sacramento hangs on to the seventh pick. I think that they're you know open to moving back, but here you're just trying to get someone in the door that you think can be a piece for you moving forward. I probably go Braden Burry's here.
SPEAKER_00Oh, I love that.
SPEAKER_02Um he's probably not the flashiest pick, like Waggler's still on the board, and there are some folks who really love Waggler and who would throw a fit over him not being taken fifth, let alone seventh. Um but to me, Burries is a guy who I'm just gonna bet on. Like, there's no one weakness really. He can kind of play with and without the ball, more without the ball at Arizona, and was on a really good team and just kind of found a way to insert himself without taking over. And uh he's just a guy that I I I don't know how to say it other than I have a really good feeling about him. Yeah, and and there's it's not anything in his tape because like there are guys who pass it better than him, there are guys who shoot it better than him, but he's I think the most well-rounded player, and I think that there's something a little bit untapped with him as far as an on-the-ball scorer. Um and I think if I'm the Kings, I just want to take that and see what's there. I I think as he is, he's a good rotational player. Like, I I could plug him into a 20 out of the 30 teams, and he's your starting two guard and like a good one, I think. But like I said, I I think that there might be something just kind of scratching the surface surface with his on-the-ball scoring, and maybe he figures it out when he gets to Sacramento.
SPEAKER_00You know what's so funny? You you brought up like you just think he's gonna be a good NBA player, and I think that's such a like tantalizing topic in the day of analytics and stats, and but I think you're totally right. Like, for me, when I was watching OKC versus the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals, and I I had started doing my draft my draft process, and I was like, you know what's so funny? I could see Braden Burries being out there on the floor right now, whether it be it for the Spurs or for OKC. I can't say that about Mikel Brown, I can't say that about Darius Acuff, I can't say that about Keaton Waggler, and I can't say that about Kingston Flemings for sure. But I could totally envision myself watching Braden Burries guard one of these players and then shoot a bunch of good threes and attack the close-outs. And I think for him, with I think like an interesting comp for him I've seen go around not as high defensively, but kind of like the same college route is like a case in Wallace, where you have this player who's who can shoot the ball, um, he get he's he's at he's sneaky athletic, and he could you know stand up on defense. And I and I remember uh a couple years back when um I was evaluating Wallace, I was like, it's so interesting, like a player that can pass, shoot, and defend just goes so late in today's game because that's all you want on the floor when you have an established star. So I think the Kings don't have that established star, but they need to start just building something. I think if they have a Braden Burries, like the Kings can't have a fail pick, and I know for sure Bradenbury's won't be. So to your point, I totally I totally agree. I love this pick. Atlanta number eight. Number eight. This is it. I didn't think this was gonna happen, honestly. Like, I didn't think Keaton Waggler would still be here. Um, so I think I'm gonna go Keaton Waggler. Um Fleming. I like Phylon a lot too here. Um you know what? Because it's so weird, I'm gonna go here. I'm gonna go with Daymara. And and and I and I do think this is highly plausible to happen on draft night. Um I love Okongu, but he's not a big, he's not a center. He's a four at best. And then with his his three-point shooting over the past couple years, it's really improved. So you could play a big old traditional center next to him. Um they tried the Porzingis route. Porzingis just wasn't on the floor um as much, but Porzingis is also a floor spacing big. But I I think a day Mara would be perfect in um in Atlanta. You have a front court of Jalen Johnson, Okongwu, and a day Mara. That's huge. Um, and I think a day Mara is to your point or kind of back to like the playmaking aspect, like we talked about with Cameron Boozer, super underrated. I think this is a like he's a true 7-3 player that can play make the ball. And I know a lot of people love his lateral quickness. I'm kind of like I'm a wait and see, I don't go off like shuttle drill type thing, but like I think he'll be a super, super um like just plug and play player in the NBA as well.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I think um with him it's it's all in what you expect. Like, what are what are you okay with out of a number eight? Because much like Burry's, I think he's gonna be a positive contributing rotational NBA player. Mara's star potential might not be as high as some of the guys you know that we're passing on here, but you're right. I think he like plugs in, can play on day one. He's gonna have some things to figure out defensively if if teams try to go at him in space. But as a rim protector, really good feel, really good timing. Um pretty much played exclusively out of a drop. I would expect that to continue. But um offensively, you hit it right on the head. His passing, I think, is unusual for a guy of his size. I think he kind of it his feel has come a long way over the past couple years, and then his hands, it's kind of been a point of contention. Like some people don't think he has good hands. I think he's got pretty decent hands and pretty good touch. Yeah, like he wasn't a feature post-up player at Michigan, but he did get some post-ups and he was able to hit tough hook shots over either shoulder with either hand. And I think there might be something there, like like we said, probably never makes an all-star team, or I wouldn't bet on him to make an all-star team. Right, but that doesn't mean he can't be a really good, you know, NBA big man. Um and so I don't I don't hate the pick at all.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, no, I I think I think he'll be awesome day one. And yeah, like you said, he won't be any all-star here, but like for Atlanta team that's starting to build something, it's the only team that's I mean, game game five is tonight. The Hawks are the only team that took the Knicks to six. So we'll we'll see. I do like the pick with the day Mara though. So Dallas Mavericks though, um tell me.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, the Mavs. Uh I think at this point they're probably jumping up and down, and uh they're just gonna take Woggler and be like, you know what? Uh thanks, Clippers, Nets, Kings, Hawks, uh, we'll take the guy. You know, you guys had uh some reservations. We do not. Uh and so they need an on-ball creator. Um not sure how long Kyrie's sticking around. Uh probably isn't going to be on the team the next time that they're like really, really contending, uh barring like a super dramatic turnaround here. Um and so you're just looking for somebody who can play on and off the ball next to Cooper Flag and Waggler's your man. I I'm not sure that there's a better shooter, like he and from deep too. Like we watched the tournament games with Waggler and at Illinois, he was he was pulling from deep. And the thing that kind of for me has made him fall this far is everyone wants to talk about his lack of athleticism, and like that's okay, you know. He's a he's a really big guard, like legitimate 6'6. Um but as long as he's getting to the rim, that's the thing that you know I I think about. You don't have to dunk once you get there, but you have to be able to get to the rim. And so for me, there were times at the college level where you know he would kind of do these hesitation rock back and forth and get by his man, but his man was able to recover, and then he would have to do some like turnaround post fadeaway, like right outs, you know, before getting all the way to the rim. And that is kind of concerning to me. I I would like to see, you know, my franchise guard get all the way to the rim. And I think like a Michael Brown, a Darius Acuff, those guys can get all the way to the rim. Woggler worries me a little bit, but his feel, passing vision, and three-point shooting off the dribble, those are unusual talents. Um, and so if I'm Dallas, I'm gonna bet on him as a perimeter player, a guy who can see the floor really well. I'm gonna let Cooper worry about getting to the rim, and Waggler is gonna be waiting for that, you know, that kick out, and he will drill it from deep because that guy can shoot.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. No, yeah, no, I totally agree. I think his three-point shooting, I think, is by far his best straight. Um, I think if he goes to the Mavericks, like you said, they're probably jumping up and down and they're thinking all the teams ahead of. Um, I think he can play with Kyrie Irving, at least for like early on in his career, and I think it'd be it'd be honestly pretty beneficial because Kyrie, now he's really athletic, way more athletic than Keaton, but I think learning how to finish to like to your point, finishing at the basket, like and be putting on that NBA muscle as the years go on. Um, I I love his floater game. I I really trust that that will be super beneficial for a guy that, like you said, is not gonna go dunk on you or just body you all the way to the rim. Like I think his floater, his touch, like his touch at the rim is super, super um underrated. It's probably not talked about enough. I get the I get the um the knock on him being like not athletic, but I'm just gonna bet on the guy that could shoot really well and is like 6'6, 6'7. You know what I mean? So I love the pick there. Um is my turn?
