Final Grades Are In...

Bryson Akins and Henry Brown hop on to discuss some season grades for Wizards players, along with what the team can potentially do this offseason. 

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Henry's Twitter: https://x.com/henryjbr_sports

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome back to All Wizards Talking Podcast on the All Sports Talk Network. I'm one of your co-hosts, Bryce Nankins, joined alongside as always by Henry J. Brown. And we're in a we're in a boring part right now. Let's let's be clear. This is not a fun kind of time if your team's already eliminated from the playoffs and the offseason. You're kind of sludging through it. We're two weeks away from the draft lottery. We're like, it's it's boring. We get it. Which means we gotta get creative sometimes with some stuff that we write about. And uh our good friend Henry got really creative with one article, and it's it stirred up some drama on the timeline where he had to go out and kind of explain why he had these certain opinions and he wrote about the three most likely trade candidates for the Washington Wizards. And Henry, I'll let you go ahead and take it away. If we want to just go talk about the first two right here, if you want, that you have.

SPEAKER_01 0:54

Yeah, sure. There's not a whole lot of, I guess, obvious trade pieces. It's a young roster, they have a million guys who are still in the rookie deals. Um, but they are gonna have to run back the same team next year, basically, because there's almost no one hitting free agency. D Lo never really counted. He's going, there's a roster spot that's gonna open. And should they look to move on from Anthony Gill, that's a second spot. But that's even if they want to. So in case they don't, you know, want to make any tough decisions in terms of you know how the free agents are allocated this summer, I have some ideas for just some of the more fringier young guys who can uh be eligible. And I thought two of the more simple ones who we were all sort of considering were uh honestly two very similar players, uh Jaden Hardy and Cam Whitmore scores who can work on their own. They aren't the most, I guess, like dependable contributors, but they provide a spark that not a whole lot of players do. But given that they're two of the younger guys in the team, neither of which were drafted by the Wizards, they are both sort of on the more expendable side.

SPEAKER_00 1:51

Yeah, that's what it is. They're they're expendable. It's not like you draft for them and you're waiting to see them pan out. And you mention it, both Whitmore and Hardy are very similar players. Now, Whitmore is a more athletic freak who can go up and rock the rim. Hardy is more of a shooter, but what are they known to do? Be these offensive spark plugs that you want off the bench and go in and give you a quick 10 points if needed. That's what they come in and do, and it's kind of hard to justify having both of them on the team when you only need one of them.

SPEAKER_01 2:19

Yeah, and um, there's reason to believe that both could be not just, you know, not long for the ride here, but also have value elsewhere, uh, given that Jaden Hardy's contract, it's pretty nice. It's like six million each the next two seasons, assuming that um it's a very good contract. Washington would look to exercise their team option in two years, but next year he's on the books for another six million dollars. Uh, not much if the Wizards wanted to deal with that. And that's a nice little buy-low sort of move, even though he did have the very, very buy low.

SPEAKER_00 2:47

And it's a guy that you could trade, and it doesn't sound like a lot in the grand scheme of things, but it's a guy you can trade and get two second-round picks out of him.

SPEAKER_01 2:55

Something he has value, he has value, and that's that makes more sense. He played better towards the end of the season than Whitmore did, who of course couldn't play the end of the season. Blood clots sort of sidelined him, and that would be a much colder business kind of move, just to deal this guy who excited to come back home, plays like 20 odd games, ruled out before the new year even starts, hasn't played in like four or five months, and he had he had his little homecoming victory lap cut short and spent the whole season on the sideline. It was a major bummer, quiet, more subtler story on the wizard season. It's worth considering though, because he, alongside Balal, was drafted in the 23 class. They both have a team option coming up. Um, but again, should the Wizards not look to handle that? You know, that's another guy who has some draft intrigue and has talent just hasn't really quite put it together yet.

SPEAKER_00 3:45

It's it's definitely very interesting. And we know both of those players have the talent to be good rotation players, be good, you know, eighth guys off the bench, ninth guys off the bench, and give you solid minutes in the playoffs once you finally do make it there. We know they have that kind of talent and potential. It's just unfortunately having both of them on the squad, one of them is going to get, you know, um more of the spotlight than the other, just because, like we mentioned, they're very similar. They have different aspects of their offensive game that makes them stand out. But in the grand scheme of things, you have them because you want them to be these quick 10 points off the bench for you.

SPEAKER_01 4:20

Personally, I think Hardy's uh a bit better. Um, doesn't take quite as erratic shots. He's just a better, more efficient shooter, plain and simple. He's not, again, not the same athletic specimen that Whitmore is, but he's still physical and he's still willing to get downhill and he can finish some stuff down there. He's a strong burly guy, even though, again, he's like 6'3, he doesn't weigh like Whitmore's like 240 pounds or whatever. Like that guy's just a machine. Where I got in trouble was my third, probably wildest trade idea was that which it's worth consistent.

SPEAKER_00 4:47

I don't think it's wild. I don't think it's wild. Let me be before you say it, it makes sense why he would be on the trade block. But I'll go ahead and you explain it.

SPEAKER_01 4:56

It's it sounds sort of bad, but like I don't know. We've talked about it in other episodes, but if you think about you know the top prospects on the team, um, Saar, Keyshawn, Trey Johnson, Bulall sort of worked his way in there. Will Riley. Um, Bub Carrington has sort of not fallen through the cracks, but it's really hard to make up with this. This is more a story about how competitive it is among the Witches Young core than me saying that that Bub stinks. I'm not saying that. Because he still has a lot of value as an efficient shooter. He can work as like a combo offball sort of shooter next year in a fully healthy game.

SPEAKER_00 5:31

He was the team's best three-point shooter last season.

SPEAKER_01 5:33

Yeah. And it and you felt it. Like he hit like 40% of his threes. He took like a good amount, he was uh audacious um pulling up. That meant a lot to the team, just that he could sort of change his game between seasons. If even he didn't quite move in the direction we sort of envisioned where he definitely didn't get more physical, he uh cut his rim attempts in half, but he at least did commit to just being a really good shooter. But if you're looking at there's two other guys in his class, Keyshawn and Sar, both drafted in 24 alongside him. They're all gonna be up for extension at the same time, and there's less of a need for Bub compared to the other guys. He's not as young as uh Trey Johnson or Will Riley, uh, and they don't need as much guard play. So I was like, I don't know, it's worth monitoring. Maybe the Wizards, they've shocked us before, you know, they did trade for Trey Young and Anthony Davis. Maybe that they'll just say we love Bub, he's a fan favorite, we love putting his picture outside Capital One. But I don't know. Like he he's he's not he can help some other teams. Maybe they're like, I don't know, they maybe tight.

SPEAKER_00 6:27

It's intriguing to look at. It definitely is. I saw someone mention it the other day about how you could see a team like the Pistons go after him. That'll be interesting.

