All Wizards Talk
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All Wizards Talk
Just Joshin Around
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SPEAKER_04Welcome back to All Wizards Talk and Podcast on the All Sports Talk Network. I'm Bryce Nickens joined alongside, as always, by our co-host Henry Brown. And ladies and gentlemen, another guest on the pod today, Joshua Valdez of Clutch Points, covering the Wizards with us a little bit. It was fun. It was fun seeing you when I was in DC. A lot of good conversations there. And uh figured might as well bring you on the pod. It's the perfect time to do it. Big trade happened. And uh you're in the know. You're in the locker room quite a bit. You go to all the games, if I'm not mistaken. So figure it's a perfect opportunity to bring you on and talk about this amazing basketball team that we have. Um amazing in what way? That's a that's a great question. Uh they almost win so many games. Oh, yeah, almost. Almost a lot of clutch games. Uh, you know, coming down to the wire where you can't grab a defensive rebound off of two missed free throws when you're down by two, you know, just opportunities like that. Josh, but welcome to the pod. Uh Henry has, you know, he I he came up with all the questions this week. I'm gonna be honest. Like he's he's gonna run the show here. We're gonna give you our thoughts. But uh Henry, just take it away for us, please.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, sorry Josh, we gotta we gotta watch Bryson for a second because I gotta I gotta just I gotta I gotta indulge him right quick. Um, Bryson, you get one victory lap because Dylan Jones got signed by a team. I'll give you I'll give you 30 seconds to get it off your chest.
SPEAKER_04Dylan Jones, my beloved. My beloved Dylan Jones.
SPEAKER_03I thought he's new New York Knicks. He's gonna Disney he's gonna help them get out of this punk they're in. They lost nine of them.
SPEAKER_04He was almost averaging a triple double in the G League. He he dropped three triple doubles in a row and no one talked about it. I I believe in him. I I like Dylan Jones too. I I like him. It's unfortunate. It you know, decision uh from what I heard came down to like age. Like Malcai Brandham's just a little bit younger. That was the big decision, and so which I kind of get. He wasn't cheaper. Uh Malcai was actually making more than Dylan by two million.
SPEAKER_02Oh, because he was been around a little longer. That makes sense. Yeah, been around a little bit longer.
SPEAKER_03Who did you talk to about that, Bryce? Or no, you don't have to name me. I'm just saying like it wasn't it within the wizard organization, or just yeah, yeah.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_02And so Will Dawkins. 100%.
SPEAKER_04But Henry, go ahead, take it away, and we'll get this uh episode going here.
SPEAKER_02Those guys might not be given uh the end of the bench minutes that you might need. But at the last game uh that uh Josh and I went to, we talked to uh Brian Keefe after about uh Jamir Watkins because he stepped in and just guarded Harden for like the first time ever. And Harden still got his buckets off. He had 36 on the game and like nine buckets from the floor. Um, but you know, we were all pretty impressed with how he just stepped in, and that's sort of what he's been doing all season. I want to ask you guys, starting with Josh, I guess. Um the rookies are probably gonna be the guys we're looking at the most as the season goes on, because the other young guys are more or less known quantities, and the rookies are still developing to what they're gonna be. So, what kind of improvements do you guys want to see out of any rookies in particular as the season progresses from this point on?
SPEAKER_03Well, starting with Jameer, I would just say keep developing on offense. Like we know the defense is already really solid. Um, I think the reason why he, you know, was us was not in the first round in the draft was just because his offense isn't at the level of some of those other guys. Um and I think you know he's definitely shown like that he he can score this season. Like he he's he's given you um you know some some some good action on that end as well. But I would just say just keep just keep advancing on that end and as well, you know, if you can keep up like that two-way presence, that's kind of what today's NBA is all about, right? Is being able to kind of have that overall skill set on both ends. So as long as Jameer just you know keeps shooting like efficiently from the floor and you know he just keeps making good plays on offense, uh, as well as being a really good defender, like you were saying, um, he's he should be fine. I I think he'll he'll easily get a lot of you know playing time you know from from for the rest of the season given what what the wizards are doing right now. So um but yeah, and then Will uh Riley, I think just you know, more consistently consistency from his spot up jumper, you know. I think it's been trailing off a little bit recently. Um you know, and just keep hitting the weight room as well. Um you know he's like a Will Will Will I think was a great find on the draft though. Like I I was I was really happy for the Witzers that the whole thing with the Marcus Martrey worked out because that it got really close with the Grizzlies in the play-ins.
SPEAKER_02That was really scary, man. We were talking about that in one of the games now. They were like a two-seed when we got the pick and they became a play-in team in like a week.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah, yeah. That that was like really tricky at the end, but luckily it worked out. I think I think Will is, you know, he I mean his his G League performances this season have been off the wall, off the chain. So um, yeah, I I think he's got a bright future. And then Trey, we we already know, like he's an amazing champion. We know Trey. Uh yeah, I think just keep progressing on defense is kind of like the opposite of Jameer, you know. Um, I I think he's gotten better at that end too, but also keep on uh playmaking as well. Like he had like five assists last game. He's uh Keith was actually talking about it at practice today. He's just like seeing the cut uh the defensive alignments really well, and you know, I I think he's getting better at that end of his game. Um, so it's not just like he's like a one-dimensional shooter or something. It's like, yeah, he's bringing a lot more than that. So it's more just like keep progressing in those areas that have already progressed in.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I I agree with you on Jameer. I think a big reason why he was not a first rounder um in the draft last year was mainly because of his age. He's 24 years old.
SPEAKER_02He's I was just looking at super old. I I forgot just how because he was in college for actually five years. He just basically redshirted his COVID, man. COVID. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Those COVID years get you he actually had the ball a lot in college, but it's just he was a scorer back then.
SPEAKER_02I was looking at his numbers and like like the efficiency numbers aren't great, but it's like he's getting like 18 a season towards the backhand. Right.