SPEAKER_02It is your turn. Milwaukee.
SPEAKER_00Oh, the Milwaukee Bucks. Who knows what we'll be from a week from now if Giannis is even still on the team without the noise behind that. Um, I will say if Giannis still is on the team and he they are planning on running the season with him, I don't think that changes my pick at all. I I think this is a team that I I've seen the Yaxo Lem Lenderberg uh comparison uh comps for Milwaukee to kind of to upgrade that Kuzma position. And where I like that a lot, um I think it'd be super beneficial. I'd love Kevin Porter Jr. there over the past couple years, but I think at this point I would I'm kind of leaning um Flemings or Phylon. I think I think the Bucks would take Flemings though, and just bet on his upside. I know he's a little bit underrated, but I think Flemings is it would be the guy here. I don't love it for Milwaukee, but I I think that's where I land on with Flemings. I think you just take the guard, let this guy do his thing. Um, he's a lot shorter than I thought he would be, but he's a lot better defensively than an Acuff and a Mikel Brown Jr. So I think you just bet on that.
SPEAKER_02I feel a lot better about it than you do, I think. Uh even though I have you know some of these guards ahead of him in this draft, uh Flemings is at the end of the day, like we watch tape and whatever, but you're also betting on a person. Yeah, I would bet, I would bet on Kingston Flemings. Yeah. Like I think he's the type of guy who plays within his own game, like understands where he's at, like high level of uh like self-awareness, is not gonna try and do too much, knows he has work to do in certain areas of his game, plays hard. Like I really love that he's coming from that Houston program. Like that's a good idea. Just has that that mindset that you would expect from a program like that. And I think he could help bring that mindset to like whatever iteration, you know, whatever the next iteration of the Bucks is. And I think that's a really good, you know, starting piece. I I think there is a world where he can be a really good player, um, and and maybe reach like that all-star caliber. Like you're betting on him being a pretty good athlete for a point guard, you're betting on him um being a good defender, you're betting on him working some of that three-point shot stuff out, you're betting on him being able to get to the rim at will. Um he's not a finished player, and if he looks like he does right now in three to four years, then you know, you probably have a uh a backup point guard or rotation player, but if he can, you know, put the work in, which I fully expect him to do, and build out his game a little bit more, I totally see the vision with him.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. All right. Number 11, you are up, the Golden State Warrior.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and so for this one, I think it becomes really simple. Um by by all accounts, it's gonna be trying to maximize the last few years that Steph has. And the most NBA ready player uh left on the board is Jaxel. So we're just gonna do it. Um, it's it's been pretty widely talked about. It's mocked all over the place. Makes a ton of sense. He can play the three or the four, he can play on the ball or off the ball. He's got decent pat you know, pretty good passing field that he showed at UAB. Didn't have the ball in his hand as much at Michigan, um, but showed that he could kind of fit in and be part of like a winning team, and he's gonna have to do that here. Um there are, you know, there's been talk about like character concerns and like not nailing some of these pre-draft work, you know, interviews and stuff like that. But you go to Golden State and they're gonna like if you don't participate and do the program that they want, like you're just not gonna play. And I expect that he'll be able to, you know, make it fit, make it work, and be a productive part of that rotation.
SPEAKER_00I have no I I can't disagree with the a thing you said. Um like like you said, he's the most NBA ready player, I think, left on the board. Um I think especially with a a torn ACL, Jimmy Butler, I think this will be a crucial pick because I do think he could do a lot of some of the stuff that Jimmy does to a lower level. Um and then even when Jimmy comes back, I love his three-point shooting, I love his basketball IQ, his playmaking is I think rated perfectly fine, but I do think he could pass the ball a little bit. Um his IQ is there, and yeah, like you said, like this is a Warriors team that wants to maximize the rest of Steph's years, and yeah, you go with the the plug and play player here, especially with no Moses Moody either, like for this year. So um Golden uh at 12 we got the Oklahoma City Thunder. Um, you know, the Thunder I feel like don't need oh this is hard. I feel like for the Thunder too, like this is a great, great defensive team as is, right? But I think they don't have a lot of positional size. Like I love I love um Chet. He's not like a big player. I love Hartenstein. He our Heart Hartenstein's their only big like player. They I love Crusoe, he's only like six foot six. Um Casey Wallace, six foot five, six foot four, um J Dub, six foot five. Like they don't have a lot of height on their team. So I think I mean for me they could go two ways. They could go, hey, we take the the six ten player Nate Ament and have him come off our bench, and he's just like the six ten um uh kind of like super super sub. I would hate that for Ament because I think Ament just needs touches in the NBA. Um if I were the uh Oklahoma City Thunder, I think I would take I think I would take I think I would still take Nate, even though I'd hate that. For Nate Ament's like NBA career, um I guess if you wanted to go like more positional size, Morez Johnson was right there. Um I'm I'm so high on Merez Johnson. Like I've been high on him since January before the tournament. Um I I think he's like by far one of the best like role player types. Like he's like 6'8, can kind of he's like a lesser Yaxel. Ironically, they played together on that national championship team. Can't shoot the ball like Yaxel, but I think defensively his uh his upside is way higher than his. Um NATO men going to OKC. Um as much as I would hate for it, here is immediate like development. I think OKC has some of the one of the best development systems in the league. And so I think if you're a NATO men, you can't look at it as like a playing time thing. It's more like, hey, I'm gonna trust this organization with my future. Um they don't have a lot of like um like tall people on the team. So like if you want to like carve out a role for him, it's hey, he's coming off the bench, he's your four off the bench, he him and Chet could play together, and you're just hoping it comes all together event defensively.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I totally agree with you. I actually think that this is one of the better outcomes for Nate. Like we talk about how Yaxel is NBA ready. I don't think Nate's NBA ready. I think it's gonna take him some time, and I think if he gets in a place where he gets early touches, it could be pretty ugly.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's a good one.
