WEBVTT - What's Wright - Nick Wright reacts to NBA Draft, Cooper Flagg-Mavericks, Dylan Harper-Spurs, Ace Bailey falling? 0:00:01.920 --> 0:00:04.840 Welcome in What's Right with Nick Wright. This episode of 0:00:04.840 --> 0:00:06.560 What Dry with Nick Grid is brought to you by 0:00:07.080 --> 0:00:10.399 boost Mobile. This is episode three forty four. It is 0:00:10.440 --> 0:00:15.480 also our first ever live coverage of the NBA Draft episode, 0:00:16.160 --> 0:00:18.960 which is a fun little piece of this that we 0:00:19.000 --> 0:00:22.439 are doing here. I it's gonna be there's gonna be 0:00:22.480 --> 0:00:24.320 a lot of moving pieces. I don't know if I'm 0:00:24.320 --> 0:00:28.080 supposed to right now, I'm seeing what looks like an 0:00:28.120 --> 0:00:31.040 Excel spreadsheet at least in what my return is. I'm 0:00:31.080 --> 0:00:33.560 not sure if that's what our YouTube audience is seeing. 0:00:33.880 --> 0:00:38.080 That'd be fine if they are. And now I'm seeing 0:00:38.120 --> 0:00:40.480 our boost Mobile read that's fine too. We're gonna figure 0:00:40.479 --> 0:00:44.400 this out as we go along. But there we go. 0:00:44.440 --> 0:00:48.159 Now we're back. Like rate subscribe review. I have a 0:00:48.200 --> 0:00:51.000 couple rules about podcasting, and one of them is if 0:00:51.040 --> 0:00:54.560 I'm doing a podcast after six pm, I'm drinking while 0:00:54.600 --> 0:00:56.400 we're doing it. So I have a nice glass of 0:00:56.760 --> 0:00:59.760 uh what is this, Oh, a nice glass of Barolo 0:01:01.840 --> 0:01:04.360 Chill just right that I will be sipping on as 0:01:04.360 --> 0:01:08.280 we go through at least the first ten picks, probably 0:01:08.319 --> 0:01:11.840 the entirety of the lottery. And again, appreciate our friends 0:01:11.880 --> 0:01:16.400 at boost Mobile for getting this going for us, which 0:01:16.440 --> 0:01:19.880 is a really cool fun thing that we're able to do. 0:01:20.120 --> 0:01:23.080 And this is an odd draft in this not odd, 0:01:23.400 --> 0:01:26.280 but what is unique is there is no intrigue whatsoever 0:01:27.520 --> 0:01:29.679 about who the Dallas Mavericks are taking. They are on 0:01:29.720 --> 0:01:32.200 the clock, we know, and we can spend the first 0:01:32.240 --> 0:01:36.240 really ten minutes of today's show talking about what the 0:01:36.280 --> 0:01:39.399 first and second picks mean for the Mavericks and the 0:01:39.440 --> 0:01:43.800 Spurs because we know definitively who the first and second 0:01:43.880 --> 0:01:46.760 picks of this draft will be. Number one will be 0:01:47.200 --> 0:01:50.480 Cooper flag Number to the Dallas Mavericks, not even Nico 0:01:50.560 --> 0:01:54.320 Harrison's gonna screw that up. Number two will be Dylan 0:01:54.360 --> 0:01:57.640 Harper to the San Antonio Spurs. And then it gets interesting. 0:01:58.080 --> 0:02:03.360 Will Philadelphia take VJ Edge That's where my money would 0:02:03.360 --> 0:02:06.640 be at right now. Will they say we don't care 0:02:06.840 --> 0:02:09.960 that Ace Bailey doesn't want to come here, We're taking him. 0:02:10.280 --> 0:02:14.280 Will they actually use the number three pick as a 0:02:14.440 --> 0:02:18.760 carrot to get off the Paul George contract and kind 0:02:18.840 --> 0:02:22.400 of remake their team that way? The draft here starts 0:02:22.440 --> 0:02:25.280 at pick three, but everybody knows that. And with three 0:02:25.320 --> 0:02:27.359 and a half minutes left on the clock. The MAVs 0:02:27.360 --> 0:02:30.239 are clapping. Here's one interesting MAVs point I would like 0:02:30.320 --> 0:02:33.919 to make. If you have been watching the NBA news 0:02:33.960 --> 0:02:38.680 of late, the MAVs are losing a lot of assistant coaches, 0:02:38.919 --> 0:02:43.680 reportedly either not renewing contracts or not coming to a 0:02:43.800 --> 0:02:49.520 contract agreement. And I say that to say this, I 0:02:49.560 --> 0:02:53.520 am still I still have a few chips on the 0:02:53.600 --> 0:02:57.520 roulette table on the spot of Jason Kidd is going 0:02:57.600 --> 0:02:59.640 to be the coach of the Knicks next year. I 0:02:59.760 --> 0:03:04.400 still feel like that is a simmering potential story until 0:03:04.440 --> 0:03:08.359 the Knicks hire a new head coach, or until Jason 0:03:08.480 --> 0:03:12.519 Kidd gets what ima Udoka got after the Knicks tried 0:03:12.520 --> 0:03:16.280 to flirt with him, which is a contract extension. I'm 0:03:16.280 --> 0:03:21.120 gonna consider it certainly possible that this ends up being uh, 0:03:21.919 --> 0:03:23.920 that he still ends up being the Knicks head coach. 