WEBVTT - NBA Draft Examination with Ryan McDonough 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:09.640 As tom early in June for NBA fans, because the 0:00:09.760 --> 0:00:12.280 draft is now one day away. 0:00:12.800 --> 0:00:15.080 We're gonna get you at the speed on what teams need, 0:00:15.360 --> 0:00:18.360 absolutely need a good draft, what players to watch on 0:00:18.480 --> 0:00:21.880 draft night, Who the big sleepers are, who's gonna have 0:00:21.880 --> 0:00:24.120 a big impact next NBA season. 0:00:24.160 --> 0:00:27.120 But we also have a special guest later on in 0:00:27.120 --> 0:00:30.840 this show, a former GM of the Phoenix Suns, executive 0:00:30.880 --> 0:00:36.400 for the Boston Celtics, former International Scout Odyssey insider Ryan McDonough's. 0:00:37.320 --> 0:00:41.920 So everybody's putting out mocks. There's a million of them, 0:00:42.320 --> 0:00:45.239 but I'm not mocking like that's pointless. That's something for 0:00:45.280 --> 0:00:48.559 you to read, right, So we already know who the 0:00:48.560 --> 0:00:52.520 top three are, right, it's Chet probably go number two. 0:00:52.920 --> 0:00:56.400 It's Jabbari who really rolls up through his time at Auburn, 0:00:56.680 --> 0:01:00.320 and it's Paala from Duke. You don't know these names? 0:01:00.520 --> 0:01:02.320 What are you doing listening right? What are you doing? 0:01:02.960 --> 0:01:07.160 Chet Holmgritten from Gonzaga seven feet tall, slim reaper that 0:01:07.240 --> 0:01:10.360 he is one hundred and ninety five pounds, probably one 0:01:10.400 --> 0:01:14.400 hundred and eighty five pounds, could be could be something 0:01:14.480 --> 0:01:20.759 between Christaps Porzingis and Kevin Durant Palo Ben Carroll unguardable 0:01:21.280 --> 0:01:23.920 six feet ten, two hundred and fifty pounds. He looks 0:01:23.959 --> 0:01:28.000 like a regular human being that has been like expanded 0:01:28.040 --> 0:01:31.399 three times the size of that, Like every proportion is correct, 0:01:31.640 --> 0:01:36.720 but he's just huge. And Jabari Smith interesting intriguing prospect. 0:01:36.720 --> 0:01:39.520 Can play the defensive side really well, can shoot the 0:01:39.560 --> 0:01:42.760 ball really well, and I think he'll work wherever he goes. 0:01:43.720 --> 0:01:45.760 That's all we're doing for the market. I'll give you 0:01:45.800 --> 0:01:48.600 some players to watch that are sleepers or wildcards later 0:01:48.640 --> 0:01:50.760 on in the show, but I think that what's most 0:01:50.760 --> 0:01:54.960 important are current NBA teams. Who's currently there and who 0:01:55.160 --> 0:02:00.600 needs to have an absolutely phenomenal draft night or agency 0:02:00.640 --> 0:02:05.000 including the draft, considering what they have available in order 0:02:05.040 --> 0:02:07.880 for this franchise to move forward. We've got teams that 0:02:07.960 --> 0:02:13.400 are in inflection points people and decisions need to be made. 0:02:13.480 --> 0:02:15.280 All of these teams we're going to talk about are 0:02:15.320 --> 0:02:19.600 teams that have draft capital. We're not talking about teams 0:02:19.639 --> 0:02:21.920 like the Lakers or the Nets that are at crossroads 0:02:21.960 --> 0:02:25.240 as well. We're talking about teams with lottery picks. Who's 0:02:25.320 --> 0:02:28.840 going to be able to maximize their lottery picks with 0:02:28.960 --> 0:02:33.160 the situation that they're in number one for me, and 0:02:33.240 --> 0:02:35.359 this is in no particular order because I don't want 0:02:35.360 --> 0:02:37.440 to be biased, right, So I'm going to say one 0:02:37.480 --> 0:02:39.760 team before the team that I think is number one 0:02:40.160 --> 0:02:44.079 needs to kill the draft. Number one on this list 0:02:44.560 --> 0:02:48.280 not most important team, but teams whom for this is 0:02:48.320 --> 0:02:52.600 a very important draft. Charlotte Hornet's number one. This team 0:02:52.840 --> 0:02:57.480 needs a good draft even more now given that Kenny 0:02:57.480 --> 0:03:00.320 Atkinson was supposed to take the job as head coach, 0:03:00.440 --> 0:03:03.120 one of the best talent developers in the league, and 0:03:03.160 --> 0:03:06.560 he abandoned ship at the very last moment. You know 0:03:06.800 --> 0:03:09.400 that there's a franchise in disarray when you had a 0:03:09.480 --> 0:03:12.200 coach and he backed out and said it was for 0:03:12.200 --> 0:03:16.960 family reasons, like he's staying in Golden State, and rumors 0:03:17.000 --> 0:03:19.560 are it's because he wasn't allowed to bring his own assistance. 