All Wizards Talk
The latest Washington Wizards news, analysis and more. Part of the All Sports Talk Network.
All Wizards Talk
Can AJ Dybantsa Meet Expectations?
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
AJ Dybantsa is one of the most talked-about rookies in decades, and with that comes some high expectations. Bryson Akins and Josh Valdez discuss what he can do, along with whether he can win Rookie of the Year.
---
All Wizards Talk is your go-to podcast for everything regarding the Washington Wizards. This show is hosted by beat writers Bryson Akins and Henry Brown of Wizards on SI, and Joshua Valdez of FanSided. They bring inside knowledge of the team, along with in-depth topics from press conferences and games.
Welcome back to another episode of All Wizards Talk Podcast on the All Sports Talk Network. I'm one of your co-hosts Bryson Aikens shown alongside as always by Josh Valdez. If you're watching on YouTube, go ahead, hit that subscribe button. You know, follow along with us on Apple Podcast as well. Today, talking about AJ DeBonsa, the Wonder Boy, the savior of this franchise is basically what people are deeming him now. Um, and the expectations that are just around him right now. A lot of hopes uh regarding Wizards fans that are thinking he's going to lead them um to the playoffs. That it's gonna be their first playoff appearance since what, Josh? 2021?
SPEAKER_012021, yeah.
SPEAKER_00During COVID. Yeah, it's it's been it's been a while. Um Wizards fans think AJ is gonna be this guy that gets them over the hump, getting him, you know, there, getting him to that spot where it's like, yeah, the Wizards are finally back on the map. But there are a lot of questions surrounding him and his rookie season that we kind of got to discuss before we get into the season. And the first off, Josh, how do you think he's gonna fit into this starting rotation, anyways, with all this talent that's going to be around him?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so I'm I'm kind of looking for him to be in line with kind of what Josh uh Robin from The Athletic was reporting, how you know he's gonna basically share the ball with Trey and Keyshawn, you know, as two two main ball handlers, but uh, you know, there probably some some other guys mixed in like Bub in there as well, like Bub and you know Will Riley as well, sorry. Um, but you know, I think that AJ needs to be a big piece of the Wizards um, you know, ascension this season, but he shouldn't be, you know, the number one option all the time, right? He's not gonna be what he wants at U where he let him usage rate in points per game. Um, but I think that he needs to be more like kind of like Khan was for Charlotte last season. Okay. Um I can kind of see. Yeah, well, I mean, it's kind of a benchmark. I was actually just writing an article about that. Obviously, there are different styles of player, but just in terms of the effect on the team, Khan had about a 22.3 uh percent usage rate. He was like tied for third on the Hornets of the Miles. Bridges, he was behind Brandon Miller and Wamelo, obviously. Um, but kind of like that, where you're like one of the one of the top three on the on the sheet, you know, like you're kind of like you're up there, but you're not necessarily the top dog right away.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, like you said, you know, not gonna be like the same kind of player where Khan is a big catch-and-shoot guy. That's where he really thrives. Whereas AJ, it's completely different. You know, he thrives with the ball in his hand driving, but like being the second, third option, not being the first option immediately, kind of like how you know Coop was down in Dallas where he got drafted. He was immediately like, yeah, he is the focal point. We understand we have Anthony Davis at the moment, but Coop, he's got to be the focal point. He's got to be this guy that's gonna lead the offense, be the first option. He's gonna be the point guard as well. AJ, he is just blessed in a situation where he doesn't have to come in and be the guy. Now, next you know, after the season or a season, you know, two more seasons from now, that's when you kind of want AJ to step up and be your first option, averaging 25 points a game. This season, though, there's not like he doesn't have that kind of pressure like some other players have. Like Cameron Boozer, for example. He's gonna have a ton of pressure on him to kind of be the offense now. He's basically the only offense Memphis has at the moment. Uh the Kings, Darius Acuff, he's gonna have to be a focal point. I understand they have DeMonta Sabonis at the moment, but odds are Sabonis, you know, is gonna be traded if the Kings actually do want to rebuild and center around Acuff as well. A lot of these rookies that were in the lottery, they just aren't in the situation that, you know, AJ or even Darren Peterson are in, where it's like, yeah, they can kind of take a backseat role and get used to uh the level of play in the NBA.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think it kind of goes back, like like you mentioned with Utah as well. These are teams that kind of with with the you know, with DC and Utah, these are teams that kind of built backwards in a sense, because a lot of teams will start off with the main guy they're gonna build around, like Detroit McCabe, for example, is one of those, you know. Um, a lot of teams will like get the guy first and then build around it. But uh these teams did it the the kind of the opposite way, just it's not necessarily that they intended to, which is kind of how it worked out. Some bad luck.
