The Ringer NBA Show - NBA Draft Instant Reactions: Pelicans, Hawks, Grizzlies Grab the Reins of the Draft | The Corner 3

Episode Date: June 21, 2019

We break down the teams with the biggest draft hauls from Thursday night: the Pelicans, Hawks, and Grizzlies—who all seem to have gotten the exact guys they wanted in Zion Williamson, DeAndre Hunter, and Ja Morant, respectively. Then, we speed through recapping the rest of the lottery picks, including the biggest surprise in Cam Johnson going 11th and the awkward fit between Darius Garland and Collin Sexton in Cleveland. Hosts: Kevin O’Connor, Danny Chau, Jonathan Tjarks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Rare NBA show. This is the Corner 3. It was the NBA draft tonight, guys. I'm Kevin O'Connor. I'm here with Danny Chow and Jonathan Charks. Yes. Today was Christmas for us, guys. It's finally.

Best day to hear, man. Love it. Finally. I've run it on Fuse, but let's go. It was a wild... Me and KFC. We'll talk 50s draft. You don't care.

It was a wild, wild draft since before the drafts. You can start with a lot of trades and really the most pivotal trade of the drafts. involved the New Orleans Pelicans, who of course took Zion Williamson with the first pick, but they also had number four from the Anthony Davis trade. And there's been rumors the past week ever since they made that deal that they could be end up flipping it, which they did. About an hour or two before the draft, they traded the fourth pick to the Atlanta

Hawks for the eighth pick, the 17th pick, and the 35th pick in the draft. And that was sort of the defining trade of the draft. So we'll start there with the Atlanta Hawks or the New Orleans Pelicans. Take your pick. do we want to start here, Danny? Pelicans or Hawks? I mean, I guess we should start with the Pelicans. They are the story of the draft. We're in the Zion business. Let's start with the Pelicans.

All right, so we'll start with the Pelicans then. Of course, they took Zion Williamson number one. We've talked about him a ton and it goes without saying, you know, a multi-positional defender, a guy who's going to throw down logs, we're going to highlight rails all the time. Building the roster around him was David Griffin's priority here.

And in trading down, they took Jackson Hayes with the eighth pick and Nikola Alexander Walker with the 17th Danny, with both of these picks, it does seem like they are building what it's going to continue to be, along with the guys I got in the Anthony Davis trade, Lonzo, Brennan Ingram, a high-tempo, fast-paced, multiple-ball-hander offense. Fast. They got a shooter.

They got an explosive, you know, lob target. Yeah, this team is going to be blazing up and down the court. And it's going to be interesting because Hayes and Zion, if you're seeing them playing, you know, major minutes together, that's a, freakishly athletic. I mean, that has to be the fastest bigs in the league, right? Yeah. I mean, just like,

those are two young guys who can run and jump all day. And Alvin Gentry's system, it's going to be playing in the 120s probably. Like, how far fast they can go. You know, it's interesting with this team. It's like Jackson Hayes fits more

of the quote unquote, traditional room protector role, right? I think that's fair to say with him. So you're putting to him next to Zion who seems like to be more of the versatile, off ball, weak side helper guy. So it's like,

Hayes is not ready to be like a prime, you know, Star Room Protector as a rookie. He's going to take a long time. You think he'll start? Right now, I guess you would, but maybe they'll sign someone. Yeah, I mean, like,

he's probably the guy you wanted to start long term. But this team, like, I'm curious what they're building here, how many of these guys are going to be sticking long term, like what the haul that they got with Josh Hart, Brendan Engroom, and Lonzo Ball? Or is this really David Griffin just getting as much of a collection of young, talented players as he can and then seeing what sticks? I mean, just basically.

off how many picks they got for the number four, it might be the latter. And I think we still have to see if they do anything with Drew Holiday. But just looking at the picks that they got and looking at the hall that they got from Anthony Davis, they have a pretty big back court. Everyone there is, what, at least 6-4. Like Drew Holliday is... huge team. Yeah, it's a huge team. 6-6, 6-6, Ingram 6-9. All of their point guards are at least 6-4 and 6-5. Yeah.

And then I, and then I'm more. The question is, like, with their main young guys, do they have enough shooting? Lonzo, Zion, Ingram, Hayes, none of them is really a knock-down shooter.

Can one of those four guys stretch this game out and become that as space the floor? I think the answer is no right now. Yeah. But I think that's sort of where I land with this. It's like they are just like accumulating talent.

