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All Wizards Talk
Wizards Draft Plan/Breakdown with Tyler Rucker
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SPEAKER_03Welcome back to All Wizards Talk podcast on the All Sports Talk Network. I'm one of your co-hosts, Bryce Aikens, joined alongside, as always, by Henry Brown. And we have a special guest today. Second one on the pod that we've had so far. A little bit of a draft savant. He knows his stuff. I considered him one of the leading voices when it comes to draft stuff. And of course, no ceilings. I, in my humble opinion, I think they kind of run the world when it comes to draft stuff. Always keep up with it with them when it's time for draft season. And some of you guys might be saying, Bryson, it's too early. The Wizards still have 70-something games to play, 65. I promise it's not too early to talk about potential players for the Wizards when it comes to draft stuff. But ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Tyler Rucker to the podcast.
SPEAKER_04No, hey, thank you for having me on. This is this is going to be a fun one. It's never too early to get ready for the draft. So um I've I'm an honorary Wizards fan, so I'm I'm drawn to this podcast especially. I'm happy to happy to be here.
SPEAKER_05Tyler, I have a question before we uh get started. Um I'm just curious, as as someone who focuses so heavily on the draft, every season do you draft like a list of the teams that you're most excited to try to find the missing pieces for?
SPEAKER_04That's that's kind of sort of how it got started with like the Wizards fan base. I was like, hey, you know, I'm rooting for all these teams to get out of the lottery. And I every year I see the Wizards. And then when you know they got the new front office, they started making all of these moves. I was kind of like, oh, I'm I'm I'm in. I'm I'm rooting for you guys. So I think every year, yeah, I'm making a list of the team fan bases that I'm like, okay, who am I who am I pulling for this year that could get some lottery luck and hopefully you know start contending in the playoffs?
SPEAKER_03The front office definitely has some plans. I've been able to talk to Dawkins quite a few times from my um academic studies when I was at Emerson College, so even now covering the team. So that was nice to talk with them. And you talked about lottery luck, and um, I I just did a random tank-a-thon simulation just now to see what that would look like. And uh the Wizards fell to fourth, but the Thunder got the first pick because of the Clippers. So there's that, there's that luck in play. That's so nightmare, it's so evil nightmare situation. But I kind of, you know, like I said, the whole thing is I want something positive that this fan base can talk about. It's been a bunch of negativity. Should Keith still be the head coach? Should they trade Bub Carrington? Should they try to go in an all-in push for LaMelo Ball now that he's available, which I don't think is a good idea? But I think really something that can really change the trajectory of this team is getting a top three pick for sure, and then getting one of these top guys. And I was wondering, since you've been looking at it so far, and we're still early in the season, but I don't want to draft basically based purely off of fit. But right now, number one, who's the number one guy for you? But also, would that number one guy be the best player in Washington if they had that first overall pick?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I think if Washington gets a little lucky, you can pretty much make an argument for any three of those guys going number one to the Wizards because I think they all fit in a different way. Um, you know, it is very early. I have Boozer at one, so I'm one of those, you know, out outside of the box people. They everyone seems to have Darren Peterson of Kansas at number one, but I like a lot what you can get from Boozer. Um, I think you know, everyone's quick right now to be like, hey, the finishing, what's going on? It's like, okay, he's playing, quote, bad, and he's averaging 21, 10, and four. So let's let's wait a little bit and see if he figures that out. Obviously, you know, we can adjust, but Washington would be in a great position. And I know the fan base is eager and you're getting all this talent, and you're like, hey, when's it gonna happen? And it's like this is this is part of the rebuild. You got to get over that next hump. Once you hopefully get over that, then you really start to be like, okay, things are are really clicking. But I think Washington's right, right where they should be right now. I you want one more draft to really find that piece. And in this draft, if you get one of those top three guys, you might be like, hey, this is the one that can be the superstar, and everyone around their their game's gonna go to another level. So I think this is a a big one. And I I know Wizards fans are eager. You're it's like, hey, we've been rebuilding forever, but it's like this one, they're doing it the right way. They're they're taking the line.
SPEAKER_03I don't want to even say they've been rebuilding forever. I feel like they I feel like they embrace embrace the rebuild, and Henry probably is more well versed on this. In 2023, I feel like that's when they fully embraced the rebuild because they had these like fringe play-in teams, playoff teams the past you know, few seasons before that. I feel like 2022, 2023 was the first time they were like, Yeah, this is when we're starting this rebuild now. Well, they missed Wimbanyama, so this is all just to make up for being just a little bit late to that. And they missed Cooper Flag. Um, that's definitely not helpful either. But I I I'm on the booze cruise as well, plain and simple. I I love Boozer, I think he's the best prospect in his class right now. I know people are saying he's not athletic enough. We we see non-athletic players really succeed all the time, and I don't think some people are saying he's not athletic. I don't know if they understand what athletic kind of means to an extent, but I see a lot of Kevin Love in him, especially when I see these outlet passes he's making from time to time. I see a lot of Kevin Love. But Darren Peterson also feels that whole at point guard right now is CJ McColm's a starting point guard. And I don't really ever think he's been a point guard his entire career. But and then AJ Abansa, if you get that third pick, which I feel like people have slotted him third overall now in every mock draft. Like it feels bad saying he's a constellation prize because he's still a great player, he he he's still phenomenal. Any team that gets third overall and gets him is going to be extremely happy to have him as he does. He is the type of guy that can change a franchise around just like the other two ones.