0:03:24.520 --> 0:03:27.000 And the pick is in. It has not yet been announced. 0:03:27.000 --> 0:03:31.200 We know it's gonna be Cooper Flag and Bron came 0:03:31.280 --> 0:03:36.080 out and said, you know, he has the benefit of 0:03:36.160 --> 0:03:41.160 walking into a situation with Hall of famers, which is 0:03:41.440 --> 0:03:43.360 I mean, Lebron was talking about it as if it's 0:03:43.360 --> 0:03:48.160 a positive. I know there are some Ace Bailey doesn't 0:03:48.160 --> 0:03:52.160 want to go to a situation where he is, you 0:03:52.200 --> 0:03:54.360 know where he's gonna be anything other than the number 0:03:54.360 --> 0:03:59.240 one option. In Ace Bailey's defense, you look at Reed 0:03:59.280 --> 0:04:02.080 Shepherd last year, the third pick of last year's draft. 0:04:02.440 --> 0:04:04.680 That was a team that was trying to win, that 0:04:04.840 --> 0:04:07.520 was ready to win, and the guy really couldn't get 0:04:07.520 --> 0:04:10.400 off the bench. Cooper Flag would not be in that 0:04:10.440 --> 0:04:13.880 situation anywhere. He's a good enough prospect and good enough player, 0:04:14.240 --> 0:04:21.279 he'd be playing for anybody. And to Lebron's point, there 0:04:21.320 --> 0:04:25.040 haven't been many number one overall picks that were drafted 0:04:25.080 --> 0:04:28.120 by teams that had minted, no doubt Hall of famers. 0:04:28.800 --> 0:04:33.320 But when it's happened, it's worked out pretty brilliantly. When 0:04:33.480 --> 0:04:39.440 you have in nineteen eighty Magic gets drafted to the Lakers, 0:04:39.760 --> 0:04:43.120 they already have a team and are a team, they 0:04:43.120 --> 0:04:46.600 already have Kareem. They win the title that year. Oddly, 0:04:47.000 --> 0:04:50.680 James Worthy also drafted by the Lakers. They win more 0:04:50.760 --> 0:04:54.400 titles a team, and those are number one picks a game. 0:04:54.600 --> 0:05:00.360 Drafted by the Rockets. Ralph Sampson wasn't yet a Hall 0:05:00.400 --> 0:05:03.039 of Famer, but he was a great player, and within 0:05:03.120 --> 0:05:07.320 two years they make the NBA Finals. Shack goes to Orlando. 0:05:07.760 --> 0:05:10.400 The very next year, they have the number one pick again, 0:05:11.240 --> 0:05:13.680 they trade that number one pick for I think pick 0:05:13.760 --> 0:05:18.279 four and Chris Weber for Penny. They're in the finals. 0:05:18.320 --> 0:05:22.920 Within two years, the San Antonio Spurs draft Duncan when 0:05:22.960 --> 0:05:26.159 they already have Robinson, they're within the finals in two 0:05:26.200 --> 0:05:28.960 years now. I do not think the MAVs are going 0:05:29.000 --> 0:05:31.480 to be a finals team with Cooper Flag. But what 0:05:31.600 --> 0:05:39.159 I do think is definitely true is this team neck 0:05:39.320 --> 0:05:44.640 not this coming year, but the year after this. And 0:05:44.720 --> 0:05:49.960 this is a huge if. If they're healthy, could be 0:05:50.000 --> 0:05:57.280 a legitimate I would say fringe contender, not top line contender. 0:05:57.760 --> 0:06:02.000 But when we go in the twenty six twenty seventh season, 0:06:03.080 --> 0:06:07.839 if Kyrie is healthy they just resigned him, Ad is 0:06:07.880 --> 0:06:12.200 still a d and Cooper Flag in year two with 0:06:12.400 --> 0:06:17.160 those other pieces around him, that's a team that should 0:06:17.160 --> 0:06:22.599 be able to do some damage in the Western Conference playoffs. 