And over time, they're going to find out who are the guys that they perceive as keepers, guys that are going to be part of the foundation of this team, and who are the guys that are going to be assets that you flip in trades in the future? Who are the guys that you're just going to let walk at some point maybe when they become too expensive? Because for David Griffin, like it's pretty clear to me. At least this team has really, really high defensive potential long term. Like this team, even right now, with all the use that they have,

it feels like they could be at least middle of the pack of the defensive end of the floor. I mean, Lonzo and Drew at the top for sure. Absolutely. I mean, like, Hayes, like, he has a long way to go. Like, his defensive awareness, he's a raw player. But let's talk about him specifically for a minute. He was sort of a riser. He was not a guy expected to be a lottery pick heading into the season. You know, mid-first-round pick, hype during the year.

Charks, you saw him at Texas. You're a Texas guy. We got a lot of Texas bigs in his NBA now, man. Yeah, we get quite a few. What about, what is it about Hayes' game that made him end up being the eighth pick in the draft? I mean, he's your basic pick. and roll center. And he's really fast. He can jump really high. He can catch a lot of lobs. He might be able to switch eventually on the pick and roll on perimeter on defense. He's just super

raw right now. I mean, he's just a raw athlete's going to run and jump up and on the floor. And he played football in high school until he got too tall. He got to do it. He had a large growth spur. 11 inches. That's crazy. And he played until his senior year of high school. So for him right now, at only 19 years old, basketball has not been a full-time sport for him until two years ago. when he's a senior in high school. So with him, it's like some of those football skills, you can see translate into the basketball court with the lobs that he catches, either on high passes,

bounce passes down low, as feed he has really good soft hands, which are going to help him finish, which is nice because in this offense, like they might lack shooting, like you said, but what they do have is passing across the board. And when the KL Alexander Walker, he's another guy that they added with that 17th pick

who is not a primary ball handler, but he's another one of those guys that can make smart decisions off the dribble, and maybe he's the one shooter that you can feel really confident in on that roster, as well as maybe a bit of a switchable defender. So I think for David Griffin here,

it's quite clear to me with what he's building. He's going for a team that can play with pace, a team with multiple ball handlers, but also it's like for him, like dude, this guy's playing 2K right here. Like all the assets he has, he can do anything he wants. It really feels like a kind of hinky-esque performance.

It's like a reverse hinky because they're not like tanking, but they're still getting the draft picks. Exactly. And like everything that he's done and everything that you've talked about, like how much they've accumulated these talents and how they all kind of fit into certain pockets in their team,

it reminds me of like Hinky's buzzword a few years ago of optionality. Like he has a bunch of options and he's just kind of going to lay them out and see what actually works around Zion. Yeah, I mean, don't forget Josh Hart. I mean, that's another guy who can shoot the ball and play off Zion all the rest of these guys.

They've got a fun team, man. They have the brightest future in basketball right now. It's them or the team that they traded with, maybe. I think so just because how much I like Zion, I'll say yes, because of just Zion's upside. But there's some other good, fun young teams out there. The other team that could have the brightest future here in the NBA is the Atlanta Hawks, the team that they traded with.

They took DeAndre Hunter, a forward from Virginia with a fourth pick, and then with the 10th pick, they took Cam Reddish, and that was the pick that they ended up getting in return for Luca Dandrich last year when they acquired Trey Young. So what the Atlanta Hawks seem to be building is like they added two versatile forwards to add defensive support for Tray Young, who is going to need it. I mean, look at their size and their wings. Heter, what, 6-8, 6-7-68, Reddish 6-8-9, Hunter 6-8-6-6-9.

They are like copping Golden State down to like every part of it. Like we have a small point guard. We're going to have supersized wings. That is a freaking huge perimeter group. I mean, that is enormous. I just think we've been talking about this for so long. You need big wings. And all those guys can shoot threes and defend.

We've talked about it as, you know, a source of need for the league every single year since the Warriors started being, you know, the world beaters that they are. And yet, here, you know, here the Hawks are. They nabbed two of the best in the draft. I mean, at first I was thinking, you know, oh, this trade kind of doesn't really make sense to me because why did you need to trade up for Hunter? But look, if they got both of their guys. It's interesting because I feel like the Hawks are a little bit of a flip on the asset model. They're like, we're going to target a guy specifically and use our assets to grab one specific player. Because you know how you're saying Griffin is like, I'm going to bring a bunch of assets and kind of move it around.

The Hawks are like, we have a perfect plan. We have guys for every single role. They're all going to fit in. These are our five guys. Let's go. It's very bold. I really appreciate how bold they're being, like moving around the draft so much. I think for me it's like I don't love DeAndre Hunter as a prospect.