SPEAKER_00Let's let's you know, it's it's just bad luck.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, but but they still made do with what they had, so they're like, all right, we didn't get lucky at first, so let's just build backwards, right? You know, for example, like with the Spurs, they get all the luck in the world, you know, they get Wemby 2023, then they get the castle, the harp where it's like they they they build it up pretty well then in Wemby's third season, they're in the finals, right? So it isn't it's not that clean for everybody. But um this is a result of the wizards building a lot of you know, building a lot before AJ even got there. So now he can slot in and just be a piece that is a good player, hopefully, but not like you said, it's not gonna be like Cooper in Dallas right away or dare say cuff and sack.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, and I also think like you know, talking about his fit a little bit more as well, like we mentioned he doesn't have to be the first option, that's gonna help him out a ton. Um while he was in college, something that you know was questioned was his playmaking and defensive ability, those two things were the biggest question marks for him as a you know prospect. I think the playmaking you're getting to instantly see, you know, with the amount of talent that he already has around him, even when he's playing with the bench unit, he's gonna have Trey Johnson, Will Riley off the bench for him, helping out a little bit, DeAndre Ayton as well as his big man around some pick and roll action, which will help him get downhill even more. Where his assist numbers in college, I think he only averaged like four assists a game in college, where like at the pro level, you I think you could see him average like six assists in his rookie season, which is a pretty big increase. But that's mainly because, like we mentioned, the amount of talent he just has around him to set him up for success this season.
SPEAKER_01You know what's funny about that is if he were if he were to average six assists as a rookie, I think that would be pretty amazing just because he'd have to be on the ball like a decent amount for that, right? Whereas that I feel like you know, guys like Trey will pass to him if he's open on the outside, maybe, or where he can come in, you know what I mean? So it's like it's gonna be a balance kind of figuring out how much he wants to shoot versus how much he wants to defer, you know.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and it's also going to come down to how much is Trey Young gonna play off ball as well, and how well he uses the double big lineup of Anthony Davis and Alex Sarr. He's gonna love using them for pick and rolls, trying to get downhill to where eventually it's gonna be one point at some point where the help defender, he's gonna get off his man, take on AJ, gives a mismatch for Sard, A D, or maybe his defender cheats the screen and opens up one of those two guys for an easy little roll to the basket uh without him even truly near the screen. That's where I see him getting a lot of assist, is in those situations. I could see half his assist every game coming from those pick and roll situations alone.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and that's the thing. This team's gonna have so many options of how they want to run offensive sets and all that, right? Like we know that A B is gonna be a big piece of that whenever he's on the court, right? I mean, yeah, this is a guy who, you know, he's he's not gonna run the offense, but he's gonna finish a ton of plays for you. So that automatically is gonna put the ball in his hands at least a decent amount. Um, so you know, and then and then, like we already said, there's guys like Trey Young, you know, um, as well. So I think that it's a matter of AJ has the pressure on him to kind of figure out how he can best impact winning, right? And it's gonna be a lot different than a BYU. That's kind of his pressure.