SPEAKER_04AJ's AJ's really, really special. You know, I I've I've kind of talked to Scouts about trying it just dipping the toes and being like, hey, what are you what are you vibing? Would AJ fall to three? One scout kind of decided he's not going past two. And I was like, okay, all right, but it and it's because when you watch AJ at his highest, you're like, oh my gosh, look at how dominant and what he could just take over a game. And I think with AJ, it's you see the dominance, and then you also watch the film and see there's so much talent with his game on both sides of the ball that's just scratching the surface. So, you know, when we're talking about, hey, what's the best, you know, a hundredth percentile outcome with a lot of these guys? It's like, well, if AJ hits his, it's a really scary two-way six-nine wing in a league that loves wings. So a lot of these guys, why it's going to be such an interesting debate moving forward, they're all different positions, they're all different, kind of like, hey, they have their strengths, they have their, you know, their weaknesses or improvement areas, if you want to even put it with that way with it. But Boozer, you know, get just getting back to him is just one of those guys. He's wanted every level. The intangibles are off the chart. Um, I'm always really patient with Duke guys because I I think that coaching staff has always has a plan to develop them early on in the year, and then all of a sudden you see them just oh gosh, look at they're they're finding the grooves. So it's gonna be one that's exciting this year with those three. It's gonna be one that requires some patience because you know, let's see how they look after a couple months. And we might be completely having a different conversation after two more months. We might be like, boozer, look at him, he figured it out. But it's gonna be a fun year.
SPEAKER_05This AJ storyline is sorry, Bryson. You go first.
SPEAKER_03No, no, no, go ahead, Henry. Whatever you want.
SPEAKER_05I'm gonna say this AJ storyline reminds me of uh 2022 when it seemed like it was like people weren't sure if Paolo or Jabari would go first until like an hour before the draft, it felt like. Um, and Chet went too, even though he didn't get as many like first place votes in a weird way. So it's almost like AJ isn't even a consolation prize, as much as he's just not getting as many first place nominations as much as uh Boozer or uh AJ or uh uh Peterson are.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, it that's what it's kind of like shaping up right now. I feel like everyone's always all like, okay, it's just clearly Darren right now. And it's like, well, wait, just just wait a second, because when AJ's gonna have his stretch of games where we're all gonna be looking around, like, oh my gosh, have you seen what AJ's doing on tape and on in the box scores? It's that's why it's the this draft cycle is gonna be fascinating. That's why every draft cycle is you know important. We always say, like, hey, do your check-ins, see how they're going throughout the year, and let's get a lot of tape and film. And I think you know, AJ, if you watch that Yukon game, the first half, he was just having like a disaster performance, almost brought him back by himself. He was dominant in the second half. So that was one of those, like, hey, it was a bad game. And if you watch that, you're like, oh my gosh, this is the bad game. So it's gonna be really, really interesting. You know, I I I really think if you land a top three pick, you you can't lose with any of these guys. I think they all um high upside, high floor guys that really could make an impact early.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah. You you keep saying top three, and really I kind of see it with top five a little bit when I look at it. I feel like this class is just stacked. I I it it almost feels like we haven't had a class that's been this good in a couple years, where if you get a lottery pick, you have guys that can immediately fit into a system that either start or they're coming off the bench, they're giving you valuable production. Uh, if you know, in the lottery top 14 guys, and especially top five. Um, the Louisville point guard, I'm not sure how to pronounce his name, uh, Mikhail Brown. I believe. I believe he he's looked good, and that's a point guard. Wizards kind of need a point guard right now. If you get that fourth or fifth pick, that still feels like you're winning and you got a starting point guard in Washington, DC.
SPEAKER_04I I think you know, I think this is a top five class. Now, I I know everyone wants to say, hey, the big three and whatnot, but if you watch those other two guys, Caleb Wilson of North Carolina and and Michael Brown of Louisville, like he those are potential superstars too. Like those guys have crazy fun upside. Michael's, you know, I saw him gosh, almost like a year ago at Nike Hoops on a little less than that. But around then he was around 6'3, he was thin, and then he he had a gross burt to get to 6'5. He had an incredible summer with FIBA with Team USA, and he was just dominant. Now all of a sudden, he's just he's like, Oh gosh, I got this extra height and could pull it from another zip code. So when it comes to the Wizards, be a dream fit to get a player like Michael Brown, hard worker, legit franchise point guard that could really, you know, put things together. And then Caleb Wilson has been a bad man for North Carolina. So he has. There's a lot of people who are like, Hey, is this really a top three? Is Caleb Wilson in that conversation? It's like, well, if he keeps doing this all year, yes, it's gonna be a conversation. He he's he's a fun one. So it's hey, Wizards fans, if if you have the worst lottery luck ever, you might not be in a bad situation.
SPEAKER_03It's it's not like last season where if he fell out of the top three, it almost felt like, man, you really gotta draft for fit and you gotta hope they pan out a little bit. And it's still really early to determine how Trey Johnson's gonna be in the NBA, especially when he's playing behind a bunch of veterans, not getting the time other rookies are getting. But it feels like, you know, this top five for sure, like all these guys are starting caliber players on some rebuilding teams coming to the league. Like, you know, if Caleb Wilson goes to a Brooklyn, DC, Charlotte, Memphis, even, he probably, you know, ends up starting for him. Even a few of these other teams that players get drafted to, Nate Ahmitt over at Tennessee, he's also looked solid. Koa Pete, he's looked really solid as well. It's just this this draft class is so stacked. Where if the Wizards fall out of this top three, let's say they get pick six again, it's not like it's the end of the world this year.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, you get a lot of options. Go go ahead, Henry. Come on. I mean, it was just an assassination.