I had them right 15th of my board. just sort of because he's more of the, he's just sort of a complimentary player, but complimentary players can be extremely important in the right role. And for me, it's like with Hunter, like this is the right role for him. It is the perfect role where he suddenly becomes a guy

where he's going to be, he's going to have to stand in the corner, stand at the wing, shoot spot up threes, attack closeouts, make smart passes, defend across positions, play small ball four, play small ball five for the Hawks and smaller lineups, it's like this is the role for him

with a ball dominant point guard and Trey Young and with a guy like Cam Rudish ditto to everything that was just said about Hunter for Cam Rudish. Like all the flaws in his game, it doesn't matter if the role is simplified for him. So for Cam, we said this during the live show that we did earlier, Danny.

It's like for Cam, he can take that simplified role within this offense with Trey handling the load. But then over time, maybe he's able to develop his skills as a ball handler, maybe his shooting continues to improve and he can grow slowly into that Paul George-esque mold people see for him.

One of the comps we have for him and the guide is Gordon Hayward and it took Gordon Hayward a really long time to become the star he was before he came to Boston. It's just a synergy effect. This is why you draft Trey Young or Luca is like if I draft a guy who's that much

of a playmaker who's that skilled who creates that much defensive attention, he makes life so much easier for other guys, right? So Hunter and Reddish, I feel like it's funny. Like, if I knew those guys are going to Atlanta, I'd probably rank them higher. Yeah. Because, like, that's where you want to go. I think I saw, I think Zach Lowe tweeted this.

He was like, Hunter's people love they did go into Atlanta, but they do. But they're freaking pumped. It's got to be. It's perfect for them. And you mentioned this earlier charts. They're sort of copying that Warriors formula here. It's the Travis Schling who came from Golden State when he got hired by Atlanta. It's like, Trey Young, you get the point guard who can shoot from anywhere.

who can run off screens, playoff ball for you as well, but also his playmaking skills. You have Kevin Herder, the two guard, who can shoot the hell out of it. The clay, quote, quote. And then now you have the wings that your Harrison Barnes-type... I mean, DeOen Hunter Harrison Barnes are so similar.

I was saying that for a while. Like, those are the guys, like, really similar types of players. And it's great for them, for him especially, because now, like, you can put him at the floor next to John Collins, who has expanded his range to three,

but can also do some rim running for you. And then they drafted Bruno Fernand. in the second round, a former teammate of Kevin Hurtt or from Maryland. Do you foresee Fernando having any type of important role with the Hawks moving forward, charts or shorts, shaking your head? Toon big man, right? You know, like they'll rotate to five, much like Golden State does, right?

Golden State plays like four or fives. They'll have Fernando. Maybe they keep Deadman, they have Collins. He's just card of their broke platoon. He's second-round pick. I don't think he's a huge part of the Corps, no. I think it's nice, though, for them. It's like, we have one, again, another warrior's comparison.

Festus is Z. as a shades of comparison for Bruno for Fernando for Atlanta. It's like another similar guy. Strong body. Strong body, big. Play's hard. Exactly. Somebody to have in those matchups in the playoffs if you're going against

Joel and Bede and you need a big body. So it's like Travis Slank, this team is not going to be a playoff team for quite a while. But if you, I'm writing about the Hawks for tomorrow morning. And it's like you look at their cap projections. They can create a ton of cap space next year, probably punt.

But for 2021, 2021 or 2022, maybe by that point when Trey Young is just entering his prime right before he hits restricted free agency, when Kevin Heter is entering his prime right before restricted free agency. Danny's loving the idea of Hurt her as a draw in for agency. You're just like, this is like making it was so happy right now.

My grin is just like, it's like the Grinch Grins like all the way over. Yeah. We should put that in slow motion right there. 2021. Who's the biggest draw there? Yon is on to the Kumpo. So shades of the Warriors. So that's their KD. Yeah.

Yeah, there you go. I think to me for Atlanta, the guy now is John Collins. Like, how good can he be? Can he be the Draymond? Can he be a great playmaker, a defensive player? That's like now the piece that determines their ceiling is Collins. So, I mean, we went through Atlanta and New Orleans. And I should have been, Dan Devine, I believe, is writing about the Pelicans for tomorrow.

So look out for that on the ringer. Charks, one of the teams that you and I discussed before coming on the pod tonight was you really like the blueprint of the team that was drafting with the second pick. They, of course, took Jaumaranth, second, point guard on Murray State, and then at the 21st pick, one of the guys that we all mutually agree is perhaps to steal the draft. You should have seen me a series reaction. When we heard that the Grizzlies were trading for Rand and Clark, we lost it. We were shouting to the rooftops.