SPEAKER_00At BYU, especially like start of February, that's when their team started to get a lot of injuries, and it came down to just strictly being AJ DeBonta on that team. Whereas like he had to carry them. Once Richie Saunders, for example, went down, who was, you know, some people had him late first, early second, he still ended up getting drafted, which really happy for him because he was great at BYU as a second option. Um, but once he went down, you can tell that BYU offense just it took a hit. AJ wasn't passing as much because he didn't have a true second option he could rely on, especially as a shooter. That's where like I'm really interested to see how he fits alongside Trey Johnson in some lineups, having another you know, catch-and-shoot guy that can really help him out there. Um, but like I said, that's the main reason I could see his playmaking actually be a lot better at the NBA level than at what we saw in college, just simply because, unlike at BYU, he finally has a lot of high-end talent and scoring options with the Wizards.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and the the other thing with this too is like part of part of why Khan was so good last season is because it's not just that he was a great shooter and everything, is that he showed that he was efficient and could impact winning right away. Like that team was what, six games above 500. It's not just that, oh, show me that you're talented and you can score with the ball in your hands. It's that does it impact winning? You know what I mean? And that that's the difference with like Cooper Flag was amazing, but it didn't impact winning because the team wasn't that good. So he could just kind of kind of spam the stats. And you know, it was very debatable who deserved rookie of the year, even though Cooper did amazing individual stuff. You know, Khan was really having great numbers on a winning team.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, the argument became, you know, like who was impacting winning. And you know, even though Khan wasn't, you know, the first option, and a lot of times he wasn't even the second option, he was the third option at times. The argument was was like, look at them, they're a playing team, they're a few games above 500. You know, so that's why some people voted for Khan over Coop simply because he just won more games. He had he impacted winning on the court a few more times.
SPEAKER_01And it wasn't close, like Dallas was at the bottom, and it's not Cooper's fault, but you know, it's just this is a Wizards team that if they're at the bottom next season, something went terribly wrong, right? They're not expected to be at the bottom.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, if they only win like 20, 25 games, something went really wrong this season.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. Like they should be seriously competing for a spot, uh, you know, around like eighth seed, ninth seed, you know, in that area in the east.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, the goal, the goal for them is of course get to the plane, and that's where you know AJ can definitely help them out a little bit. Where it's like the starting lineup, no matter who you choose as a last starter between Trey Johnson, Balal, or um Keyshawn George, one of those three guys, they've all proven with Trey Young that they can score. They've they've all proven that where their you know production does increase, and some of them can play off ball, like uh Keyshawn and Trey, they can play off ball. Uh Keyshawn can also play on ball as well if you need where it's like no matter who he's starting alongside, he's gonna have people that he can rely on, which is already gonna A increase what he can do fit-wise, and then B also increase the team's you know winning percentage.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and you know, it's also like okay, can you impact winning, but also like with with rookies, we know that you're gonna have like these bumps and valleys and stuff. How do you bounce back on it? Right? It's kind of a cliche. It's a big thing, yeah. But yeah, it's just like you know that AJ's gonna have some some not great games as a rookie. It's just it happens to every rookie. Every rookie does, yeah. Yeah, and it's like, okay, you know, you're doing this in an environment where you know these these young wizards past couple seasons, they had all the rope in the world to make mistakes. Now it's like it's not really like that anymore. Obviously, he's not gonna get like bench out of rotation, but you know, you you can start to see kind of you know, if if things kind of, you know, if he kind of hits a wall, like it could get a little a little shaky, you know. It's uh, you know, just testing his mental makeup from that respect. I don't I don't expect it to be a problem. He seems like you know, a really locked in kid, but you know, it's nothing can prepare you, you know, from just being in that situation when you know you're in the NBA your first season, and you know, some some games are it doesn't look that great. You know, how do you respond to that?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and so we've you know also brought up the averages a little bit, and that's the next thing I think we should talk about here is like what what exactly are we gonna see IG DeBont on his rookie year average? Because, like we mentioned, it's not like he's coming to a team and he's the instant first option. It's not like this is the start of the rebuild. He came on, he got drafted to a team that is officially leaving the rebuild phase where it's like, okay, let's learn how to win basketball games. And then after this, um, the 2027-2028 season is when we're really competing, where we're really competitive with you know, people. But this season, it's all about winning some games, uh learning how to win in close situations, how to battle through adversity, that sort of stuff. And so, AJ, like we mentioned AJ DeBonza, he's just not gonna get the looks that a Cameron Boozer or like a Darius Acuff is going to get. So, what do you think he's going to average with the Wizards this rookie season?