SPEAKER_03It was just that I think you know, his skill set with like even though he had the ball a lot in college, it just wasn't like he wasn't at that NBA level where he was gonna be on the ball a lot coming in, you know.
SPEAKER_02Exactly. And he really, even though again we know who Trey is, um Watkins really is like a ready-made role player. Like, even like right now, he yeah, there's other guys who with Will Riley, you're just you know he has talent, but you're seeing how he like hones it and what kind of role he's trying to take on. With Watkins, like he knows exactly I think he already knows exactly what he is, and it's just a matter of is is the three gonna hit the rim, and that's gonna help buy him a few minutes if he just hit that like that left corner three like one or two times a game, then then we're golden.
unknownRight.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, his his offense definitely needs to improve a little bit, but his defense is amazing. Like we mentioned earlier, you know, tasked with guarding James Harden quite a bit in that most recent loss. And Harden, I mean, it's not like he had a great game offensively. It's he went 005 from deep, and usually that's un yeah, it's unheard of for a guy like James Harden to shoot that poorly from distance. And a big reason for that was Jameer Watkins. Anytime he was on the floor, it seemed like he was matched up with Harden and did a good job of stopping him and slowing him down, also forced three turnovers on him. And so you just it the unfortunate thing, and I believe Josh, you asked a question about like the free throws and the postgame after that. Um, how do you limit someone like that? And the true answer is you can't limit someone like Harden getting the free throw line. He's he's gonna find a way. Like he had he had nine free throws at the end of the first quarter. Like, you can't you can't stop that. You just gotta you know try your best if you play hands behind your back defense, like you know, my old high school basketball coach would make us do in these drills. Like he, you know, he would like that's what you gotta do, and even then he might draw a foul just because Harden can contort his body that way. But overall, I thought Watkins did a good job guarding him and a lot of guys this season. Even Devin Booker, he shot him down the two times he played the Suns.
SPEAKER_03That was uh big that was uh B Bijan Todd actually that asked Bub. Was it B John? Yeah, it was Bijan. He asked, he was like, so like you know, he was kind of saying, like, obviously you're not gonna stop James, but it's like, is there any way you could, you know, like stop him from getting to the line somewhere? And Bubba was just like, I don't know. He's been doing this a long time. Like, I don't know. I'm like a little upset at that one. Like, it's like no, no one's gonna crack the code at this point, you know. It's been like 10 years, 10, 10 plus years of this, you know.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, at least all these goopers.
SPEAKER_03What'd you say, Henry?
SPEAKER_02No one's gonna crack the code, least of all these guys. Sorry. And I mean, even Brian Keith, you heard him where he said uh he might have taught him some of that stuff because Heath was his coach at two different stops in uh Oklahoma City and Brooklyn. So if he doesn't know, who does know?
SPEAKER_04Right. I mean, it's it's good basketball. Like, let's be honest. Like, the more you get to the free throw line, odds are you're gonna win a game. And he went 18 to 20, and the two free throws he missed were at the end of the game where the Wizards couldn't get a rebound. And so but that's just part of the game. But overall, Jameer guarding some of these guys that are more, you know, ball dominant out on the perimeter. Like I mentioned, Devin Booker as well, he's done a good job guarding. He he really has, and his defense has been impressive. He's had a few games offensively where he's showed up a little bit. I think he's had like three games with 10 plus points so far this season, if I'm not mistaken. Um, and the rest, it's kind of just he's not playing enough to get that kind of opportunity to show that. But overall, I've been impressed with him. Riley, you guys mentioned him as well, been really impressed with him. But Trey, like we said, Trey Johnson is Trey Johnson.
SPEAKER_02We know what we don't have to talk about him as much. But Josh, I am curious. You mentioned uh uh Riley's physical profile. He's 6'10, um, and he has like playmaking burst and the wingspan. So, like, how can you imagine a thicker, stronger Riley helping his ability to be a two-way player, whether it's getting in the lane, creating, or just being more sturdy on the perimeter?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I mean, there's no way it can really hurt. I mean, the only thing is I guess if you beef up too much, sometimes you can be less like agile, but I don't really see that happening with him.
SPEAKER_02Um that's like a point one percent. That's like if you're Giannis beefed up.
SPEAKER_03Usually um, I I think what Will has shown, especially in the G League, that he can really like handle the ball and like run the floor. Like, you know, he has that skill. I mean, I think his mom even said on Twitter, or or X, whatever, like, you know, I love my son as a point guard. Like, you know, it's like, you know, he he he has that capability. Um and I think you know, even in the at the top level this season, he's shown that in burst, like he can really score and create really good shots, you know, uh on his own, you know. Um, I mean, and even with his passing too, I've there's been a few clips this season of of him, you know, um, even like with the whiz, like, you know, having these really like acrobatic passes under the basket and just like you know, having like these good like fadeaway middies, like you know, he just he's just really crafty and creative already.
SPEAKER_02He knows where his big is, he knows where his center is.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah, I think he's 19, right? Um I mean if he's doing this in 19, that's really promising. Again, it's just like it this whole team is just about progressing, and you know, they're they're all showing you signs, so it's just honing in on those. Um, but yeah, as long as he is he gains weight and keeps developing his uh his stuff, then he should be good.