SPEAKER_05It was brutal. It was it really like it was it was almost it was so much worse when the Mavs got number one than when the Wizards got number six almost. Um and I I I've been writing a lot about like trying to avoid drafting for just strictly for need, just because that's how teams get in trouble. And there's two teams, the kind of teams that do that. The teams that like the Warriors in 2020 or the Hawks in 2024 who just sort of end up there um on like a down year or a weird uh draft luck year, or teams like the Wizards who have been stuck in the mud so long that sometimes you start to itch for that point guard. And if you're the Wizards, how how how much how tempting is it for them to reach in this thing, or do you think they should not force it in the draft, finding that guy or find them elsewhere?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, it's it's tough. I think especially when you're always picking, you know, potentially top five. I I'm just a big trust your board, go best player available. Um, if you draft for need, you're gonna run into trouble. Like that's just a big belief of mine. And I think when you also try to steer away from like, hey, well, we're we're kind of putting it together the right way from our previous philosophy, but what if we try to go need a little bit? It's like, well, then if you strike out there, you might have missed a better talent or someone on your board. So I think you look, I trust the Wizards front office. I think they've done a fantastic job, not only with just the draft, but I think they've done a great job of getting like all these future assets, these future draft capital where they can kind of maneuver and get some players. I know Bub's had a rough year this year. I I'm not worried about Bub. I think we see a lot of guys that have either the the slow rookie year, like SAR, maybe, and then the fantastic sophomore leap, or you see the other way where it's like, oh, they had some early rookie success and then they kind of come back a little bit, then maybe year three, you bounce back. So I think with if they're up there, you got a draft best player available. You figure it all out after a while, but just keep getting talent, keep getting the the highest upside guys. And this one's different because you you might be getting your superstar, and then everybody else, it's gonna make their lives easier. So that's what I think they will trust their board and and just go best player available. But yeah, I get the the need for a point guard, I get it, but you also want to get the right one, you don't want to try to make it or force it because it's a tough position, and you need to need someone that's patient because that's a really tough position to learn.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and you you keep mentioning point guard, and we mention it too because you know, Bub Carrington down year. They don't really have a starting point guard. They have CJ filling in that role, Keyshawn George running that point forward a little bit, even though it looks a little bit clunky at times. Uh, and then Bub Carrington coming off the bench, rarely ever starting now for them. But middle of this draft, I see in a ton of mock drafts. It's a ton of, you know, one guard and two guards they're going. I'm looking at it right now. You have Darius over at Arkansas, who I'm really high on this year. You also have the Alabama point guard, uh, who I think you were talking about as well. Malik Thomas, Caden Boozer, a bunch of guards going in the middle of the pack. I was wondering if any of these guys that you see are like they're lottery guys, it's just they're going under the radar because of how you know stacked this draft class is a little bit that the Wizards could potentially use these assets and trade up into the middle of the first round for.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I think I think that's why you get those assets, is because now you can maneuver a little bit. You know, that's what you know, Washington did a great job. I thought, like, I know Wizards fans might be like, why did we trade Denny? But it's like, well, that was a good move to go get another swing with getting Bub Carrington. I still feel great about Bub. So now they got all those second-round picks, you got some future assets you can throw around and you can maneuver a little bit. Um, LeBaron Phylon is going to be a really talented player in this class. I, you know, just had a huge game against Illinois. Um, lot of lot of upside, really, really fun upside. So that's a if you could maybe get one of those top five guys and then pair LeBaron, that's a heck of a haul. Um, and then there's you know, Darius Acuff's been really impressive. Uh, I I think he's gonna be a name that just keeps creeping up and keeps making some noise because he's been solid for Arkansas. And then you mentioned a lot of names. There's a lot of names. There's also some guys that have some really good upside that have just a little slow start to the year, like a Braden Burries at Arizona, where it's like, hey, let's let's give him a couple months, see how he he figures it out. But a lot of talent, a lot, a lot of really good depth in the backcourt, you know, the wings. This is a fun, fun class, and you you get pretty crazy right now when you're like, gosh, this is deep. You're you know, making mock drafts in the 20s. You're like, ooh, we're having fun right now. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03I was just gonna say it almost feels like if some of these guys were in the draft this past year, they might be lottery picks. I feel like, and you know, you can argue with a wall if you added in Cam Boozer, Peterson, and DePonta, if they challenge for that first overall slot. I seriously think Cam Boozer could have challenged Cooper Flagg for that first overall spot if he was putting up these kinds of numbers last season, if he was in that same class as Flag. It's just this class is stacked. You go down the list, like a Dash Daniels probably could have gone top five last year. There's a bunch of players like that. You know, Darius could have gone in the lottery. Like I just see so many of these guys, it's like it's insanely stacked with talent. If you have a first-round pick, that's why I think getting multiple first-round picks in this class is gonna be important for any rebuilding team for the future.
SPEAKER_04Absolutely. I I think the trade deadline, especially this year, is gonna be really interesting because I think that's gonna be a really valuable asset for a lot of teams. And it's like, can you pry it away from somebody else that's trying to contend and just be like, hey, we don't care if it's the 24th or 25th pick, just give us another one to throw around. So gonna be a fun year. Um, it's always, you know, now with the NIL and everything, it's like, well, next year's class is a little bit weaker, so it's like, well, are some of these guys gonna look and be like, hey, I could stay one more year, maybe be a top 10 guy pretty easily? We'll we'll find out. But uh it's a really, really stacked class right now, and there's a lot of good mix of you know, freshmen that are making some noise earlier than expected, and some good returners that are taking that next step.
SPEAKER_05You talked about depth earlier. Um, and the Wizards, I believe they have nine first round guys in their team from the last three drafts. Um, when you're looking at the people who would best fit on the Wizards, um are you factoring in that this is a team that's really young? And would this prospect work on this team that's already super young, or are you not worried about at clogging the wing rotations or anything like that?