0:03:19.880 --> 0:03:24.079 I even heard some little side jokes from other NBA 0:03:24.160 --> 0:03:28.200 insiders where they're like, yeah, some owners in certain NBA teams, 0:03:28.440 --> 0:03:31.960 they some won't even let their coaches choose their own assistance. 0:03:32.200 --> 0:03:34.400 They didn't say who was, but I already heard that rumor, 0:03:34.400 --> 0:03:36.600 and I was like, that's obviously what they're talking about. 0:03:37.400 --> 0:03:39.440 So what does this mean for a team with two 0:03:39.520 --> 0:03:43.480 first rounders this year? If MJ can't keep his hands 0:03:43.480 --> 0:03:46.480 out of the cookie jar Man, I don't know, right 0:03:46.600 --> 0:03:50.040 is he gonna get involved again? Are thirteen and fifteen 0:03:50.080 --> 0:03:53.040 gonna be MJ's picks or they're gonna be Mitch Kupcheck's 0:03:53.040 --> 0:03:57.680 pitch They chose James Bookknight last year. James Booknight at 0:03:57.680 --> 0:04:01.600 thirteen again, I'll just say this, he didn't perform up 0:04:01.600 --> 0:04:04.280 to the expectations that you would think a thirteen pick 0:04:04.480 --> 0:04:08.600 would make. There's a lot of impact guys defensively, offensively 0:04:08.640 --> 0:04:12.480 that came in later than James Brooknight and really contributed 0:04:12.480 --> 0:04:15.640 to the team. A la Herb Jones. Hayward's gotta be 0:04:15.720 --> 0:04:18.760 moved if you want to max out Miles Bridges, and 0:04:18.800 --> 0:04:23.240 that probably means sending one of your firsts along the way, right, 0:04:23.720 --> 0:04:26.599 So you've got to probably send first to move Hayward 0:04:26.640 --> 0:04:30.359 in order to max Miles Bridges. Booknight was your lottery pick. 0:04:30.640 --> 0:04:33.400 He didn't turn out. You got thirteen and fifteen again. 0:04:34.400 --> 0:04:36.800 You need to figure it out. You've been in the 0:04:36.800 --> 0:04:39.040 play in two years now. You had the worst defense 0:04:39.080 --> 0:04:41.000 in the league. You don't even have a coach before 0:04:41.040 --> 0:04:44.040 the draft. I don't even know what kind of coaching 0:04:44.080 --> 0:04:46.240 style you're gonna have. There's a lot of questions about 0:04:46.240 --> 0:04:50.160 whether Mike dan Toni is gonna come in. Okay, one 0:04:50.160 --> 0:04:53.400 of the worst defenses in the league, can't protect the rim, 0:04:53.800 --> 0:04:56.719 Mike D'Antoni. One of these things do not fit like 0:04:56.800 --> 0:05:00.240 the other. If you're trying to fix that, I don't 0:05:00.279 --> 0:05:03.320 know what you're doing right. You're probably gonna have to 0:05:03.400 --> 0:05:05.359 use thirteen or fifteen to get rid of Hayward. So 0:05:05.480 --> 0:05:07.920 means whoever you get at fifteen needs to bring value 0:05:08.400 --> 0:05:10.479 to me the number one guy that they can get. 0:05:11.080 --> 0:05:14.320 I scan through all the drafts, all the mocks, all 0:05:14.360 --> 0:05:18.040 the players, all that number one player that Charlotte Hornet 0:05:18.040 --> 0:05:21.960 fans should be rooting for them to select, and maybe 0:05:21.960 --> 0:05:24.800 they keep both, maybe they keep thirteen and fifteen and 0:05:24.800 --> 0:05:27.320 they figure out a way to move Hayward Without those 0:05:28.320 --> 0:05:32.919 You need Mark Williams from Duke need them great rim protector, 0:05:33.680 --> 0:05:39.080 Probably a more mature, smart, smarter, higher IQ immediate impact 0:05:39.080 --> 0:05:42.080 guy than Rob Williams. He's like a smarter, more mature 0:05:42.200 --> 0:05:46.880 Rob Williams seven footer can protect the rim, and I 0:05:46.880 --> 