SPEAKER_01 6:38

Yeah, they the Pistons need could could use a guy who got him.

SPEAKER_00 6:41

They could use a guy like Bub, but that's the that's not like the entire point is like there are teams that could use them. It's more of like he might be the odd man out. And these rebuilds, with when you draft all these guys, you have so much young talent, so many guys that are rookie, second year, and third year players, there's gonna be a guy that's left out. There's just gonna be a guy that doesn't really fit in anymore, or he's gonna be asking for too much, and it doesn't really make sense for you to do it. And it just the signs are almost pointing it to where Bub is that guy that's kind of the odd man out.

SPEAKER_01 7:10

Yeah, and there's only so many teams that, you know, go down to the well this often and pick this many guys, and everyone makes it. It's just sometimes a team will just try to beat that hard decision into the punch and say, here's some business. Sorry, you know, we just don't think everyone's gonna work out, so you're just sort of saving yourself later down the line.

SPEAKER_00 7:27

And, you know, this is not like before people take it as like this is slight bub, this is shade to him whatsoever. It's not. We we know bub is a good player, he has potential, like we mentioned, he shot 40% from three uh this past season. Like he looked good, he could be a good, you know, kind of two guard off the bench because I don't think he's a one guard like some people think he is. I think he's more of a two-guard. Uh just and so, and then you can take a one guard in the draft. Like, let's say you fall to fifth, you can take a one guard in the draft. You could. If you truly want a one guard off the bench, even though I don't agree with the pick, you could go with Flemings, you could do that. I might tell Brown. My I but I do think that's a little bit of reach because of his injury concerns a little bit, but even like even Waggler, you could tell him, be like, hey, we want you to be the one, still shoot the ball a little bit, but it's just it's but that's also another point, is like if you do get the fifth overall pick, and let's say you take, for example, a cuff for Waggler, all right? I mean, that might just push Bub out.

SPEAKER_01 8:28

Yeah, and that's the thing. Like, we're accounting for the four or five other guys that are already in, like, the whatever we're considering the young core dividing line. Doesn't include whoever they're gonna draft. One more first-round guy, one more guy who's gonna be picking the top five, who's gonna demand minutes. Not and you know, whatever other second rounders work their way in, and the second rounders who are already on the team, who have already proven worthy of occasional minutes, and the vets. A lot of competition.

SPEAKER_00 8:51

It's just really tough for him, especially after this season. It's gonna be tough for him to get minutes. And it's not a matter of, oh, we don't think he's gonna work out. It's a matter of like, look, just you're now the 11th guy off the bench for us. We're going nine guys deep. Like, yeah, we we like you and all. You're a good, you know, you're a good player, you're a good leader, you're a good personality in the locker room as well. But if you can get some value out of him before he stops getting minutes after the season, makes sense to do it.

SPEAKER_01 9:20

Yeah, just worth just worth wondering. You know, not everyone is gonna be here for the long haul, so consider this our version of looking around and really trying to value each young piece in the eyes of the front office.

SPEAKER_00 9:31

Yeah, like we mentioned, this is not shade to him. This is before anyone tries to spin it as that, this is not shade whatsoever. Um, I do have something though that's kind of similar to your idea of trades. I did something for free agents yesterday that I want to run by you and see what you think. Because there are some there's some good free agent guards out in the market, because it looks like with D'Angelo Russell being, you know, he it's looking like he'll decline the player option. Let's be real. That that'll free up a roster space and an extra six million in cap space right there. And I think right now, if everyone took their player options, like the roster stayed the same how it is, all the options are kept. I think they would have 24 million in first apron space. D lo declines it, that turns into 30 million. Sweet. It's not it's not bad. You get some options, but not bad at all. I wrote a little list of guards because I'm gonna do forwards as well, and then center, so I'm gonna do my top five overall. All right. I'm curious. So, first guy I had on here, and this was before he went off last night, all right? Ayo Desunmu at five.

SPEAKER_01 10:41

It's not it's I I like the idea. I like the idea. He's not it's not a bad idea. He's not a starter, uh, but how about that for some additional scoring juice? Another guy who also is an old, get with the program, nice little bridge player when when you're becoming a playoff team. I get it.

SPEAKER_00 10:58

He's only 26. Only only 26. And you know, his defense could be a little bit better than that, something I mentioned but it's the fact that he's averaging 14.4 off a bench right now. It's not like you're gonna have to pay 35 million a year for him. Like it's not like you have to do that with some of these other options that you know some teams might not be able to keep with their restricted free agent status, like a Peyton Watson, for example, or Walker Kessler. Um, he's someone that you could probably get away with 15 million, you know, for the year, 15, 20 mil.

SPEAKER_01 11:27

Which he's probably he's probably better if he's not like one of the focal points of your team. If you just had him like pass break, shooting threes, um, that's better. So I guess that makes sense on this version of the Wizards where there's way more on ball options compared to like a few years ago.

SPEAKER_00 11:41

Yeah, it's just he he's one of the better guard options available out there. Now, I'm not saying he's your number one option. There's a reason he's fifth on the list. It's just because, you know, it it doesn't really like scheme and fit-wise, it makes it a little bit more tough where you have practically another Cam Whitmore and Jaden Hardy on the team. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:59

And yeah, honestly, yeah, less physical, better shooter. Um, and now playoff experience. That's valuable. That's that's worthy of mention.

SPEAKER_00 12:08

Another one that I had, this was fourth on my list, Anthony Simons. Hmm. He's gonna be available. Not horrible, once again, another kind of you know, offensive focused guard, very similar to what we've been talking about early on, why Cam Whitmore and Jaden Hardy would be on the trade block for the summer. But you are gonna have to fill up a roster spot. He's still not a bad option to fill it up for a year or two.

SPEAKER_01 12:34

Yeah, he's better than you know, some of the rotational guards. It's just a matter of like, can he and Treyon really play alongside each other? Because he'll have to play heavy minutes.

SPEAKER_00 12:41

He would. And so it's definitely interesting to see how it looks for him. I think he'd ask for a little bit more than AO. Yes, he probably would. And so, but that's why I have him fourth. But I do think overall he might be a little bit better of a player than Ayo, just the slight edge.

SPEAKER_01 13:01

He's probably just better shooter, uh, better on ball scorer, worse defender.

SPEAKER_00 13:06

Um, I guess there's more upside there. There, there is a little bit more upside. Number three that I had for these guards that are gonna be available. We talked, I talked about him a lot during the trade deadline about someone you know the Wizards could go out and get, you know, if they really wanted to go get someone. Colin Sexton. He's gonna be an unrestricted free agent. All right. He doesn't have an option or anything he has to pick up or decline. He's not bad. Uh in Chicago, he, you know, once he got traded Chicago, uh, he was averaging 17.5 points on 48, 41, 82 shooting splits. That's pretty good.