SPEAKER_04Uh you know, it it's always a it's fun when we're doing mock drafts because you always get a little bit of like, okay, some philosophy balance here. It's like, okay, you know, Washington right now is supposed to have one of like the last first round picks, I think. Um, and then they obviously they'll have like a top five one. So it's like, well, if you kind of almost when I'm trying to do it, I'm like, hey, okay, who I get here if I got, you know, Darren Peterson. It's like, okay, well, I'd like to add to the front court later, maybe we get like an intriguing guy. So sometimes a little bit, yeah, if it's a rebuilding team, mainly I'm trying to give me talent. Just give me talent right away to kind of take it all into consideration. And with a roster that has so many intriguing pieces, I think you can't really like ignore a position just because of like, well, we've drafted two guys that are forwards, we can't draft another one. It's like, well, you also are waiting to see if one of those guys takes the next step. You're hoping everybody takes that next step in their development, and then you're just like, we're really cooking now, because hey, this game's not the old school, you know, there's a point guard, there's a shooting guard, there's now everyone's just like just get five on the court, we'll figure it out. But yeah, I think there's always a little bit of philosophy where it's like, okay, we got it, we got a you know, a backcourt early on. We got someone in that, and then hey, we need to get, you know, let's get Alex Sarr, someone alongside him to, you know, make life a little easier. Maybe we get a bigger body, you know. Like I I've joked in a mock draft, like, hey, JT Toppin at the end might be a fun piece for them. Just that's what I was thinking. Yeah. So I think a little bit you you try to you try not to draft for need in that span, but I early on, I'm always swinging, like just trust your board. But I think when you get to those later picks, you're like, okay, now like what what could the roster use? I know that might be need, but you know, what what could we help out with the younger guys to give them some more success? Sometimes I might like to get a little bit of an upperclassman later on because I'm like, let's get someone that's gonna bring the right mentality early on and be competitive and everything like that. So yeah, a little bit, yeah.
SPEAKER_05I get that. And Bryson, I can ask one more follow-up real quick. Um, I know some fans have have said that they don't want like the players like cannibalizing themselves because it's just an open, open minute hunt. And you mentioned the wizards are in the right place uh to get their pick back and get a good spot in the order, but you know, are they in a great place for putting the players in a in a young position? When you look at the wizards, do you see like a situation that will actually help them get better at their skill set, or do you see them just sort of missing that big dog and looking sort of lost without him? Like some players, like are Bub and Trey really developing if they're just out there struggling without getting much plays written up for them, like that sort of thing.
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SPEAKER_04I you know it's tough because I I think the wizards are in a fantastic position. It's it's a lot what OKC did. And it's like, you're gonna play, you're gonna get reps. You if you have mistakes, we're still gonna throw you back out there. And a lot of a lot of these teams that want to rebuild will have ownership eventually be like, okay, like can we speed this up? And then you start to see, oh, guys might get traded a little early without hitting their development. And I think it's also just like, hey, like if guys struggle early on, you know, say let's just say for Bub, like, okay, Bub had a great rookie year, he's probably feeling good coming into his sophomore year, and then now he's hitting a little bit of adversity. It's like, okay, well, that could be development. Like, we're gonna you gotta bat you gotta battle through it and realize you still got a lot of work to do with your game. So I think young teams giving these guys reps, like you see with Alex Sarr now, like, oh my gosh, but that's because they just let him play and learn and get reps early on and Um, when he was a prospect, I was like, someone's got to drop Sar and just play him. Like, don't stick him on the bench, don't play him 10 minutes a night. Like, get him reps, let him learn. And I think that's a valuable thing for a team like the Wizards. OKC did a great job of it. And then all of a sudden you see everyone's developmental leap kind of comes in at the same time, and you're like, whoa, look at this. So I think that's the big sell for the or the big buy, I guess, for Wizards fans is if you get one of these superstar prospects, it's gonna make life easier for everybody else because now you have the the guy they can lean on, and everyone else's game is gonna go up a little bit.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, you brought up OKC and they did the rebuild well. They succeeded at that. Sam Presti, everyone thought he should have lost his job after trading Russ and Paul George, and now they're still seeing dividends from that Paul George trade for another potential lottery pick this year from the Clippers that is currently sitting, I think, at like six best odds for Frost overall, which is madness. Madness. It's a dynasty forming over there.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, and they have the jazz unprotected pick.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, it's protected, top eight.
SPEAKER_05Top eight, top eight.
SPEAKER_03And Philly and uh Houston, it's insane. But everyone forgets that this front office, this coaching staff right now in Washington, came over from OKC during that rebuilding time. And so I think fans got to have faith that Dawkins and this front office are going to draft the right guys during a rebuild to give them time and let them develop because that's what he learned to do under arguably the best general manager in all of sports right now. You know, he learned what to do right over there with them. And I just personally, as someone that's not a fan, I just you know I cover the team, I'm a journalist for the team. I I have faith in this front office that they're going to get out of this rebuild in you know two seasons or so.
SPEAKER_04I I completely agree. I mean, and that's why I like everyone that knows ceilings, myself, that's why we like doing the draft because you also get to watch a team like the Wizards or or these young teams that are are in their rebuild, and you get to be like, okay, what's what's the direction they're going in? And we get to kind of see it a year-by-year basis, and you're like you start to see the pieces come together, and you're like, all right, they're they got something, they're not far. You know, like Portland, um, Washington and Portland have been teams that I've just loved watching the last couple of years because you know, obviously, Portland with getting Mike Schmitz, and every draft fan will understand that, but it's just watching that mentality of like, what are you trying to build? What is the vision here each year? And you start to see what they're doing with that front office, and you know, not only drafting, but getting the right guys, getting the vets in that can sprinkle their magic to work with these young pieces, and just you know, I hate using this phrase, but one of our guys does it in the ceiling, he's like, have an adult in the room. So it's like, well, these young guys need someone like CJ. I thought was a great addition because it's like, hey, I think I think he's great for Trey Johnson. Yeah, he's he's great for just hey, it's the perfect mentality, the perfect mentor. And some of those guys might not buy into being like, okay, I'll take all these rooks, but it's like you get they get to watch what he's doing every day, so it's it's a lot of that good stuff that they're doing where it's like, let's just get the vets in, let's do this, and you get some future assets. So I think it's it's frustrating because there's so much talent coming in for this Wizards team, and fans are like, Come on, when's it coming together? But it's like, just be patient because when it does come together, it's gonna come quick and it's gonna be really fun. And then you want to build a contender for years, you don't want to build one for one year. You want to be like, hey, look at OKC now, and we're all like, oh my gosh, like they just won it and they're about to potentially have the first pick. You want to build something that's like, okay, we're gonna be a real powerhouse for years to come. And I think Washington needs a couple more drafts just to get lucky. Maybe you need one more, and then it's we're we're ready to roll.