0:05:48.520 think that makes the most sense, you could probably get 0:05:48.560 --> 0:05:51.600 him at fifteen, because you know that Cleveland at fourteen 0:05:51.760 --> 0:05:55.400 isn't selecting another big man. If you end up keeping 0:05:55.480 --> 0:05:57.920 number thirteen, I could see them going after a perimeter 0:05:58.040 --> 0:06:00.839 player as well. If you could get say a Jeremy 0:06:00.880 --> 0:06:05.200 Soshan if he falls down there, I like that. If 0:06:05.200 --> 0:06:07.240 you can get a Dison Daniels if he falls there, 0:06:07.520 --> 0:06:10.200 find some guy that can defend on the perimeter, because 0:06:10.240 --> 0:06:11.960 right now you ain't got it like that. You got 0:06:12.000 --> 0:06:14.680 Kelly Ubray and you got Hayward and it's just not 0:06:14.800 --> 0:06:17.920 working out. The most important team that needs to kill 0:06:17.960 --> 0:06:22.200 the draft, in my opinion, is Portland. Yeah. Yeah, not 0:06:22.240 --> 0:06:24.560 because it's my team either. It's not because of that, 0:06:24.839 --> 0:06:27.560 because this team says they want to contend. Right now, 0:06:28.000 --> 0:06:30.839 you're talking about a team that's got top seven, seventh 0:06:30.920 --> 0:06:33.599 pick in the draft. Literally, I read an article so 0:06:33.720 --> 0:06:37.000 disrespectful they said the only two good teams that are 0:06:37.080 --> 0:06:41.320 drafting in the lottery are San Antonio and I forget 0:06:41.400 --> 0:06:43.680 the other one, but it wasn't Portland, And I'm like, 0:06:43.720 --> 0:06:46.039 what do you mean? We went to the Western Conference 0:06:46.080 --> 0:06:49.080 finals a couple of years ago. We try to tank. 0:06:49.120 --> 0:06:53.080 This team tanked on purpose, right, Okay, So they need 0:06:53.080 --> 0:06:55.080 to hit the draft out of the park. They need 0:06:55.080 --> 0:06:57.720 to come out the blocks. It's moving pieces are a 0:06:57.880 --> 0:07:01.280 draft night, moving the pick altogether. There is an urgency. 0:07:01.480 --> 0:07:04.040 They have promised Dan they are building a contender and 0:07:04.080 --> 0:07:07.599 retooling around him. They can't fuck around and get in 0:07:07.640 --> 0:07:10.320 a project. What do you mean, like Dave's gonna be 0:07:10.360 --> 0:07:15.800 like you just drafted shaded sharp. Okay, Like when is 0:07:15.800 --> 0:07:19.400 he going to contribute? Because I'm thirty in my mid thirties. 0:07:20.320 --> 0:07:25.800 Portland needs viable pieces yesterday. So I don't think it's 0:07:25.800 --> 0:07:30.440 Caljun Blevins that's gonna contribute yesterday, right. Joe cronin the GM, 0:07:30.760 --> 0:07:34.760 the good thing about him is he's valuing length athleticism. 0:07:35.080 --> 0:07:38.640 He said he values the ability to play multiple positions 0:07:38.680 --> 0:07:42.640 and guard multiple positions, defend on the perimeters, which everything 0:07:42.720 --> 0:07:46.200 shoot threes. That's a good start in terms of how 0:07:46.240 --> 0:07:49.680 you think about guys. My favorite player at number seven, 0:07:49.960 --> 0:07:52.920 Benedict Mathern. I love him. I've always loved him since 0:07:52.960 --> 0:07:55.920 the beginning of the season. Since October, I've been all 0:07:56.000 --> 0:07:58.160 up in his DMS, being like, come to Portland, Come 0:07:58.160 --> 0:08:01.960 to Portland, Come to Portland. He shot up the board 0:08:01.960 --> 0:08:04.080 in the low double digits, from the low double digits 0:08:04.120 --> 0:08:05.400 now to the top five pick, so I don't even 0:08:05.440 --> 0:08:06.880 know if he's going to be there. He might go 0:08:06.920 --> 0:08:10.160 to Detroit. I have no idea. He might go to Indiana. 0:08:10.680 --> 0:08:14.000 I don't know. Based on Joe Cronin's comments, I can 0:08:14.040 --> 0:08:17.480 see this team either taking maybe a Dyson Daniels. I 0:08:17.520 --> 0:08:19.840 could also see them taking Shadon Sharp, even though he's 0:08:19.840 --> 0:08:22.640 a project, just because he's long, and maybe they're lying. 