SPEAKER_01 13:42

Probably a better half-court score than uh Io is. Um, I just and uh we've argued about this before. I just don't think he's he's a good enough defender. I I just worry about how uh Sexton that's that's sort of the theme with some of these guys is you know, we're more worried about um how they're working, you know, a half-court scoring system. Um I guess.

SPEAKER_00 14:00

I do think he's a better defender than both uh Io and uh Simons. I do think that I'll give you I'll give you Simons. And so it's just that's why I had him there at three, is just because I think he's a little bit of a better defender, which is gonna naturally give him the edge.

SPEAKER_01 14:15

I think he's coasting off of that one clip when he was at uh Alabama when they were doing 3v5 and he was making like crazy faces while he's like rotating. That did such crazy that was like a decade ago, and that's still sort of carrying his defensive PR. But continue.

SPEAKER_00 14:27

I I still think he's a good, like when I say good, and you know, not someone that's gonna be a hole. You know, like he he can hold his own, is like what I'm trying to say with his defense. He can hold his own. Right. Number two, which this is kind of a pipe dream because he's had a resurgence and he's probably gonna ask for a good amount of money, is what my assumption. Quentin Grimes. Ooh.

SPEAKER_01 14:53

Interesting.

SPEAKER_00 14:54

I think a lot of people have forgotten he's gonna be a free agent.

SPEAKER_01 15:00

Okay, I'm trying to I'm trying to just imagine a fit because there's definitely I think I There's intrigue. There is intrigue there is what it is. Yeah, the question is like how does he look when there's like real roster competition? But there's a chance that he can be because he's sort of more diverse positionally than some of the other guys. Like he can he's he's not like a an everyday small forward, but I feel like he's more wingy than some of the other guys we've talked about. Um I like his defense, um, I like his jump shot. I can see it working.

SPEAKER_00 15:31

I like this idea. Well, something else that you could do as well is you could do a sign-in trade if you want. And it's really complicated. Yeah, because you could do Whitmore and Hardy in a sign-in trade for him.

SPEAKER_01 15:44

Yeah, that's the thing. If if if if uh grounds would be in Washington, you'd have to clear out some of that excess guard thing because he'd he'd probably expect to play pretty regular minutes. Like you're looking at him as a potential fifth starter slash sixth man if he were to make that trip.

SPEAKER_00 15:59

Yeah, and so, but it's intriguing because he has had a resurgence in Philadelphia.

SPEAKER_01 16:04

Yeah, this year not so much just because he sort of succumbed to other better options edgecomb, maxi.

SPEAKER_00 16:11

I mean, yeah, it was a little bit more clouded, but still not a bad guy to have on the bench. And he's someone where with his contract, you know, I could see it 25 million a year. I could see him going out there and trying to get something like that. You do that for two years, it fills up cap space for next season as well while you're waiting on because it'll be the last year of the Saur, George, and Bub rookie deals. You're still gonna need to fill up cap space there, anyways. It's not like it's gonna be enough where it takes away Balakula Bali's potential extension either. And so it works out financially, it makes sense for the kind of player he is as well. That's why I had him too. And there's one guy I have at one who this might be a little bit of a homer pick for me. Um, but I it does you you need to hear me out. It does make sense, though, when you look at what this team needs, it's defense. All right. I was waiting for this. I really was. I knew this was coming, I didn't know it would be number one. Um he's no he's number one because I got my bulletproof vest on, just hit me. He is a great 3nd player. He he is all right. He shot, I think, 40% from three this season, which a lot of people don't stand to realize. When they think of Lou Dort, some of them think he's a very inefficient shooter. He's not, he's not as bad of a shooter as people say, and love him or hate him, he is a good defender. He he is.

SPEAKER_01 17:33

I he's he's a good defender. Um, not as good as some people say. I don't buy his three ball, by the way. Um, he shot 34.4% from three this year. Um 35.

SPEAKER_00 17:45

Last season was his best season, 41%.

SPEAKER_01 17:48

He's more he's more of a d defensive guy than a than a pure 3nd, I think. Um, because teams really are letting him open, just daring him to beat teams with that moon ball. Um if you're on the wizards. Okay, I gotta be careful. So if you were on the wizards, he would try. I I would I would try to buy into it. Um I do not like some of the stuff that comes with Louis Dort, though. I I think he's just involved in too many traffic accidents. Um he would provide some real value on the front line, I suppose. He has a ring, that's sort of cool. Um but man, like I I mean, let's just call it what it is. Like this this is just a massive homer pick. He'd be here, assuming the Thunder. He'd be here for a season or two.

SPEAKER_00 18:30

And that's the thing with all these guys. Uh I should have mentioned at the beginning, they're all only gonna be here for a season or two.

SPEAKER_01 18:36

Yeah, I guess the idea. I mean, here's where I I he wouldn't demand the ball too much. Um he wouldn't.

SPEAKER_00 18:41

No, it's not like he's gonna demand, like, I think he's at this point now where even if he stayed in OKC next year, he's he might not even start for him.

SPEAKER_01 18:50

I mean, he shot 38.5% from the field this year. He's a crap finisher. Um, I I'd be interested. I would not be married to the idea. Like, that that is a dangerous dude.

SPEAKER_00 19:01

I think it's good because A, this team needs some defense. They need someone that's going to push them to become better on defense. Lou Dort's gonna do that. And you can call him dirty uh if you want to or not. Does he do some stuff from now and then that is a little bit dirty? Yes, I'm not gonna say no. Now and then every playoff series. Oh, come on now. Don't fall for the brick center posting every little clip because he needs to get his rent paid, so he posts the OKC clips. Don't fall for that.

SPEAKER_01 19:28

He no, he does too many things weird with his legs when he shoots. Like there's just too many, no one else trips players this often. Guys, Brooks does it, Dylan Brooks does it. Not like this.

SPEAKER_00 19:38

There's just yes, he does. Yes, he does. A ton of players. Yeah, but no one does it. Luca does it. Jaden McDaniel straight up shoves people all the time. But his clips don't blow up.

SPEAKER_01 19:49

That's ridiculous. I wish I wish some Thunder fans would just admit that Dort does it at a disproportionate rate. And also, no one ever says Dylan Brooks is a clean player. People say he's dirty, and people are like, yeah, but like you say Dort's dirty, and then there's always arguments when I don't know. Blah blah blah. I can see great argument. I can see some of the reasons why he would work in a in a situation like DC where there'd be more options to just take on the offense. Um, the Thunder, they lean a lot on Shea and some of the other guys who can actually handle the ball. Um, I would have to keep my trap shut and really watch what I say because I've seen some other immediate guys get in trouble before they talk about Dort in the past.