SPEAKER_05Are there any, as someone who was here for the whole ride while the Wizards have gotten all these guys, is there anyone on the team who've been pleasantly surprised with how they've come along? Anyone who's proven you wrong in that sense?
SPEAKER_04Taishan, very, very bad man. He and it's not proven me wrong, it's faster than I expected. Faster. Yeah, much, much faster. But that's that's exactly what we're even talking about. Like, he got to play, got to get reps, then he got to spend a full offseason of like, I know what I need to work on now. And then at summer league, we were all kind of looking at each other, like, oh my gosh, like, look at this! Like one off season, and that's also the biggest thing, you know. I try to tell fans is like when you're a prospect, you're going to all these workouts, you're traveling left and right, teams are bringing you in, so you have this media frenzy, you're thrown right into summer league, like practices, learning playbook, then it's mini camp. Your head's spinning. You're rookie first five months of the season. That bit that first offseason is just like, whoo, okay, now I get to work. Like, let me take a deep breath and work on my game. And Hyshan, um, they got something there. Now I I I feel like that's gonna happen with Trey too with a full offseason. So that's why I'm like, just be patient. This is gonna get really fun, really quick for Wizards fans.
SPEAKER_03I I was trying to start the uh Keyshawn George in the three-point contest. Keyshawn. I always say I always say it's good. We're not gonna talk about it. I was I was trying to start that narrative after that Mavericks game. I was there. Uh, I asked him afterwards, he was shooting perfect from the corners up until I think game eight of the season, had him miss the corner three. He's shooting 45% from three right now on six attempts a game, which is like that's those are kind of insane numbers 50, 40, 70 splits right now. And I asked if he wanted to compete in the three-point contest, and he decided, like, why not? Let's go after it this season, right? And it's it's looking like he could, you know, be in that three-point contest. It's also looking like Alex Tsar, you mentioned him earlier. He could be an all-star. He I there aren't many other centers in the east right now that I think are playing better than him.
SPEAKER_04But that's that's you're getting two guys now taking that developmental leap at the same time, and then all of a sudden next year, what if you get another two? What if what if Bub has a bounce back here next year and then Trey Johnson takes that step? Then you get all of that coming together with you know a top five pick. You're like, folks, fun things are happening right now. So I they got a lot of talent on the roster. I know I've seen some Wizards fans even hyping up Cam Whitmore, and it's like that's the smart thing front offices do is like, hey, we always say, this guy's not working out, he's a second team guy. Where it's like, okay, someone go get him, buy low and and see if you can get him to buy in. And I think that's the the good thing with the Wizards. They're taking the all this talent in and they're being like, You got to buy in, buy into what we're trying to do, and we've got a place for you. If not, you know, it might be a rude awakening for you on the market. But it's I think they're doing a great job.
SPEAKER_03It's not just those guys either. I mean, someone that no one's really talked about either since he's come back is Black Livali. He's defensively, he looks great, and offensively, it looks like he's taken a little bit of a step as well. He's shooting 35% from three on the season right now. And last year, I think he shot 28% from three, one of his worst seasons he's had. Granted, he was still young of his second season in the league, but he took a massive step back. And then now this year, it looks like he's taking a step forward once again. And you know, he's averaging a solid, you know, 11 points a game. He's playing great defense, shooting the ball well, facilitating well. It's just kind of you know, injury history, it's not pleasant for him right now, and that's why some people are kind of hesitant to you know put much stock into him right now for the future. But from what I've seen from him so far as well, he's looked really solid.
SPEAKER_04I you know, I I think it's a copycat league. Whenever you ask around uh to scouts or people around the league, you know, it's it's always been the worst kept secret. It's like it's a copycat league. If a if a team installs a play that works really well, you'll see it two games later with with like three or four teams. It just is that's how quick. Yeah, exactly. So I I also think that comes to roster construction and vision. So, like what people are seeing the OKC, they're seeing the Pacers last year in the finals, and now everyone's going, We need depth, we need different rotations, we need guys we can throw all over. So that's the biggest sell right now for the for the Wizards. It's like just keep drafting depth, keep drafting guys that you know, hey, this guy doesn't have it tonight. All right, we'll be law's in. Or, you know, if you get Darren Peterson and Trey Johnson, just like get them out there, we'll figure it out. So they're building a roster of of really good talent, and I think that's what you want to do. You want to keep swinging, you want to keep getting these guys in that all of a sudden you look up and you're like, Keishon George, we hit Alexarr, we hit all right. There we go. We got the you know, small forward or whatever you want to say, and and the the big man. Then you just keep finding out what you got. So it's a it's a great they're doing a great job. I I know Wizards fans are eager, but they're doing a great job. I love what they're doing.
