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Speaker 2: dkang dot co slash audio. All right, welcome to you tonight.
Speaker 2: You're at the volume heavy Thursday.
Speaker 1: Everybody ill.
Speaker 2: All of you guys are having a great week. Well,
Speaker 2: we're covering a mail bag today, lots of great questions
Speaker 2: from you guys. We're gonna get all over the place
Speaker 2: into a bunch of interesting stuff. We have some Lakers
Speaker 2: stuff off the top. We're gonna be hitting some draft stuff.
Speaker 2: We're going to talk a little bit about a couple
Speaker 2: of the picks that we didn't get to hit in
Speaker 2: our draft reactions. I've got some big picture NBA stuff
Speaker 2: for ranking recent NBA champions We're going to talk about
Speaker 2: some Grizzlies and hornets to a couple of teams that
Speaker 2: are in a little bit of a holding pattern around
Speaker 2: a star player who has struggled to be available. We
Speaker 2: have a question regarding who would be the best fitting
Speaker 2: five to send to go face the aliens in a
Speaker 2: single game. We're going to get into that one, talk
Speaker 2: a little bit about rim finishing and different dynamics that
Speaker 2: can affect a player's efficiency. There are lots of interesting
Speaker 2: stuff to get to in our mail bag today. You
Speaker 2: guys are the job. Before we get started, subscribe to
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Speaker 2: work on our social media feeds Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
Speaker 2: Make sure you guys follow us there. In the last
Speaker 2: but not least, keep dropping mail back questions in those
Speaker 2: YouTube comments. Obviously, no more live shows at least until October,
Speaker 2: so our mail bags are going to traditionally be at.
Speaker 1: The end of the week.
Speaker 2: We'll record them and air them on like Fridays and
Speaker 2: Saturdays around that time of the week. So throughout the
Speaker 2: week on our full episodes, you can drop your mail
Speaker 2: bag questions in the comments and we pull from all
Speaker 2: of the videos leading in to those end of the
Speaker 2: week mail bags. All right, let's talk some basketball. First question, Hey, Jason,
Speaker 2: if you were Rob Polinka and the Lakers executives, who
Speaker 2: are your top three options to target and free agency?
Speaker 2: What do you consider to be the best assets in
Speaker 2: the trade market. So it's so funny. I was texting
Speaker 2: with my buddy Pzeis, who runs Laker film room, the
Speaker 2: other day. I've just been in completely out of the
Speaker 2: Laker frame of mind ever since they got eliminated in
Speaker 2: the first round.
Speaker 1: It's crazy.
Speaker 2: Every year I just kind of like unplug that part
Speaker 2: of my brain when we get when the Lakers get eliminated,
Speaker 2: and then I just focus on the rest of the league.
Speaker 2: And I'm just starting to kind of dip my toe
Speaker 2: back into those waters and bounce ideas off of people
Speaker 2: and and kind of figure out where I'm at in
Speaker 2: terms of this Lakers offseason, and the main thing that
Speaker 2: I've seen that's really caught my attention is this potential
Speaker 2: trade that has been kind of floating around in the ether,
Speaker 2: and it involves potentially the Lakers sending Gabe Vincent and
Speaker 2: ruy Hachi Mura to the Miami Heat for Andrew Wiggins.
Speaker 2: And this trade makes a lot of sense for both
Speaker 2: sides on a bunch of different levels. For a Miami
Speaker 2: Heat team, you get a guard in Gay Vincent that
Speaker 2: has been proven to be a success in their system,
Speaker 2: just kind of like a really natural fit in their
Speaker 2: five out attack. And then ruy Hachimura fits a need
Speaker 2: in the sense that they are thin at power forward specifically,
Speaker 2: and obviously ruy Hatcha Mura is a starting caliber a
Speaker 2: power forward in this league. He's a guy that can
Speaker 2: bring some real value there. And then Andrew Wiggins. In
Speaker 2: a team like the Los Angeles Lakers, where they are
Speaker 2: devoid of perimeter athleticism, they don't have a great option
Speaker 2: a starting caliber player that can guard the other the
Speaker 2: team's best player. This is a guy and Andrew Wiggins,
Speaker 2: who would immediately address two massive needs for the Lakers
Speaker 2: in terms of just overall perimeter athleticism and a guy
Speaker 2: in the starting lineup that like every single night is
Speaker 2: like he can guard the best dude on the other team,
Speaker 2: whether that's you know, we've seen him in the past
Speaker 2: do an incredible job on a Luka Doncic in late
Speaker 2: playoff rounds. We've seen him guard quicker guards. He has
Speaker 2: some switchability. Andrew Wiggins is a very very versatile perimeter defender.
Speaker 2: And there's a lot of focus on the center position
Speaker 2: for the Lakers this year, and I get that, and like, ultimately,
Speaker 2: if you can't find any other better options to upgrade
Speaker 2: at the two and the three, and you decide to
Speaker 2: go with a more aggressive move for a guy like
Speaker 2: a Nick Claxton, there's upside there. Nick Claxton is a
Speaker 2: better player than some of the free agent centers that
Speaker 2: are available, like a Brook Lopez or a Clint Capella.
Speaker 2: But for me, I would rather have Andrew Wiggins and
Speaker 2: then a guy like Clint Appella, then not have Andrew Wiggins,
Speaker 2: or bring back Gave Vincent and Ruey Hachimura and run
Speaker 2: it with a guy like Nick Claxton. I think that
Speaker 2: the Lakers have had a roster balance issue for a
Speaker 2: little while. Now in terms of like, now they've got
Speaker 2: these two on ball skill guards and Austin Reeves and
Speaker 2: Luka Doncic, and you've got these two starter like power
Speaker 2: forwards that both start in Ruy Hachimura and Lebron James.
Speaker 2: And so what ends up happening, Like we always talk about,
Speaker 2: there's boxes that get checked, right, and Ruy and Lebron
Speaker 2: check a lot of similar boxes defensively, right, and Austin
Speaker 2: and Luca check a lot of boxes that are similar defensively.
Speaker 2: And while that group has been very good offensively, especially
Speaker 2: when Dorian Finney Smith is out there, and they can
Speaker 2: really create all that space, they just can't hang physically
Speaker 2: with a lot of these teams. And So to me,
Speaker 2: a move like that, flipping a bench guard and a
Speaker 2: starting power forward into a starting small forward for a
Speaker 2: team that does not have a starting small forward, I
Speaker 2: view that as a roster balancing move. And among all
Speaker 2: position groups, these guys that kind of fit into the
Speaker 2: taxpayer mid level exception, you know, in that like five
Speaker 2: six million dollars a year, I think that type of
Speaker 2: guy relative to a thirty to twenty five million dollar
Speaker 2: player at the center position, that gap is smaller than
Speaker 2: it is at other position groups, at other position groups.