0:08:22.800 --> 0:08:25.120 Maybe they are gonna shop Dame. I have no idea, 0:08:25.160 --> 0:08:28.720 but Dy Dyson Daniels is long, he's athletic, he has 0:08:28.800 --> 0:08:31.640 great court vision, he can pass like Josh Giddy, he 0:08:31.640 --> 0:08:34.920 can defend, he can shoot. As for Shaden, he could 0:08:35.000 --> 0:08:38.160 end up being a superstar. A lot of chatter also 0:08:38.280 --> 0:08:42.120 around Portland trading number seven for og Ananobi and some pieces, 0:08:42.160 --> 0:08:45.079 maybe also trying to get that user twenty twenty five 0:08:45.120 --> 0:08:47.880 first round pick from the Bucks along with the pick 0:08:47.880 --> 0:08:50.080 in the fifties to try to make a three team 0:08:50.120 --> 0:08:52.600 trade work where you get og Ananoby and John Collins. 0:08:52.760 --> 0:08:55.600 That would be something, wouldn't it. That would be something. 0:08:55.880 --> 0:08:58.640 But there's a lot of recent chatter that Portland's keeping 0:08:58.679 --> 0:09:02.079 their seventh pick. Again. We're going to talk to Ryan 0:09:02.160 --> 0:09:05.640 mcgunnah about this later on in the show. But teams 0:09:05.640 --> 0:09:08.600 are out here lying recklessly, so that could be very 0:09:08.600 --> 0:09:10.720 easily a lot. I could see that being something that 0:09:10.720 --> 0:09:13.600 they're just taking people off the scent and trying to 0:09:13.640 --> 0:09:16.720 make it sound like they have their pick in mind 0:09:16.960 --> 0:09:20.120 so that that pick seems more valuable to other teams. 0:09:20.679 --> 0:09:24.480 Another team that I think needs to really kill this 0:09:25.840 --> 0:09:30.440 is the Wizards. Huge offseason for the Wizards, much like Boston, 0:09:31.160 --> 0:09:35.000 they haven't been able to find that elusive point guard 0:09:35.480 --> 0:09:37.959 after John Wall got injured and then got shipped away. 0:09:38.160 --> 0:09:41.280 They tried out Spencer Dinwoodie. He wasn't really a point guard. 0:09:41.480 --> 0:09:44.360 They tried out Ish Smith, They tried out Raoul Nettle, 0:09:44.559 --> 0:09:47.760 they tried out Cassius Winston, they tried out Aaron Holliday. 0:09:47.840 --> 0:09:50.360 The list goes on and on. They tried out Bradley Beal. 0:09:50.880 --> 0:09:52.920 Is Bradley Beial a point guard for the Wizards of 0:09:52.960 --> 0:09:55.880 the Future. I don't think so. I don't know, but 0:09:56.000 --> 0:09:58.360 I don't think so. A lot of chatter right now 0:09:58.440 --> 0:10:01.319 about the Wizards moving up to the number four spot 0:10:01.480 --> 0:10:04.760 for Jade and Ivy or trading three first rounds of 0:10:04.760 --> 0:10:07.400 this tenth pick and two first in the future for 0:10:07.760 --> 0:10:11.400 Sga or John Tamrie. What are all those guys have 0:10:11.520 --> 0:10:16.160 in common. They're not really point guards. They're not other 0:10:16.360 --> 0:10:20.920 combo guards their score first guards. Pair that with what 0:10:20.960 --> 0:10:25.200 Tommy Shepherd said yesterday during whatever media availability it was. 0:10:25.679 --> 0:10:29.560 He said, Listen, I'm traditional. I like point guards to 0:10:29.559 --> 0:10:31.800 set the offense and try to get everyone involved and 0:10:31.840 --> 0:10:34.200 move the ball. Because you see the results when we 0:10:34.240 --> 0:10:37.920 move the ball, we're pretty good. Let me ask you this, 0:10:38.920 --> 0:10:41.880 which three of those is setting the table? Which three 0:10:41.880 --> 0:10:44.480 of those is getting everybody the ball? You think Jade 0:10:44.520 --> 0:10:47.680 and Ivy's passing the ball. No, Jade and Ivy doesn't 0:10:47.679 --> 0:10:49.400 even know how to pass the ball when he's driving 0:10:49.400 --> 0:10:50.800 and kicking effectively. 0:10:51.440 --> 0:10:51.600 No. 0:10:52.200 --> 0:10:55.320 So to me, what the wizard should do is they 0:10:55.360 --> 0:10:59.080 should probably trade that pick for a piece. Go after 0:10:59.280 --> 0:11:02.800 Tias Jones, trade the number ten pick to Memphis, try 0:11:02.840 --> 0:11:06.000 to figure out a way to get something like that. Also, 0:11:06.120 --> 0:11:08.920 go after Jalen Brunson in free agency. If you could 0:11:08.920 --> 0:11:12.240 get a Johnny Davis, maybe sit him and then go 0:11:12.280 --> 0:11:17.000 after Jalen Brunson or Tias Jones. And even here's a 0:11:17.000 --> 0:11:19.559 little crazy thought because he'll be available in December. In 0:11:19.640 --> 0:11:22.960 terms of playing, Ricky Rubio makes a ton of sense. 