0:06:23.000 --> 0:06:26.279 Now some folks are trying to use that as a 0:06:26.320 --> 0:06:32.640 way to reverse engineer. Almost credit to Nico Harrison, when 0:06:32.680 --> 0:06:35.080 this was not his plan at all. He did not 0:06:35.240 --> 0:06:40.120 trade Luka Ancic because he wanted to or expected them 0:06:40.560 --> 0:06:44.920 to fall into the lottery or them to end up 0:06:45.680 --> 0:06:49.040 with Cooper Flag. He did it because he thought they 0:06:49.040 --> 0:06:52.719 could contend. Right now now, for MAVs fans, it's a 0:06:52.800 --> 0:06:58.040 happy accident. It is certainly not something that validates that 0:06:58.320 --> 0:07:01.960 trade Luca decision for Niko, So it certainly might make 0:07:02.040 --> 0:07:05.840 it feel less bad for the fans that pick is 0:07:06.000 --> 0:07:11.600 in and that pick, as everyone expected, the least surprise imaginable. 0:07:11.920 --> 0:07:15.880 That pick, of course is Cooper Flag. So Cooper Flag 0:07:15.920 --> 0:07:19.280 goes number one overall, and we know Dylan Harper is 0:07:19.320 --> 0:07:22.720 going to go number two overall. I want to spend 0:07:22.840 --> 0:07:25.680 a little more time on Cooper Flag here. This, by 0:07:25.720 --> 0:07:29.760 the way, is the second time in history MAVs history, 0:07:30.120 --> 0:07:32.160 they have had the number one overall pick. In nineteen 0:07:32.200 --> 0:07:35.920 eighty one they got they drafted Mark Aguire. This is, 0:07:36.400 --> 0:07:40.720 they hope, the second time in franchise history they end 0:07:40.800 --> 0:07:43.600 up coming out of the draft with the no doubt 0:07:43.640 --> 0:07:47.080 best player of that draft. That happened once before when 0:07:47.120 --> 0:07:49.880 they went into the draft with the fifth pick and 0:07:50.040 --> 0:07:52.840 ended up trading up to three four. Of course Luke 0:07:52.880 --> 0:07:57.240 Adncic And this is at the moment their only pick 0:07:57.680 --> 0:08:02.960 in this year's draft, and so I I am and 0:08:03.120 --> 0:08:05.360 spurs are on the clock and we will get to 0:08:05.400 --> 0:08:10.320 them in a moment. I want, like for the listener 0:08:10.400 --> 0:08:12.720 or the viewer on YouTube or the listener on the 0:08:12.760 --> 0:08:18.800 podcast to right now, I want to go through some 0:08:19.040 --> 0:08:22.800 other number one overall picks and I want you to 0:08:23.080 --> 0:08:27.280 like determine in your head if Cooper Flag has this 0:08:27.480 --> 0:08:31.280 level of career, is that a six? Did he meet 0:08:31.400 --> 0:08:36.520 expectations or fail to meet expectations? Because my worry for 0:08:36.720 --> 0:08:39.640 any of these number one overall picks that have been 0:08:41.240 --> 0:08:45.400 the way two of the last three have been wildly hyped. 0:08:45.840 --> 0:08:48.480 And I'm not saying it's unjust by the way the hype. 0:08:48.520 --> 0:08:52.840 I'm not saying it's incorrect the hype, but so wildly 0:08:52.960 --> 0:08:57.760 hyped is are we setting them up to be Hall 0:08:57.840 --> 0:09:02.160 of famers and somehow still be disappointments? And by that 0:09:02.320 --> 0:09:06.520 I mean I said this on the show today, like 0:09:07.400 --> 0:09:11.520 if Cooper Flag has Chris Weber's career and they're not 0:09:11.600 --> 0:09:14.400 the same player, obviously they do have some similarities, really 0:09:14.440 --> 0:09:21.040 good passers, similar size, I think people would be like, oh, 0:09:21.520 --> 0:09:25.440 he didn't really pan out the way we had hoped. 