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, point wise, um, you know, I'll go like at least 16, hopefully maybe 17. Um, you know, because AJ, right, like he's a scoring player, but he's also gonna play with a lot of guys that are gonna get shots, right? So I'm trying to tempt expectations. I don't think he's touching 20 as a rookie. Um, it's more about the efficiency for me than just like the raw points per game. Um that could that goes for in general, but especially for like for him, like you know, for example, Khan shot 47.5% looking at it from from the field last season. If he can be around 47% with like 16 points a game or 17, I think that's that's perfect. That's pretty good.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I was I was thinking, you know, 15, 16 is what I was thinking points wise, just because you know, like you mentioned, 20 points, I just feel like that's really hard for any rookie. Uh, you know, going into their first season. And especially this season, I just don't see any rookie from their class averaging 20 points per game and you know being qualified as well for uh awards. So I I kind of have them at like that 15-16 range, and I have them at like 45, 34 shooting splits, um which not horrible, not good, just kind of you know average, but it's kind of what you expect from a rookie is like you know, you know, average you're still learning, still learning the NBA level style of play where getting used to pace. Um you're gonna have some off nights just getting used to different matchups, different physicality. Uh, and then you're gonna have nights where you really show out and you score 30 points per game.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, that's the thing, right? It's like he's gonna have those crazy nights, but he's gonna have some not so great nights. So it's like I just want to see, you know, what your baseline is at the NBA because like that's something that you really gotta prove. I remember when I talked to him at the draft, he was like, I've been off the ball before. I played with uh Tyron Stokes at Prolific Prep, you know, uh he's played with guys off the ball at you know with Team USA. So it's like, you know, and the Wizards have also said like we're gonna share the ball and all that. So it's like, can you be successful in a completely different context than you had in college? Um, you know, you obviously he he you know he he does have some sharing the ball experience from before college, but it's like this is the NBA, right? So let's let's see how you do it at the highest level. Um that's that's kind of the main thing with this. And then if he does it well, then the numbers will reflect that. Like you said, if shoots 45 slash 34, it splits. I think that's more than enough.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, no, that's definitely more than enough. Just kind of you know, have have a good rookie season. That's that's the big thing where it's like don't average 13 points per game on you know, decent efficiency. I like to see him, like I said, 15-16 is where I have him. Uh high end, I have him at 18. I just feel like a lot has to go his way for him to average 18 points per game as a rookie. But I feel like 15-16 is that kind of you know good little range for him as uh first year in the league.
SPEAKER_01And that's the thing, it's like it just means that whatever's the best for the team, right? Because averaging more points isn't necessarily best for the team if if it's like taking too many shots or other guys aren't getting enough looks. Because I think the whole the whole point of this team is that there's different guys who could hurt you. So you don't want AJ or anybody else taking too much of the load because then you know you're not playing to your full uh capability as a team. So if yeah, I think where you have them is good because it's like, okay, it's the best balance between his own production and then the team.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Um, also think like rebounding assist-wise, like I said, with assist, I get you know, I see him at like six per game his rookie season, which I know a lot of people are gonna think that's kind of um insane to think he's gonna average that much as a rookie when you look at what he did in college. Like I mentioned, the big reason for that is because you look at who he was playing with in college. He was playing with one pro guy, then he got injured halfway through the season. Where it's like he didn't have a ton of offensive weapons around him to where now he does, where he can kick out a little bit more and he's gonna have more assist opportunities just naturally with some better shooters on his team, better, you know, uh big men to use for screens for picking rolls, picking pops, whatever it may be. So I see his assist numbers going up from what we saw in college at you know, around six a game and rebounds. I've met like 4.55. He's not gonna be like some insane, you know, uh board crasher by any means, but he's gonna get a few just every now and then, just being in the right spot right time. Someone his size, they're naturally just gonna get like four to five rebounds.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I'll I'll probably go with well uh around four each assist and rebounds. I think that um I'm a little bit lower on the assist total than you just because I think that um you know he's not gonna have like having the ball for six assists per game, that's that's like that would lead a lot of teams, you know. And I don't I'm not sure that he's gonna be. I I still think Trey Young will lead the team and assist, you know. I think so too.