That was like the moment of the draft for me. I was grabbing a piece of pizza and I heard screaming. I was like, is everything okay? What happened? What happened? Man, like, if you talk about guys that fit well together, Clark and Jaron Jackson, that's like a hand in a glove, man. Jaron Jackson, a three-point shooting stretch five, Brandon Clark, slasher, great primary defender. That's like the front court of the future to me.

And with John Morant, those two guys catching lobs from John Morant and running the floor with John Morant. That is going to be so much fun. My guy, Taylor Jenkins, has gotten a great situation. Let's go Gris. Taylor Jenkins, Tyler Parker Dovil Ganger. famous from Take Hunter, of course. Among other ringer properties, you know. Rob Polinka, impersonator.

Quite a good one, too. But yeah, Memphis, man, they're going to be really fun. And then they have Delon Wright, too, another hipster favorite. This is Bruno Cabalco. If they bring Delon Wright right back. They got to go Jod, Delon, Bruno, Clark Jackson. That would just be perfect. This could be quite a quick rebuild.

Oh, yeah. For Memphis. And it's interesting because this is a team that isn't quite recognizable from what they've been for the past decade and a half. Grit and grind is gone. Grit and grind is gone.

They've modernized, for sure. It's really incredible. And to think that they've built around some of the hardest, like, the hardest types of players to find in the NBA. Like, Jaron Jackson Jr. is just not the type of player you can find every day.

Yeah. A really good three-point shooter, a really good, rim protector. Once you have that as like a foundation, it's so much easier to build everything else. Especially with Ja Marantz, with the second pick, Jha to me is like, you know, a really good prospect, not a great prospect. I'm not quite as high on him as a lot of others are there. But for him, like there's no doubt about it that he has the ability to have a super long productive career because of his playmaking ability. So when you talk about Jaron Jackson as the rim protector, that's

going to help alleviate one of Morant's weaknesses, which is perimeter defense. It's really both because Gerrins stretches the floor so Jock can attack the room. Those three guys just fit. Those guys will be quite a fascinating pick and roll duo because Moran's downhill attacking style and then Jackson can either roll and finish lobs or finish with finesse or he can pop. I want to see Clark rolling Jackson spacing. That'll be really fun too. And that's a fascinating part though because it's like you can have Clark roll Jackson spacing,

Morant kickout pass. Then Jackson can either shoot the ball. He can attack off the dribble because he's so mobile, so skilled. So it's like these guys all fit. With Morant, it's going to be like the playmaking, there's no question. He's going to be a good playmaker.

It's about the development of the jump shot off the dribble. We've seen like really nice flashes from him, but we've also seen, you know, some inconsistencies from the perimeter. So for Morant, it's like if he can become a guy that can consistently knock down perimeter jumpers, just imagine how great this core could soon be with those three.

I'm calling it hipster Olympics, Grizzlies versus Hawks. Whenever that game is, like that's the lead past Olympics game right there. Let's move on to some other picks that happen in the lottery. Actually, let's just go through the whole lottery here. RJ Barrett, third pick than the Knicks. We all sort of have different stances on him as a player.

He's the Jason Tatum of 2019. I mean, I'm the highest on him. I think, Danny, your second highest and then Charks, your lowest on RJ Barrett. So let's kind of go around with either, what's your initial thoughts with this selection for the Nix, the fit for R.J. Barrett? Let's start with you, Charks. I think R.J. wound up in a pretty good spot for him because he gets to be the man here. Like, RJ wants to be the man.

It's his team from the jump. I think there's a lot of guys in the Knicks who aren't going to like playing with him, but they don't matter. RJ gets down with the ball. He'll put up stats right away. Now it's just a matter of can the Nicks find enough shooting around him because he needs space to attack the rim. Like Kevin Durant. Yeah. That's, you know, that's what RJ.

RJ is like Ricky Davis. Like, Katie, come here, play off me, it'll be fine, no big deal. Yeah, and it's just funny because we've been talking about all of these picks that the Knicks have been making and the guys that they already have on the team, they all kind of need the ball in their hands to be successful. They drafted, you know, Iggy Bresdick as who's not going to be, you know, a major part of the team. But still, a guy on the Michigan team that was like, you know, he's dribbling the ball in his hands. he has the ball in his hand. Trier Kevin Knox, all those guys,

all want to have the ball on shoes. Dennis Smith, all of these guys. I'm curious, like, you mentioned, like, R.J's a guy who needs the ball

on his hands, is he? Like, what, for, like, people who are just hearing about R.J. for the first time,

like, there might be some people who skipped prior draft conversations. So it's like, what is it about his game charts that makes you believe that he is somebody who needs the ball

on his hands to thrive? Because he's an ink against, it's an outside shooter for one. So he's at his best when he can attack the rim. He's not really a spot-up threat yet at the stage of his career. And he's just a guy who really hunts for shots.