SPEAKER_02There are things that he can do, but I I don't want him going out there and just you know doing stuff. Yeah, uh, I I would like to see him in a place like OKC. And I I actually thought that he might still be on the board for them at 17. Um, but I it's the right, it's the right kind of process. Like, especially for them that they have two first round picks, like it's okay to take an upside swing on one. And so if if you do it here at 12, totally understand. Like, if if Nate can develop the parts of his game that he needs to and kind of get get a good feel for the NBA, kind of come in, not have a ton of pressure, like as a role player, like not have a ton of on-ball um responsibility early on. I think that could be good for him. And then who knows, maybe two, three years down the road, some of these players on OKC shuffle out, some of these role players, and all of a sudden he is playing you know, 30 minutes a game for a really competitive team. Um so I I like the I like the pick. He's a high potential prospect. Um, and who better to develop him than OKC?
SPEAKER_00Perfect. All right. Um, you're on the clock. Miami number 13.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. For the Heat here, it's tough. I love Merez kind of like you do. Um, their front court is really crowded with Khalil and Bam. They just drafted a point guard last year in Kasparis, who had some ups and some downs. I think I'd probably go phylon here. Um, he's the best player available on my board. I don't know what direction the heater headed in. Yeah. Um, I don't think that they're good enough to like really push, you know, for serious playoff contention. Like they're gonna be in the playoffs, but like for what? You know what I mean? Yeah, um, I think that's why that they've they've been chasing Giannis so hard in this scenario where they don't get Giannis and they're sticking at 13. I think you just gotta look for talent accumulation, get as much talent on this roster as you can. And I think Phylon's a really talented guy. Um showed in his second year at Alabama, like the the three-point shooting came a long way from year one to year two. The thing with him is just his body, like he's just a slight guy, uh, really light. And so it might take a couple years for him to you know get that NBA size to not get pushed around. But I believe him in it as a player. Like I think you watch his tape and you you understand like how he could be used at the NBA and and he can score the ball, he he does play like hard. Um I I think this is kind of a weird spot for the heat to be in, like just looking at some of the guys left. Um, but uh to me, phylon's the best available, and you just take him and and roll with it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I think the interesting thing with phylon, like and the heat in general, like they don't want to pay Tyler Hero. Like they want to trade him in that Giannis trade, but like um bringing Phylon into a Heat organization, I think that would be super beneficial for his just overall like player development physically. Um, I think for a team that lacks a lot of three-point shooting, um I I think that this was honestly a good pick, and you could kind of like if Giannis doesn't work out, I still think they try to get off Tyler Hero. So he's not replacing Tyler Hero, but you're not losing all of the shooting that Tyler Hero brought at the same time. Um, if this pick is traded to the Bucks, though, with the board, how we had it, um, where do you think the Bucs would pick here?
SPEAKER_02That's really tough. Um, if they already have Flemings and they have a guy who they feel really, really good about, maybe they go upside here. The biggest upside play left to me is uh acquaintance. Yeah. Uh but we don't know how his medicals look. Um if if your team doctor says, yeah, we're all good, then he's already probably five, six picks too late. Uh, you know, uh, but given what we know, I I would still probably you can't take, I guess you could take Flemings and Fylon together if it were, you know, my the Bucks, but I I probably wouldn't. So I would be looking Morez or Queens.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, no, no, I agree. I was I was just asking. Um uh Charlotte Hornets at 14. I think I've seen this mocked everywhere. Morez Johnson at 14. Um, I love this pick for the Hornets that have two um first round picks this year. It's kind of crazy to think about. Um Morez playing that uh he could he could play next to Diabate. Um, I think they're trying to get off Miles Bridges. Um, he is a lot better defensive player than Miles is already for a team that is filled with LaMello, Brandon Miller, and Knippel. I just love this fit-wise. Um, I think a super plug-in play. I don't think there's much to be said with that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, no, I love the fit, love the player. Uh, expect him to be a better shooter than I think some folks think. Uh might not happen right away, but I I buy the shot and love the fit.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. All right. The Chicago Bulls. Your team. Yeah. What what do you think?
SPEAKER_02I'm looking at three names.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_02Uh I'm looking at Cameron Carr. I'm looking at Hannsteinbeck, and I'm looking at Jaden Quaintens.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_02And pretty much every pick from here on out, it's like, at what point is the risk worth the reward on Quaintance's, you know, injury history. Cameron Carr was super impressive in the uh combine games. I loved his tape even before that. A ridiculous movement shooter, also had some really deep range, and then just a freak athlete attacking the rim. To me, at this stage, and probably for the majority of his career, he's a play finisher. Like you're not looking for him to do a ton with the ball in his hands, but you can run him off screens, he can cut, he can play in the open floor. Given the kind of style that I expect the Bulls to play, I expect him to run up and down. Um I think I'm gonna go carr here. I agree. Yeah, I think you slide him next to Giddy, he provides some, you know, uh some shooting um and fits the play style, fits kind of the um mentality that you have putting this team together. We're gonna run, we're gonna be athletic, we're gonna attack the basket, but we also need to have some shooting. Um and I I like I buy what he is as a player. I think he plays a role right away. Um and yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean, I feel like so each year for me, I have these guys that I really want to go to like a certain organization or situation. Last year for me, if you remember, it's Carter Bryant to the Spurs. I really wanted I was I really wanted that to happen. This year it's Cameron Carr to the Bulls. I think he like you said fits perfectly next to Josh Giddy as an off-ball player. And I think if they did potentially move on from Giddy, you just have these two fucking freak athletes of Cameron Carr, Buzelis, and Wilson. That's just so much athleticism off the page. Cameron Carr is an awesome shooter. Um, like you said, he he balled out his combine uh tape. And then um, I mean, next to Wilson, whose three-point shot isn't super consistent, next to Buzelis, whose three-point shot took a huge jump last year. Um, I would just love for the Bulls to continue with this. We want athleticism and three-point shooting, and just we want to be fun, but we're we're building towards something. Yeah, and I think Cameron Carr embodies all of those things.