0:09:26.000 --> 0:09:28.040 But Chris Webber's a Hall of Fame player. He was 0:09:28.080 --> 0:09:31.360 a great player for ten plus years as a number 0:09:31.400 --> 0:09:33.520 one overall pick, even though it took his career a 0:09:33.520 --> 0:09:36.439 little bit of time to get going, maybe the way 0:09:36.480 --> 0:09:43.560 people had hoped. I when we look at the last 0:09:43.720 --> 0:09:49.200 handful of number one overall picks, like, do we expect 0:09:49.280 --> 0:09:53.600 Cooper Flag to have a better career than we currently 0:09:53.679 --> 0:09:59.160 expect Anthony Edwards to have? Anthony Edwards is multiple time 0:09:59.200 --> 0:10:02.040 All NBA at twenty three years old, has been in 0:10:02.200 --> 0:10:05.720 back to back conference finals. Is you know, face of 0:10:05.760 --> 0:10:09.640 the league adjacent conversation and it feels like people and 0:10:09.679 --> 0:10:15.360 now listen, maybe Cooper Flagg is going to outshine those guys. 0:10:15.920 --> 0:10:24.160 But where are we What is meeting expectations for Cooper Flag? 0:10:24.200 --> 0:10:28.800 Does he have to one day be in the discussion 0:10:28.880 --> 0:10:32.160 for best player in the league? If that's the expectation, 0:10:32.720 --> 0:10:36.840 I don't. I think he comes up short on that. 0:10:37.480 --> 0:10:43.679 As far as the guys who number one overall picks consensus, 0:10:43.800 --> 0:10:50.400 no doubt guys over the last post Lebron that I thought, Yeah, 0:10:50.440 --> 0:10:52.560 I think one day they'll be the best player in 0:10:52.600 --> 0:10:57.200 the league. The Anthony Davis is the first one that 0:10:57.280 --> 0:11:02.160 comes to mind Zion, I felt that way about that 0:11:02.200 --> 0:11:05.160 appears to be a huge miss. And while I wasn't 0:11:05.200 --> 0:11:08.720 ready to say Wimby was, you know, his floor was 0:11:08.800 --> 0:11:12.840 a chem Olajuan. I did think that Wimby, and I 0:11:12.880 --> 0:11:15.560 do think Wimby's you know, has the potential to one 0:11:15.640 --> 0:11:19.240 day be the best player in the league. But there 0:11:19.280 --> 0:11:21.839 have not been any other number one like and that 0:11:22.000 --> 0:11:25.760 is he is considered, you know, not in line of 0:11:25.800 --> 0:11:29.720 the prospect of Wimby and Lebron, but that very next 0:11:29.800 --> 0:11:37.920 level and and so and I'm not mentioning Durant, even 0:11:37.960 --> 0:11:40.920 though I did think Durant had the potential to be 0:11:41.040 --> 0:11:44.000 exactly what he was, because he wasn't the consensus number 0:11:44.000 --> 0:11:52.200 one pick. I I worry a bit that whenever we 0:11:52.520 --> 0:11:59.040 level set for a guy ten time All Star, seven 0:11:59.200 --> 0:12:07.479 time All NBA, two time third place league MVP finish 0:12:08.520 --> 0:12:14.200 and second best player on a champion one time that 0:12:14.559 --> 0:12:21.760 career as wow, kind of disappointed. That always worries me 0:12:22.040 --> 0:12:25.160 across the board. That always worries me unless I look 0:12:25.160 --> 0:12:33.160 at you as a just transcendent, holy shit force of nature, which, 0:12:33.200 --> 0:12:37.280 by the way, since Lebron, I have felt there's really 0:12:37.320 --> 0:12:40.240 only been three and again, people will say, Nick, you 0:12:40.280 --> 0:12:44.720 didn't think that about Wimby. My Wimby skepticism was about 0:12:44.760 --> 0:12:48.000 his rookie year. Would he play enough games to win 0:12:48.080 --> 0:12:50.880 Rookie of the Year and is he going to be 0:12:50.920 --> 0:12:54.040 in the goat conversation. It was not that this guy 0:12:54.160 --> 0:12:56.440 wasn't going to be a world changer, but it was 0:12:56.559 --> 0:13:01.920 ad Zion and Wimby. And I still feel like, man, 0:13:02.360 --> 0:13:05.560 the Zion thing, who's the last number one overall pick 0:13:05.600 --> 0:13:10.880 out of Duke is such a sad missed you know 0:13:11.240 --> 0:13:16.360 what if career that we're going down the wrong path 0:13:16.400 --> 0:13:19.320 on all right, the second pick is in. This is 0:13:19.520 --> 0:13:22.440 an obvious one. It is Dylan Harper. It is San 0:13:22.480 --> 0:13:26.079 Antonio Spurs. And now this is a very interesting team 0:13:26.120 --> 0:13:31.880 to talk about for different reasons, which is, first of all, 0:13:33.320 --> 0:13:38.360 is Dylan Harper going to grow old with Wimby in 0:13:38.400 --> 0:13:43.120 the NBA? Or is Dylan Harper going to be the 0:13:43.440 --> 0:13:50.760 prized asset that the San Antonio Spurs use in order 0:13:50.800 --> 0:13:56.199 to get Giannis or the next superstar player that comes available. 