SPEAKER_02You can see when he's like on the pick and roll, he tries to do weirdly enough, Bub is like half foot shorter, but Bub's pretty good at this already, where he can once he's got the pick and his rollers already gone, he's good at getting his defender uh leveraged against him on his back and just sort of scooting him out of the way. Riley tries to do that, but he doesn't really have the weight to do it sometimes, so he sort of collapses sort of quickly. But I'm with you. I like to see him take more spot normal spot up threes. Like at Summer League, that's all he was really doing was just standing, catching, and shooting. And I feel like you and I have seen him where he just tries to do a bit too much. Every now and then he has a chance at a shot, and he just does a little bit more than he has to, or he just doesn't think he's open enough for it. And you like to see him make it a little simple the same way we saw uh Bub do early on the season.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah. No, it's it's um I I think it it's like again, it's like I think Keishana's talked about this a lot where he's like, I I I'm learning how to always do like the right thing on every play. It's just like a lot of it is just like mental, like what are you seeing? And like how what's the best way to attack this play? So sometimes Will should just like take the shot instead of like trying to do some fancy moves. But sometimes the fancy moves are the way to get to get out of a certain coverage, you know?
SPEAKER_02Exactly. Sometimes it works, and you when it works, you don't say a word.
SPEAKER_04Right. Yeah, his playmaking has also been great, especially his passing. You mentioned it briefly, but having a guy like Will Riley, who is 6'9, like he's huge, and he's like we said, he's 19. He can still grow, he can still get bigger. And the fact that he can play the point guard position at that size allows the team to actually go bigger in some situations, you know, using him off the bench. And I think that's been really vital for the team to see, especially hopefully getting back to the playoffs maybe next season. If all works out well, maybe they can get back to the playoffs next season, and having a guy like Will Riley be coming off the bench with his playmaking ability, his size, his defense does need to get better. But I think some of that is, you know, when he gets stronger, puts a little bit more muscle on him and knows how to use his length to his advantage a little bit. You'll see him improve defensively. He's already super athletic, which is a big sign of someone being able to learn how to play defense a little bit, just being able to get back in position if they get blown by. But overall, I mean, he's been really impressive, hasn't had a lot of opportunity to show it. And so, but I think every Wizards fan should be tuning in to uh, what is it, the go-go? If I'm not uh go-go, yeah. I'm I'm still I'm still out of it a little bit, but um every every fan should be tuning into the go-go, watching them play, especially when Will Riley's out there, because he's he's had a few 30-point performances, near triple doubles, where he's really shown out where in like two years this is a legit player you have coming off the bench.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and there's and there's no kids for it anymore. Uh Whitmore season's over, so there's even more opportunity for him.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. And so it's you know, it's unfortunate with Whitmore, but it's the perfect opportunity for a guy like Riley and Jameer to really show out and be like, hey, this is why you drafted me. This is why I need to be here long term, even though because of age, Riley's gonna have more opportunity and more potential down the line. But Watkins can even show that a little bit. Yeah, what were we gonna say, Josh?
SPEAKER_03I said uh Middleton also probably won't be around uh no, probably not.
SPEAKER_02Okay, yeah, it's funny that you mentioned him because I was just about to transition to this. Um, I mentioned how uh these younger guys have these bigger release valves, like you know, Marvin Bagley is there in the middle for a little dump off when Riley, you know, gets comfortable and gets that little pass in there. Um and I've been wondering what his future is with the team. And luckily for us, Mr. Bryson here uh attended a seminar held by uh Bobby Marks uh from ESPN just about some trade deadline stuff. So what do you have to report from us, Bryson?
SPEAKER_04I have to report that he told me don't expect them to make any big move. If anything, expect them to be like a small move of someone like Marvin Bagley, where they can get some form of draft capital or you know what a team considers as a bust in return, or them to be like this connector team in a three-team or four-team trade at the deadline. He said, don't expect them like to go after any big move. And I think some of that is because you look at Chris Middleton, he's not like it's not like he has a ton of value this season. Let's be let's be honest about that. It's not like teams are dying to get someone like Chris Middleton who's averaging barely 10 points a game while making 33 million a year. It's an expiring contract, so maybe some teams would be interested in that. But uh I do know our very own Josh Robbins did report about what he's heard as well about how you know, like, even though like some teams are looking to get rid of a guy that makes similar money, like Portland with Jeremy Grant, they don't really want a guy like Chris Middleton. They want someone that can help him win now. And so from what it sounds like, it's not really there's not really a market for Middleton, but more so for a guy like Bagley, it seems like there is a market.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, so I I didn't know if you heard similar, Josh, but yeah, I well, I mean, yeah, it's pretty it's pretty much the same. I mean, you know, um I I think you know from what I heard with our Intel at Clutch and everything, it's like you know, Bagley was definitely somebody to watch. Um uh I think like the Wizards would like to trade Middleton, but like you said, it just like doesn't have a ton of value. I think Middleton would have to be some kind of salary matching thing for like a bigger move. Um, but I I think he's more likely to be in the buyout market. Um and uh, you know, I I think like Bagley is like he's someone who is very doable for a team to take on, just like the Christians did last year. It's like he's he's a good backup big, he's on a cheap deal expiring, so that makes sense.
SPEAKER_04Um I think those on the league minimum, which was what was surprising to me seeing that.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, no, I mean they the Wizards definitely got good value with that. I think it's like these guys would all make sense as like pieces for like salary matching to get something back if they're taking bad money, but I don't think the rest of their, you know, they're gonna make any moves that are for like that are that are big time, you know. Um obviously Josh Ender's report, he even said it's like an extreme long shot that they would get Zion, you know.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, and I've seen so many people on Twitter take it out of proportion saying, Oh, the Wizards are in talk for Zion Williams. And it's like that's not what he said. It's just listed as you know it could happen.
SPEAKER_02They have the assets if they really if they have the assets.
SPEAKER_03It could happen if they wanted to, but that doesn't mean it's gonna, you know. Um like I I think that would have to be like the Wizards will like really just have an amazing value in the deal for that to even be the real option.
SPEAKER_04While we're on him, speaking of Zion, I because I wrote about it uh just yesterday, and I'm curious your thoughts on it. What would your thoughts be if the team actually did go out and get Zion?