SPEAKER_02I totally agree.
SPEAKER_00All right. I like that pick, Ronnie. Um Memphis Grizzlies at 16. So assuming wait, is it me or you?
SPEAKER_02It's you. You got this.
SPEAKER_00Oh, yeah. Okay. So Memphis Grizzlies at 16. So um I I'm picking this pick assuming that uh um John Morant is off the team before game one of the season. I'm going with Abuka O'Korey. Um I know you love O'Corey. I I I love the Corey for a while now. Yeah. Um his three his three-point shooting is pretty awesome. Um we'll see his like defensive prowess in the NBA. I don't think it's like projected to be super high, but I I I'll just bet on the the point guard that could shoot, playmake, and I I I do think he's the best player available for a Grizzlies team that is rebuilding right now.
SPEAKER_02All right. Yeah, I agree with you. Um we talked about like with guards earlier, like getting to the rim. Abuka Akori gets to the rim. Yeah. Uh that is his superpower, so to speak. And I I think you're right. If Ja is on his way out, you go boozer uh early, Akori kind of fits right in and um kind of fits the culture that they have going to like tough guys, play hard. Uh I I like the fit.
SPEAKER_00Super fun summer league team. Yeah, yeah, it would be Buka and Boozer. That's super fun. Yeah. All right, OKC at 17.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, we were talking about upside swings with OKC. Um, and if they go a man at 12, I'm just staring at Quaintance and I'm like, Me too. Yeah, like we talked about positional size, um, adding some beef. I think you just gotta do it. Hope one of these two guys hits. Um and if Quaintance hits, we're talking about like a difference maker on the defensive end.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_02And he's a low maintenance offensive player, you know, dunks, lobs, puts putbacks. Um, and I I actually really buy and love the fit next to Chet if it were to work out long term, like that. You talk about a suffocating defense, that would be uh really tough to deal with if it works out. So yeah, I feel like OKC's in a really good spot. You don't you don't necessarily need a ton of you know, a ton of extra help. I know that they're gonna go through a reshuffling at some point um in the future with their roster, and hopefully one of you know one of these two guys can be a part of that. They also have Sorber, Thomas Sorber coming back, uh, who I liked quite a bit last year. So I I expect him to get some minutes this year. But if you walk away with Ament and Quaintens, if one of them hits, you had a good draft. If both of them hit, yeah, that's how you know great teams become dynasties. Yeah. Uh that's perfect. Continuing to hit on first round picks.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, no, I I totally agree. I think Jaden Quaintens is like I I see them, I see the comp with Robert Williams, and as you watch him in college, like they look identical to each other. And like you said, like he doesn't need the ball. Uh he's super high motor, he just wants to play defense, rebound, and dunk. Um, not a bad thing to have when it it's kind of interesting, like, from OKC's perspective, like you would truly have a big that could do a little bit of everything. You'll have your your Chet that can stretch the floor and is a great rim protector. You have your stronger center and Hartenstein where um he has that insane floater offensively, uh but defensively he's not like this crazy shot blocker, right? And you get uh Jaden Quaitons, who's this insane shot blocker, insane dunker, insane rebounder, um, and is super switchable. Like he can he can be out on the perimeter and you're not gonna hold your breath as like you would have to be a little bit more than a little bit, you know, uh like that. So yeah, like you said, I love this pick for okay see. Um Charlotte at 18. Uh so with Charlotte at 18, I think just with like I I love their Kobe White uh trade they did last year to try to sort uh like soup up that bench scoring. So for me, I'm gonna go Dalen Swain here.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Uh just another like I I just believe in Charlotte has this offensive rhythm going on right now. And I think Dalen Swain is pretty good on the ball, but I think he's more of a play finisher, and his defense is a lot higher. I have him pretty ranked pretty high defensively. Like I think he's probably a top four. He's probably the third or fourth best defensive player we've talked about in this class. Um, and I I think adding more defense and shot making to a Charlotte team that really found their stride last year and continue to build with this pick.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, Swain, I like a lot. High field player. Um, you said defense is really good for a player his size. Him attacking closeouts is an exciting prospect. Like he had the ball on his hands a decent amount of time at Texas. Um I think in a role where he doesn't have the ball but can attack closeouts and make decisions, you know, dump downs a lob when the help comes over. I think that's a position for him to succeed in. Uh, he might be the eventual uh heir to some of those Miles Bridges minutes. Um the thing with him is do you buy the shot? Like he had some good results, he had some bad results. The form is interesting. It's kind of like a catapult, you know. But um he's a fun player, and if he can just smooth that out a little bit, I think his ceiling is pretty high compared to some of the players that we're you know talking about now.
SPEAKER_00Totally agree, totally agree. All right, Toronto at 19. What are you gonna do here, Ronnie?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, Toronto's really tough because to me they have uh some needs. Yeah. Uh I am not personally a super uh I'm not super confident in Emmanuel being the long-term solution at point guard. You're paying them a ton of money though. And Perdle to me is not your long-term solution at center.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Well, they thought so when they paid them all that dumb money.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. Um, and I'm looking at two guys. I'm looking at Steinbach, who at this point is my best player available. And I love what he brings. I think, you know, I don't think that there's a better rebounder in this class. Where, you know, Mara included, Morez included. I think Steinbach is an immediate like 11 rebounds a game guy if he gets the minutes. Just has really good hands, uh, good positional awareness, like just knows how to get rebounds. And I think that's something that can be underrated. The thing with him though is is he a four or is he five? Yeah, he's probably gonna be overpowered if you play him at the five. Um, and it's it's just tough. Christian Anderson is the other guy I'm looking at, and I actually love Christian Anderson on my personal board. He's much higher than this. He's probably in that like 12-13 range. I actually have my at 12 on mine right behind Phylon. Um I just buy him as a player. I I know he's small, but his shooting is incredible, and I think he's got the second best passing vision out of all these point guards. I think he's really, really underrated passer, high field player, and is really good out of the pick and roll.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Um so it's tough for me. I think at this point, though, I like the fit of Anderson better, but I'm just gonna take the better player and pick Steinbach. Um it it Toronto's in a tough spot because I think that they think they're closer than they are. They have a mismatch of players and a lot of dupe duplication on their roster. Um and I think Steinbach can come in and play right away. So I'm just gonna take the best player and and roll with it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean, I I like Steinbach to the Raptors. I think we're in some territory with uh Yaakob Purdle where it's like I think that that contract, unless he just breaks out and has and it's like a sell high type thing while while the stove's hot, I think. I think this could be one of those situations, like I would not be surprised like in a year or two, like this is a wave and stretch player, and they just they just eat the money because I I I just don't think this contract's gonna age well. Yeah, and then so keeping that in mind, I think drafting Steinbach uh uh just as a rebounder, and I I do think he has a decent feel for the basketball and touch at the rim. So yeah, I like I like that a lot for a team that just good passer for his size, good passer, like they were playing Colin Murray Boyles at the center last year and or in the playoffs, and I think I think all three of those players with Barnes could play together.