0:13:57.600 --> 0:14:01.600 And there's a lot of Dylan Harper's stuff that I 0:14:01.720 --> 0:14:04.920 find interesting. These draft shows we got, you know, we've 0:14:04.920 --> 0:14:07.680 got to move fast. On it. So maybe, well, if 0:14:07.720 --> 0:14:10.720 we hit a lull, which I doubt we will. And 0:14:11.240 --> 0:14:16.600 there is a very interesting is the NBA about to 0:14:16.679 --> 0:14:22.240 become in ten years? Are thirty five percent of players 0:14:22.240 --> 0:14:25.600 in the NBA going to be sons or nephews of 0:14:25.800 --> 0:14:29.880 NBA players Because Dylan Harper obviously is Ron Harper's kid. 0:14:30.200 --> 0:14:35.920 Used he is one of the first like super blue 0:14:36.040 --> 0:14:39.600 chip prospects to be the son of a guy we 0:14:39.680 --> 0:14:43.960 all remembered. Obviously, I say one of the first steph was, 0:14:44.080 --> 0:14:47.920 and there are others, but it is happening more and more. 0:14:48.040 --> 0:14:50.680 Jay Caspy and Kang just wrote a really interesting article 0:14:50.720 --> 0:14:54.320 on that, by the way, But set that aside. The 0:14:54.480 --> 0:14:58.920 other thing that I think is smart for the Spurs 0:15:00.360 --> 0:15:02.640 is that they do not care that they already have 0:15:02.720 --> 0:15:07.520 Dylan Fox and they have Stefan Castle. This Dylan Harper 0:15:09.800 --> 0:15:14.600 was clearly and unequivocally the second best player in this draft. 0:15:15.200 --> 0:15:24.240 And when you have this unicorn of an asset in Wimby, 0:15:24.440 --> 0:15:27.360 you're not drafting for team need right now. You are 0:15:27.440 --> 0:15:33.960 drafting for best players possible and to figure out, you know, 0:15:34.080 --> 0:15:36.800 figure out as you go. So what does it mean 0:15:36.840 --> 0:15:38.840 for Fox? What does it mean for Castle, what does 0:15:38.840 --> 0:15:44.080 it mean for Harper? Because again, maybe Harper and Wimby 0:15:44.200 --> 0:15:48.240 grow old together. Maybe this is their version of SGA 0:15:48.520 --> 0:15:51.480 and Chet or SGA and JDub. I say check because 0:15:51.480 --> 0:15:57.800 he's second pick like Chet or maybe Dylan Harper is 0:15:58.480 --> 0:16:01.720 the best piece of team, either at this year's deadline 0:16:02.200 --> 0:16:08.840 or in next year's next year's off season trades to 0:16:08.840 --> 0:16:09.680 get a superstar. 0:16:09.760 --> 0:16:09.960 There. 0:16:11.200 --> 0:16:14.160 We already had somebody check in from Italy, and then 0:16:14.200 --> 0:16:17.960 we have TJ's sports queens rights. What wine are you drinking? Honestly, 0:16:18.000 --> 0:16:21.320 I don't know. It's some wine from Italy. I'm not sure. 0:16:21.480 --> 0:16:27.360 I am a what I would call I have turned 0:16:27.360 --> 0:16:36.480 into a low upper class wine snop. So I have 0:16:36.680 --> 0:16:42.400 some friends, some of which I was actually with this weekend, 0:16:42.480 --> 0:16:46.120 that were in uh for some of the events in 0:16:46.160 --> 0:16:50.880 New York this weekend, who have there. They have a 0:16:50.920 --> 0:16:54.400 lot of money, and they regularly drink like, you know, 0:16:55.880 --> 0:16:59.400 wine that thousands of dollars a bottle. I don't when 0:16:59.400 --> 0:17:02.400 those I don't even I might like have like a 0:17:02.640 --> 0:17:05.600 glass or taste it, but I feel like that level 0:17:05.600 --> 0:17:08.240 of wine is wasted on me. But I'm a big 0:17:08.280 --> 0:17:11.199 fan of like a good I don't know at the store, 0:17:11.320 --> 0:17:14.760 like sixty to one hundred and fifty dollars bottle of wine, 0:17:14.760 --> 0:17:18.920 which again is like expensive, but wine can go, you know, 0:17:19.040 --> 0:17:22.479 the upper bounds of that are boundless. So so it's some, 0:17:22.600 --> 0:17:26.159 you know, it's some I think nice. I think some 0:17:26.200 --> 0:17:28.240 people think very nice, and some people are like, I 0:17:28.240 --> 0:17:32.639 can't believe you drink that Italian wine? Uh to the 0:17:34.280 --> 0:17:36.520 Robert asked, do you think the Thunder able to trade 0:17:36.520 --> 0:17:43.040 into the top ten or the Nets into the top five? I? 0:17:43.040 --> 0:17:46.600 I I yet certainly both teams are able to. Now 0:17:46.640 --> 0:17:49.320 will it be worth the I mean the Nets have 0:17:49.440 --> 0:17:55.359 five picks, including the eighth pick. The Thunder have what 0:17:55.440 --> 0:18:04.320 do they have? Fourteen, twenty two something else? And there 0:18:04.359 --> 0:18:08.560 so there are there's I don't know why am I sorry? 