Speaker 2: I think once you get up into the twenty five
Speaker 2: thirty million dollar range, you actually really start to run
Speaker 2: into some talent. Like Andrew Wiggins when he's healthy and engaged,
Speaker 2: is one of the better three and D guys in
Speaker 2: the NBA because of his defensive versatility, right, Like Nick
Speaker 2: Claxton at twenty five million, is a firmly a league
Speaker 2: average starting center.
Speaker 1: Right.
Speaker 2: So like there's a certain amount of value that you
Speaker 2: get a relative to the money at the wing position,
Speaker 2: relative to the center position. So for me, a deal
Speaker 2: like that would make it more tenable to bring in
Speaker 2: a flawed center, a guy that has some weaknesses at
Speaker 2: the center spot because you have such an increase in
Speaker 2: athleticism and a specific need guarding on the ball.
Speaker 1: The only other.
Speaker 2: Laker take I have right now, and again, we're gonna
Speaker 2: be talking plenty of Lakers over the summer as moves
Speaker 2: come through. And I mean we Jackson and I were
Speaker 2: just talking like Monday is free agencies as this as
Speaker 2: this train just literally never stops running, right, So like
Speaker 2: we're gonna be talking about lots of Lakers over time
Speaker 2: as I continue to dive into this. But the other
Speaker 2: guy that I think is really important for the Lakers
Speaker 2: this summer is Dorian Finney Smith. He's got a player
Speaker 2: option coming up, I think right around like fifteen million,
Speaker 2: and so obviously him and his representation are going to
Speaker 2: be thinking, like, hey, if we to pick up this
Speaker 2: player option and we just run through this season, there's
Speaker 2: a chance that we become veteran minimum candidates if it's
Speaker 2: a mediocre season off the bench for the Lakers, right
Speaker 2: so like, especially if they do make a move for
Speaker 2: a guy like Andrew Wiggins and Dorian loses his starting spot,
Speaker 2: right so Like, with that being the case, I think
Speaker 2: it's at least like worthwhile for Dorian to consider the
Speaker 2: idea of opting out and trying to sign a long
Speaker 2: term deal elsewhere, right, or a long term deal with
Speaker 2: the Lakers. And I just think it's very important for
Speaker 2: the Lakers to make sure that they secure Dorian Phinney Smith.
Speaker 2: They don't have a starting caliber three. Dorian Finney Smith
Speaker 2: is the closest thing they have to it. But if
Speaker 2: you get rid of him, you lose a lot of
Speaker 2: depth at that specific position group. And there are versions
Speaker 2: of this where you could see lineups where they put
Speaker 2: Luca out there with Lebron and Dorian Finney Smith is
Speaker 2: out there with and Andrew Wiggins. Right if they were
Speaker 2: to make that sort of move, and if it's not
Speaker 2: an Andrew Wiggins, then another type of athlete that they
Speaker 2: bring at that position. I viewed Dorian Finney Smith as
Speaker 2: part of the ultimate construct of the Lakers, and so
Speaker 2: I don't want them to let him slip through the
Speaker 2: cracks this summer. All Right, A couple of draft related questions,
Speaker 2: who will be the best pro out of this draft
Speaker 2: class if not Cooper Flag, Dylan Harper, vj Edgecomb or
Speaker 2: Ace Bailey. So we're gonna spend a lot more time
Speaker 2: talking about Trey Johnson later. But Trey Johnson is a
Speaker 2: guy that I have my eye on. He's just your
Speaker 2: prototypical scoring wing in the mind an MBA because of
Speaker 2: his ability to score out of screening actions, which again,
Speaker 2: most NBA offenses now are built out of either three
Speaker 2: man pick and roll concepts or five out kind of
Speaker 2: like ball in player movement concepts, and one of the
Speaker 2: most important elements to that is the ability to come
Speaker 2: off of a screen with the ability to score if
Speaker 2: you can score coming off of a screen. You can
Speaker 2: force the big to show at the level and the
Speaker 2: guard to chase over the top. As soon as you
Speaker 2: do that, you're inverting your spacing by bringing the big
Speaker 2: man out away from the basket to the perimeter, vacating
Speaker 2: the paint and starting a four on three in the
Speaker 2: in the action behind it. It's one of the most
Speaker 2: valuable traits that an offensive player can have. And so
Speaker 2: I do think Cooper Flag is going to be the
Speaker 2: best pro in the NBA. I think that's a safe bet.
Speaker 2: I think Cooper has more resilience than Dylan Harper in
Speaker 2: terms of just the different ways that he can impact winning. Like,
Speaker 2: there's a version of Dylan Harper. Excuse me, there's a
Speaker 2: version of Cooper Flag's career where he is, you know,
Speaker 2: underwhelming on offense, but he still is a very very
Speaker 2: very very good NBA player for a long time because
Speaker 2: he's just a deeply versatile defensive player. Right, Like, there's
Speaker 2: a version of Cooper Flag's career where he becomes what
Speaker 2: we saw from Jason Tatum this year as like a
Speaker 2: high twenties, low thirties point per game guy who can
Speaker 2: you know, get up to six seven assists per game
Speaker 2: and grab a bunch of rebounds and be a hyper
Speaker 2: versatile defender. There's just a lot of different ranges of
Speaker 2: outcomes for Cooper, but they're all positive, and so to me,
Speaker 2: I think it's most likely that he's the best pro.
Speaker 2: But outside of that group, I would lean towards Trey Johnson.
Speaker 2: You said before you think this Thunder team was the
Speaker 2: second best champion since the twenty tens. Do you still
Speaker 2: believe this. I don't think the Heatles, Spurs, Warriors, et
Speaker 2: cetera would have gone to seven with the Pacers. If
Speaker 2: you still do If you do still believe this or not,
Speaker 2: why couple things. The two teams that took the Thunder
Speaker 2: to seven were the Denver Nuggets, who were a specific
Speaker 2: mismatch in terms of some of their physical size advantages.
Speaker 2: And Nikole Jokic, guys, is still the best player in
Speaker 2: the world. I know we all want to pretend it's,
Speaker 2: you know, a very straightforward one on one basketball game
Speaker 2: where the best player always wins, but that's not how
Speaker 2: it works either. Are tons of examples in recent NBA
Speaker 2: history where the best player in the world ended up
Speaker 2: losing in the playoffs. At some point along the way,
Speaker 2: that's a very damn good team that dragged the Thunder
Speaker 2: to the limit. And then I am done with the
Speaker 2: underestimating of the Indiana Pacers at this point, Like if
Speaker 2: you think it's fluky that they took the Thunder to seven,
Speaker 2: like any of us, any of us who want to
Speaker 2: sit there and pretend like that's fluky anymore, we can't.
Speaker 2: The success was undeniable. What they did to Cleveland, what
Speaker 2: they did to the Knicks, what they did to the Thunder,
Speaker 2: pushing them to the brink. I just have too much
Speaker 2: respect for them to view that as some sort of
Speaker 2: shortcoming for the Oklahoma City Thunder. They were not a
Speaker 2: perfect team, but they won sixty eight games in the
Speaker 2: Western Conference of the NBA, where there were legitimately like
Speaker 2: twelve team tams trying to win seven really really good teams.