SPEAKER_02So CMB, Barnes, and Steinbach. That that's a fun front court.
SPEAKER_00Um yeah. No, I I love that pick, Ronnie. That's a good pick. Um Spurs. So the Spurs got the 20th pick. Um I've had Chris and that junior going to the Spurs mocks for a little while now. Um I I had like in the early stages, I had the Spurs taking um Isaiah Evans or Cameron Carr when I was a lot lower on him. Um I think now watching the playoffs start, I think they do need a bigger, taller four. I don't know if Chris Sanak comes in and starts over Champagny by any means, but I do think Chris Sanak's uh jump, his jumper's a little weird looking, right? But it goes in. And and and I think a team that needs positional size and shooting, I would go with the higher upside pick in Chris Sanak.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I like Sanak. To me, he's a project. Yeah. He's a guy, it's gonna take it's gonna take a couple years. He can come in and you know be a decent rebounder. He it's tough because he played next to Tuggler at Houston, and it's like, is he a four? Is he a five? Was it just a function of you know Houston's roster? He's a really tough prospect for me because there's there's games I watch, I'm like, oh, I I love what he does, and there's other games, I'm like, I I want more. I I think you're definitely in the right, you're you're thinking the right way for the Spurs. If I was making this pick, I'd probably go Tarz Reed. Like if I'm if I'm going for a big backup, but that's just me. I I think he's like he's just additive. Um in Sanak. I I could see where he pans out or doesn't pan out. He it's a much you know bigger upside swing. Um but he just scares me as a prospect.
SPEAKER_00Could you have seen them go? Because like with the Terrace Reid thing, I would just be scared with like Luke Cornette played so well in the regular season for them. And like I know he struggled in the last two series, um, including the finals, but um like do you think the Spurs could look at like a like maybe a co-opete here or like a you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's it's tough because like to me, Pete is uh not the same, I want to make that very clear, but a similar archetype as like Sohan. Oh um, yeah, and I feel like they already tried that out, and maybe it was like the just the timing didn't work out, but they were comfortable moving on from Sohan. Um and the thing for me is on offense, Wemby has shown some times where he likes to play out on the perimeter a little more than I'm comfortable with. And if you're gonna do that, I would like to have somebody on the inside, you know, and so that's where I like lean Taris Reed. Um there are like other choices you can make on the board though, like Isaiah Evans, like you said, you had it, you were thinking about it for a while. Understand that, just add more shooting. It's tough because they have so many guys who you just don't know what the the end goal of this lineup is gonna be in like three, four years. Like Carter Bryant's gonna be a part of it for sure. You know, the two young guys, you know, Castle and Harper are gonna be in it for sure. So is it just Carter Bryant eventually plays those four minutes? Do you just need a backup big? Like that they they have to figure out like what their goal is for their rotation and where are they lacking and you know how do they address it? And I think you know, I think you're right, they probably do need a backup big or someone who can play backup big also next to Wemby. Um yeah, they had this could be an interesting pick. I could see them going a ton of different ways.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Do you think they keep the pick by any chance? Like, or do you think they could throw this into a trade for like the win now piece?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I don't know, man. I the win now stuff to me is tough because there's no like they've gone on a magical run and there's no guarantee you're gonna be back. I would I would just have such a long-term view of this. So if it to me, if it were like they trade this pick, it would be almost be like they package it like with Fox or something to try and get up in the top 10. Like, yeah, but I also don't think that they're quite ready to move off of Fox. So it it becomes tough, man. Like I would just really be thinking about what does this look like in three to four years when all of my players are you know coming into their prime because they're way ahead of schedule right now. Yeah, and Wemby doesn't strike me as the type of player who's gonna become impatient, like he buys into this process and understands it's hard to win. And um, so I I would just really be trying to play the long game if I'm the Spurs.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, no, I I totally agree. Yeah, super interesting pick. I think it's probably one of the hardest picks in the draft to like map out, especially this late into the draft. So yeah, yeah. So at pick 21, the Detroit Pistons.
SPEAKER_02Um yeah, Pistons for me, looking at the board, uh kind of an easy pick. I'm taking Isaiah Evans. Yep. Um I think you know, this Pistons team needed shooting in a very bad way, uh, especially come playoff time. They just didn't have enough guys who could make shots when Cade got them the ball. Um, and I think Evans is that kind of guy. Um long term, maybe he gets to a point where he can do some stuff with the ball in his hands, but uh I think you can count on him to make shots on the perimeter and he can play a role right away.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean, just quickly just to add on to that. Like a couple years ago, they take Ron Hy uh Ron Holland Holland at five. And I mean, fast forward to now, if they take Isaiah Evans, having Ron Holland and Isaiah Evans come off your bench for a team that was, you know, the number one seed in the East, that's super fun. And Ron Holland could still attack the basket. Isaiah Evans is a prolific three-point shooter in college, like super plug and play. Um, for a team that desperately needs three-point shooting, no, they really do Jacob and Robinson. So yeah. Um, pick 23 or 22, I'm sorry. Philadelphia 76ers. Um I've been mar mocking Kareem Lopez there. I'm not gonna lie, I haven't I haven't watched a ton of his film, not as much as I would like to, but I do think the the Sixers need an upgrade at the four. And I love Paul George playing the four. I still think he's more of a three um in today's age. So I'm gonna go Kareem Lopez. Um again, I think this is a project. I think he's like for a Sixers team, if they wanted to go this route, I I would honestly be quite shocked. I have Kareem personally on my board at 22, but for the Sixers, I I wouldn't be shocked at all if they went more of a maybe better prospect now with Koa Pete or like a Joshua Jefferson. So yeah, what's your thoughts on uh Kareem?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, 22 is tough. Uh Kareem Lopez, he's a guy that I am not as high on. Uh I have met 27 on my personal board, so it's not too far out of you know, out of reach. But to me, he's just a guy that like we talked about Burries earlier being like really well rounded and being like, okay, there's nothing he does like super bad. Uh Lopez is kind of like, well, what does he do really super well? You know what I mean? Yeah, um, and that's not to say that he can't become a good player, but you're right, he's raw, and this is a long-term play. The 76ers is kind of a tough fit because I totally see where you're going. Like Ubre, Paul George, like some of those forward minutes, maybe they're up for grabs. But are they trying to win right now? Are they? I don't know. It's it's kind of tough. Um, and I don't think Kareem can really help you win at this stage of his development. Um, this is another one where like I look up back up big when Embiid's not available and Taris Reed is staring at me. Like, I I might I'm I I'm just high on Reed, his feel. Um, so Kareem is tough for me, but this is another one kind of like the Spurs. Like, where's your where's your need and how do you address it? Are you going upside? Are you going for a guy who can win right now? So yeah.