0:11:23.280 --> 0:11:28.160 Ricky Rubio is a perfect playmaker, set the table, get 0:11:28.200 --> 0:11:31.800 everybody involved, can put up thirty. He and Bradley Build 0:11:31.800 --> 0:11:34.520 together if Ricky Rubio is fully healthy, and I know 0:11:34.600 --> 0:11:37.520 that's a big if, they would be really good together. 0:11:38.320 --> 0:11:40.720 And now you've got to ask two a big issue 0:11:40.760 --> 0:11:42.880 of course of what is Bradley Build going to do. 0:11:43.440 --> 0:11:45.920 How this draft ends up, what they end up doing 0:11:45.920 --> 0:11:48.920 in free agency will absolutely play a factor in how 0:11:48.960 --> 0:11:52.400 Bradley beul sees and views the future of this franchise. 0:11:52.880 --> 0:11:55.400 He and you don't need to do much. You don't 0:11:55.400 --> 0:11:59.080 really because he already is so delusional because he wants 0:11:59.120 --> 0:12:01.559 to believe. He wants to believe that the Wizards will 0:12:01.600 --> 0:12:04.320 compete for a championship while he's in his prime. The 0:12:04.400 --> 0:12:08.000 answer that everyone, including Wizards fans know is that it's 0:12:08.120 --> 0:12:11.720 never going to happen. Bradley Beal will never be on 0:12:11.760 --> 0:12:15.640 a contender in the District of Columbia. Never not going 0:12:15.679 --> 0:12:18.360 to happen. Doesn't matter what happens. You add, cous and 0:12:18.400 --> 0:12:21.320 this and that does not matter. Ricky Rubio cous Bial 0:12:21.480 --> 0:12:25.360 not a contender, and he's a loyal dude. His loyalty 0:12:25.720 --> 0:12:29.400 is creating a pair of rose colored delusional glasses about 0:12:29.400 --> 0:12:33.000 what this team can do if Beal and when Beal 0:12:33.360 --> 0:12:35.640 re signs for the max contract. Now you got a 0:12:35.720 --> 0:12:38.240 whole other set of problems because you're paying them sixty 0:12:38.240 --> 0:12:40.600 seven million dollars a year and you're trying to build 0:12:40.600 --> 0:12:43.520 a winner, just like Portland trying to keep Dame happy. 0:12:44.120 --> 0:12:46.640 If he tests the waters and head somewhere else, much 0:12:46.679 --> 0:12:49.880 easier scenario. You sign and trade him, get a bunch 0:12:49.920 --> 0:12:52.760 of picks, get some little young assets, and it's a 0:12:52.800 --> 0:12:55.120 full on rebuild. You know the direction of your franchise 0:12:55.320 --> 0:12:57.200 right now. You're trying to do two things at once, 0:12:57.400 --> 0:12:59.360 which is lie to Bradley Beal and tell him it's 0:12:59.360 --> 0:13:01.640 a contender, kind of make them happy and appease them 0:13:01.760 --> 0:13:05.880 while simultaneously collecting young assets. Some mocks have the Wizards 0:13:05.880 --> 0:13:09.320 taking Johnny Davis at ten. I don't hate that, but again, 0:13:09.480 --> 0:13:11.640 it would not shock me if Tommy Sheppard made another 0:13:11.679 --> 0:13:14.160 big splashy move on Draft Day like he did with 0:13:14.240 --> 0:13:20.120 Russell Westbrook, moving him for all those pieces KCP, who's 0:13:20.960 --> 0:13:24.959 another team that needs to do something Kings. Kings is 0:13:25.000 --> 0:13:27.960 at a crossroads. They have a very desirable pick at 0:13:28.040 --> 0:13:30.959 number four, but the luck or unlock of the draw 0:13:31.280 --> 0:13:35.000 makes this draft a three player race. Jabari from Auburn, 0:13:35.360 --> 0:13:39.480 Chet from Gonzaga, and Paolo from Duke. The best players 0:13:39.880 --> 0:13:42.280 remaining happen to be guards, which is exactly what the 0:13:42.320 --> 0:13:45.240 Sacramento Kings keep drafting and then having to figure out 0:13:45.360 --> 0:13:47.400 how to play them all. So the issue is do 0:13:48.120 --> 0:13:50.520 the Kings do the whole best available thing and then 0:13:50.679 --> 0:13:53.760 take a guard like they've done before and take Ivy 0:13:53.920 --> 0:13:56.920 or do they get this NBA ready made player in 0:13:57.000 --> 0:14:00.680 Keegan Murray, a forward who has less upside. Somebody said 0:14:00.679 --> 0:14:02.320 to me last night, which is exactly what I've been 0:14:02.360 --> 0:14:06.440 telling you, Brock, that Keegan Murray seems like Kuzma in 0:14:06.520 --> 0:14:10.240 terms of his upside if Kyle Kuzma and I think 0:14:10.360 --> 0:14:13.040 that's a big ass reach, like Keegan Murray will never 0:14:13.240 --> 0:14:15.560 let me just say this. I'll stay on I'll put 0:14:15.559 --> 0:14:17.160 my stamp on this, and I don't like to say 0:14:17.360 --> 0:14:19.800 what players can be and who they can become if 0:14:19.840 --> 0:14:22.960 they get developed. But I think that there is almost 0:14:23.080 --> 0:14:25.960 less than a zero percent chance that Keegan Murray becomes 0:14:25.960 --> 0:14:29.840 as good as Kyle Kuzma. And if your abs exactly 0:14:30.200 --> 0:14:33.080 and if your upside doesn't even reach, because that's they've 0:14:33.080 --> 0:14:35.520 got the same body comps, they've got the same style 0:14:35.560 --> 0:14:39.320 of play. Kuzma is absolutely a better athletic specimen than 0:14:39.920 --> 0:14:42.800 our man Keegan Murray. In my opinion, He's also a 0:14:42.840 --> 0:14:46.000 little bit old. And and our man Kyle Kuzma wasn't 0:14:46.040 --> 0:14:48.720 a top five pick. He was drafted in the twenties, 0:14:48.800 --> 0:14:51.840 wasn't he. And listen, maybe it was because Kus went 0:14:51.880 --> 0:14:55.960 to Utah and Iowa was this force. But holy shit, 0:14:56.280 --> 0:15:00.520 if you're if your absolute maximum ceiling is Kus, I 0:15:00.560 --> 0:15:10.640 don't know necessarily if I'm taking in top box welcoming 0:15:10.680 --> 0:15:15.360 into this show. We've got our guy, Ryan McDonough. We're 0:15:15.400 --> 0:15:18.520 gonna be asking him some of the inside baseball questions 0:15:18.520 --> 0:15:20.920 on the draft. I have not spoken ever to Ryan, 0:15:20.960 --> 0:15:25.240 so I'm happy to meet you. I'm super excited. Former 0:15:25.280 --> 0:15:28.560 GM the Phoenix Suns spent a decade working for the 0:15:28.600 --> 0:15:31.720 Boston Celtics, where he was everything from an international scout 0:15:32.040 --> 0:15:36.520 to assistant GM to my man Danny Trader, Danny Ainge 0:15:36.800 --> 0:15:40.880 currently our Odyssey Basketball inside. That's where I'm from. Odyssey 0:15:40.880 --> 0:15:44.960 Basketball Insider cannot wait to ask him a ton of questions. 0:15:45.440 --> 0:15:47.240 How are you doing, sir, Hey. 0:15:47.040 --> 0:15:48.480 Hey, Tristan, I'm doing well. 0:15:49.080 --> 0:15:51.600 I want to because there's a lot of people doing MOX. 0:15:51.920 --> 0:15:56.320 I'm not really too interested in like debating who's gonna 0:15:56.360 --> 0:15:59.040 go where or who's the best fit wear. I'm really 0:15:59.040 --> 0:16:03.760 interested in the process of drafting and just kind of 0:16:03.800 --> 0:16:06.960 how it all works from someone who's been there and 0:16:07.000 --> 0:16:10.320 has been there with a bunch of different teams. First 0:16:10.320 --> 0:16:16.480 and foremost, there's this big debate about team needs versus 0:16:16.520 --> 0:16:21.320 best available. What is your stance on that, and is 0:16:21.320 --> 0:16:23.840 that a trend that sort of changes over time? And 0:16:24.160 --> 0:16:28.040 what are some examples of ways that door one works 0:16:28.040 --> 0:16:30.520 and doesn't work and door two works and doesn't work. 0:16:32.080 --> 0:16:33.120 Yeah, really good question. 