SPEAKER_03Again, it it's like what what's the terms of the trade? I think that's a big part of it for me. Um, if they don't give up anything important, just like the Trey Young trade, you know, I can have a conversation about it. You know, um I think it's risky, I think it's riskier than Trey. Um obviously, you know, Zion gets hurt a lot. He has he's had some off-the-court issues. Um, you know, he's never impacted winning. Uh Trey made the Eastern Conference finals. So you wonder about the culture, like uh, okay, if you know we're trying to build a winning culture eventually, it's like you know, Zion hasn't won it. He could win with a new change of scenery, but it hasn't happened yet. You know, um there's there's baggage. I think talent-wise, it's awesome. You know, like talent-wise, there's I have no gripes, you know. Uh oh, sell tickets. Yeah, sell tickets, which you know is good, good for for the team's business. Um, I think that um him and star would work just fine together in the front court. They that they figure that out because of the talent alone. Um, you know, with Trey also in the lineup, I mean that that would be pretty electric if they were all sharing the court together and consistently playing. But the question is, is like the other stuff. It's more of like the culture, the rebuild, is that makes sense for that? You know, I think you to make it more even kind of worth it, you have to like have just an amazing trade where you don't give up anything important.
SPEAKER_02Well, Bryson probably has like you probably in your article, do you have any like mock trades of like what the wizards would give up in that kind of deal?
SPEAKER_04Not really. I mean, like I talked about it for what it sounds like, you know, what uh Robins reported on was that the Wizards don't want to give up any draft capital. Um, you know, they actually want to try to get some in return. And so it's gonna take compromise, was my thing. If like they truly want to make it work, where you probably do a Chris Middleton Brandon in two seconds to try to get Zion and see if that seals the deal. If not, then I don't think you try to give up anything more than that. They have four second round picks, anyways, this draft. At some point, they're gonna have to consolidate and do something with them. So it makes sense to do it now, but they could also do it on draft night and try to consolidate three of their seconds on that night to move up into the first round again. So that also wouldn't be surprising to me either. It's just I like I told um someone today where I see it as like a less than 1% chance it actually happens. And a lot of it is uh you also look at it like you have the draft coming up, and we know the Wizards are doing everything they can to finish, you know, in the top three of the draft. They're doing everything they can. If they get a top three pick, two of those top guys would take minutes away from Zion, if we're being honest. And De Bonsa and Boozer, because you're gonna have to slide one of them into the starting lineup and you trade for Zion. Is Zion willing to come off the bench? Is he gonna be happy doing that? Because I'm telling you right now, you I I think the team would rather obviously start a DeBonta or Boozer as a rookie over Zion Williamson because that makes most logical sense if you're trying to develop and actually use a top three pick on like some other teams don't.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, but I just if Zion were on this team, he'd be the best guy in this team. Like, I just can't see him not starting. He's the best guy in the team.
SPEAKER_04Uh I wouldn't go that far.
SPEAKER_02Make the case, make the case. Who's better than him on the team? Uh I would say Sar.
SPEAKER_04Like overall, I think Saur is better than Zion.
SPEAKER_02I think he might be by then. I I don't know. Zion is a I just I can't fully I can't fully quit Zion. We're looking at his numbers recently, and like he can he still got it. He's also got plenty baggage. There's some stuff that can't be defended. Um but Zion's like really good. So I I don't know. I don't know. That would be quite the quandary for the front office to deal with. What do you think, Josh?
SPEAKER_03That's funny. Um Henry and I were there when the uh Pelicans were in town. That was the day that Trey Young had his uh intro press conference right before the game. Zion, I think it was only his second game at Capital One in his career.
SPEAKER_02Um I thought it was his first. Oh no, it might have been his first in the NBA, right? Was that what it was?
SPEAKER_03No, no, no. I because I I looked it up. Apparently he played one uh at the Wizards Arena in 2021, like when he was Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, that was like he's been in the league how long now? That was only his second one.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, but that's the point. It's like he's he's barely been, it's like been seven years or whatever, and it's like amazing. Um but um you know, but he he was fully healthy for that game and he was just cooking. Like he got whatever he wanted. I think he shot like he only missed like two shots out of 12 attempts or something or something like that. Like uh he was just getting whatever he wanted. I think he almost dropped 30.
SPEAKER_02Um he was it was very quiet, but he was like it was like a silent assassin kind of thing.
SPEAKER_03It was like wow. Like so when sometimes when you watch Zion go off, it's like wow, this guy could have been like the number one dude in the league.
SPEAKER_04He just stayed healthy. He could just stay healthy.
SPEAKER_03Um and the thing with the Wizards is I get this set the whole thing about you want to like rehab players, like right, like these, you know, like that's the thing with Trey Young. It's like, right, he's still a star, but you know, he's taken some lumps recently. Like, you know, obviously his his defense, um, and you know, his he was just kind of not fitting in with the Hawks anymore with what they wanted to do. They have a new front office. So um, you know, obviously Young had to like his the league viewed him as a negative contract asset, you know, which is why that the the Wizards only had to give up CJ and um Corey. But you know, with somebody like Zion, it's like okay, you could rehab him too, but just don't let it come at the expense of like the rebuilding culture stuff, like Henry was saying.
SPEAKER_02Like that's that's the thing. It's also it's not just don't do it at the expense of the rebuild. You also don't want to be a rehab facility after a while. Like Bryson for like a few months ago was pitching me some crappy prospect. He was like, Oh, we should trade for them. And I was like, maybe maybe now, if if not now, never. Because after a while, we want to win and we don't want to just take on these guys who are rehabilitation projects over and over and over again.
SPEAKER_04After a while, I think it was Uzman Jang, if I'm being honest.
SPEAKER_02It was who?