Speaker 2: You play fifty two of your eighty two games in
Speaker 2: your schedule against your own conference, I can't deny what
Speaker 2: Oklahoma City accomplished this year. So as I look at
Speaker 2: the champions since twenty twenty, obviously we have the Lakers,
Speaker 2: the Bucks, the Warriors, the Nuggets, the Celtics, and the Thunder.
Speaker 2: I've thought a lot about this over the course the
Speaker 2: last few weeks, and to me, the top four are
Speaker 2: all pretty close, and you can make a case for
Speaker 2: any of them being number one. Right, So like Boston,
Speaker 2: for instance, they won what sixty four games last year,
Speaker 2: dominated through the playoffs, some of the most beautiful offense
Speaker 2: that we've ever seen, moving the ball around for wide
Speaker 2: open threes. They kind of just kicked asiden were never threatened.
Speaker 2: That's you know, it's boring that a team never gets
Speaker 2: threatened and there's no adversity, But that's a sign of greatness, right.
Speaker 2: Oklahoma City sixty eight games in the Western Conference, probably
Speaker 2: the best defense of this era. They beat really good
Speaker 2: teams along the way. Denver's really good, Minnesota's really good,
Speaker 2: Indiana's really good. That's a rock solid candidate for number one. Now,
Speaker 2: Los Angeles Lakers team started the season twenty four and three.
Speaker 2: They were on a sixty win pace before the season
Speaker 2: got shut down, and then they got into the postseason
Speaker 2: and kicked everyone's ass. So, like, I think the Lakers
Speaker 2: have a legitimate case. And then the Denver Nuggets same
Speaker 2: sort of thing. They weren't as good in the regular season,
Speaker 2: and that's probably what's going to put them down on
Speaker 2: this list, but best player in the world played. You know,
Speaker 2: they literally ripped through in the postseason. Anthony Edwards in
Speaker 2: the first round, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker in the second round,
Speaker 2: Lebron James and Anthony Davis in the third round, bam
Speaker 2: Adebayo and Jimmy Butler in the finals. It's like, I know,
Speaker 2: the win totals weren't as super high there. Everyone gets
Speaker 2: focused on win totals. Win totals to me are a really,
Speaker 2: uh like kind of bizarre way to look at, you know,
Speaker 2: what a team's competition was, because especially in the Western Conference,
Speaker 2: when there's so many good teams, you're not going to
Speaker 2: see a bunch of sixty win teams.
Speaker 1: That's not how it works.
Speaker 2: Like, if everyone's good, no one's going to rack up
Speaker 2: a shit ton of wins, which, by the way, is
Speaker 2: exactly why this Oklahoma City season was so impressive. It's
Speaker 2: ridiculous that they won sixty eight games with how tough
Speaker 2: that Western Conference was, so like, I think all four
Speaker 2: of those teams have a legitimate case. After that, I
Speaker 2: think there's a pretty substantial drop off. The Golden State
Speaker 2: Warriors legitimate champion, but you're not looking at that team
Speaker 2: as like a juggernaut roster. It was Steph Curry and
Speaker 2: a bunch of role players and a couple of guys
Speaker 2: who peaked at the right time in Jordan Poole and
Speaker 2: Andrew Wiggins, and you know, catching a younger Celtics team
Speaker 2: that wasn't quite ready, and they a younger MAS team
Speaker 2: that wasn't quite ready, and they were able to squeak
Speaker 2: through a legitimate champion, but not a team that we're
Speaker 2: looking at as like one of the all time greats
Speaker 2: in NBA history. And similarly, the Milwaukee Bucks a team
Speaker 2: that kind of slipped through the cracks in the year
Speaker 2: after COVID when all of the good teams in the
Speaker 2: NBA were injured. So if I had to rank them,
Speaker 2: I would put I think it's a real tight debate
Speaker 2: between Boston and OKC one two, and it gets really
Speaker 2: really nitty gritty when you start to look at them
Speaker 2: playing against each other. I'm only in OKC though, because
Speaker 2: I think they had a more impressive regular I thought
Speaker 2: they played tougher competition in the postseason. They weren't as
Speaker 2: smooth through that competition, But I think it was a
Speaker 2: higher degree of difficulty. I think Oklahoma City has a
Speaker 2: good claim for that number one spot. I'd go Boston
Speaker 2: number two, I'd go Lakers number three, I'd go Denver
Speaker 2: number four, I'd go Golden State five, and then I'd
Speaker 2: go with the Milwaukee Bucks at six. Next question, why
Speaker 2: is it so hard for the Warriors to build a
Speaker 2: competitive squad? By competitive, I'm meaning a team that takes it,
Speaker 2: that makes it to the Conference SEMIS at the very least,
Speaker 2: for three years they've absolutely failed. So I think the
Speaker 2: issue here was just kind of like the classic example
Speaker 2: of splitting the difference between two timelines, and you know,
Speaker 2: all of a sudden, Jonathan Kminga is a very different
Speaker 2: type of asset now that he's doing a new deal,
Speaker 2: right So, like that's the tricky part with this sort
Speaker 2: of situation that the Warriors to put themselves in. Had
Speaker 2: they made that sort of trade back in twenty twenty
Speaker 2: two and Jonathan Minga had some theoretical upside that people
Speaker 2: weren't sure if it existed or not, that's a positive
Speaker 2: asset right now, different type of asset, right Like, there's
Speaker 2: a lot of there's a lot of lost opportunity cost there, right,
Speaker 2: in terms of the time that they waited to pivot
Speaker 2: off of some of their young players, like even Jordan Poole,
Speaker 2: like really successful in that twenty twenty two playoff run,
Speaker 2: but then he has like a pretty brutal twenty twenty
Speaker 2: three playoffs. It kind of hurts his value a little
Speaker 2: bit on the way out the door, right, And so
Speaker 2: they waited, and they knew the exact thing they needed.
Speaker 2: It was abundantly clear what they needed ever since Kevin
Speaker 2: Durant left, which was a legitimate number two option, because
Speaker 2: we had seen that Klay Thompson after his injuries, was
Speaker 2: not capable of becoming that guy anymore. And they waited
Speaker 2: till now to do it. And you know that comes
Speaker 2: with downsides in terms of age and Steph breaking down
Speaker 2: with injury. But I do think that they have a legitimate,
Speaker 2: you know, competitive squad this year coming into this postseason
Speaker 2: or excuse me, this offseason. A couple tweaks here and there,
Speaker 2: a full camp to incorporate Jimmy Butler. Jimmy and Steph
Speaker 2: both approaching things with a real belief that they have
Speaker 2: a chance to win the title, which I don't think
Speaker 2: either of them had in the offseason last year. This
Speaker 2: is a classic example of an older veteran team that
Speaker 2: legitimately has a chance to win the title, but they
Speaker 2: have a very thin little pathway that they have to thread,
Speaker 2: and that pathway is thin because they waited so long
Speaker 2: to make this type of move. But it is what
Speaker 2: it is ultimately, that's what took that that's what delayed
Speaker 2: this process, That's what delayed the competitiveness. We all knew
Speaker 2: Steph needed a second option, they never got him one.