SPEAKER_00I mean, thinking out loud now, honestly, I do love Terrace Reed right here, like you say, because Embiid's not gonna play 70 games, yeah, 50 games. You know what I mean? So like to have um, I know they have drumming now, but to have a still a big dominant threat down there who's a lot more polished than I think he gets credit for. Um, I honestly I probably should have gone terrace reed there. I I actually love that fit a lot better than Kareem. Yeah, I mean bone is there so um Atlanta Hawks at uh 23.
SPEAKER_02Remind me who we had the Hawks getting the first time around.
SPEAKER_00We had the Hawks getting a day, Mara.
SPEAKER_02Mara, yeah. So if you go big here, you're probably looking guard. Um, and at this point, Christian Anderson is the best player on my board and has been for a while. Um they have Mara, they have Akangu, they have Johnson, they have uh Alexander Walker, they got Dyson Daniels. And Anderson is a guy who, if you want to bring him off the bench to start his career, you decide Alexander Walker is gonna be your point guard to start. Uh that's fine. He can run your bench unit. He's a great pick and roll player. You pair him with Mara or Okongu, like you're there's gonna be results there. Um, and then in sets where um Alexander Walker or Jalen Johnson have the ball, he's a great spot up shooter. And so I think this fit is seamless. I think they would be psyched to get Anderson at 23. Uh, this is a guy that I I expect to get results from pretty quickly.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Um no, no, yeah, I totally agree. Um, Christian Anderson, like you say, could play off the ball um in this Hawks offense. I think he's probably honestly if this happened, I bet the Hawks are super hyped right now. For sure. Uh yeah, because I I don't know the long-term fit with CJ McCullum, but I could totally see in a world fast forward like three years from now where it's like, oh, you got Nikhil Alexander Walker and Christian Anderson just killing it up there. I I love that pick. Um 24 with the Knicks. Uh Knicks is a tough one for me because it's kind of like like they're in the finals, they're up 3-1. I don't know if they're gonna win the finals. I'm still like, oh my god, it's still Wemby. You know what I mean? Like, I but only one team came back from 3-1 in the finals, and all and no team has ever started 0-2 at home and won the finals. So, like, all the odds are against the Spurs right now, but I'm still kind of uh weary about it. Um, for a team though, I think they're gonna lose Mitchell Robinson in free agency. Yeah, um, I think that's the worst kept secret right now. Um, I think finally we take Terrace Reed Jr. here, and they get their backup big. They get a player who at UConn in a way dominated Boozer in that um March Madness game.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um and you just get this, he doesn't have the defensive paralysis that Robinson does, but I do think you get a lot more of that um shot making that Robinson does not have at all. So it's it's it's honestly a pretty cool trade-off for a team that could potentially win the uh championship.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, no, uh Terrace Reed, I really like this here. Um I think you nailed it on the head that Knicks are gonna need help at the backup big. I think his fit, you know, they there probably are lineups where you could play Towns and him together. Like Towns has played it to four at different times in his career. Um Reed's a got good passing feel. He's not gonna play outside of himself, he's gonna understand what his role is. Um, and I like the fit a lot. The one other guy that I kind of am thinking about here, I just want to give a quick shout to Luigi Suigo. He's a super interesting prospect to me, international player. He calls himself the Italian Wemby. Uh he is a guy that is it's been talked about like is not gonna probably stay in this draft. We'll end up pulling himself out.
SPEAKER_00So actually, literally right before we hit live, he withdrew his name.
SPEAKER_02He withdrew that there we go. Yeah, so so he must he must have uh must have got some intel that he was not going to the Knicks at 24. And so yeah, yeah. So don't have to talk about him until next year. But you're that being said, Reed, great fit, good player, love it for the Knicks.
SPEAKER_00All right, Ronnie. The Lakers, what what you what you got for me? What you I don't know, man.
SPEAKER_02You let me talk about uh Caleb Wilson at four, so I'm gonna let you talk about the Lakers. What do you need? What do you want?
SPEAKER_00So my whole thing with the Lakers is I mean, they talked about in their exit interviews, this team needs shooting, they need to get younger, and they need athleticism. Out of all the players that actually played in the games, um LeBron James was somehow still your most athletic player. He's 42 years old. I think that's a problem. Um Adu Thiero, who got some tick later in that series, is the most athletic player on the team, but it's kind of he's a project, it's a wait and see. Right. So for a team with the Lakers, I I don't even know if they keep this pick. They've been talking about um having three tradable firsts. Knowing Lakers' history, they haven't made a trade in the offseason in three years since Patrick Beverly. Um I'm gonna go if they keep this pick. And if I was them, I could totally see them taking Coba Pete here and just hoping the three point shot comes around. Because if he does, then you have a really good starting four uh post LeBron. So I think that's the pick I would lean toward. I don't like Benedict for them. Um Alan Graves is somebody that's caught my attention over the last couple of weeks. weeks as as actually I think they're working him out today. Uh no not Alan Graves. I'm sorry. Is it Alan Graves? Oh Malik Thomas. They're working out Malik Thomas today. But Alan Graves is somebody that I'm like he's super raw at Santa Clara. I don't think they need him either. So I I would lean here I would go um co it be is that your official draft pick no that's your pick. Okay what do you think they should be?
SPEAKER_02I am going to take Alan Graves.
SPEAKER_00Okay. Let's do it.