SPEAKER_04I think it was Uzman Jang. And part of that is be part of the reason is because the main reason he was even drafted by OKC was because Will Dawkins sold them on the idea of trading for him on draft night. Like that was that's a big thing, and Dawkins was a believer in him. That's what it's saying. His value is extremely low right now, where you could even like let's be honest, OKC, they kind of need a center because their center death is always injured at this point. And they need someone that can try to help him stop Wimby, trade him bagly, and you can even his value is so low from what I've heard people at OKC comp where you could get a first out of him as well. Wow. Like you you could get a future first out of him, and so like that's what I'm saying, is like you do that, you just have him for half a season anyway. See if he can do something actually getting time and not being the 15th man on the bench on the stacked team.
SPEAKER_02To that logic, if not now, never. That's what that's I'd be open to it this year. Next year, we probably don't want to be fooling around so much. This is year three of the rebuild, and they know it can't go on forever. And that's their signal that we're getting more serious.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I I think this trade then line is gonna be the last time that they are really interested in taking bad money, yeah, or a rotten former draft stick or whoever. Yeah. Um, I think like after they get whoever they get in in this next draft in the lottery, I think that's the moment we're like, all right, we're gonna start competing. I don't think that was bad money. Like, every move we make is to win now, you know.
SPEAKER_04That's kind of what I heard from Marx when I was in that little public, you know, like whatever you want to call it that he was hosting that day. But uh, that's what he told me was like, well, the Wizards kind of know like next season they gotta start winning, or else there could be regime changes happening in Washington if they don't start, you know, putting together a better product on the floor. And that's what I'm thinking. I was like, this this deadline, you know, it kind of makes sense why they wouldn't do any other big moves right now. They're fine with what they have. Develop the young guys, it's gonna be year three, a star who's already a borderline all-star this season. Keyshawn's developed. You have Trey Johnson who's looking good when he is healthy and playing, have some other young, promising guys. Justin Champagne has really, really changed my mind about him going into the season. And I was I wasn't the biggest fan going in now. I'm like, we gotta keep him. You you like he's he's on a good contract. Then you have two first round picks this year for sure. Coming. I say for sure. I mean, we all know the wizards are doing everything they can to secure their pick. And it's okay.
SPEAKER_03You can you can you you can say for sure, but we know it's gonna happen.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, we know we know it's gonna happen, but they're they're for sure going to have two picks, one of the top eight, which even in the stack draft, getting a top eight pick is gonna be nice. Getting top five would be even better. Top three is perfect scenario. Um, and then you have that thunder pick, which is uh, you know, it'll be 30th, if we're being honest. It'll more it'll more than likely be the 30th overall pick in the draft, but you also have the seconds where you can trade up. This is the perfect draft where you get your final guys to build out this team and be like, look, now we're gonna, you know, this could be our final development year where we might, you know, realistically, they should make the play in next year.
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SPEAKER_02Very real, very realistic. Yeah. And you mentioned how top three is ideal. Part of why I've been talking to Josh recently is because he's been uh big on if they were to get four, Caleb Wilson would not be a disaster pick. So could you pitch us on if we were to fall to four, why that wouldn't be as big of a disaster as everyone's afraid it would be?
SPEAKER_03I mean, yeah, I think top three is the goal, like Bryson said. Um, I believe if off the top of my head, if they finish with a bottom-free record, they'll get a 40% chance of getting top three, which is the highest you can get, uh the highest odds you can get. Um if you're if you're if you're the fourth worst team, it will be like 36%. But they they gotta get every percentage point they can to get into that. Um but if they do land number four, um Caleb Wilson is a really exciting prospect. Um I've been looking at him a lot recently. I wrote a piece about him recently. Um he was mocked to the Wizards um by ESPN's Jeremy Wu recently uh at number four. Um I think you know if they land Wilson, it's definitely not like the best case scenario because you want you'd rather have the guys like Divonsa, Boozer, or Derek Peterson, but um Caleb would definitely fit in with the Wizards really well next to Saur. Um the the book on him so far is that he doesn't have much of an outside shot yet, um, but he's really explosive going to the rim. Um and you know, he can be a really good two-way power forward in the league for sure. Um so if you got if you had Trey Young, you know, with Wilson and Saar and then like Trey Johnson at the two, um, you know, Keyshawn or Bub or one of those guys at the three, um that would be, I think, a really solid lineup, and that should easily make the Eastern Conference playing tournament if you're healthy. Really no excuse there. Um, and hopefully even the first round of the playoffs. But I think um at that point, Caleb might not be your franchise superstar, which is like the holdup there. I think the top three guys are are are gonna be kind of the unquestioned franchise superstars. But Caleb is still gonna be like, okay, he's really good, but we don't know who who the number one's gonna be.
SPEAKER_04Well, if front offices listen to all these, you know, so-called draft experts, which are just burner accounts on Twitter, uh saying that Caleb Wilson's actually better than Boozer. Maybe you get Boozer at fourth, and then you get your franchise guy there. But realistically, I think we know how the top three is gonna go. It's gonna be in some order of DP, um, AJ, and then Boozer as well. Personally, Boozer's my number one on the board, but we don't have to get into that. But you know, just getting top three perfect scenario, but even four, Caleb Wilson's still a great guy to get there. Even five, there's gonna be some options to get as well. Yeah, I was gonna ask him.
SPEAKER_02Do you have a counter for four who your fourth best guy is? Caleb Wilson.
SPEAKER_04Caleb Caleb Wilson's my fourth best guy. And then fifth right now, I might I might have to go Brown Jr. out of Louisville as my fifth guy on the board. But like that's that's the thing where it's like if you get a lottery pick, you're getting someone that can start in your lineup right away. And that's why it's like the Wizards, the goal should be at least top five because you're getting someone that can instantly contribute and help you get to the play in next year. Like you get top five, you're in a good spot. Top three is the perfect scenario, though.