SPEAKER_00 20:24

Oh my goodness. Like uh yeah, what happened yesterday with freaking Tony Jones? Ooh, ooh, ooh, I'm gonna hold it in. I'll hold it in. I'll hold it in. Oh my goodness, you're so soft for blocking me for saying I think uh no, no one, I'm saying it! I don't care, I'm saying it, I do not care. Tony Jones, you are a soft little man, Charmin soft, to block me for saying, hey, I don't think it's professional as a journalist to say someone needs to run a fade on another player. All I said, and that's why you block me? That's why you block me. Oh, you you soft, you so soft.

SPEAKER_01 21:00

I made a mistake bringing this up, but you started it when you mentioned Dort as your top option. This was just doomed to fail.

SPEAKER_00 21:08

I it dude, you might like I said, you might not agree with it, but I think it does make sense. I in theory it does. That that's why and he's not gonna cost a lot, he's gonna cost 15 million. Like that's that's what his contract would be. It'd be 15 million for a year. You could do two years, 30 mil. Like I said, it's not like that's a ton, it's not like it's taken up a ton of space financially whatsoever. It makes sense. This team wants to be better defensively. Why not bring in a guy that's a first all uh team all defensive guy who has a championship who is known to play physical defense for better or worse? And like I said, I you know he does some stuff that is dirty from time to time. I wasn't denying that. He he does the Jokic thing that he did, absolutely dirty. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 21:56

I forgot about that. I still when I think of like dirty dort plays, I think of like Lucas stuff first. Cause he just spent a whole two-week series just hitting that guy over the head by with a two by four.

SPEAKER_00 22:05

Oh, now you're exaggerating. Now you're exaggerating. Like I said, you saw you you saw screenshots from Brick Center and when I watched the games. Oh, sure, you did. Sure. Sure. But like I said, he brings in, you know, physical defense, which it seems like teams are starting to adapt at more. All right. He'd be good to kind of pressure players like, look, you have to develop as a defender. And think about it in practice for some young guys learning how to get around a defensive player like Lou Dort.

SPEAKER_01 22:36

Yeah, no, I think he's he's a valuable role-playing defender. Um, and that's the point. You need point of attack defenders, um, just because, you know, if the guy at the top of the key gets by, everything starts to fall apart, and then you're just really hoping that SAR and AD can just clean up whatever's left. Um, he's not like a cornerstone defender because I think you know the off-ball defense is more important than his stuff at the top. But again, having that it's almost like having um like a nice running back who can just take advantage of like the blocking. Like he's not the reason why the offense is good, but he can be what puts it over the he's a fullback.

SPEAKER_00 23:09

Yes, that's what he is. He he's a fullback, he's not the guy that you're relying on for all this, but he's a guy that's gonna open stuff up for you. Yeah, that that's what it is, and that's why I would really like the you know fit in DC because, like I said, off the bench, it's good to have a guy like that off the bench for his defense. And if when he's on from three, he's on. You know, he was streaky this season, but like we mentioned last season, 41% from three. He has progressively gotten better at three every single season, besides this one. It was a one-off year. I'm looking at the numbers now. He did have two good three-point seasons before this. That's what I'm saying. Like, he has progressively gotten better. This season, it was a weird like one-off where he shot, you know, 35%. But Jesus, like, he couldn't even hit 39% from the field this season. Yeah, and that was and that was bad. I'm not denying it.

SPEAKER_01 23:58

Like, he does hit threes at really funny points, though. Like, he hit this one three in the finals. I was so confident it was gonna be a good one.

SPEAKER_00 24:04

I remember I I remember that one, yep. From like half court beginning of the second half game seven.

SPEAKER_01 24:11

Four feet behind the right wing, and it was the camera was right behind it, and I could have sworn it was gonna hit back rim and just boot out back to half court, and it went in, and that was really all she wrote for the Pacers.

SPEAKER_00 24:22

Yeah, but that like I said, I think it kind of makes sense when you look at what this team needs, and like I said, final thing, it's gonna help these young guys develop more and practice, especially in the offseason and beginning of the season when you were practicing a little bit more, learning how to get around a defender like that, how to beat a defender like that. I think it'd be really helpful for guys like Trey Johnson, Bub Carrington, Keyshawn, I think it'd help out a ton as well. Like these guys, I just think it'd be good for them to actually go up against a player like Dort every single day in practice.

SPEAKER_01 24:54

You're right, there's value to it. And should the Thunder opt out of it, and uh he comes to DC, this podcast will be electric just because there's gonna be so many debates and arguments over this. I can already see it.

SPEAKER_00 25:05

Well, there's there's another guy that they have to make a decision on and okay, see if they pick up the team option in Hartenstein, and that's a pretty big I think it's 27 million.

SPEAKER_01 25:14

Yeah. I see somewhere from 27 million. I'm not a Thunder fan, but I I would keep him.

SPEAKER_00 25:18

I I think what's happening, and just this is what I've heard, you know, through the mill, is they're gonna decline Dort and Kinrich and keep Hartenstein. Okay. And so that's that's what I heard because if you decline Hartenstein after the last two seasons you got, you might not be able to afford him.

SPEAKER_01 25:36

I like it.

SPEAKER_00 25:36

I like Hartenstein. But yeah, that's kind of my point. But we'll go into something else that we did a joint thing on over at SI. Some of our player grades. We got four in here, and they might and you know, I I'm gonna be honest, I think mine my grades are a little bit boring. I I'm just being honest about it. I think they're boring. Um, but we can go in and talk about them here if we want to start into it. I have the first guy up that we did, Alex Saur. All right. Saar was a fantastic player. He was. All right. This was a great season for him this season, kind of a breakout year where he had that horrid rookie season for shooting-wise. It was not great. It was a really bad rookie season from him, but this was one where it took the entire season for everyone to kind of not be so caught up on him shooting what, 39% from the field as a rookie, as a center.

SPEAKER_01 26:30

Boy, that was bad.

SPEAKER_00 26:31

It was it was it was bad. It took the entire season for people to forget about it, and now some people are actually viewing him as a key player to this team and one of the better defensive centers in the NBA as well.

SPEAKER_01 26:42

Yeah, if I could lump in a few concepts together at once, because he and Keyshawn both had sort of similar rookie seasons where they both had these big little sophomore leaps. Um they both came from different points of expectations, though. And they both um ladled a lot onto their respective plates to begin with. Because Sarah did say at the beginning that he cleaned up a shot diet. He warned us, all the members of the media, saying that like he was coming and he was less focused on doing those faders and uh more subtle threes. And even though he did sort of repeat- He was what? He was what he was what He did resort less to um just giving up and just shooting more threes at the end, even though he did at the end of the season let go of the rope a bit. He might have been injured, I don't know what happened, but the aggression did sort of wane, and we both dinged him for that. But I saw we actually gave him the same grade. I was sort of unsure what grade to give him. We both gave him a B plus just because he was working with such a deficit. It was just really hard to gauge. But again, he did end the season as both of them did. Sar and Keyshawn both ended the season as two of like the best prospects from the 24 class, and that is worth mentioning, especially after, again, the weird holes they were in, where Sark was pretty popular class matches. No doubt about it. Yeah, and Keyshawn was this guy who had like almost no clout to his name outside of DC fans who just saw what he did at the end of the season.