Speaker 2: Then now they have, but it came at the first
Speaker 2: time in Steph's career where his body like straight up
Speaker 2: like failed to take the floor in the NBA playoffs
Speaker 2: in a in a big spot.
Speaker 1: So it is what it is at this point.
Speaker 2: Next, one interesting question teams like the Hawks, Grizzlies, and Hornets,
Speaker 2: et cetera, who have their star player but seem to
Speaker 2: have a ceiling. What moves can they make to turn
Speaker 2: their teams into contenders? Should some of them have a
Speaker 2: major overhauler? Are they closer than I think? It's a
Speaker 2: mix of internal improvement for me as well as continuing
Speaker 2: to manage your young assets. Well, what I mean by
Speaker 2: internal improvement is this, specifically, for Ja Morant and LaMelo
Speaker 2: Ball figure out a way to be on the floor.
Speaker 2: Invest in a more rigorous strength training regimen, diet treatment,
Speaker 2: flexibility training. I don't care what it is. Find a
Speaker 2: way to be on the floor. If you can't stay
Speaker 2: on the floor for most of the season, your team
Speaker 2: will never catch a rhythm. And if your team never
Speaker 2: catches a rhythm, we'll never get a chance to actually
Speaker 2: learn what your team is really good at, what they
Speaker 2: suck at, and then have the information we need to
Speaker 2: adjust accordingly as a front office. Also skill development. Ja
Speaker 2: Morant's jump shooting is flatlined since he came into the NBA.
Speaker 2: He's hurting his chances to become the best version of himself.
Speaker 2: LaMelo Ball is rim finishing overall decision making a shot selection.
Speaker 2: Last year, LaMelo was below fifty percent at the rim,
Speaker 2: even including dunks thirty two percent on pull up jumpers.
Speaker 2: He shot below forty percent as a shooter. In pick
Speaker 2: and roll, you guys can go ahead and shelve any
Speaker 2: ideas of the the Hornets or the Grizzlies becoming contenders
Speaker 2: until those two guys actually become good enough at basketball
Speaker 2: to lead a contender. It's not about roster construction until
Speaker 2: those two dudes actually become that type of player. Both
Speaker 2: of them have come into the NBA and flashed all
Speaker 2: sorts of upside, become immensely popular with the younger generation,
Speaker 2: and have flatlined as basketball players. And as long as
Speaker 2: that is the case, there's gonna be no progress internally
Speaker 2: for those teams. As for supporting talent, Ja Moran and
Speaker 2: Jaron Jackson, we have a pretty good idea of because
Speaker 2: we've seen them play in enough high leverage moments. We've
Speaker 2: seen them play in four playoff series. Right for Jock,
Speaker 2: Memphis has consistently surrounded him with poor spot up talent
Speaker 2: to create space. That has consistently been an issue. They've
Speaker 2: been towards the bottom of the league in spot up
Speaker 2: efficiency year in and year out in the Jamrant era.
Speaker 2: Some of that is the situation with their bigs, which
Speaker 2: we'll get into in a minute, right But what they
Speaker 2: need is big, physical wings, guys that can do what
Speaker 2: Dylan Brooks did for them, Big physical wings who can shoot.
Speaker 2: And I think they took a good step in that
Speaker 2: direction yesterday with Cedric Coward. He has a pretty extensive
Speaker 2: track record of being a good spot up shooter. He's
Speaker 2: a big, physical wing with super long arms in a
Speaker 2: world of defensive utility. He's also a bit a bit older,
Speaker 2: and he has a game that's actually built to win
Speaker 2: in a winning context right away, that's a good step
Speaker 2: in that direction. But big physical perimeter defenders that can
Speaker 2: shoot the basketball, that have some switchability, that can attack
Speaker 2: close outs, those are the kinds of things that they
Speaker 2: need to surround Job with. And as far as Jaron
Speaker 2: Jackson goes, he's a batterybounder who fouls too much and
Speaker 2: doesn't do a particularly good job of holding down the
Speaker 2: paint because he goes after every shot at temp hunting block.
Speaker 2: So we know that Jaren needs to be anchored by
Speaker 2: a supporting bit that can be more disciplined around the rim,
Speaker 2: and that of course comes with foot speed and spacing
Speaker 2: issues right which we saw immediately come to fruition in
Speaker 2: the Thunder series. And so Jaren's generally just kind of
Speaker 2: tough to build around because he has some big weaknesses.
Speaker 2: But that's what I mean by internal improvement, Like, if
Speaker 2: Jaren's gonna have to play the four constantly, he's gonna
Speaker 2: have to become a damn good perimeter defender. Excuse me,
Speaker 2: a damn good perimeter offensive player. And so there's a
Speaker 2: lot of internal improvement barriers that stand between Memphis and
Speaker 2: where they want to go. As for Charlotte, they were
Speaker 2: the seventh worst defense in the NBA last year. They
Speaker 2: were built around two slender perimeter shot creators and LaMelo
Speaker 2: Ball and Brandon Miller, and obviously another athletic forward in
Speaker 2: Miles Bridges, who isn't a good defender, And they went
Speaker 2: and drafted two on athletic shooters per round in Conkinent
Speaker 2: Bull and Leam McNeely. So they feel super far away
Speaker 2: from us having any real idea of what their pathway
Speaker 2: forward is to contention. So I like Charlotte, it's just
Speaker 2: it's at this point. I guess we'll find out now
Speaker 2: that they've surrounded him with more shooting what kind of
Speaker 2: offensive upside they have. But they just don't feel anywhere
Speaker 2: near like let's even discuss what they need to do
Speaker 2: to content, if that makes sense. Welcome to course correction,
Speaker 2: brought to you by Microsoft. Just like star players and
Speaker 2: teams navigating performance hurdles, business decision makers today are under
Speaker 2: immense pressure to get things right. They must rise to
Speaker 2: the occasion, turning challenges into opportunities. Microsoft empowers these visionaries
Speaker 2: with AI solutions, simplified cloud and data management, and trustworthy
Speaker 2: responsible AI. When you're in the NBA, you have your
Speaker 2: own hurdles to face. In this segment, we will highlight
Speaker 2: the player every week that has risen to the occasion
Speaker 2: when his team needed in whatever challenge you're facing, Microsoft
Speaker 2: empowers you with the expertise to say bring it on. Today,
Speaker 2: we're covering my favorite draft pick from yesterday, Trey Johnson
Speaker 2: of the Texas Longhorns and now the Washington Wizards of
Speaker 2: the NBA. Trey was my favorite player that I watched
Speaker 2: when I was prepping for this draft class. To me,
Speaker 2: he represents the modern NBA score, an extremely gifted movement
Speaker 2: shooter that can shoot both off the dribble and off
Speaker 2: of action sprinting off of off ball screens by going
Speaker 2: both left and right at full speed with every dribble combination,
Speaker 2: every piece of footwork in the book. An awesome work
Speaker 2: ethic and attitude, and yet still a lot of room
Speaker 2: for improvement. Some real upside there. He made one hundred
Speaker 2: and twenty six jump shots this year, high volume in
Speaker 2: the college game, with how dedicated the defensive game planning
Speaker 2: is and how hard people play on every single possession.