SPEAKER_02Of course. Um, and uh looking at some numbers now because I had I didn't have Caleb Wilson's stats in front of me. Um and the the shot he takes, 0.93s a game, he makes 23.6% of them. Not good. Um, and of course, when a prospect doesn't have a three, people get a little nervous because that's like everyone always says their three will come around, and it's always harder than people say it is. But if you were to go to a rebuilding team, I think the wizards are a decent spot for someone like that to go because they're a better shooting team than their record would indicate. They're middle of the road in attempts and percentage. Um, and with Trey Young in the lineup, they're probably creating more threes with more efficient spots on the court. Um so this isn't a bad stopgap place for uh a player to you know slide into a lineup with a bunch of floor spacers who, again, will all be a year older and will be more helpful in getting each other more open looks. And boozer to a degree is is the same idea.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I think the boozer is that like he he actually can like create and has outside shot.
SPEAKER_02And he makes him sometimes.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Where I I think I think Caleb is more of like uh he like can finish the play, he can like set picks um and he can cut, you know, and he's he's really like explosive going to the rim, and he actually can can operate in the uh mid-range as well.
SPEAKER_02But um it looks like he'd also solve some rebound concerns. He leads um he leads the ACC in rebounding at 10.6 a game.
SPEAKER_03Uh Boozer or Wilson?
SPEAKER_02I'm talking about Caleb Wilson.
SPEAKER_03Oh, oh that's yeah, that's yeah, no, I mean because he he's he he is a big and he he's very he's very strong, so that makes total sense.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, 6'10 and 215.
SPEAKER_04I I have his per 36 stats up right now, and right now they show 23 and 12 a game per 36, which is absurd, along with two steals and one and a half blocks. I mean, he's got the length, he's got the size too. Be good defensively, be good offensively, help you get boards, which is I feel like a big problem with the wizards right now. You need someone that can help Sar down though, because when he's on the court, it feels like he's the only one that has a shot at getting a board, even then. He's still struggling and getting stronger because he's not the greatest recon in the world.
SPEAKER_02That's Caleb Wilson's defense because right now he just sounds like super balal.
SPEAKER_03I don't know if he's super balal because he he's more like he's more of a big.
SPEAKER_02So like I mean, yeah, with like two inches and some muscle.
SPEAKER_03But yeah, I mean he um so he can like switch and you know he he can also defend the rim too. Um, you know, obviously, like you UNC's defense as a whole hasn't been good this season. Um, so like that's that's been an issue. Like, so it's it's not like Caleb is just anchoring the whole defense and like solving everything, but he he he is good like on like just on his own. I think he he's pretty good like defending one-on-one or guarding. Basically, you know, he could pretty much switch onto any position, I think, um, from what I've seen. So I I don't I wouldn't be too worried about his defense. Um but I think though the only thing is like you just gotta make sure that uh if you're the Wizards, you try to develop his outside game a little bit more because eventually you want that to be the case in MBA where you can play on the outside. It's not like as a rookie, it's okay if he's raw there, but it's just like that would be the long-term plan with him, I think.
SPEAKER_02Well, if Bryson gets his witch, the Wizards are gonna sign uh the thunder shooting coach, and then they'll all just be awesome snipers.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I don't I don't see that happening, but it would be I I think a move that greatly you know improves the team. I mean, he has it's oh god, I'm blanking on the name. I know him. I I have it in my head. Is it Chip England? Yeah, Chip. It's Chip. But like he has a proven record where he's improved player shots. I mean, Shea, when he got drafted, was not known to be a three-point shooter. He he was not a good three-point shooter in college whatsoever. But after his first two years in OKC, all of a sudden he started shooting 35, 36, 37 from distance. Lou Dort as well was not known to be a shooter. And then last season, a big reason why they won was because he was shooting over 40% from three.
SPEAKER_02That was totally I I can't believe he made so many shots. He made one in game seven in the finals. I've never been so confident a shot was hitting back rim, and then it went in. I couldn't believe it. I was like, all right, I guess I guess there's just magnets in the ball and they're winning.
SPEAKER_04But like it, you know, Chip has a proven track record where he makes shooters. Like, and to be frank, there are some players on this team that could use him as a shooting coach, particularly Balal, comes to my mind. Specifically, Alex Star could take advantage of that. And then there are some guys like you mentioned Josh, you know, Caleb Wilson taking him in the draft. He could really, you know, benefit from having a shooting coach like him. And so it's not like the shooting isn't bad right now, and whoever they have isn't doing a good job, but the opportunity to get him, if it's out there, should be taken advantage of and try to bring him on the staff.
SPEAKER_02No, and uh luckily most of the core guys, ballal excluded, um, Saar, Bub, Keyshawn, and Trey can all shoot. Saar's shot is weird, but he doesn't have to rely on it as much anymore. And it goes in enough, it's not a concern. And on those four guys, I was thinking about this in pertaining to the Rising Stars game. Um I feel like a few of them are gonna get in. How many would you guys bet? I'll start with you, Bryson. Do you think are actually gonna get into that game? And remember, the Wizards had three last year. It was Sar, Bub, and Balal all made it.
SPEAKER_04I think, I think three for sure. Because it's it's going to be a little bit tricky looking at it because I don't think there's a chance Saar is an all-star now. We're looking at like you have eight, yeah, you have eight international players and they already have five of those slots filled up. It's gonna be extremely difficult for him to get in unless the media just rallies behind star, which I don't think is happening because no one wants to watch the Wizards. Um, but I think three for sure of Star, Trey, and Keyshawn. I I think for sure you have that. But if injuries happen and Saar gets a you know injury-reserved all-star spot there, then of course he can't be in the Rising Stars game, which then puts Bub there. But no matter what, I think three for sure are gonna make it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, they would they probably want to apologize for Keyshawn for he got like he had nothing to show for him. Yeah, he's balling. Three, Josh. What do you think?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I think you know, the only thing that makes me nervous about Trey is that like he's not even cracking the top 10 of the uh NBA rookie ladder. Which is crazy, which I think is nuts. Um, there were some guys ahead of him that I don't think should be. Uh I'll I'll leave it there, but but um Is it Yeagor? He was one of them. He was one of them. And don't don't forget Caleb Love.