SPEAKER_00 28:05

And speaking of which, like we said, B plus versus Sarr, I think it makes sense because okay, well, A, he got injured quite a bit this season, and you know, we we say injured in quotation marks because some of them I feel like he could have played, but it makes sense he was your best player, could have won you a few games where all of a sudden instead of only dropping to five, you can drop all the way down to eighth. And so it made sense to keep him off, but because of that, I didn't want to give him an A minus. I ended up giving him a B plus because of that, but it really was a great season from him. Um, go to the next guy that we talked about, Keyshawn.

SPEAKER_01 28:40

Yeah, this is where I think you and I had some interesting thoughts on it about how differently to gauge these two seasons because you gave him an A, I gave him an A minus, and it I just had a hard time getting it through my mind to say that Keyshawn had a much better season than Saar. So I had a hard time giving them that much different grades.

SPEAKER_00 28:57

So that's where I think we kind of differ a little bit. I didn't do it based off of how they did this season. I especially for these younger guys, I was doing it based off of okay, how did they improve from last season? I think Keyshawn did have a kind of a bigger jump than Saar did. Um, and when I say jump, I mean we we knew Saar the defense was gonna be there. We knew if Saar the defense was gonna be there. It was a matter of, okay, can he change his shot diet a little bit? He mentioned at the beginning of the season he was gonna change it up, live a little bit more inside, and we saw it. Keyshawn, a lot of it was we want to just see him more confident. That's that's what it was. And we did see that with him where he was more confident. I mean, think about that first game or second game of the season against the Mavericks. 34 points out of Keyson George. No one really kind of predicted that. No one really predicted Keyshawn to have a 30-point game this season, and he almost had borderline a few more as well.

SPEAKER_01 29:56

Yeah, another guy who you would have liked to see maintain some of that steam through the end of the season. The aggression also sort of waned as the schedule rolled on. But again, if you compare it with his rookie season, he looked sort of like a veteran 3D guy just as a rookie. Like he was willing and ready to take and make big shots whenever the Wizards got rare chances to actually contend in games. Um, he was sturdy on defense, broad shoulders, uh, good awareness. And this season, I think I was most impressed with his ability to balance those defensive responsibilities with expanded offense. Where now he's he's also a three-level scorer. Yeah, he he could do it from all three levels. He could he could manage being like the lead perimeter scorer in a bunch of matchups. But again, like this is this is the lingering question of how well can the Wizards Young Corps handle the grind of a season.

SPEAKER_00 30:44

Yeah, and there was one comparison a lot of fans were making in the offseason leading up to the 2025-2026 season, which I was not in on whatsoever. I saw a lot of fans referring to him as like, oh, you could see him as like a Jada McDaniels or Jalen Williams type of player. A lot of people were making that comparison, and I just personally didn't see it. End of the season now, I do see it. I and I'm not saying he's going to be an all-NBA, all defensive player. That's not what I'm saying, but the archetype, I do see it now.

SPEAKER_01 31:19

Yeah, the archetype as just a bigger fella who can pass like that and just create plays. More talented, I think, than Jaden McDaniels, but the the Jalen Williams comparison is really interesting because that's another guy who I think Keyshawn has a better shot than uh uh Jalen Williams, but again, that all-around defensive playmaking, um long athlete profile is is the kind that these great teams either already have or are chasing. And that's far and away, probably the Wizard's best draft pick that they've made so far is Keyshawn.

SPEAKER_00 31:49

Yeah, it might I especially with value where they took him. It's probably the best pick that this uh front office has had so far uh during their time in DC the past three years. It's and we'll talk about Riley in another pod uh when we do do our grade for him. Him or Riley, and we still have time to see if Riley, one of them two are gonna be the best pick that they've made, just purely based off value.

SPEAKER_01 32:11

One of them two. Um, I personally I thought about this. I personally lean Keyshawn, not only because he was a later pick, but because he did more or less come out of nowhere. Like Riley was a bigger deal. He got a few more accolades in college, and he did have some not lottery buzz, but like just after the lottery sort of buzz, where I feel like I read nothing about Keyshawn. Some people claim that that he was always gonna be like a late 20s guy. I I didn't feel like he had really much buzz at all. And the fact that they traded for him like in that moment for uh Dahier from the Knicks, it just it caught so many Witchbirds fans by surprise that they just got this guy. And the fact that he showed so little of this in college outside of you know the three ball and the defense, that's it's it's one of the wilder development stories, if not the wildest, in that 24 draft class.

SPEAKER_00 32:55

Yep. Moving on to our next guy, where we differed a little bit as well, but Log Cool Bali. All right. I want you to go and take the lead on this for what you gave him as a grade and why.

SPEAKER_01 33:06

I think I'm looking at our grades. I gave him a slightly higher grade, I gave him a B. Um, because he, you know, a lot like Saar, even more so than Saar, was working from such a poor PR spot, or he was sort of like the overlooked man of the group. Few Wizards fans would have quickly admitted that he was a member of like the the innermost circle of the young core. He'd been here the longest, hadn't shown the same jumps that even like the younger guys had. But I think the way he closed the season goes beyond the doubters who might say, Oh, it's just March basketball, it's just April basketball, because the sort of night-to-night confidence that he demonstrated really shows that he's just willing to show that he's worth whatever money he might be offered this offseason.

SPEAKER_00 33:51

Which I think we've talked about is similar to a Denny or Corey Kespert deal.

SPEAKER_01 33:54

Yeah, yeah, you know, something manageable, but also, you know, the front office way of saying, like, we like his draft pick. We told you we'd give you the time to develop. And finally, a long last, he started shooting the three with less hesitance, um, attacking downhill more often, and using that athleticism just to his advantage. That that just meant a lot.

SPEAKER_00 34:14

I gave him a B minus. I just want to talk on the three real quick. Please. After the post-all-star break, he was shooting 38.7% from three-point range on I think like four attempts a game. That's really good. That's what we've been waiting to see from Balal Cool Bali. But that's also the reason I gave him a B minus is because it took until we had two months left in the season to see this from Balal. If he did this in, you know, like middle December, he probably gets a B plus from me if he starts showing it then. It also doesn't help he had to start the season with injuries and kept going back and forth with it. All right. It was just that first half of the season was just so rough that I can't get it out of my head for this grade, and that's why I had to give him a B minus.

SPEAKER_01 34:59

It definitely, like, you know, anything earlier would have been better just because he did take until the hardest part of the season actually meaningfully analyze. I did, in a weird way, sort of value that he picked then, though, just because he has no history of ever playing this deep into a season, and it did show maybe he does have a bit more durability in fight than some of us realized.