0:18:08.560 --> 0:18:13.000 My phone keeps ringing. They certainly can, there is no 0:18:13.119 --> 0:18:17.280 doubt that they can. Would it be smart, would it 0:18:17.359 --> 0:18:22.160 be the right way to do it? Would it be pragmatic? 0:18:23.800 --> 0:18:27.200 It depends on what the price is. But I right 0:18:27.280 --> 0:18:31.920 now we'll come back to the spurs. I right now 0:18:32.040 --> 0:18:36.560 want to focus on this pivot point of the draft, 0:18:37.240 --> 0:18:40.560 because the pivot point of the draft right now is Philadelphia. 0:18:41.720 --> 0:18:44.879 I don't know, and some of our producers, you know, 0:18:44.960 --> 0:18:48.040 if because I'm obviously not able to monitor Twitter, I 0:18:48.040 --> 0:18:51.400 don't mind if you know. I don't want to necessarily 0:18:51.440 --> 0:18:55.680 spoil picks, but if there's news about, you know, movement 0:18:56.080 --> 0:18:59.399 or reports on whatever it is, I'll take it. My 0:18:59.560 --> 0:19:04.080 guess is they take Edgecomb, and I think the consensuses 0:19:04.119 --> 0:19:07.880 agree with me that Edgecomb out of Baylor is the 0:19:07.920 --> 0:19:14.159 move here. And I think that Conk Nipple is interesting. 0:19:14.720 --> 0:19:18.800 I think Trey Johnson is interesting, but I think the 0:19:18.880 --> 0:19:23.199 answer is Edgecomb. I have thought ever since it seemed 0:19:23.280 --> 0:19:27.240 like Ace Bailey was not interested and they maybe weren't 0:19:27.680 --> 0:19:31.280 super interested in him, it has seemed pretty clear that 0:19:31.320 --> 0:19:34.840 this was going to be Edgecomb, and we'll find out 0:19:34.920 --> 0:19:40.600 momentarily if it is. I the Sixers are such an 0:19:40.640 --> 0:19:47.119 interesting team right now because one of the things that 0:19:47.280 --> 0:19:52.160 was lost in their terrible season was that Tyrese Maxi 0:19:52.760 --> 0:19:57.200 was coming off his you know, Superstar blow up if 0:19:57.200 --> 0:20:01.600 you will, Superstars too Strong, but for in Superstar in 0:20:01.720 --> 0:20:06.119 twenty twenty four. That twenty twenty four season, Tyrese Maxi 0:20:06.400 --> 0:20:12.720 averaged twenty six points six assists a game. In that postseason, 0:20:13.080 --> 0:20:17.199 he played forty five minutes a night. He averaged in 0:20:17.320 --> 0:20:22.640 last year's first round thirty points per game, and in 0:20:22.960 --> 0:20:24.639 one of those games I think I might have been 0:20:24.680 --> 0:20:27.760 the game I was at. He had damn near a 0:20:27.800 --> 0:20:32.560 fifty piece in their overtime win in New York. I 0:20:32.600 --> 0:20:34.960 went to two games that series. I think I went 0:20:34.960 --> 0:20:36.440 to that win, but I also went to a game 0:20:36.480 --> 0:20:42.680 in Philadelphia. And then this year he averaged twenty six 0:20:42.760 --> 0:20:45.480 again and nobody cared because the team was no good 0:20:46.000 --> 0:20:48.520 and that pick is in and it is in fact 0:20:48.680 --> 0:20:52.640 VJ Edgecombe to Philadelphia. So here's the reason I mention 0:20:52.760 --> 0:20:58.600 any of that. MAXI is a really good player. Jared 0:20:58.760 --> 0:21:03.399 McCain was the favorite in my eyes for Rookie of 0:21:03.480 --> 0:21:07.720 the Year last year. But despite what I can, you know, 0:21:08.640 --> 0:21:11.000 I could do without some of the I'm gonna sound 0:21:11.080 --> 0:21:14.480 like such an old man, some of the