SPEAKER_00I still think Trey's gonna get like, you know, 10 assists per game. I still think that. It's just you know, AJ, I feel like when we're talking about players that are gonna have the ball in their hands more, you know, more than others, I think he'll have the ball in his hands second most on the team. Trey will be first, then it'll be AJ second. Uh, I just think naturally, with the better weapons around him, you know, he'll kick out more often uh on on drives, especially because he's gonna drive, he's gonna force defenses to collapse, and he now has shooters out there around him in like Keyshawn George, Trey Johnson, uh Trey Young, Bub Carrington when he's sharing the floor with him, Justin Champagne, where like he has the options around him now for you know kicking, you know, driving kicks or uh screening options or just off ball work.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no, I I feel you. Um I think I think it's like you know, there's only so many, it depends on how much they score in general, right? There's only so many, so many assists to go around. So if you have a guy averaging 10, having another guy averaging six, that would that would be impressive. It means you have a great offense. Yeah, but it would it's just like you know, that's 16 assists per game between two guys, and then other guys have more. So, you know, that's the that would be that would just mean the Wizards offense would be fantastic, you know, and as a team. But you know, I I think it's just it's a matter of what, all right.
SPEAKER_00If he gets the league average, by the way, is 27 assists per game, and so that is you know 16 of the 27 between them. And like that, and you know, the goal is to at least be an average team where it's like, yeah, you know, this season, you at least gotta get you know league average and whatever they are for majority of stats. Like an assist is one of those. Trey Young naturally will already take their assist offs, but like I mentioned, I just think there's going to be more options around him to kick it out to where it's like it's not gonna be a BYU situation where for the last 15 games, he had to be the off option uh offense there. He had to score more, he had to shoot more. Whereas like here, he doesn't have to take 20 shots a game. He can take 10 shots a game, you know, get to the line four separate uh times, shoot eight free throws, and get his 16 points there while getting you know five to six assists that night.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you know, for sure. I think it was pointing in games where he gets six assists. I'm just saying, like for me, I would totally accept it if you have four assists and four rebounds or five rebounds, you know, because um it I'm just not expecting as much from him in the passing department as I am like shooting efficiently and getting to the line, like you said. Um you know, because to me it's more about like, okay, just get to the rim and then when you get there, either shoot or kick out. But just whatever the right decision is in that moment, you know. So um, you know, and I think it it's they're gonna have to learn each other, like how how much they want to share with each other and everything, you know, like he sean's gonna be on the ball a bit, like you said.
SPEAKER_00So, you know, um and part of this part of this just might be like what kind of player I envision him like becoming in three to four years. And it's just like when I watch him, I see a lot of like a potential Jason Tatum player at him. And like if you're gonna add Jason Tatum to your team, that already is going to make you a threat in your conference. Because, you know, like even though a lot of publications, you know, don't have Jason Tatum as a top ten player, when he plays, he's a top five player in the league, and I'll die on that hill for him. But this is not what we're really talking about this episode. But that's just the kind of player I see, you know, envision him becoming is a Jason Tatum kind of player where in his prime he's going to average like 27-7-7 a night.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Yeah, that's that's what I mean. It's like for me, it's just like starting off on the right foot, right? Uh you know, I'm sure that he could average those Tatum numbers, you know, down the line here, but we're just looking at next season, right? So I'm thinking, okay, be an efficient piece of a winning puzzle. You know, I think that's the best way I can say it. Where it's like he's blessed to not have to carry the load right away, like a lot of top, you know, number one picks do. But it's like I can live if you if you don't average six assists as long as you're you're passing the ball well when you do have it, right? Like don't turn the ball over too much. It's more about like it's all re relative to his usage and whatever opportunities he has, right? So if if you're averaging at least twice as many assists as turnovers as a rookie, I'm not I'm not beefing with that, you know.