SPEAKER_02Oh no way, Caleb Love?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, so and that's the thing. Like, look, I'm not like trying to be like like a homer or something. Like, I'm just I'm I'm I'm being objective. I'm a reporter. Like, it's like, what has Caleb Love done to be ahead of Trey Johnson? I generally don't get it. Great question. It's it's nothing that I don't have anything against Caleb Love. It's just like, dude, what how what is the rationale there? Like, I don't get that. I I get that Trey missed some games, but wow. Um He didn't even miss a ton of games.
SPEAKER_04He I think he's missed what four or five so far this season. Um Trey Johnson, he missed more than that.
SPEAKER_03He missed more than that. I mean, he he's also been on a uh minutes restriction sometimes this season because of the hip issue, but but still, he still made an impact. I mean, he he hasn't been like one of the top rookies necessarily, but he still made an impact.
SPEAKER_02Well, I'm looking at their stats. I'm doing like the stat head comparison thing. Um and Trey leads in points per game, 12.4 to 11.1. Sorry, I'm about to just eviscerate kill blood for no reason. Um he leads in rebounds, no one cares about that though. Um Steals per game, 0.7 to 0.6, blocks per game, 0.3 to 0.1, field goal percent 45 to 39, 39, um, 3.9 to 33 percent, um free throw 86 or uh 89 to 74 percent. Um and effective field goal percentage, 54.8 percent to 49.1%.
SPEAKER_04It's not really and the thing is they're taking almost the exact same amount of shots per game and threes per game, and Trey is just that much more efficient. It doesn't make sense, right?
SPEAKER_03All that to say, like I'm I'm a little worried that the that you know Trey won't get the rising stars placement just about about because of the way he's being talked about or not being acknowledging them. Um I think yeah, like Dyson said, Alex and Keyshawn are easy shoe-ins. Uh Keyshawn was on uh uh NBA TV recently, and Rudy Gay was asking him, like, so why do you deserve it? He's like, because uh you know, uh I I can shoot, facilitate, pass at a high level, defend, you know. He was just like, do it all. And he's like, Yeah, everything. So I agree, you know. Uh he's Keyshawn is I think the most versatile out of probably the whole Wizards roster, so it's impressive. Um I think I think bub is like the biggest question. Like he he already made it last year, so that's probably part of it. And then remember, you know, it's hard for one team to get four guys in there. It's only there's only a select amount of things.
SPEAKER_02Scores a lot. Three already spot in the moment.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I I think bub is like the outside chance. I mean, because he's he's had it, he's had several good games this season, but he did hit hit a pretty bad, pretty bad slump at the beginning of the season. So um I think that if you're talking about competition-wise, he'll have the hardest case. But um, in my opinion, definitely Alex, Keyshawn, and Trey should all be in there. Trey hopefully gets in just with the way he's not being acknowledged enough.
SPEAKER_02But it's a matter of PR, whether or not uh Bub is shaking off that stinky start. And uh, I think the Wizards, um, the broadcasters are also doing Trey a lot of favors. Remember, he made like eight straight threes between like two games, and Chris Moore's on a broadcast saying that he makes it on him going home.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, he made nine in a row. Yeah. It's not bad. But he and he already has the uh I think rookie record, like in NBA like history of most threes made from 30 plus feet.
SPEAKER_02Oh, I've heard that. From 30 plus?
SPEAKER_04From 30 plus, I think.
SPEAKER_03Also, he he might be the first rookie to ever hit uh 50, 40, 90, possibly, which is crazy.
SPEAKER_04Like it's crazy. Like it's that's like he's such a great offensive threat, but because he doesn't, he, you know, he didn't start a lot to start the year. And and that some of that was because you had CJ trying to get his trade value up a little bit, you know. Of course, trying to see what you can get for him. So trade's gonna take a back seat and then recovering from that lingering injury um when he was at Texas. I mean, of course, naturally you're not gonna start him now. When he's starting, you're seeing like, man, he's dropping 15, 18, 18, 16, 17, 18, 18 consistently. And it's like if he was starting the rent the whole entire season, you're having a conversation of man, like he's he's top five rookie, maybe even top three.
SPEAKER_02It's gonna be interesting by the end of the season. Um, that's most what I had for today. Uh, but I gave Bryson a minute to uh talk earlier, Josh. I want to ask you we're gonna give you a platform. You want to vent about the Knicks for like a minute for us? What's going on?
SPEAKER_03Yes, uh, you know, uh I do originally hail from New York City, uh, my family and everything. Um, so they're playing the Nets tonight. I don't know when this episode is gonna be out. If it'll be out before them, but Rice gets them out pretty fast. Okay.
SPEAKER_04I try to get them out fast. As soon as I'm done, I'm editing because I gotta go to get a haircut.
SPEAKER_03Perfect, perfect. Um, yeah, so they're playing the Nets tonight. Uh I was actually talking to Henry about this. If they yeah, if we were saying if they lose to the Nets, like I think you gotta close the book on this on what they've got. I think I think that would be the straw, like, alright, we're going to make some major moves. Um from what I've heard, they're still not gonna like make big time moves at the deadline, it'd be more like trading like Roshan Yabaselli and stuff. Um, you know, I think they're trying to just figure it out with what they've got, you know, but like Mike Brown's like hugging Draymond after he punks Kat, and then like, you know, the team is like not like fighting for any for each other, and they're just kind of like checked out. And Jalen Brunson's like, we gotta we gotta soul search, but we should have done it two weeks ago. Like, I don't know what players only meeting. Like all over the place, and they were so good at the beginning of the season, they won the NBA Cup, they were at the top of the East, and then all of a sudden they can't guard a park car, and now it's like watching AAU ball or something, like trying to play defense. So they gotta figure it out. And you traded five first for Mikhail Bridges, and like he can't get to the free throw line. So I it's there's a lot of stuff going on.