SPEAKER_03It's not even just you know getting guys in this first round, letting them play and getting deaf. People are looking at finding deaf in the second round. There's been a lot of second round hits lately. OKC's been has done that very well throughout their entire time with Aaron Wiggins, AJ Mitchell now, um Jay Will, who had a little bit of rough start to start the season. He's picked it up over there for them in OKC now as well. And then trading for guys over second round picks as well. Isaiah Joe, like they've done that very well. And the Wizards have a ton of second-round draft capital in the next few years. They have four second-round picks um this coming draft. They have four in 2027, a couple in 2028, a couple in 2029. Like they've stacked up these second round picks because hey, you can still find talent in the second round. Some people will drop down there because of an injury. They might drop down and people don't want to take that risk. Another team will, and they turn out to be great players, or they could just use those picks and trade up into the first round and go get more talent and see if they can hit on one of them, like they did with Keyshawn George.
SPEAKER_04I I think it's uh it's becoming even more important to get second round picks now because of the CBA, because of you know the two-day format now with the draft is I'm still figuring out if I like it or not. But um, obviously we love it at No Soon's because it's like, oh, another day we get to do it. But I I talked to a GM the first year and I was like, Do you like it? And he at first he was like, Yes, and then he's like, you know what? No, I don't. And he's like, Because I think if you if you have your board ready, if you know what to do, it should be pretty easy. But now everyone gets a chance to take a breath and regroup and everything. So he's like, it kind of balances the the playing field. But for a team like the Wizards, like, yeah, you you could find great value in the second round. And now with college, a lot of these guys are staying and working on their game. So it's like, well, you maybe might get a have more of a chance of getting someone that's ready to come in early and contribute because they're gonna be more NBA ready. So it's it's very underrated. I it's not the same as in the past when you look at the trade deadline and be like, oh, a second round pick, bummer. That's it. It's like, well, no, now it's getting valuable to get those. So um, yeah, they have so many picks.
SPEAKER_03I feel like well, they they drafted Jameer Watkins this past draft, and I'm really hot on him because of his defensibility. And it wouldn't surprise me if in 10 games we start to see him crack that rotation, and fans start to realize, like, oh, we gotta kind of got a steal in the second round here with Jameer.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I I mean you get that, and you know, I know you know Will Riley's gonna be one that takes a little bit of patience, but you that's the fun stuff you can do with a rebuilding team is like you can be like, Hey, this guy we know isn't probably not gonna be ready as a rookie, but we can get some confidence in him and be patient and reap the benefits of a year two, year three. So they're doing great because every draft they have multiple swings. You see the vision of we get the high upside, then we get one we can be patient that might be the developmental piece, then we get one that might be you know helping us a little earlier. So I I've loved the patience and you know the confidence they're building in these guys. And I know it's frustrating because it hasn't turned the win column right away, but it's they've got a plan, and I I think we're gonna see that plan come into you know, into action. Hopefully. Sure. I don't want to say this year because I know Wizards fans are like, well, can we just get the top three picks? So I don't want to be like, hey, all-star break, you guys are gonna start winning a bunch, but I I think it's gonna be uh only a matter of time before things are starting to click.
SPEAKER_05Sure. And um, you know, we're all trying to the draft is such a crapshoot. We're all trying to learn a bit more every year. Uh some of this stuff is just is just so tough. And I've been finding myself thinking a lot about uh backup digs recently, just because that's personally, that's the position that I feel like is the most hit or miss in my kind of evaluations. I feel like I don't know, so some of the stuff it's just it's just how do you know if it's gonna translate? And I want to ask you, is there any one archetype that you find you're sort of skittish with with actually predicting which factors translate over the NBA?
SPEAKER_04I would say point guard and bigs are always my Achilles heel. Um, because you're on you're on to something, Henry. Like the bigs are always tough. Um, I got taught a long time ago when I was trying to take this very serious at the moment. Well, it was like, hey, with bigs, they gotta have good hands, gotta have good feet. If you don't have them, you're not gonna survive in the NBA. So I'd always look at that with bigs. I'm always trying to be like, okay, who's got pillows for hands or or who can you know move their feet defensively or or be a monster in the post? But this year's class is gonna be a little challenging for bigs. Um, the depth is a little and you know, whenever we say that, it's just like the depth. If you're looking for a superstar big, it's okay, you might be in for rude awakening. Now, if you're looking for depth, there's always gonna be some fun ones, and there's some fun ones in this, like upperclassmen that are like, hey, it's not gonna be an all really could help us out, really could be a good piece. That's where I think if you're the Wizards and you're like that if they have that 30th pick or the end of the first round, that's a good spot, you know. And it that's gonna be really valuable too in the early second round picks if they if they get up. So it's gonna be a fun year to target one of those because then you can be like, hey, the Washington's moving up a bunch in the second. And it's like, well, they go, they're gonna find a big that that could really help. So I think bigs are always tough because it that's where it comes down to me of like your roster construction of like, okay, well, what type of big do you need? Um, teams want that floor spacing big all the time now, and I'm like the old school, like, just give me someone that's nasty inside that helps everybody else. So yeah, I I think the big man position is a little tough one because you have to also evaluate where the NBA is going in terms of like how they play and what these teams want. A little bit more fit dependent, I guess.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I don't know if I agree with it, but I got into a uh someone I remember the last last year Danny Wolf was the guy that I was like, oof, because there were some things that I just liked so much. But I got someone on Twitter was like responding to me at some point, just saying he should be the guy on the Wizards that's back up big. And I was like, I don't know, because I had the same thing. It's like, do you want I'd rather have like the nasty rebounder because we didn't know Star could rebound that well yet? But yeah, some of that stuff just uh hard to guess. That's that's my my expert opinion, hard to guess.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I I I think also that those come so down to like you'll you'll see you know the behind the scenes stuff of like the the scouts and everything will be talking to like the head coach and be like, what are you looking for in a big? And and you know, so that'll come down to the system, I think. And I think teams will be like, Hey, we we want a big that can we can you know run five out and he can make plays like Danny Wolf could. And it's like, well, not every team wants that. Someone might be like, I just want someone that could rebound, like, okay, we'll find that. So specialists, yeah. I think that one's just a tough one because I might like, you know, I love JT Toppin. He's just one of my guys where I'm like, I go get him because I just think he knows how to do his role, but he's gonna be higher on some people's boards, like on some team's board than the others. So I think the bigs for sure. That's a good one. It's gonna puzzle me for a while.