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, no, there's no no beef with that. It's like you don't want to be two assists and two turnovers. That's the thing. You don't want to you don't want to do that. Like, if you're gonna have two turnovers, at least have four assists, you know, whatever. Yeah, at least at least double your assist of whatever how many turnovers you have. Defensively, I think is you know another interesting thing to look at. Is you know, like we mentioned earlier, like that's a big, you know, that was one of his biggest critiques as a prospect. Is like the defense is not there, even though athletically and his size shows he should be a really good defender. And we kind of saw it in summer league where like The defensive, you know, mindset is there. I think it's a lot of learning how to use his size to generate deflections um out on the perimeter. And I think I think it's there. Now for his averages, do I think he's gonna average a steal and a block per game? No. I don't I just don't think so. And it's mainly because he's not gonna be your defensive anchor. Alexar and Anthony Davis are there for that reason. They are your defense. You're you're not letting anyone, you know, beat you inside. If they beat you outside, congrats, you had a great shooting night. But to do that, you're gonna have to shoot like 40% against us from distance inside, but you're not gonna shoot over 50% against us each night. That's kind of their mindset. So with AJ, I can see him averaging like you know just under a steal per game, just because I think naturally he's going to get a deflection or two every game. Just naturally with his size. It's just the blocks. I'm not expecting him to be any kind of rim protector whatsoever.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I I agree. I mean, it's because it's it's just not his game right now, you know, and it's it he does have the size where he could get better at that, but it again as a rookie in the NBA, I'm not expecting a guy who barely had stocks in college to all of a sudden become like a stock map, and you know, yeah.
SPEAKER_00And you know, but I keep bringing up his BYU days, but like that's you know the most that we have over him at the moment. Uh you know, at BYU, BYU is just not known to have your star put in a lot of effort on defense. It's kind of similar to how James Harden was in Houston, for example, where it's like, sure, like James Harden could play, you know, at least average defense, but it's like, why are we gonna have him waste you know energy and effort on that end when he could just score 45 for us? And be BYU kind of had the same philosophy for AJ. And then that's the thing.
SPEAKER_01We know in DC it's not gonna roll like that, right? So it's not gonna roll like that whatsoever. Like, because you're you're not like the number one scoring option every single minute, so you do have to play defense. Uh Trey Young is already the guy that you know we know that he's not. I mean, it's not that he doesn't want to necessarily just his size just makes it where it's a good thing. He's actually too small to play to play great defense, yeah. So, you know, AJ69, it's like so in DC, they're gonna say we need you to contribute. And to me, for defense, it's less it's less about the stats, to be honest. Um, it's just more like like how's the film look? Are you you know usually staying in staying in the middle of the street? Like it's how he actually looks.
SPEAKER_00Are you staying in front of your guy?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's a big thing. Are you not getting blown by? Are you are you making the hot the shots hard when he shoots, you know, when your man shoots?
SPEAKER_00What's your help defense look like? Like it's it's stuff like that. It's for defense, you can't really truly look at the stats. Now, there are some stats that can tell the story, like blocks, for example, like Alexar averaging two blocks a game. That's a sign that he's a good rim protector. You know, you can look at opponent's field goal percentage against him in the paint as well. That's another sign. He's a good rim protector. But steals, like you know, you could average two steals, but that doesn't mean that you, you know, were a good defender that game. Nicole Nicole Jokic one season averaged almost two steals. Is he a good perimeter defender?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no, I I was gonna say the same about uh Alan Iverson. Like he he got a lot of steals, but he was another small guard. It wasn't he wasn't like an amazing defender, you know. Um so yeah, it's like yeah, getting your steel your steel average up isn't always like you know the whole the whole deal with defense. It's to me, it's more like the effort thing, and he's that's another thing that I asked him about a couple of times, and he was like, Yeah, I'm like totally locked in with getting more effort. I know I didn't do it enough in BYU. So he's he's very aware of it, which is the first step, you know. And we know that you know in DC they're they've they've been trying to have this whole like you know, we our guys can guard anybody one through four or whatever, you know. Like they're they're they've been trying to have that, like we can guard any position that's I guess like the law is kind of the symbol of that, where you can guard one through four, you know. So if you can be like a little bit like the law in that respect, and that you're not gonna be as good of a defender right away, but just like have that kind of element where you're like we mentioned, don't get blown by.