SPEAKER_04So if they if they lose again, I'm posting the clip from Madagascar where it's Alex and goes, ah no, Knicks lose again.
SPEAKER_03I I think this Nets game is matters so much more than it should at this point in the season, but this is like this is like a playoff game. Like if you lose to the Nets, like wow, which is crazy.
SPEAKER_02Most of the teams they've lost to, most of them are pretty good. It doesn't excuse just how bad the Knicks have been in every one of those games. The Nets would be one of the one of the first teams on that in that line who were an objectively like bad team, and the Knicks would just have to outbad them.
SPEAKER_04I mean, they they've lost to Atlanta, Sacramento, Golden State, Dallas. Golden State and Dallas would be complex.
SPEAKER_03They got worked at the garden at last.
SPEAKER_02Well, that game was in big that was like the low light. That was like that, that was a low point. They lost by like a million points.
SPEAKER_03Um, but but but but same with the Kings game because Kat was like setting out a defensive possession on the other end of the floor.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's a new, it's a new Mike Brown thing at the podium every week now, of like a thing that Kat's doing wrong or what have you. If we were in New York podcast, we'd be so much louder and so much more fiery and so much angrier. I feel this has been a pretty like we've all had a lot of normal thoughts. We could have been so much louder. There's a ceiling that we're not hitting because we're not a fan of this particular messy team.
SPEAKER_03You know, you know what's not normal is the Celtics being ahead of the Knicks in the standings without Jason Tatum. That's nuts. Crazy! And you just you just beat this team in the playoffs. That's nuts.
SPEAKER_04But it makes it makes it makes no sense how they they were I'm looking at it right now, they were 23 and 9 on December 29th. They are now 25 and 18. Like, you don't do it like that. Like, oh my goodness. The cup, the curse of the cup. They should have hung up the banner. That's what it is.
SPEAKER_03They would have won it all. You know, and honestly, like Kat's one of my favorite players in the NBA. Like, I don't like how the narrative is like his sort of like all its fault. I don't believe that. Like, obviously, he needs to improve his defense and like be better in the system and everything, but I just think they're not buying in with like what Like's doing. Like, after they already were good with it. So I don't know like how what switches there.
SPEAKER_02So actually, I looked into this. I wrote a thing about this this morning. Um Kat is shooting 39% on driving layups this season. And he can't he hasn't made any floaters. He's shooting like under like he's shooting Kat is known as like he can hit threes, but that's not the basis of his game. He can do things in space, which then unlocks the icing on the cake, which is the outside shot. He's not hitting anything. So I mean maybe he's not buying into the scheme, but after a while, you gotta you gotta hit shots. And I don't know, I don't know what and it's it's not even like Mitchell Robinson's starting anymore, so I don't I really don't understand what that's but that's the thing, it's like top to bottom.
SPEAKER_03It's like, you know, like um, I don't know. I I feel like, for example, like OG, like I feel like he's somebody who could could be, you know, he hasn't been as good as he should have been the last few games. Um you know, Mikhail's kind of like disappeared on and off. Um, you know, Brunson like missed some games, but you know, he he I think against the Mavs he had a really bad shooting night. Um so it's just kind of been like everything bad at once, you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_02They all have bad shooting nights at the same time, I I've noticed, which you know you can't win like that. Um yeah, just wanted to get your thoughts on that, closing out uh all Knicks talk with our president Henry. Uh anything else you want to plug in the last couple minutes here, uh Josh?
SPEAKER_03Sure. Uh you can find me on X at Josh Valdez100. Uh I'm always on there posting about the Wizards and Mystics, the two DC Pro uh um not NBA basketball franchises, uh NBA and WNBA. Um but uh clutchpoints.com is where you can find my written uh articles uh about both teams as well. Uh I I also post my my own podcast uh on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple, so you can find me on there. Um but yeah.
SPEAKER_02What's that called?
SPEAKER_03Uh just uh just joshing uh DC hoop show. So yeah, good good call there. Uh hen Henry's been on there before, but yeah, I appreciate you guys.
SPEAKER_04That was going to be the title of this episode.
SPEAKER_02Oh there's still time, guy.
SPEAKER_03No, I don't think I don't want to. I was gonna I was gonna title it just joshing around. That's that's totally fine. No, I I'm I'm I'm I'm not gonna like uh copyright strike you. Yeah. It's all good.
SPEAKER_02That's what I got. Brezhnev, anything to add before we close?
SPEAKER_04I mean, I just looked at their last game. You can't win a game when you play Landry Champ at 23 minutes. Chill Landry, bro. It's not Landry.
SPEAKER_03I'm sorry. I'm not an L'humancy. See, bro, like everybody everybody becomes like a scapegoat for no reason. It's a team-wide issue, bro. It's not Landry's fault.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, there's like that's my biggest question. What happened to Kolick?
SPEAKER_02He saved New York basketball on Christmas and what happened. Kolik is like a 20% shooter, and Shamit is having like a Shamit sounce right now. So no no bad words on him. He can shoot and defend right now. Kolick, I like Kolick, can't really do either of those at the moment. He saved them Christmas night.
SPEAKER_04That's all I know.
SPEAKER_02He had him that one night.
SPEAKER_04Unfortunately, that was a good game. That was against the Cavs. That was a good name. It was a great game. That's that's all I had. Josh, thank you for coming on. Thank you. This was a good one. Um, and that's that's a podcast, ladies and gentlemen. As always, thank you guys for listening. You know where to find Henry and I. If you need to find out where to find Josh, go back what, a minute or two? It's not that hard. So you're listening here. So that's all we got. See you guys in the next one.