Speaker 2: It's extremely difficult to do. To make one hundred and
Speaker 2: twenty six jump shots out of almost four thousand players
Speaker 2: in college hoops last year, that ranked thirtieth. Really impressive
Speaker 2: stuff in terms of high volume shot creation. He shot
Speaker 2: fifty two percent as the shooter coming off of off
Speaker 2: ball screens. By the way, that's field goals not weighted
Speaker 2: for three, so he made more than half of his
Speaker 2: shots in off ball action. He shot forty two percent
Speaker 2: on guarded catch and shoots routinely was hitting tough, contested
Speaker 2: shots on the move coming out of action.
Speaker 1: I think he is going to.
Speaker 2: Have an awesome situation going into in Washington in the
Speaker 2: sense that they kind of have this weird team that
Speaker 2: has all these interesting young defensive players, but they also
Speaker 2: have these older veteran wings. And I can't think of
Speaker 2: better guys for him to work with directly in terms
Speaker 2: of slowing the game down and learning how to use
Speaker 2: physicality and change of pace and to set his man
Speaker 2: up for screens and to actually get more open then CJ.
Speaker 2: McCollum and Chris Middleton, those are excellent examples of guys
Speaker 2: that weren't, you know, top tier athletes that learned how
Speaker 2: to use savvy body movements and physical leverage and timing
Speaker 2: and change of pace to get open off of screening action.
Speaker 2: So I think they're just awesome guys to put with
Speaker 2: Trey for him to learn how to do a better
Speaker 2: job of that, because, like, if we look at his
Speaker 2: areas of opportunity, there's playmaking, which we'll talk about in
Speaker 2: a minute. He obviously needs to improve as a defensive player,
Speaker 2: but a big one for me that I noticed on
Speaker 2: tape is like he's still pretty raw in terms of
Speaker 2: like actually learning how to get himself open, which is
Speaker 2: insane considering how many jump shots he made last year
Speaker 2: in the college game. I still think he has a
Speaker 2: sizable room for improvement there. And we did see in
Speaker 2: the Xavier game in particular, Sean Miller basically denied him
Speaker 2: the basketball most of the game by locking and trailing
Speaker 2: him and denying him whenever he could and kept a
Speaker 2: shot attempts down and really influenced him. And so those
Speaker 2: are the kinds of things you're gonna run into in
Speaker 2: the NBA. Is a really good lock and trail defender
Speaker 2: so how do you do a better job of finding
Speaker 2: openings within the offense when you're being guarded that way?
Speaker 1: Well? Good, like you know, you don't think. CJ.
Speaker 2: McCollum and Chris Middleton can talk to Trey about how
Speaker 2: screening is a great way to get himself open. Like, hey,
Speaker 2: in these sets, if you set really good screens, your
Speaker 2: man has no choice but to help. That will give
Speaker 2: you an opening to get more separation coming off of
Speaker 2: off ball screen. Little physical details, like little like fundamental
Speaker 2: details like walking your man down before running into an
Speaker 2: off ball screen. All of these like little tiny details
Speaker 2: that will help him get open more frequently. In the
Speaker 2: NBA and then the playmaking piece of it, this is
Speaker 2: where being more of like a traditional I shouldn't even traditional.
Speaker 2: The modern NBA score actually presents really basic reads as
Speaker 2: you're coming off of action, right like, oh, he shows
Speaker 2: at the level, I'm gonna throw the pocket pass. I
Speaker 2: come off and they help at the nail, I'm gonna
Speaker 2: throw the swing pass like they help at the level
Speaker 2: and they're packing the paint. It's the skip pass to
Speaker 2: the opposite corner. Like there's all these like basic reads
Speaker 2: that you have in these situations. And I think CJ
Speaker 2: and Chris will be able to help a lot with
Speaker 2: that as well. I'm super excited to watch Trey this
Speaker 2: year in his first NBA campaign. That's it for this
Speaker 2: week's course correction. Remember Microsoft's AI solutions empower you to
Speaker 2: take bold steps and make informed decisions, sparking new ideas
Speaker 2: to help drive your business forward. With Microsoft as your
Speaker 2: trusted partner, you can navigate your journey with confidence, finding
Speaker 2: innovative solutions, and reaching new possibilities. Visit Microsoft dot com
Speaker 2: Slash challengers to learn more. All right, few more? Should
Speaker 2: Philly look to move embeid or give that group one
Speaker 2: last run to see what they can do next season?
Speaker 2: Given Boston and the Pace are out of the picture
Speaker 2: next year, it seems like the perfect year for EMBID
Speaker 2: in Philly to make at least an Eastern Conference final
Speaker 2: or a final. You kind of have to We talked
Speaker 2: about this last year, like you kind of or this
Speaker 2: last season with all the investment that's been made in
Speaker 2: EMBIID in Paul George, like even just in time with
Speaker 2: Tyres Maxy, like you kind of have to give it
Speaker 2: one more shot. And I agree, like the wide open
Speaker 2: Eastern Conference it's gonna be tougher than it looks Cleveland
Speaker 2: is gonna You don't think Cleveland is now strongly considering
Speaker 2: standing pat after watching two of their biggest pieces of
Speaker 2: three of their biggest pieces of competition in the Eastern
Speaker 2: Conference in Milwaukee, Indiana and Boston all get chopped off
Speaker 2: at the knees, like Cleveland's gonna be there, Orlando's gonna
Speaker 2: be there, Like it's it's not going to be easy
Speaker 2: out in the Eastern Conference, but it's less deep, and
Speaker 2: that just means more margin for error. And so I
Speaker 2: do think you run it back, and you do hope
Speaker 2: that Paul George just had the injury season from hell
Speaker 2: and that he's able to get back up to being
Speaker 2: more of a volume score. And you do hope that
Speaker 2: Joel Embiid's knee recovers and that he comes into camp
Speaker 2: in good shape, and that they're able to make some
Speaker 2: sort of legitimate run next year. You kind of have to.
Speaker 2: But at the same time, they have some young pieces
Speaker 2: to get excited about, Jared McCain, bj Edgecomb that could
Speaker 2: be literally your backcourt of the future, and they're cheap
Speaker 2: because they're on rookie deals. So like if you have to.