ticktocking. But 0:21:14.600 --> 0:21:19.359 he was awesome as a rookie, A nice surprise. I 0:21:19.440 --> 0:21:23.280 thought he was, you know, as a just outside the 0:21:23.320 --> 0:21:26.600 lottery pick. I thought he was really good and fun 0:21:26.680 --> 0:21:30.639 and interesting last year. But then he gets hurt. Paul 0:21:30.680 --> 0:21:34.440 George's career goes totally sideways, at least for a year, 0:21:35.240 --> 0:21:38.200 and Embeid. They're talking about breaking his hip to fix 0:21:38.280 --> 0:21:42.240 his knee. Doesn't sound good to me. With that said, 0:21:42.960 --> 0:21:46.000 if Paul George can just bounce back a bit, if 0:21:46.040 --> 0:21:49.919 Embiid can be healthy, if Maxie can stay Maxie, and 0:21:49.960 --> 0:21:52.800 if Jared McCain go back to being Jared McCain and 0:21:52.920 --> 0:21:57.520 you had this kid Edgecomb, Like, can that team win 0:21:57.680 --> 0:22:02.479 the East? I don't know, Like, have you looked at 0:22:02.480 --> 0:22:07.640 the East recently? Don't forget they have? If they potentially 0:22:07.720 --> 0:22:10.320 are gonna bring him back, which I imagine they would. Quentin 0:22:10.400 --> 0:22:16.320 Grimes like, and I understand, I know I am, you know, 0:22:16.440 --> 0:22:19.919 probably biased towards Daryl Morey because he's my pal, But 0:22:20.000 --> 0:22:22.600 I trust Daryl Moray to fill out the roster around him. 0:22:23.880 --> 0:22:28.439 Daniel our great producer who I probably unfairly maligned on 0:22:28.480 --> 0:22:33.560 the pod yesterday. Sorry about that. Daniel says, does embiad 0:22:33.640 --> 0:22:35.880 need to make it out around two? Of course he does. 0:22:36.920 --> 0:22:41.520 And Simmons makes the point a lot and he's not wrong, Like, 0:22:41.760 --> 0:22:48.040 can you at this point trust Joelle? Like when you 0:22:48.080 --> 0:22:50.800 think about the NBA Playoffs? I said this to Wilds 0:22:50.840 --> 0:22:58.359 and Brew. The NBA Playoffs ended Sunday night and went Monday, 0:22:58.359 --> 0:23:02.000 I said to Wilds and Brew, I'm like, man, the 0:23:03.560 --> 0:23:09.240 think about how long ago we were talking about JJ 0:23:09.440 --> 0:23:12.760 Reddick playing all five starters for the entire second half. 0:23:13.160 --> 0:23:15.960 That feels like that was a year ago. That was 0:23:16.040 --> 0:23:22.520 during these playoffs. And so the reason I mentioned that is, 0:23:23.600 --> 0:23:30.159 can you realistically see em Bed making it through those 0:23:30.280 --> 0:23:34.639 four rounds when we've never really seen him make it 0:23:34.720 --> 0:23:39.080 through two full rounds fully healthy? And the answer to 0:23:39.119 --> 0:23:45.199 that question is probably not. But is it definitely not 0:23:45.480 --> 0:23:49.879 in this year's East, I don't know. All right, Before 0:23:49.920 --> 0:23:56.040 we get to the Charlotte Hornets, one last point on 0:23:57.080 --> 0:24:00.119 what is will become the story of the draft, and 0:24:00.119 --> 0:24:03.040 the Hornet's got a few minutes left to make their pick. 0:24:03.200 --> 0:24:07.080 I would I would imagine, and I promise I you know, 0:24:07.200 --> 0:24:09.880 I am not if somebody is tipping picks, I'm unaware 0:24:09.920 --> 0:24:13.440 of it. So this is just guessing. I know, if 0:24:13.560 --> 0:24:20.879 Jordan was there, they would be taking Conkinipple. I could 0:24:21.119 --> 0:24:26.880 see Charlotte saying screw it, we're gonna take the most 0:24:26.920 --> 0:24:31.280 talented guy and take Ace Bailey. I'm a Malawac fan. 0:24:33.960 --> 0:24:38.080 This is probably I don't know, I don't know who 0:24:38.160 --> 0:24:43.400 it is. The options are Bailey, Trey Johnson, Conkinnipple, Fears, 0:24:43.560 --> 0:24:49.320 or Malawac. I'll tell you another guy who I if 0:24:49.359 --> 0:24:53.760 I were. If I were Brooklyn at eight and this 0:24:53.840 --> 0:24:59.040 player was available, I would be taking Derrek Queen. I 0:24:59.200 --> 0:25:03.000 like Derrek Quinn, and I think Derrek Queen could be, 0:25:03.240 --> 0:25:08.880 outside of Bailey and Flag, the best player in this draft. 