0:16:33.440 --> 0:16:35.200 I think the first thing you have to ask as 0:16:35.240 --> 0:16:40.240 a franchise is if player X in the draft is better, 0:16:40.480 --> 0:16:43.440 and he probably won't be better immediately, obviously these things 0:16:43.480 --> 0:16:45.760 take some time. But if he has a chance to 0:16:45.760 --> 0:16:48.240 be better than anybody on our roster, we should probably 0:16:48.320 --> 0:16:50.840 draft player X because we can move the other guys 0:16:50.840 --> 0:16:52.480 on the roster. You know, if he's that good, if 0:16:52.480 --> 0:16:56.160 he has a chance to be a special, transcendent player. Now, 0:16:56.280 --> 0:16:58.000 now there are some arguments the other way. I mean, 0:16:58.000 --> 0:17:00.320 one of the things that we get criticized for, and 0:17:00.560 --> 0:17:02.960 I certainly had some involvement with, was DeAndre eight and 0:17:03.000 --> 0:17:05.879 with the number one pick in Phoenix. Thought process at 0:17:05.920 --> 0:17:08.480 the time organizationally right or wrong. And keep in mind 0:17:08.520 --> 0:17:10.600 I was fired the following preseason, so there may have 0:17:10.600 --> 0:17:11.440 been some disagreement. 0:17:11.480 --> 0:17:12.199 But was it. 0:17:12.240 --> 0:17:15.960 We had a young backcourt star and Devin Booker offensively gifted, 0:17:16.440 --> 0:17:19.160 you struggled a little bit defensively and rebounding. 0:17:19.160 --> 0:17:20.359 He certainly improved in those. 0:17:20.240 --> 0:17:24.280 Areas, But the thought process was devon in the backcourt 0:17:24.320 --> 0:17:26.600 eight and in the front court mckail Bridges, who we 0:17:26.680 --> 0:17:30.040 later acquired on the wing. You know, people can nitpick, 0:17:30.080 --> 0:17:32.280 and they certainly have about the Luca donsage versus eight 0:17:32.320 --> 0:17:35.560 and pick, and I understand that and I take responsibility 0:17:35.560 --> 0:17:38.159 for that. Obviously, the Suns were in the finals a 0:17:38.200 --> 0:17:40.360 year ago and won sixty four games. So that's why 0:17:40.520 --> 0:17:43.280 so hard Tristan. That's where I think people on the 0:17:43.280 --> 0:17:44.920 fan side, or even some of the media side, don't 0:17:44.960 --> 0:17:47.840 realize as much you were picking for a team. You know, 0:17:47.880 --> 0:17:50.680 you're not just picking in a vacuum individually. And when 0:17:50.680 --> 0:17:53.200 people go back and do redrafts and things like that, 0:17:53.800 --> 0:17:56.120 the context and the roster at the time is important 0:17:56.160 --> 0:17:57.960 because you know, the reality is, once we get in 0:17:58.000 --> 0:18:00.200 October and training camp starts, you have to hand the 0:18:00.200 --> 0:18:01.880 coach the ball and say, figure out how to play 0:18:01.880 --> 0:18:04.639 these guys and put together a functional team. So you know, 0:18:04.680 --> 0:18:07.360 generally speaking, it's the most talented player you'd want that, 0:18:07.440 --> 0:18:10.280 but there is some context and nuance to that as well. 0:18:11.240 --> 0:18:13.280 I wasn't planning on asking you this, but I think 0:18:13.320 --> 0:18:16.240 one of the greatest steals in that draft was mckil Bridges. 0:18:16.680 --> 0:18:18.600 Can you can you give me just a little bit 0:18:18.600 --> 0:18:22.200 of insight into how that all went down, if outside 0:18:22.200 --> 0:18:23.919 of what's already kind of been written about. 0:18:25.359 --> 0:18:28.560 Yeah, it was a really unusual deal, Trista, just because 0:18:29.000 --> 0:18:32.000 Philadelphia seventy six ers, who had the tenth pick, drafted 0:18:32.000 --> 0:18:33.720 Bridges with the intention of keeping him. 0:18:34.040 --> 0:18:37.600 Yeah. I was there for that that at Barclays. 0:18:37.560 --> 0:18:39.639 Okay, and you know mckhill's history and what it was 0:18:39.720 --> 0:18:42.560 like at Barclay's. His mother worked for the franchise. He 0:18:42.640 --> 0:18:46.200 won multiple national championships of Villanova. He's a Philadelphia kid, 0:18:46.680 --> 0:18:48.440 and it seems on paper, at least to me, like 0:18:48.480 --> 0:18:51.080 a very good fit between Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. 0:18:51.760 --> 0:18:53.800 But Philly was big game hunting, I think, and we 0:18:53.840 --> 0:18:56.439 had a draft pick, a future first round pick that 0:18:56.440 --> 0:18:59.240 we got in twenty fifteen for Goran Dragics from Miami 0:18:59.280 --> 0:19:01.520 that was unprotected did and then we had the sixteenth 0:19:01.560 --> 0:19:03.760 pick in the twenty eighteen draft as well. So it's 0:19:03.760 --> 0:19:06.200 a bit unusual because, you know, I called Philly's front office. 