SPEAKER_02Uh now the thing with him is I get so scared drafting six men in college. Like there are cases where it worked with Booker. There are cases where it did not work with Patrick Williams. Graves like with him you're betting on a high field guy. Like his defensive analytic numbers are insane. He brings good size he did not test particularly well athletically but it's like what are you what are you expecting him to do? And I he has kind of a funky looking three point shot he kind of gets like squatted down but it goes in all right you know like so I I feel like there's some there's some room to work with there and then with a backcourt of Reeves assuming he's back and Luca like you're gonna need some defensive help on the back line and Graves' analytic numbers suggest that he's a really disruptive defensive player. Tape shows that as well you worry about like the level of competition he consistently saw um but I think it's kind of an interesting upside swing for the Lakers maybe he starts off the bench in you know some of these lineups um but I think he could play a role uh on this team yeah no I I I totally agree with everything you say so um pick 26 Denver Nuggets um oh Denver Nuggets they're kind of in a I'm kind of leading Benedict Sturge just like off gut feeling I think just having a little bit more offensive punch off the bench would be super helpful. I would love if they went Joshua Jefferson though or actually no not Joshua I don't know who I honestly I'm gonna go no I'm gonna go Bendis third um I'm gonna go with just that I think just adding more shooting to Jokic led offense um having Jamal Murray out there Christian Braun struggled his three point shot a lot so I think just adding more shooting can't hurt um kind of an interesting situation with Jonas Valenciunis like he's not guaranteed maybe they look for a backup big but they just got Daron Holmes um two years ago finally yeah yeah if he can that that's the only reason why I didn't go with like Zuby here or like uh or like that um yeah what's your thoughts who do you think Denver yeah Denver's a tough one on this board I think it's a quick decision I think you're right Bennett Sturts it he's the best player available I have met 21 on my personal board um we talked about guys who like know what they are I think Sturts knows what's knows what he is knows that he's gonna be expected to play a role at the NBA level and like has no reservations about that he's a good shooter um good field high field pick and roll player I think he can run Denver's um second unit and then minutes where he plays with Jokic I think you know that's a really positive you know a good release valve um for Jokic um I think he would probably be the best backup that they've had since I don't know Monte Morris like yeah yeah they you know backup point guard minutes for them have been kind of tough over the past few years so um I I think that based on this board that's that's where they would go yeah 100% pick 27 Boston Celtics yeah what are the Celtics doing um looking at this one they probably they probably need big help like Kata's fine they decided to take a risk on uh Vusevich at the deadline did not work out for them I think that they still want someone kind of in that mold of a player someone who can stretch it and play big it's probably a little bit of a reach at this point but I kind of like Henry Vesar to them. Yeah um I like that yeah so just if they're if we're assuming that the team is staying together as constructed and you know Brown or Tatum or white are not on their way out in like some big Giannis trade or whatever I'll have them take Vesar here uh can play some backup minutes behind uh Kata and maybe give you a little bit more of that floor stretching five that they were hoping they were getting with Vusevich um and just kind of do that here.
SPEAKER_00Yeah no I like that pick a lot um I I don't think you're reaching at all especially because they wanted to try that I mean I mean look at when they're successful like when they won they had Porzingis. They Amphrey Simons was awesome and I know it was like a they wanted to shed salary but Vucevic was the right idea a you know floor spacing um big so I I love that pick I love that pick for the Celtics and he's white and they'll love him out there all right number 28 Minnesota Timberwolves so with the Timberwolves here I really assuming they bring back Io right um I think they get off with one of Randall Orgobear this offseason. I'm gonna go Zubi edrafor here just because I think they need to because I th cause my thought if they get rid of Randall Orgobear Zubi could still play alongside of Nas Reed and but Zubi cannot play with um Rudigo Bear.
SPEAKER_02But uh I I do think having more backup big death with a team that's pretty decent at honestly maybe I should have gone guard here because they they were gonna be without Dante but Io's there I don't know what would you have done yeah it it kind of depends on what I what ends up happening with Io you know he's up for a contract uh this summer I don't think I go big here and it's for one reason even if they do move off of either Randall or Gobert and it's because of Juan Barranja Baron Jay yeah I forgot about Barranja yeah no Baron Jay you know uh when we were down in summer league last year Barranjay was like my guy I wanted the Bulls to take him with the Senge pick um I think very highly of Baron Jay his tape is very flashy very loud on the defensive end um and I I expect big things from him so for me personally forgot about fucking bear jay god yeah yeah no that's that's cool I for me I go Malik Thomas here and I don't really think twice about it uh he played like next to uh Acuff at Arkansas I think he can play next to Ant or whoever they decide is going to have the ball in his hands um Thomas can have the ball in his hands at at times I don't think he's necessarily a full-time point guard um but I think that fit next to Ant could be fun it's kind of been reported I think uh Chris Finch said that he planned to play Shannon uh Terrence Shannon Jr. like in with the ball in his hands a little bit more this upcoming year I think those two guys could play together in minutes where like ant isn't out there. So I think it's an interesting play like he can play a role now and he definitely has some upside like there there are flashy moments with him where he you know gets hot goes on a a little heater but um I think I think he's the right fit for for the Timberwolves there.
SPEAKER_00I like that I like that I totally forgot about Berenge damn I would not have gone Zubie I totally because I like Berenger too undo it not well if I go go back to the podium no it's all good um 29 Cleveland Cavaliers what's your what's your thought process here for the Cavs oh man the Cavs are it's so tough because they're a really good team but they're also one of my least favorite teams to talk about um yeah no a hundred percent they have a ton of talent on this team and it just they're one of those teams where you look at it and it's like why isn't this working and you start like it's like who do we point the finger at?