SPEAKER_03I just got one last thing, and it kind of goes into the the draft a little bit. Also talking about free agency as the wizard's gonna have, I think, nearly 90 million in cap space coming up. So it's it's a ton that they're going to have that they can spin. And there are some interesting names out there that they can fill for certain positions. And I didn't know if you thought if they let's say they take Peterson first overall, that's who they had first on their big board. If there's any forwards that they're gonna target, or if they take Boozer first overall, if there's any kind of point guards that they try to target in free agency, if you've kept up with that at all.
SPEAKER_04Oh, I'm pulling a list up. You guys got me too intrigued now. I'm always looking for an excuse to focus on NBA stuff. Um, is there anyone you are like here's there's one.
SPEAKER_03Oh, go ahead, go ahead, go ahead. There's there's one. I'm not the biggest fan of his game, but it makes sense to bring in the DC, and it's Austin Reeves.
unknownOh, yeah.
SPEAKER_03I I just I'm not a fan. I'm I'm not a fan.
SPEAKER_04Come on, get with the times, man. He's here. Here's the tough thing with the rebuild is um a fan base, and I I get it because I you if a fan base will hear, oh my gosh, the cap space we have, and then you're like, Well, who are you gonna keep? It's like you gotta take now you gotta start taking thinking about taking care of your guys too. So you gotta think about with Alexar, and you gotta think about you know, Keyshawn. So I'm always like, Well, hey, if you have that money, who's the young guys you could go get? Now, Re Reeves would be a great get just because of like, well, he could really help you out right away.
SPEAKER_03He's young, he could he could run the one guard spot, like it's but is it more valuable to get like two players for that price?
SPEAKER_04Or are you you know, so um, yeah, I'm gonna have to look into that specifically. Is there any front court guys you like? I like this. This is great, Bryce. I love this.
SPEAKER_03Uh man, it's really just Reeves. I've been looking at, yeah, and then unrestricted guys, uh, like a oh Walker Kessler. I'm really hungry. Kessler, he's one of my favorite young players in the league. Yep, I think he fits in with a ton of teams, but he's he's a restricted free agent, which is the rough you know, side of things where it would probably be easier to trade for him. But there are some interesting players that have player options that could be available. Uh, Trey Young, he's on a player option. You know, try to go after him. Um Chris Dops is unrestricted, he's a little bit older, but yeah, bring him home. Bring him back, bring him home. Oh, that'd be awesome. There's just there's a few names out there. John Collins is an interesting name as well. When I look at it, Jonathan Kuminga, he has that uh team option. Your boy. I love Kuminga. I I love him as well. Give him a chance.
SPEAKER_04I'm ready for him to get out of Golden State. But I I like the Walker Kessler. That's the that's the thinking, I think. Wizards front office, and I think you want to get that. You want to get the young guy like that.
SPEAKER_03He's a little bit cheaper. He's I I think he's younger as well. And just being honest, I mean, Marvin Bagley being your backup center at the moment, you know, it's not the greatest in the world, especially now that he has uh injury issues, and then Vuk uh Vucevic, who's just he's he's struggling.
SPEAKER_04Not quite the defender you'd like him to be. No, no, but I mean if you if you say they went out and somehow get Walker Kessler and then you'd draft Darren Peterson, and you'd be looking at the roster like, whoa, things are kind of falling into place here a little bit. You get Walker Kessler and Saar. Saar now all of a sudden's got some reinforcement by him, another great defensive big, and then you get you know Darren, and oof, that would get fun in a hurry. So that's where I think you you use that cap space where you're like, let's get someone that's really gonna help be a missing piece of the puzzle.
SPEAKER_03You see that I'm looking at this list, and there's a ton of interesting names actually. Mitchell Robinson, Lou Dort, uh Zach Colin. Lou Dort Colin Sexton's sneaky one. Yeah. Oh, like a ton of interesting names I'm looking at over here.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, you'll start to build an identity now. And look, they're gonna be excited. That front office is gonna be like, now we're gonna start really pouring on the vision. So if all of a sudden they're getting, you know, a Colin Sexton or Walker Kessler's like, hey, look, look, they look like they're gonna buy in and be nasty defensively, or you're gonna try to get that mentality. So I think it's always like, hey, you you can chase those big names, but would you rather get the hungry young guys that are on the way up to kind of match your timeline? And it's also fun, too, because you're like, hey, well, they might bring a veteran in that's a strategic, like, you know, we want this guy around the locker room. We want, you know, we want to juice the the best ability of his game still while he's a little bit older. So I I have I'm not worried about this front office because of what you said, well, you guys have been saying, you know, like them coming from OKC, what they've done already. Um, I think they're gonna have a planet's gonna be fun to watch it, you know, develop.
SPEAKER_05Uh Tyler, if I could ask one more question. Of course. Are there any guys you're looking at towards the end of the first round, uh top of the second round kind of kind of range that Wizards fans should try to keep an early eye on as potential good role player swings down the line? Um you want bigs or anything? How about how about one big and one one one point guard? We already have enough wings.