Speaker 2: Let's say it's at the deadline this year or it's
Speaker 2: next offseason. If you finally go, that's it. We're done
Speaker 2: with the Joel and B Paul George experience. We're blowing
Speaker 2: this damn thing up, and you know, we're gonna have
Speaker 2: to take back some iffy contracts in the process. They're
Speaker 2: not as bad as the MB Paul George contracts, but
Speaker 2: they're still iffy contracts. You can bring bad guys in
Speaker 2: pay inflated salaries while you're paying young players on rookie contracts,
Speaker 2: and so that opening is still there, but I think
Speaker 2: you got to try to at least give it a
Speaker 2: go to start this season. What are your thoughts on
Speaker 2: Atlanta what they're starting lineup now with Christops Porzingis and
Speaker 2: a healthy Jalen Johnson given an injury riddled East, how
Speaker 2: do you think they'll stack up competitively? Love the content,
Speaker 2: one of the best ro basketball coverage. I thanks so
Speaker 2: much for the kind words. As mentioned earlier, things are
Speaker 2: wide open in the East. That is what kind of
Speaker 2: makes this exciting for Atlanta now. One of the things
Speaker 2: that you guys that we haven't got to see a
Speaker 2: ton of pray Young is an underrated driver of the basketball.
Speaker 2: He gets into the paint a lot more than most
Speaker 2: of his guard here is this is something that I
Speaker 2: was staring down the face of when I was digging
Speaker 2: into the numbers regarding in for any Simons like Trey
Speaker 2: Young gets into the paint a ton, and this is
Speaker 2: really his first chance to play with a true spacing
Speaker 2: five now all like the Hawks have had issues with
Speaker 2: spacing over the years, playing with traditional rim running bigs
Speaker 2: and forwards that don't shoot the ball super super well.
Speaker 2: Porzingis can help with that. He's one of the better
Speaker 2: above the break shooting bigs in the league, a guy
Speaker 2: that you actually have to account for there. I also
Speaker 2: like that Atlanta can keep them super athletic between those
Speaker 2: two guys like chrisps, Porzingis has legitimate issues getting up
Speaker 2: and down the floor in transition, I'm not sure I've
Speaker 2: ever seen a player run the floor as Zachary risache
Speaker 2: Like legitimately gets up and down the floor as well
Speaker 2: as any forward I've ever seen. Jalen Johnson is obviously
Speaker 2: a great option there too, so they can keep elite
Speaker 2: athletes in the middle at Dyson Daniels as well at
Speaker 2: all times to anchor those guys. It's a super fun,
Speaker 2: high risk, high reward type of move for the Hawks.
Speaker 2: They also drafted Asa Newell, a super athletic, undersized big
Speaker 2: out of Georgia yesterday, so they got a big to
Speaker 2: replace in case Clincapella leaves in free agency, which is
Speaker 2: almost certainly going to If you were going to give it,
Speaker 2: at least one go with Trey. This is a fun
Speaker 2: way to do it. They'll be interesting. Are they gonna
Speaker 2: win the title? Probably not, But in that Eastern Conference,
Speaker 2: really any of these teams could talk themselves into a
Speaker 2: conference finals appearance, even if it doesn't amount to anything,
Speaker 2: and that's an exciting opportunity for Atlanta. Hey, Jason love
Speaker 2: to Work, What player of players do you think need
Speaker 2: a new team slash environment heading into next season? Really
Speaker 2: good question. I picked three guys Devin Booker. At a
Speaker 2: certain point, if Phoenix comes out the gates and they're
Speaker 2: not good, like, at what point does Devin go I've
Speaker 2: been on a bad team the majority of my career
Speaker 2: and I want to go play somewhere where I can
Speaker 2: be competitive.
Speaker 1: A couple examples.
Speaker 2: Troit is an interesting fit for Devin Booker alongside k Cunningham.
Speaker 2: I thought a little bit about the Indiana Pacers as
Speaker 2: kind of like a talent play. In the short term,
Speaker 2: it could help you float while Tyre's Halliburton is injured.
Speaker 2: In the long term, that's a team that kind of
Speaker 2: struggled in slow down situations when they needed a bucket.
Speaker 2: That's something that Devin Booker could help with. San Antonio
Speaker 2: for the Spurs is another situation that I thought made
Speaker 2: some sense for Devin Booker, as surgical scoring will be
Speaker 2: something that they struggle with a bit in their current construct.
Speaker 2: Zion Williamson is a guy that obviously could use a change.
Speaker 2: It's so difficult to find a destination for him. I'm
Speaker 2: not even sure that Zion Williamson is a positive asset
Speaker 2: right now. Like I'm not even sure that they could
Speaker 2: get compensation for him if they look to move him.
Speaker 2: It's really difficult to find a fit as well. And
Speaker 2: the two fits that I found that made some sense
Speaker 2: are like a Cleveland because it would have to be
Speaker 2: alongside a big who could both protect the rim and
Speaker 2: also shoot the ball from the perimeter. Cleveland and alongside
Speaker 2: Evan Mobley is an interesting option, but that comes with
Speaker 2: a bunch of clunkiness in a bunch of ways Miami
Speaker 2: alongside Kell all where and that is actually my third
Speaker 2: player that I would consider as a guy that could
Speaker 2: use a change of scenery is bam At a Bio,
Speaker 2: a player that seems to have hit a ceiling in
Speaker 2: Miami and a Miami team that doesn't really have what
Speaker 2: they need to contend and a guy that I think
Speaker 2: could help a lot of teams get to the next
Speaker 2: level as like a five out passing folk rom at
Speaker 2: the top key and as a defensive anchor. And so
Speaker 2: if Zion were to go to Miami, I could see
Speaker 2: bam getting moved elsewhere. But those are three guys that
Speaker 2: I think could see a change of scenery in the
Speaker 2: next couple of years, Devin Bookers, Ion Williamson and bam
Speaker 2: At a Bio. All right, next question, can you speak
Speaker 2: broadly on the Celtics' immediate and mid term need to
Speaker 2: acquire a versatile big man to replace Chris tops Porzingis
Speaker 2: who's available, who would fit, et cetera. Lots of teams
Speaker 2: are looking for this, and there's a reality to Boston's
Speaker 2: payroll situation. If you're going to keep Jalen Brown, Jason Tatum,
Speaker 2: Derek White. When Tatum comes back the year after next,
Speaker 2: that's one hundred and forty five million dollars on the
Speaker 2: books just on those three guys. So you are kind
Speaker 2: of looking at the fringe market in a lot of ways.
Speaker 2: That's gonna be older guys that struggle to move or
Speaker 2: younger guys that have skill limitations or size limitations. The
Speaker 2: good news is that you've demonstrated that you can find
Speaker 2: those types of guys. Luke Cornette, who's basically going to
Speaker 2: be your center for the next couple of years, he
Speaker 2: was an undrafted journeyman that you found value in right.
Speaker 2: Nimi Kueita was a second round pick. Now he wasn't perfect,
Speaker 2: but he had his moments. But you basically have to
Speaker 2: cycle through those guys on the margins until you find value.