0:19:06.520 --> 0:19:08.919 We were chasing picks up in that range. Because one 0:19:08.920 --> 0:19:10.640 of the things that I think people don't talk about 0:19:10.720 --> 0:19:14.119 enough Christa is there are tiers in gaps in the draft. 0:19:14.119 --> 0:19:16.000 And what I mean by that is, you know, the 0:19:16.080 --> 0:19:18.119 value of each player to the next is not always 0:19:18.160 --> 0:19:21.120 even right. Sometimes it is close. Sometimes there's a gap 0:19:21.119 --> 0:19:24.240 between players. Sometimes there's a gap between tiers of players. 0:19:24.240 --> 0:19:26.359 So that's what teams do. It's there's like most teams 0:19:26.440 --> 0:19:28.480 use a tiering system rather than let's just rank them 0:19:28.520 --> 0:19:32.040 one to six, year one hundred or whatever. So with us, 0:19:32.080 --> 0:19:35.120 we felt the group of players in that late lottery, 0:19:35.680 --> 0:19:38.000 you know, say eight to fourteen range we're going to 0:19:38.040 --> 0:19:40.240 be significantly better than who was available or we thought 0:19:40.359 --> 0:19:42.520 was going to be available to sixteen. So anyway, so 0:19:42.640 --> 0:19:46.280 long story relatively short, Philly drafted Bridges. I was on 0:19:46.320 --> 0:19:47.919 the phone with them, say is there anything we can do? 0:19:48.040 --> 0:19:51.200 They said no at the time, and said, okay, we're 0:19:51.240 --> 0:19:54.200 coming back at sixteen. We like Bridges a lot, we'd 0:19:54.240 --> 0:19:56.719 give you some value, we'd give you sixteen plus and 0:19:56.760 --> 0:19:59.239 we can discuss what the plus is. But are there 0:19:59.240 --> 0:20:01.280 players you know you as are potentially interested in and 0:20:01.320 --> 0:20:03.520 they said yeah, one in particular. Obviously they didn't tell 0:20:03.600 --> 0:20:06.879 us who it was. So fast forward to fourteen fifteen, 0:20:06.960 --> 0:20:10.520 picking that range, we re engage with them and zier Smith, 0:20:10.680 --> 0:20:12.520 the Ford out of Texas Tech, was still on the 0:20:12.520 --> 0:20:16.119 board who they liked. Obviously, Zayre's had some injury issues 0:20:16.160 --> 0:20:19.000 and other health issues that have derailed his career. But 0:20:19.080 --> 0:20:21.600 that plus the future Miami pick, that was how that 0:20:21.600 --> 0:20:24.439 deal got done. And this is funny in hindsight, especially 0:20:24.440 --> 0:20:26.600 given how well mckel's done and how well the team 0:20:26.640 --> 0:20:29.080 has done Trista. But I wasn't really looking forward to 0:20:29.119 --> 0:20:32.040 calling the kid his mom, who were excited being in Philly. 0:20:32.320 --> 0:20:34.320 His mom works for the franchise and saying, I know 0:20:34.640 --> 0:20:35.879 you thought you were going to stay at home, but 0:20:35.960 --> 0:20:38.119 what do you think about heading a couple thousand miles 0:20:38.119 --> 0:20:39.919 to the southwest and Phoenix. 0:20:40.440 --> 0:20:45.920 That's wild. Another thing I think that people are interested 0:20:45.960 --> 0:20:49.200 in is and I guess the context around it, are 0:20:49.200 --> 0:20:54.200 players like Shaden Sharp players like Jaden Hardy? So two 0:20:54.280 --> 0:20:57.800 different paths, right? Both of those guys were consensus lottery picks. 0:20:58.080 --> 0:21:01.560 Shaden doesn't end up playing a minute for Kentucky. Jaden 0:21:01.560 --> 0:21:05.439 Hardy goes to the G League. Shaden Sharp's kind of 0:21:05.480 --> 0:21:07.800 like a wild card in terms of his draft hasn't 0:21:08.080 --> 0:21:11.600 hasn't fell I mean we're not really sure. Maybe he's 0:21:11.640 --> 0:21:15.480 top five, maybe he slips to mid maybe post lottery, 0:21:15.760 --> 0:21:18.159 but Jayden Hardy seems to have fallen off a cliff 0:21:18.160 --> 0:21:22.680 in terms of consensus draft picks. Should players that are 0:21:22.720 --> 0:21:27.280 already deemed Patrick Baldwin Junior is another one deemed to 0:21:27.400 --> 0:21:30.720