SPEAKER_00Um, don't be don't be a liability, basically. At least be able to hold your own because you're not gonna he's not gonna get the yeah, you're guarding this team's number one. Yeah, he's not getting those assignments, he's guarding you know the third and fourth scoring options where it's like if you can hold your own against them, that's all we're asking.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and that's the thing, it's like okay, and you don't want him to expend a lot of energy on defense because like he's still an offensive player, but yeah, just more than he has, you know, he did in college, and have have some more balance to your game where you can develop into a legit two-way player eventually, you know, because I I do think he should become one eventually because the issue is a good thing.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, like I said, my vision is Jason Tatum, and that you know includes becoming a two-way player.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I mean, yeah, I mean Tatum can hold his own on defense, right? And you know, same with Jalen Brown, you know. So um those, you know, that that's how partially how they won a championship in Boston, right? So it's like that stuff does make a difference, and the like the whole two-way player thing can be a bit of a cliche sometimes too, but it does matter just because it's like you don't have to be equally as good on both ends, but you just have to be able to not hurt the team and occasionally make some some legit plays, you know, on both ends.
SPEAKER_00So now the final thing, we've talked about all this. Do you think he's gonna win rookie of the year?
SPEAKER_01I don't think so. Because um I think that it's gonna be a similar thing, like with Khan. You know, I think he'll be really good and he'll he'll he'll be a finalist for it. I think he'll be like one of the the top guys. But I just think it's it's gonna be hard for him to win when um you know he's not actually the first option. Yeah, he's he's just gonna have to share a lot, and that it's good for the team, but not good for his award capability.
SPEAKER_00If if he's gonna have a chance, and like this sounds really pessimistic of me to say this, the team needs to win 50 games and he has to average like 18 a night. Yeah, like and I'm just being honest because you know, it's the same situation for Darren Peterson. He's gonna be, you know, second third option for the Jazz, uh probably more often the third option. Um, and to win rookie of the year for him, the Jazz also have to win, you know, like 50 plus games, and he's gonna have to average 18 points a game. Where it's like, because we just saw it with Khan like averaging what he averaged, 18 a night? And they won't 45 games, I think.
SPEAKER_01Where it's like 44 games, and he also shot like 42% from three. It was really good.
SPEAKER_00Even even though they had a winning record and you know he was averaging 18 a night, it that you know it they still gave it to Coop just because his reduction was just so much better. Where it's like to truly you know have like the winning matter situation go into rookie of the year, you have to be a key player on that team, and you have to win like 50 plus games. And 50 plus games in this East right now, uh, for the Wizards, that's just really tough.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I don't think we're winning 50. I think someone like Cam uh Boozer will probably win because I have him or Acuff winning it.
SPEAKER_00I think it's one of those two. Yeah, I I I think Cam's just gonna be better than Acuff, you know. I think he's gonna be a stat pattern. Like, and I say stat pattern, not like in a bad way. I just think naturally he's gonna have you know a ton of rebounds just because he's an interior player. I think he's gonna average a smooth 15 to 17 a night, but I think that assist numbers, he's just such a good playmaker for his size. Assist numbers are gonna help him out and are like, oh my goodness, I power forward averaging five assists a game as a rookie. Let's give it to him.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, he's got so many different skills, whereas Acuff is gonna be like trying to score a lot, and you know, he'll he'll pass too. But um, I just think Cam is gonna have so much, you know, like so many good stats in so many different areas for the Grizzlies, and they don't have anyone else to like challenge him on that really.
SPEAKER_00Um I don't I don't think Caleb Wilson's necessarily like out of the race, but I think he's like out of everyone we mentioned. I think he's like the fifth option to kind of win rookie of the year, mainly because you know you still have Josh Giddy over there. Um Matas is going to demand a few touches as well, where it's like it's almost a similar situation, like you know, roll-wise, where he's not the bona fide first option. He's you know going to get second option time with a lot of third option time, where it's just his stats naturally aren't going to be as high as some other guys.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and it's like you know, the thing is like someone like like Caleb Wilson, like he could really challenge if he like goes crazy with the Bulls.