SPEAKER_00 35:18

You also mentioned um something in your piece uh about him with Trey Young. I just gotta find it. Uh, you said with natural line passer and Trey Young joined the squad, Cool Ballie was finally offered some semblance of structure. Uh the athletic finisher was exquisite in challenging the rim as an off-ball cutter. Uh, like I just think that's also gonna showcase what kind of player he is on offense to where, like, look, we just want you shooting like three threes a game, knock down one of them, we'll be fine. We can live with that. No big deal. We know you're not, you know, this lot, you know, knockdown three-point shooter. We know you're an athletic rim runner, run of the rim, go up for some lobs off the baseline, adding on Trey Young, who's probably the best lob passer in the NBA right now.

SPEAKER_01 36:01

That's gonna help out his game a ton. That's the thing. I also don't hold Bilal to the same faults as other people do just because it always sort of seemed like he was playing out of a role. Like he never seemed like he was gonna be like the go-to playoff guy. Like he needs that setup man to help him unlock the off-ball game. So once we finally got a taste of it, and it was what we imagined, that they did have that sort of connection where he could just be run his slant and and catch that dunk. It was beautiful, and that was a peek into a future of when Traylon plays more than five games in a day.

SPEAKER_00 36:32

I'm licking my lips thinking of like a starting five of Trey, Bilal, DeBonsa, Sarr, and uh Davis. I'm gonna make lips about it. I'm kind of licking my lips about it.

SPEAKER_01 36:44

I'm like, oh it's most of the top five guys I can feel like would slide beautifully into that sort of defensive first starting lineup. Like what a what a just what a gift. I know we're still two weeks out from when the Wizards will pick in the lottery. Um that's gonna be a really scary day. But I mean, again, just a massive any of those guys would just fit beautifully into a number of lineups.

SPEAKER_00 37:05

Oh yeah. I mean, it's just it'll look awesome. But I mean, below Kulabali, there's still a question in the air of is he a starter next season? Is he coming off the bench? I'm more so with the group that he comes off the bench. I think you have Keyshawn start over him right now. Yes, definitely. And so, but I can also see the case you can make for him starting, especially if they say, you know, let's say they draft uh they fall to fifth and they draft Waggler. I could also see the case for why he then starts over a Trey Johnson as well.

SPEAKER_01 37:35

Yeah, no, I because the the late season version of Bilal is someone who does have that two-way edge that a lot of other guys off the bench don't. However, you could also say that that's a reason to put Bilal on the bench just because that's a missing quantity that would really be appreciated. Someone who could generate deflections and turn defense and offense on the bench, a group that's mostly filled with score first guys, you know, that that little burst would be appreciated there too.

SPEAKER_00 38:01

Yeah. Now, going on to Trey Johnson, our last guy here for the day, we had the same grade. I gave him B minus, you gave him B minus. And I for my reason for the B minus, a lot of it was that slump he hit. He just post all-star break, and a lot of it was that injury. He hit that rookie wall, he hit that slump, and it was just really hard for him to break out of it. It was tough.

SPEAKER_01 38:26

I mean, it's like a crime that his season on basketball reference will be immortalized as under 42% from the field and 35.8% from three. Like he was just a better player than that. But this is the thing. Like, if you're not physical enough, it's just gonna be hard to maintain an 82-game sample size of elite shooting and rim challenging.

SPEAKER_00 38:46

Yeah, I mean, like, like I said, he looked he looked good during that time. He did it. It was just uh like I said, it was just frustrating to see that happen for him because of it. I mean, you mentioned it 35.8% from three. That's not who he was. He was a 40% three-point shooter uh before the all-star break.

SPEAKER_01 39:07

I think part of like it's not just that he's young or that he was like a top prospect. I think we what we know about Trey is that he's uh a determined enough worker and fighter. And he's he's spoken at length at multiple points around the season that he's just not satisfied with his present state as a player. Like he sees more of an all-around guy on the horizon, and he's still chasing um that finished version, and he will be for probably several more years until he hits his mid to late 20s. There's like a world where he is smart enough, determined enough to be a meaningful uh gap defender. Probably never gonna have the BMI to be that kind of dort figure who can just ruin everything at the point of attack. Um, but he's a positive passer, um, and he's of course a brilliant shooter. He has multiple level scoring intrigue, he can pull up for two, he has like decent touch around the rim whenever he charged there. He didn't do it a ton. Oh, yeah, and he didn't like do anything below the rim necessarily.

SPEAKER_00 40:03

His floater was a lot better than I thought it was gonna be.

SPEAKER_01 40:05

Floater, yeah. No, everything was smooth, everything was relaxed, and there's still so much more excitement to uh, I guess, to be enjoyed beyond the numbers that he's provided so far.

SPEAKER_00 40:16

Yeah, I mean, like I have his splits pulled up right here. Pre-all-star break, he was shooting 38.6% from distance. Pretty good for a rookie. I love to see that. And then post-all-star break, it was 29.7 from distance. The highest he shot in a month post-all-star break was March, and he shot 31%. That's not you don't love to see it. However, I do respect him trying to get out of the slump going headfirst and not in, you know, no longer shooting. I respect how he kept on shooting. It was like, it's gotta fall at some point. He knows he's a shooter, he knows what he is, and I respect the hell out of it for him going head first into it instead of most guys when they're young, when they get in a slump, they're gonna pass it up and just try to, you know, you know, stay out of the way a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 41:02

Yeah, I don't think any fans regret that pick, even though there are a few enticing guys who went a little bit later. I think everyone is still pretty happy with the journey, if not the end point.

SPEAKER_00 41:15

Yeah. First two months, I think he was shooting 42% from three. If my math's not wrong.

SPEAKER_01 41:21

Like that's that's really good. And they were, again, aggressive attempts. A guy who just knew I'm gonna be the best shooter even on this team with a bunch of other more proven guys, they can't do this.

unknown 41:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 41:31

Then he would like spot it from like 31 feet.

SPEAKER_00 41:33

It's just unfortunate that's how his season came out to be was the fact that and a lot of it post-all-star break was lingering injuries. That was a lot of it you could tell a little bit, and then once he played with Trey Young, you notice the games with Trey Young, he really stepped it up. He looked a lot better when he played alongside Trey Young, and that's what happened with a lot of guys because Young is an elevator for almost every single guy he plays with, and so that's why I'm not too worried about him. But because of that slump, I did have to give him a B minus. What does I I thought about giving him a C plus, but I was like, I feel like March.

SPEAKER_01 42:08

I couldn't do that. But what a what a talented rookie class. Like the amount of rookies who were already every time I watch a Spurs game, I see Dylan Harper, I get a bit sad because he I mean Coop was always gonna be like the white whale. The Wizards knew they lost when they that was the first thing we thought of. Um but Harper always just seemed like a beautiful fit in DC. And every time I see him, I just a part of me does still think what could have been.