0:25:09.400 --> 0:25:12.800 So the reporting is the Pelicans and the Wizards are 0:25:12.840 --> 0:25:16.040 trying to trade up to four. See and I would 0:25:16.119 --> 0:25:19.960 have to imagine, so listen, if they are trying to 0:25:20.160 --> 0:25:24.760 trade up to four, I would think that is for 0:25:25.080 --> 0:25:30.200 Ace Bailey. I would and if that's the case, if 0:25:30.240 --> 0:25:34.480 one of these teams is I'm looking, I'm now realizing 0:25:34.560 --> 0:25:36.240 I can just look at my phone to see if 0:25:36.240 --> 0:25:40.600 there's news on here. Dallas fans were chanting fire Nico 0:25:40.600 --> 0:25:44.560 at the Mavericks draft watch party. That, by the way, 0:25:44.960 --> 0:25:48.000 because Bruce said on the show today that Cooper Flag 0:25:48.080 --> 0:25:50.800 being awesome might take some of the sting out of 0:25:50.800 --> 0:25:53.840 this for Nico, and I just totally disagree with that. 0:25:54.280 --> 0:25:57.000 I think Dallas fans are never gonna forgive Nico for that, 0:25:57.119 --> 0:25:59.360 and I don't think they're gonna give him credit for 0:25:59.800 --> 0:26:07.200 lo fucking into Cooper flag. But if the if Ace 0:26:07.359 --> 0:26:11.359 does go four and it ends up being you know, 0:26:11.480 --> 0:26:17.280 he maybe at most cost himself one draft spot, but 0:26:17.480 --> 0:26:20.280 it's because he wants to go somewhere he can be 0:26:20.320 --> 0:26:24.639 a featured part of the offense and you know, build 0:26:24.800 --> 0:26:29.080 immediately towards the second contract. Then you can't say definitively 0:26:29.200 --> 0:26:32.159 that he played this wrong, even if he turned some 0:26:32.240 --> 0:26:37.040 people off. Now, if he falls all the way to eight, 0:26:37.680 --> 0:26:40.760 it's a different situation. But the Hornets are on the clock, 0:26:41.680 --> 0:26:44.400 it looks like they are making the pick now. One 0:26:44.400 --> 0:26:47.280 of the weird things about the NBA draft, unlike the 0:26:47.400 --> 0:26:51.399 NFL draft, is what you absolutely never see on the 0:26:51.520 --> 0:26:55.800 NFL draft is a team picks a player and then 0:26:55.960 --> 0:26:59.320 post pick trades the player. I've never understood. Sorry, I 0:26:59.320 --> 0:27:03.400 gotta fix. I know he's been running the whole show. 0:27:04.080 --> 0:27:07.320 You never see a team pick a player in the 0:27:07.440 --> 0:27:11.000 NFL draft and then an hour later later trade him. 0:27:11.320 --> 0:27:15.680 In the NBA, this happens pretty often. Guy does the hat, 0:27:15.760 --> 0:27:18.320 does the whole thing, and then finds out ten picks 0:27:18.359 --> 0:27:22.639 later that he is in fact going somewhere else. So 0:27:22.800 --> 0:27:26.560 if the Pelicans and the Wizards were trying to trade 0:27:26.640 --> 0:27:31.119 up to get the fourth pick. I would imagine that 0:27:31.800 --> 0:27:37.200 even if they the Hornets end up making this pick, 0:27:37.240 --> 0:27:39.399 maybe it could be on the move. But I'm really 0:27:39.440 --> 0:27:42.159 curious who this is gonna be. You would have to 0:27:42.240 --> 0:27:48.800 imagine because they have LaMelo there that Fears and Trey 0:27:49.680 --> 0:28:00.480 Johnson are incredibly unlikely they have. They have two early 0:28:00.600 --> 0:28:05.280 second round picks as well. They are also, you know, 0:28:05.400 --> 0:28:09.680 in the process of turning the page from Jordan's horrific 0:28:09.800 --> 0:28:16.040 draft history, and the safest pick is probably Conker Nipple. 0:28:17.240 --> 0:28:21.000 The highest upside pick is probably Ace Bailey. And this 0:28:21.160 --> 0:28:24.760 is not a team that I know. I said there. 0:28:24.840 --> 0:28:27.639 You know, they probably think they can't take Johnson or 0:28:27.680 --> 0:28:31.119 Fears because they have LaMelo. They should not be worried 0:28:31.160 --> 0:28:35.359 about need at all. This is a team that needs everything, 0:28:35.920 --> 0:28:37.960