SPEAKER_04I'll say um I just kind of like him a little bit more, and I think he could be either like a late first or early second round guy. I'll say Zuby Edge 4. He's really uh feisty. He's he's at St. John's, he's feisty, he's he plays it with his hair on fire. He'd just be a fun little like front court addition that really plays tough. Smart player, good. Um I think he'll be drafted as like a rotation specialist, but that'd be like a good. Oh, I'd like to get him with the wizards. Just get get that energy, get that madman on the court. He he's good, he's fun. Um a guard. Uh I think Darius A couple climbs. So um Ryan Conwell, maybe. Upperclassman at Louisville, he's playing along. I was about to ask you about him. Really smart player. He's like six four, he can play both backcourt positions, but he's really smart off the ball. He cuts, he can shoot it. He he's just one of those like knows how to play to his speed, um, makes the defense play to his level, and he's been really impressive. So I I love upperclassmen because I'm like they stayed, they got better, they worked on their game, they're they're ready to go. So I I think that's that's the kind of direction I think the Wizards could start looking at the end of the first round. It's like, well, now let's get a little bit of upperclassmen, someone that might be ready to help us early with this young nucleus we have going on.
SPEAKER_05So I don't yeah, I don't hate that at all because the wizards, there's something there. They're they're they're eighth in the league right now in three-point percentage, and they don't take a ton of them, but they have a lot of decent shooters, and with a little bit more passing, there's there's something here, so that's a good I'll try. I'll try to see some of those upperclassmen that's that's that's the key thing with this team.
SPEAKER_03No one like everyone's focusing on the negatives so much. There are some positives to take away that people aren't focusing on. You have Keyshawn and Alex Star who are looking like your dynamic duo right now, who can really form a great trio with whoever you take in the top three this upcoming draft. You have you know, bright spot there. The offense actually isn't bad when you look at their outside shots. Bub Carrington, he's shooting great from outside. I think he's shooting 44% from three. It's just anytime he goes inside for a mid-range or driving, he just barely makes it, which makes it seem worse. But he's shooting great from beyond uh from behind the arc right now. And the thing with the draft as well, we're so early into the college season. There are some guys that could climb that we aren't even talking about right now. Oh, for sure. And so, like, and I you know don't want to be biased since you know I'm Oklahoma State fan going to school there right now, but Victorious Miller, yeah, yeah, he's I think he's averaging what 24 a game right now, five and five. He looks decent defensively as well. He you know, if he keeps this up, especially conference play against you know, arguably the toughest basketball conference right now, he he could see himself rise into a late mid-second round if he keeps this kind of play up.
SPEAKER_04That's that's why we like the draft. Um, that's why we those ceilings were always like, hey, it takes a little bit of time to kind of figure it out because you know, we poured through hours and hours of film getting ready for the season. We make preseason draft guides, preseason big boards. There will be 20 guys that come out of nowhere. We're like, where do they come from? You know, Bub Carrington was like not even ranked, and all of a sudden triple double to start the year at Pittsburgh, and we were like, Who's this guy? So every year there's surprises, and it that's why it's like that opening month is like you're getting caught up on film and you're like, Who's this? Who's victorious Miller? He's on fire. Okay, and a lot of guys we're seeing, you know, are are really impressing early on and making some noise. And I think this year it's even more exciting because there's more names making noise than we were expecting.
SPEAKER_03Which Miller, Miller really surprised me because I've been focusing on Anthony Roy so much now that he's back because you know, leading scorer last year at NCAA, and you know, he put up that 30-point performance against Auburn in an exhibition match, was focusing on him and Coleman as well, Isaiah Coleman. And then Miller just came out of nowhere, dropping I think 20 something points his first game at Oklahoma State. And I was like, where'd this come from? Like, it's like uh there's gonna be a lot of guys like that, I feel like, in the draft that will end up going mid late second round, maybe even undrafted guys that turn into being decent role players that teams just took a chance on.
SPEAKER_04Second round's important now, and and it's not even just that, it's the two ways because you start finding guys that you're like, Oh, we got them in a two-way, and we found out quickly, you know, through summer league and everything that it might be a piece, you know. Uh Brooks Barnheiser with the Thunder. It's like, oh gosh, they found one. And it's so it's the second round's always funny too, because it's like we you see guys still on the board and they're like, Oh, this there's some stuff going on where they're trying to navigate to a certain spot, and it's just that's but that's another episode. So it's just this is a fun class. It could be really deep, it could be really juicy, also in the second round. I hope a lot of these guys just stay in because it will be a very fun, you know, two days of of draft talk. And I think for a team like the Wizards with so much capital, it's like gotta be foaming at the mouth right now of like just get us to this draft one more year, and this could really, really get cooking.
SPEAKER_05We appreciate you uh talking with us, Tyler. You've breathed some much needed life into the Wizards fan base right now. More than more than the moral of the story, guys.
SPEAKER_03Moral of the story, positive times are ahead. All right, yeah. Dark time, there's a light at the end of the tunnel, it might take a season or two, but this draft class is really gonna change things for the Wizards.
SPEAKER_04Just be patient. Just be patient. That's that's all you gotta do. Just just watch a couple of these prospects, and you'll be like, okay, all right.
SPEAKER_03I'll I'm if you need to turn off the wizards game and watch, you know, Duke play, Kansas play, BYU play. Yeah, follow Bryson's lead. Do that, do that, please. All right. You can only take so much watching a 30-point blowout and not pay attention to the prospects. Please take some time for yourself. But Tyler, thank you once again for coming on here. If you guys aren't already, follow Tyler, follow No Sealinx, they do some great stuff. They do. All right. Um, but that's an episode, baby. That's an episode. Any any final remarks before we call this good?
SPEAKER_04No, no. Thank you guys. Thanks for having me. This is awesome.
SPEAKER_03Of course. Thank you guys for listening as always, and uh, we'll see you in the next episode. Peace.