SPEAKER_00 42:35

Oh wow. Sorry, Shom's notification.

SPEAKER_01 42:38

Oh yeah, Katie's gonna miss game four. Who would have thought? Well, that's the other the other part of uh Wizard Wizards fans looking at what could have been. That's the other half is get ready for more Reed Shepard, your favorite player.

SPEAKER_00 42:49

Oh my goodness, I hate that. He's been he's been horrible this play.

SPEAKER_01 42:53

I I feel bad for him. There was the play where LeBron was just hunting him out in the backcourt like a shark, and the star Reed Shepard started sort of panic, and he coughed up the ball immediately. It felt like the most predictable play of the game. It was one of several of the worst Rockets turnover you've ever seen towards the end of that.

SPEAKER_00 43:09

The thing with Reed is he's just not gonna ever have the frame to be a good defender. He's just not.

SPEAKER_01 43:15

He's one of the all-time weirdest prospects I've ever seen. His block and steal numbers and his three-point percentage on that kind of rate in college, unbelievable. He was like a 53% three-point shooter in college or something. And he was like one of the best deflectors in like NCAA. And he was he was one of the hardest guys to to understand where he was gonna go because a lot of the draft guys loved him because again, how can you pass up those numbers? But uh just that archetype of the of the little guy who becomes like a great defender, it's just not a common thing.

SPEAKER_00 43:47

No, and he's been horribly efficient efficiency wise, this playoffs.

SPEAKER_01 43:51

I mean every time I look, he has his like as many shot attempts as points. He takes so many threes, and I don't know why more don't go in.

SPEAKER_00 43:57

He hasn't his first playoff game. Uh for them this season. He went six of twenty from the field, five of fourteen from three. I just feel bad for the guy.

SPEAKER_01 44:08

Like a lot's getting asked of him in Houston, and it was a situation that you can only really beat if you're and then his minutes don't make sense either.

SPEAKER_00 44:16

Like he played 36 minutes to start game one, and then game two, he only played 11. And it's not like it was a blowout. He didn't get injured. Like it doesn't.

SPEAKER_01 44:26

Yeah, they didn't really know what to do with the rotation because that way game two was the only game KD played.

SPEAKER_00 44:29

But he played 46 minutes in game three. Like, it doesn't really make sense to me.

SPEAKER_01 44:33

I don't know what's happening in Houston. Uh, but that's a really interesting case of a team that drafts a young core themselves using top picks, better picks than the Wizards ever had. Because you think back to back to back to back. 21, Jalen Green, 22, Jabari Smith, 23, Amen, 24, Reed Shepard. All four of those guys are top four picks. And then at the end of game three, a game that they lost, they were up six with 30 seconds left. And you're watching Shen Gun, who's like sort of the godfather of that young core, even though he wasn't drafted as high as the rest of them, talking on the bench. Um, and they blew it. That young core guy is they just didn't get that star. They didn't get you know the other front man, like a Shea or a or a Victor Wembanyama that some of these other teams have, and Ant. And now they're just sort of stuck. Fans are saying blow it up. And of course, they are missing a few really good veteran role players like Fred and Big Steve.

SPEAKER_00 45:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:26

I just tough what could happen for the Wizards if they have the young core too much. It's why some fans are too scared to get on their hive horse just yet.

SPEAKER_00 45:33

That's why, that's why you don't do what that one guy said and said in three years the Rockets have built up a better young core than the Thunder. That's what we're talking about. That's what we're talking about.

SPEAKER_01 45:42

Like, Wizards fans are already starting to do that because there is a lot to be excited about in DC. There is, there is they could get good soon. But if you just come up short or get embarrassed, or God forbid, lose to LeBron and or the Lakers in the playoffs, then get ready for the internet to turn on you faster than anything.

SPEAKER_00 45:58

It's oh my goodness. But I I do feel bad for Reed a little bit. I do. Oh, you don't? I no, I do. I do. Alright, because you don't want to see a young player just like you know poop the bed like that.

SPEAKER_01 46:10

You know, and guards usually stink in their first couple seasons anyway.

SPEAKER_00 46:13

Yeah, scoot. You had to give Scoot some time.

SPEAKER_01 46:16

Oh, how how vindicated are we? Oh my goodness. But I'm just kidding. I diluted most of my scoot stock last year, but I still I think I had had a bit, you know, parting around my back part of my portfolio.

SPEAKER_00 46:32

Oh, wait, hold on. More from Shams here about KDE. I actually want to talk about this while we're on here, just like because he's he's from the DMV, and so like it'd be interesting to like just we'll talk. What are you seeing? Durant came in the Rockets facility this morning for his rehab with the team's medical staff and participated in film session and meeting with teammates. The bone bruise has created swelling, stiffness, and lack of mobility in the ankle, sources said.

SPEAKER_01 47:01

A sweep isn't I just can't believe that.

SPEAKER_00 47:05

Man, that series is done tonight. That's crazy that the Rockets are getting swept. If you told me the Lakers were the Lakers without Luca and Austin Reeves were sweeping the Rockets, I would have called you crazy.

SPEAKER_01 47:20

I mean, it really is so wild just to see how many other of the of the best players of uh it's crazy.

SPEAKER_00 47:25

We're seeing prime LeBron back, my king, my goat.

SPEAKER_01 47:28

Watching Jokic slip up this week, watching the Giannis just just disappear with the Bucs. He's just not in the playoffs anymore. Watching Embiid sort of vanish from from the NBA zeitgeist, and LeBron's still doing it. LeBron's still the guy who tweeted, um, you know, you know, LeBron's hitting 30, thank god this will end soon. That's like the halfway point in his career now. And his son's on the team. And his son outscored the Rockets bench the other day.

SPEAKER_00 47:56

That is crazy, and he took two shots. He took two shots and he outscored the Rockets bench.

SPEAKER_01 48:01

No, I don't know how I don't know how you can hate on this. What kind of man can hate on this?

SPEAKER_00 48:06

Ah, a horrible person. It's just inspirational. If if you're hating on LeBron, I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_01 48:12

Ten finals trips.

SPEAKER_00 48:14

If you hate if you're hating on LeBron, I'm calling SWAT on your house.

SPEAKER_01 48:19

Like, like we had to like Elon will never do this because Elon doesn't know crap about sports or how to manage a social media platform. But we gotta just really regulate who gets a blue check mark based on what they say after the series.

SPEAKER_00 48:33

Fair spares, yeah, fair.

SPEAKER_01 48:36

That's what I got. Let's see. I we did this, we recorded during Cavs Raptors, which was not my favorite series because I've never seen it. Oh, it's been boring. The Raptors are down seven with four minutes left.

SPEAKER_00 48:48

It's been a really boring series, like one that I don't really care about.