SPEAKER_02Do we point the finger at Donovan? Do we point the finger at Harden? Do we point the finger at Mobley um and they have like some good depth pieces like Jalen Tyson played really well throughout the course of the year um it's it's tough. They I probably just go best player here I I probably just go Malik Thomas I like him the best out of the guys left on the board um I don't know how long Harden's gonna be around I don't know if they're gonna try and shuffle this team up again uh but Malik Thomas I like I said can play a role in the short term maybe he develops into something in the long term and you just feel good about it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah no I I totally agree like the Cavs are in such an interesting situation where they just traded Darius Garland for Harden is Harlin Harden's not probably won't be there longer than two years. I do like the upside swing with Malik Thomas because betting the time he's something Donovan Mitchell and Harden probably aren't there so I like that a lot because I mean they're pretty good at at big they have Jared Allen Evan Mobley I would argue their best lineup is with one of those bigs on the floor not both so yeah um pick 30 to wrap us up the Dallas Mavericks where's Ben Everett when you need him um he's somewhere out there somewhere out there um I mean best player available for me is Coe Pete right now but I'm like you have Cooper Flag you have PJ Washington Derek Lively Daniel Gafford I don't think we took Waggler at nine right they took Waggler at nine i i don't think they're going big here um I don't know what I would do what's your thoughts on Sergio by the way it's tough um to me he would almost be like a draft and stash like for some of these contending teams like maybe that's what the Cavs decide to do and have him you know play overseas for another year or so before they're ready to have him come over um he's an interesting prospect but like I don't know um if I'm the Mavs I I feel like I'm taking upside swings and maybe it's Koa like Joshua Jefferson seems more like a win now player but he's just a good player like he's kind of you know he would fit in maybe like similar to that Najee Marshall kind of player just could do a little bit of everything. Yeah yeah um he's not on here right now but one of the guys that you've been talking to me about recently is Baba Miller like maybe he comes in here and you have some lineups where you play Coop at the three him at the foot you know just a long-term developmental prospect that show you know he shows you some stuff um but yeah we're starting to get to a point where you're not really expecting a lot of these guys to definitely make an impact next year and some of them aren't even going to be playing Koa's the best available like straight up player like who's the best player right now on this board probably Koa Pete but yeah um I'm kind of with I mean let's do Baba let let's do Baba I mean I when I was watching his tape earlier this week um I was super super surprised with um can I view this I was super shocked at what I think he could do and defensively like I I know a lot of people are comping him to like Jaden McDaniels he's like three inches taller than him um I really think the shot the shot making will be like McDaniels but if he could find a way to hit at a league average clip and I feel like we say that for a lot of these pure defensive players like your Vanderbilt and you know that players of that archetype but like I I really think he's a high impact player and um to take some of the defensive line uh responsibilities away from Cooper Flag. Not that Cooper Flag can't do it but like you don't want him to just do it every single night. So like in a stretch and you're in the middle of a five games and seven nights in the regular season and hey let's run a defensive lineup of flag Baba out there um Max Christie and just go just try to win the game defensively so I'm I'm with you though like at pick 30 um you're just going for upside at that standpoint. Cola Pete doesn't make a lot doesn't make sense really at all for me. Joshua Jefferson I it's kind of interesting I he would be like he's one of those players I could see being like the Spurs at 20 take where it's like he's like a little bit bigger but he's just like a good basketball player and Spurs just like most teams just like good basketball players but yeah like I I think Jefferson's a good player.
SPEAKER_02I if Sturts wasn't there at 26 we took him for Denver like I probably would have taken Jefferson there.
SPEAKER_00He was in contention like for the Celtics like he could fit into the Celtics uh rotation you know some of those guys Jordan Walsh like Shireman like just one of those guys who can fit in and be a a rotational wing or rotational forward um yeah super interesting uh but I want to go back to Bob and Miller because you kind of brought him up uh probably I don't know a couple weeks ago in our group chat and uh did a deep dive on him he's a fun player I was shocked at his passing like not he's he's not like running the show out there but like yeah every now and then he does something you're like oh okay like this is this is not what I expect from a long 6'11 gangly defensive player you know so there's something kind of exciting and I I would not hate a long term upside play on him yeah and I mean even on just like draft ballers thing they had him at pick 57 so like they even think he's just an undrafted guy right now which um I I think if you're a team like I mean part from a guy that roots for the Lakers and we don't currently have a second round pick that's a guy I kind of buy into the second round in the early late 30s early 40s and you're like I'm taking him I trust him and kind of what they did with the Duthiero last year and just like we'll go get some minutes in the G and then be ready by the time yeah yeah so and he's super athletic like six eleven you can't you can't teach 6'11 and he looks every bit a 6'11 when you watch him to your point uh I've got my eye on him for 38 with the Bulls like yes that's part of that I would I I would think about that because I think that there's you know he played next to some big guys at Cincinnati and I think that there's maybe some potential for him to be like small ball five like off the bench in some lineups like I think that could get interesting. He's one I definitely got my eye on for a team that doesn't have like a a starting center I mean Buzelis could play the three you have Wilson at the four baba at the like that's just like super fun and then based off this uh mock draft we had um cam carr at the at your two like that is just so much defense athleticism running gun right like I I would I would love that for the Bulls but this is our draft this was our first mock draft um super fun take us through the order jaw just give us a recap yeah so we had AJ at one we had Darren Peterson at two cameron boozer at three Caleb Wilson at four Mikhail Brown Jr. at five there's a cuff at for the Nets at six the Kings take Braden Burries at seven a day Mara at eight Keaton Waggler at nine Kingston Flemings at ten Yaxel at eleven Nate Ament at twelve Leverio and Phylon at 13 Morez Johnson at 14 Cam Carr at 15 Abuka Quarry at uh 16 Jaden Quaitens at 17 at 18 we had Dalen Swain Heinsteinbach at 19 Chris at Jr. at 20 Isaiah Evans one of my favorite players in this draft at 21 Kareem Lopez at 22 Christian Anderson at 23 Terrace Reid Jr. at 24 Alan Graves at 25 Benedict Sturtz at 26 Henry Bisasar at 27 Zubi Edge 4 at 28 Malik Thomas at 29 and Baba Miller at 30 so honestly I think for our first mock draft together this was pretty fun. Oh yeah great time man I enjoyed it I thought we did pretty good like I could see a lot of this happening in the actual draft but especially top 20 like I think some of these fits are like yes yes are are perfect. So I mean yeah I mean I I think a lot of this stuff could change too just with Giannis looming in the horizon yeah all it takes is one trade yeah I mean I mean too like just back to the Giannis thing like if the heat if it really is the heat and they give up 13 now the Bucks have 13 and 10 could they move up to six could they move up to seven um I don't know I I don't know if they can um but all that is super interesting. This is gonna be an awesome draft like Ronnie keeps harping on the top 20 is solidified really good top 20 players um I think in a couple years five ten years from now we'll be like wow what a class that was not from a pure like all-star talent standpoint even though we'll have some superstars and generational players but they'll be like you're just God that's just a good role player to have on a championship team so I'm super excited for this draft it's less than two minutes away Ronnie thank you so much for joining me on your Saturday um it was a pleasure yeah ja appreciate it uh always love talking drafts you know I love the the prospects uh draft brings hope to fan bases so uh we love that part 100% thank you again Ronnie um like comment subscribe on the video let us know your thoughts on where you would have some players mocked in your draft um let us know your thoughts on your favorite teams on where you want them or who you want them to draft and we'll see you guys next time see ya and stay safe