Speaker 2: And when it comes to Biggs, I personally think it's
Speaker 2: easiest to work with a guy who has really good
Speaker 2: natural motor meaning you play super hard, good athleticism and
Speaker 2: intelligence meaning I would be willing to give ground in
Speaker 2: terms of size and length and some of like the
Speaker 2: like for refined offensive skill like jump shooting and stuff
Speaker 2: like that, I'd be willing to give ground on those areas.
Speaker 2: If he's a good athlete who runs super hard and
Speaker 2: is a smart player like that, to me, I can
Speaker 2: make good use of in terms of putting him in
Speaker 2: spots in a scheme, right, But like if he's super tall,
Speaker 2: but he can't run the floor and he's not very
Speaker 2: physically competitive and he's a little bit soft and he
Speaker 2: can shoot threes like that, that doesn't really do a
Speaker 2: ton for me, especially in the context of Boston Celtics
Speaker 2: basketball in the way they like to play. A smart
Speaker 2: guy who knows how to relocate in and out of
Speaker 2: the dunker spots, screen, to slip out of screens, that
Speaker 2: can flow side to side an action, and that runs
Speaker 2: the floor hard. It can do his job on defense,
Speaker 2: I think is all you need in order to fill
Speaker 2: that specific role. What percentage, what field goal percentage at
Speaker 2: the rim or layups is considered bad? And is it
Speaker 2: an easy thing for a player to fix or is
Speaker 2: it something more complicated. I heard Jeremiah Fears was a
Speaker 2: poor finisher, but I don't know if that's true. So
Speaker 2: Jeremih Fears shot fifty one percent on layups last year,
Speaker 2: most of his misses when I went through them this
Speaker 2: morning were related to poor decision making, and this falls
Speaker 2: in line with one of my biggest kind of basketball
Speaker 2: world views. For the most part, layup percentage is about
Speaker 2: decision making. Most guys are going to make a layup
Speaker 2: when it's open. Now, there is value in the ability
Speaker 2: to make contact layups, sort of make layups in traffic.
Speaker 2: We've all seen guys like Kyrie Irving do it, Steph
Speaker 2: Curry do it. Really high level guards with soft touch
Speaker 2: and being able to shift angles and finish in traffic.
Speaker 2: There is value there. But ultimately, if you beat your
Speaker 2: man off the dribble and you encounter a big at
Speaker 2: the basket, there's another advantage there. There's another advantage in
Speaker 2: the form of you compromising the defense, and so a
Speaker 2: lot of times, like I would argue, one of the
Speaker 2: worst shots in basketball is a heavily contested layup. It
Speaker 2: can sometimes cause problems for your transition defense, especially when
Speaker 2: you're careening down the lane from the top of the key.
Speaker 2: There are versions of that that can be successful. Miss
Speaker 2: layups where you occupy the rim protector and then your
Speaker 2: big comes in and gets an offensive rebound. But there's
Speaker 2: a downside if you miss layups they often lead to
Speaker 2: transition opportunities going the other way, and so rim decision
Speaker 2: making is ultimately where you can improve your field goal
Speaker 2: percentage on layups. There were a lot of Jeremiah Fear's
Speaker 2: layups that he missed where he didn't beat his defender
Speaker 2: and so then he tried to get into his body
Speaker 2: and go way out wide and flip something crazy or
Speaker 2: like I saw some of them where he was shooting
Speaker 2: through two people, like didn't beat his defender and was
Speaker 2: trying to shoot through a rim protector, and those are
Speaker 2: going to be low percentage layups for anybody. That is
Speaker 2: a decision making piece for me. Now, it's worth mentioning
Speaker 2: that Fears's volume was super high. His one hundred and
Speaker 2: ninety two rim attempts ranked one hundred and thirty eighth
Speaker 2: in all of college basketball, again out of almost four
Speaker 2: thousand players. So that's going to be an upside in
Speaker 2: terms of his ability to get into the paint. He
Speaker 2: just has to improve his decision making when he gets there.
Speaker 2: The thing that Fears will have to work on in
Speaker 2: terms of translating his game to the NBA level will
Speaker 2: be I noticed a ton of like straight line speed,
Speaker 2: but the the actual first step is not like nuclear
Speaker 2: if that makes sense. So, like I am a little
Speaker 2: bit curious to see, you know, like you'll see when
Speaker 2: if there's a loose ball, or if he can get
Speaker 2: an extended ball screen where the ball screen is a
Speaker 2: little bit further out, or if you can start his
Speaker 2: attack from further out, or in transition when he's going,
Speaker 2: he's blazing, but in like straight up like set defender
Speaker 2: right in front of him. You know, he's not the
Speaker 2: fastest player that I've ever seen off that first step,
Speaker 2: And so whether or not his first step works to
Speaker 2: NBA talent will be an interesting swing. And then obviously
Speaker 2: the jumper for him as well, it's kind of a
Speaker 2: little bit of a clunky fit in New Orleans as well.
Speaker 2: They can surround him with some shooting, but then obviously
Speaker 2: there's a Zion Williamson piece.
Speaker 1: There's a bunch of funky stuff there in New Orleans.
Speaker 2: All right, fun one for you guys now that the
Speaker 2: season is over, Maybe a fun what if aliens are
Speaker 2: invading the Earth and the only way to save the
Speaker 2: planet is to play an exhibition game against him? Five starters,
Speaker 2: one sub and everyone is healthy available. Whow I missed
Speaker 2: the one subpart, so maybe we can work through that
Speaker 2: together to see if you go fit or just straight
Speaker 2: up top players. I'm always gonna go with fit, so
Speaker 2: let's start there, and I'm gonna have my top five,
Speaker 2: and then I forgot about that subpart, so maybe we
Speaker 2: can all work through that together. Here in a minute,
Speaker 2: I want the best player in the world on my team,
Speaker 2: so I'm going with Nikola Jokic. From there, I want
Speaker 2: to surround Nikola Jokic with a group of talent that
Speaker 2: kind of fits his particular game, right, Like that's what
Speaker 2: we're doing when we're talking about fit. So I want
Speaker 2: athletic size that is super smart, knows how to move
Speaker 2: the ball, and can make open shots. This is one
Speaker 2: exhibition game, so I'm not worried about health. Right at
Speaker 2: the four, I'm looking at Lebron or Yannis. Both are
Speaker 2: excellent backline defenders and defensive rebounders. I think Giannis is
Speaker 2: a bit better at both. Lebron is a better shooter
Speaker 2: and a smarter off ball mover and off ball screener.