SPEAKER_01 48:53

I like a few guys on both teams, but it's funny. It seems like the Cavs sort of have a free walk to the conference finals, assuming they can, you know, handle Detroit or Orlando.

SPEAKER_00 49:04

Well, Detroit, I mean, down 2-1.

SPEAKER_01 49:06

One seed down right now? I did see, listen to this. 13 other teams, I think, 13 other one seeds have fallen down through one or two one before to start the first round. Ten of those 13 one seeds escaped the series. So this has happened before, and usually the better team does prevail. And it's just historically the last time Orlando and Detroit matched up, I believe, was in 03 or I think 03. It was uh do the wind horse meme.

SPEAKER_00 49:32

Do the wind horse meme.

SPEAKER_01 49:34

Yeah, that's that's the thing. Uh Doc Rivers was his first ever blown 3-1 lead, the first of many. Um, couldn't handle it. T Mac got in some real trouble. He said, uh, what do you say? He was like, it feels good to be in the second round. Um and then the Magic lost three straight. Detroit went to, I think, the conference finals, if not, I don't think they went to the finals yet.

SPEAKER_00 49:52

And uh tomorrow we could have some more teams win their series. I mean, we got Thunder Suns and we got Wolves Nuggets, and they're doing the uh NBA's doing their investigation for what happened last night. You could see Jokic get suspended for a game. That would just be such a sad end to the series.

SPEAKER_01 50:09

What a what a lame ending. Like we see we were talking about it.

SPEAKER_00 50:12

Yokich all fireworks, and then you just do that. We were talking about too, Jokic doesn't have that much long left either. I mean, he's 31, and we we know he's not gonna be here for a long time like some of these other players.

SPEAKER_01 50:24

No, he he basically he's been saying he's gonna retire like in his early 30s for years.

SPEAKER_00 50:29

Like we we could see him retire in two to three years, which is crazy to say.

SPEAKER_01 50:33

Yeah, just don't let it be after the series. Like, he can't end up.

SPEAKER_00 50:35

No, you can't retire on this note. You can't retire on this note where you're gonna go down having your worst playoff series of all time. This is this has just been bad from Jokic. And like, even like I I do feel bad for that because you don't want to see the worst players or worst, but your best players in the league have like the worst series ever, especially in the first round.

SPEAKER_01 51:00

The combination of Minnesota, OKC, Lakers, Sixers, like the different fan bases who have all combined to jump the Jokic fans right now has just been unreal. Like, I've never seen him get even a fraction of this kind of thing.

SPEAKER_00 51:15

This has just been a weird playoff series, man. Like the playoffs this year just have been so weird. Awesome. A plus great playoff. Hey, A plus weird. I I do feel bad. I mean, Dante DiVincenzo last night. I do feel bad about that. Yeah, have you noticed that every player in the playoffs that has torn their Achilles past two seasons has worn the number zero? Yeah, yeah. Who has zero on the Wizards? They gotta change that. Balol.

SPEAKER_01 51:43

Balol! No! Balol. What odds do you give? Because now the Wolves have to close it out without Ant. And I know they they they handled game four without him. How many games do you think it takes for them to actually win the series? Let's end on this.

SPEAKER_00 52:01

It it depends. It depends what the NBA does in their investigation, what their punishments are. So let's say, let's say I'm gonna do two scenarios. Let's say Nicola Jokic gets suspended. All right. They're done immediately. They're done. They're done. Uh no matter what, they are done. If Nicole Jokic isn't suspended, I think it'd take, you know, the Nuggets would win that game at home, make it 3-2, but I think Wolves close it out at home 4-2.

SPEAKER_01 52:28

I'm really wondering what the odds are that it that it ends up going 7 anyway. Because again, this is this is asking a lot of Randall.

SPEAKER_00 52:38

A lot from Julius Randall, the King of New York. That was a time. That was a time. Ooh. But that's an episode, baby. We did it. We did it. But thank you guys. Keep enjoying the playoffs. Yes, enjoy the playoffs because you know, wizards aren't in it. You gotta find a team to root for or play or whatever it may be. If you're still complaining about Denny, I suggest you just don't watch a Portland Trailbacers game. That one starts now, I think. I think so. I think it's about to start. I have a line on some of the games today as well. Oh dear God. You wanna hear it? You wanna hear it? Let's hear it. Alright, alright, I'm pulling it up right now. Um so they they call me Overman because I always take the overs. I never do the unders. I always take the overs. I got Luke Cornet over four and a half rebounds. Alright. Scoot Henderson over 21 PRA. Scoot's been balling. I'm I'm liking it for him. Keep riding it. I got yep, I got Derek White over 22 and a half PRA. I have a weird feeling from Derek White today. That's interesting. I have a weird feeling he's about to have a 15, 7, and 7 game. I just have this weird feeling.

SPEAKER_01 53:51

That would be great because he really needs it. Derek White is like my favorite player, and then this is happening right now. There's theories that Boston's gonna sell high, and it's scaring the crap out of me. I'd love to see another vintage Derek White game.

SPEAKER_00 54:04

I would love to see it. I have Sam Hauser over 11.5 points. That's gonna be a tricky one, but he's a marksman. That wouldn't surprise me if he hit five or six threes tonight. Makes sense. It wouldn't surprise me. Jabari Smith over 22 and a half points in rebounds. Okay. They need him tonight. They need him to show up. Yes. And then LeBron, vintage LeBron, over 23.5 points.

SPEAKER_01 54:30

Over 23 and a half is that's a good line.

SPEAKER_00 54:33

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 54:33

$10 to win, 760. I just at one point, I don't know where it's gonna be or if even it's gonna be on this podcast. I'm gonna do a draft one day of all of the different like LeBron teammates and determine right there who's going to heaven and who's going to hell. Just because it's so interesting seeing of the thousand teammates he's had, who has sold him up the river, and who has actually pulled their weight. And this team is full of guys who have pulled their weight. And it's so nice to see.

SPEAKER_00 54:59

Can we just send JR Smith to Purgatory then? Because like he helped out a ton in 2016, and then after that. I don't know what to do with JR.

SPEAKER_01 55:05

I I mean, I think unfortunately, when it's this kind of draft, that's the worst thing anyone's ever done, is what he did in 2018. So I'm unf I'm sorry, JR. I think that just has to be done right there. But Kenard and Smart are both ballot. I would have never guessed this problem.

SPEAKER_00 55:23

I would never guess this would have happened with them.

SPEAKER_01 55:25

Yeah, Gabe Vinson is is easily in the other direction. Um and uh I don't know, even Aiton and Hayes are making interesting cases for themselves right now. God, it's interesting. But nice to see. I've seen too many teams full of LeBron sell gods at once. I I I can I can enjoy this.

SPEAKER_00 55:41

We'll do it, we'll do it at some point. We'll do it. We'll do it at some point. That's an episode, though. Thank you guys for listening in as always, and we'll see you in the next one. Peace.