SPEAKER_00I mean, he it like he's he's already take over as like, yeah, I am the offense now. Like he would he'd have to really take over.
SPEAKER_01I I think a lot of it is like his jump shot. Like, if he like because this whole thing was like, yeah, they didn't have me shoot at UNC, but like I could and now you know it's not like he can't shoot, it's just that it wasn't his role, you know. So it's like if he really shows out in that respect and like and he's already crazy going to the rim, like he could probably challenge for it. But yeah, a lot of it is like your role versus like team success. Um, I think with rookie of the year specifically, it's one of the ones where they just don't count winning as much because like they don't expect rookies to drive winning, you know. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So and so yeah, it's just if you really want winning to impact it, which that's what a lot of it's gonna have to go down with AJ DeBons and even Darren Peterson bringing him up. Um now if they are if they're an all-star at the rookie year, they you know they better win rookie of the year then. It'd make no sense for an all-star not to win rookie of the year. But right, even then to be an all-star as a rookie, you still have to average like 20 plus a game.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's it's it's hard to be an all-star as a rookie.
SPEAKER_00It is Coop, Coop didn't even make it. Wimby didn't make it as a rookie, where it's like it's it's just really difficult to be an all-star player your rookie year. Um and so if winning isn't going to impact it as much, and you need to be an all-star, and if you're not an all-star, uh and you have winning impact, you have to win like 50 plus your rookie year.
SPEAKER_01You you just don't yeah, because it's not like MVP, you know, like it's just MVP is totally different, where it's like they that's more of a veteran thing. You should be winning with that, you know. Yeah. Where it's like, okay, it's your first year, you know, just go go out there, get your numbers. Whoever, whoever has the like the you know, the the best numbers has the you know, best highlights, coolest tape, rookie of the year. I mean, like Cooper Flag, he didn't, you know, he didn't contribute to winning, but he had an incredible individual season. And it's like as a rookie.
SPEAKER_00He had a great season, right?
SPEAKER_01As a rookie, it's like you can't ask for more than that. It's their first season. You know, they a lot of these guys barely even played college, right?
SPEAKER_00So it's like you know, now let's let's say you know AJ and Cam have similar stats where it's like it's almost you know, to the T they have the same stats, then you probably go based off winning out that. But yeah, it's just with Cam getting so many more touches, like you know, he's gonna come in there and he's probably going to be their first scoring option. I can't think of anyone that's going to challenge that in Memphis right now. Yeah, I mean they have uh Cedric Coward, but I don't think he'll be. But are you gonna prioritize him on offense over, you know, Cameron Boozer?
SPEAKER_01Right, probably not, yeah.
SPEAKER_00And so it's just it's just one of those things where I see him just getting more touches where naturally his stats will look better. Right. Um but like let's say their stats are eerily similar, then Edginabonsa has a chance, but it's just I don't I like I give that like a 25% chance right now.
SPEAKER_01Basically, I would consider it like this the fact that AJ you know has a tough road to rookie of the year is a good thing for the Wizards.
SPEAKER_00It's not what very good. That that means they have a good team built around him right now, where it's like if he came onto the Wizards last season, probably winning rookie of the year. That you're you that's your goal, have them win rookie of the year. But now it's like shoot, like give us like like I said, give us 16 a game. And like that's fine. Even if you don't win rookie of the year with that, that's fine. We are doing very well if you're giving us 16 a night.
SPEAKER_01And that's the thing, it's like, you know, most number one picks don't get to be on a team this way right away, you know? Yeah. So it's it it's a good situation for him and the team. Um, and you know, I I think most guys would would would pick uh win winning season over you know rookie of the year anyway.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, 100%. But that's all we got for this episode, guys. Thank you for tuning in, listening as always, and we'll catch you in the next one. Peace.