Speaker 2: But Jokic kind of unlocks this vertical spacing window because
Speaker 2: he doesn't occupy space underneath the rim. So I'm gonna
Speaker 2: actually go with Yanis here. I do think that means
Speaker 2: we're gonna need a ton of shooting elsewhere on the floor,
Speaker 2: But I think Yannis makes Jokic more tenable defensively as
Speaker 2: you comes up to the level in ball screens. Giannis
Speaker 2: is one of the best low man defenders in the
Speaker 2: history of basketball. I think it's a perfect spot for
Speaker 2: him to fit in there and be able to cover
Speaker 2: both the roleman and that weak side corner piece. But
Speaker 2: then Yannis is also a very natural fit as a
Speaker 2: vertical spacer working along the baseline off of Nikola Jokic.
Speaker 2: Our three man needs to be a lights out shooter
Speaker 2: and a weak side scorer. I think Kevin Durant just
Speaker 2: makes all the sense in the world here. Tatum, if
Speaker 2: he's healthy, is an option, But then I think if
Speaker 2: we bring in Tatum, I think we're playing a dangerous
Speaker 2: game with jump shooting because he's just so finicky as
Speaker 2: a jump shooter. So I think I'd pass on Tatum.
Speaker 2: If we went Tatum, Janis Jokic, and Jokic can be
Speaker 2: finicky as a jump shooter as well. I don't think
Speaker 2: that makes a ton of sense. We don't really have
Speaker 2: a ton of other great options in terms of elite
Speaker 2: athletes that are great shooters and have great positional size
Speaker 2: and athleticism at the three spot, So I think KD
Speaker 2: is our best option there. Our two guard would absolutely
Speaker 2: need to be an apex perimeter defender that can shoot
Speaker 2: the ball, but you also don't want to forego talent
Speaker 2: here for no reason, so I wanted to think through
Speaker 2: the star guards at least, right I want a freaky
Speaker 2: athlete as a good defender at the guard position, but
Speaker 2: that also brings star level talent. Ideally, Anthony Edwards would
Speaker 2: be this guy if he was further along in his career,
Speaker 2: but I just don't think he's put things together enough defensively.
Speaker 2: Yet he's too inattentive off the ball, and he doesn't
Speaker 2: navigate screens well enough.
Speaker 1: Yet.
Speaker 2: I don't think Shay is up to the task defensively.
Speaker 2: I don't think Donovan Mitchell is up to the task defensively.
Speaker 2: Jalen Brown's an interesting option. A is a guy who
Speaker 2: I think do it defensively, but I don't want another
Speaker 2: non shooter here with Giannis on the floor, especially with
Speaker 2: Jokic occasionally going cold. I like Jalen to me, is
Speaker 2: just a little too far down in terms of consistent
Speaker 2: jump shooting. Devin Booker did an admirable job in the Olympics,
Speaker 2: but I think at that point, especially with who I'm
Speaker 2: about to pick for point guard, I think we wouldn't
Speaker 2: be athletic enough if he was there. So I think
Speaker 2: our best bet here might be just like the guy
Speaker 2: that we all say whenever we need a two guard
Speaker 2: to be a role player, and that's Dreue Holliday. He's
Speaker 2: still one of the top tier point of attack guys
Speaker 2: in the league. He can guard multiple different types of players.
Speaker 2: He's got great size for the position. His shooting is inconsistent,
Speaker 2: but I think he's a more reliable, just like catch
Speaker 2: and shoot guy than Jaylen Brown. And he's a super
Speaker 2: smart off ball cutter and screener. He's very good at
Speaker 2: finishing around the rim if he ends up in dunker
Speaker 2: spot situations. He has a shit ton of big game experience.
Speaker 2: He's won multiple championships. He doesn't need the ball in
Speaker 2: his hands at all in terms of the flow of
Speaker 2: the offense, I think Drew Holliday makes a ton of
Speaker 2: sense as that two guard, and then for the point
Speaker 2: guard spot. I want the best possible option in the
Speaker 2: world for a two man game partner with Nikola Jokic,
Speaker 2: and I can't think of anybody better than Stephan Curry
Speaker 2: for that spot. The relentless movement, the ability to set
Speaker 2: his man up for screens, Jokic's unbelievable screening ability. You
Speaker 2: would never be able to switch that action. Anybody who's
Speaker 2: big enough to guard Jokic is hopeless to be fast
Speaker 2: enough to guard Steph, and anyone who's fasten to guard
Speaker 2: Steph is going to be hopeless to be big enough
Speaker 2: to guard Nikola Jokich. I think that that would be
Speaker 2: the indomitable two man action that you could run in
Speaker 2: the half court that just kind of gives us a
Speaker 2: level of resilience when the game really slows down, and
Speaker 2: then from there as far as the sixth man goes,
Speaker 2: this is a really good question. I think I would
Speaker 2: I think I would strongly consider Shay Gil just Alexander
Speaker 2: for this spot as a guy that is just a
Speaker 2: supremely gifted isolation scorer who could come in and provide
Speaker 2: a different form of offense in minutes when Steph Curry
Speaker 2: comes off the floor. I think Shay would be a
Speaker 2: really good option for that sixth man, just as a
Speaker 2: get Let's put him in the game and just let
Speaker 2: him shoot the ball and attack one on one whenever
Speaker 2: he can. So as far as the starting five goes,
Speaker 2: I'd have the two best offensive players in the history
Speaker 2: of the sport running a perfectly complimentary two man game.
Speaker 2: I'd have the best week side score in the history
Speaker 2: of the sport. On the week side, an absolute beast
Speaker 2: working the baseline, Giannison Tanna Kumpo, one of the best
Speaker 2: role players in the history of the league, filling out
Speaker 2: all the gaps at that two guard spot spot, including
Speaker 2: guarding the other team's best player. Still plenty of defensive
Speaker 2: talent on the floor with Drew KD and Giannis, lots
Speaker 2: of rangy athleticism to cover ground, especially with Giannis and Kd.
Speaker 2: Stefan Jokic aren't great defenders, but they're smart and they
Speaker 2: compete and they do their job. And then obviously a
Speaker 2: sixth man in Shake Gildas Alexander, who was the best high,
Speaker 2: high high volume isolation player in the league last year,
Speaker 2: to fill that spot. That's the group that I would
Speaker 2: send to fight the Aliens, all right, guys, that's all
Speaker 2: I have for today. As always, a sincerely appreciate you
Speaker 2: guys for supporting me and suporting the show. We're taking
Speaker 2: the rest of the weekend off. We'll be back on
Speaker 2: Monday to cover NBA Free Agency. I will also have
Speaker 2: my equipment with me for any sort of trade or
Speaker 2: big major NBA news that comes down this weekend. But
Speaker 2: maybe we'll get to have this weekend off as we
Speaker 2: get a little break after this crazy last couple of months.
Speaker 2: I will see you guys on Monday.
Speaker 1: What's up guys.
Speaker 2: As always, I appreciate you for listening to and supporting
Speaker 2: who tonight. It would actually be really helpful for us
Speaker 2: if you guys would take a second and leave a
Speaker 2: rating and a review. As always, I appreciate you guys
Speaker 2: supporting us, but if you could take a minute to
Speaker 2: do that, I'd really appreciate it.
Speaker 1: The volume