Like, RJ's not really a guy who wants to, like, take eight shots a game. He could have played with Zion and played off Zion, but he's like, I'm RJ, I'm the man. He wants to get thrown. He wants to score his whole life. He's not going to change down on the NBA, I don't think. Yeah, I think his most translatable ability is just his ability to move up and down the floor in a downhill, you know, kind of bully ball type attack. And so, I don't know. I feel like these are good things.

These are good things. But. But what? I just would rather give the ball to other guys. I feel like this. Why? I think they're better passers and better shooters, better decision makers.

Like, guy like Jod and me is a better decision maker in RJ. I just don't know if. He wasn't on the board, though. Yeah, we're talking in general now. I mean, I think it's a fine pick for where they were. I just don't think it'll be a great team as all. So you would, so in other words, if you would trade down.

For what it's worth, like immediately after the lottery, that was like one of my thoughts with this with this draft. Which, by the way, should talk about trading down. That's becoming more popular. The trade down that's happened three years in a row now. And with the Knicks, I was thinking, you know, and with the Grizzlies for that matter, I was like, well, maybe you can try to trade down here and get more value, more draft capital that you can use either in the future or just get two guys in this particular draft. And with R.J, I wouldn't have disagreed with it. But I do think, I'd really do.

We've been through this before, but I really think like he's a better playmaker than he's getting credit for. I think with RJ, he showed progress over the course of the season. He did. He did do that. And I think like, for Team Canada, he showed great, great potential on that roster as well. So it's like with RJ Barrett, I look at him like just turned 19 years old. Is somebody who like his whole life has been a score like you said Charks. And for him like, for everything I've heard about him as a person like as like a winning mentality,

I just see him growing into that role where it's like he's going to eventually understand how to balance the playmaking and the scoring. And maybe the scoring doesn't get to the point that like you hope for. Maybe his shot is always average. Maybe his playmaking is always just like good. Like maybe that's where it maxes out. But to me, I still think like that's a really good player with his defensive versatility that can manifest as he develops over time. With the playmaking and size at 6, 7. And then with the scoring ability downhill and transition pick and roll.

maybe he'll be like a slightly better version of Demar de Rosen and to me like great like that's totally cool especially in this year's draft class where there's just a lot of guys yeah there's not a lot of guys that have that upside to be an all NBA type of guy I will say there's a sort of where I'm at with RJ

we'll get down but there's a few guys like more than them we'll get into the next few couple picks yep and this is to your point about potentially training Dan we'll skip forward we already discussed that darius garland a point guard from Vanderbilt was selected by the cavalier is the fifth pick. How is this fit next to Colin Sexton?

This is going to be hilarious. No, not really. I think one of the guys is going to very quickly assert his dominance, and I don't think it's Colin Sexton. I think this was a pick where, look, the Cavs were definitely looking for a trade partner, and they just haven't found one yet, and they went with BPA.

Colin Sexton will not go out quietly, though. Oh, no. He's not going to give up easy. No. No way. No. How about you charge? I mean, to me, yeah, I just wonder, like, was this the best use of multiple picks?

Because I feel like Sexton and Garland, they can both theoretically play on or off the ball, but I really don't like taking two guys like that. Because I feel like a Danny was saying is going to happen. One of those guys is probably going to have to go eventually. So you guys have no confidence in this back to where to coexist. It can't be like a Dane's CJ type of background. It's a lot to ask because like with Dame and CJ, Dane was already. established, right? So CJ came in,

Dame's the man. I don't think Texan's established, and I don't think Garland think he's better than him. Why does that matter? Because one of them is going to want the ball more than the other, right? It's like, who has more shots, who gets more passes, who gets more points. There's something matters in NBA locker rooms, especially for young players. I think, I think that can be true in some cases, but in other cases, it cannot be true.

Oh, yeah. Because like... Anything is possible. Yeah, I mean, because, like, Garland is a guy who can shoot off screens, who can play off ball. So it's like if he's not going to want to do that. Like, too bad, dude. I mean, like, that's a problem for the Cavaliers. But to me, like, that's something that he can do and he can do at a high level.

So I'd be, I would be kind of a little surprised if he wouldn't be happy playing that role, to be honest with you. Like, it's something he's really good at is playing off ball and shooting off-creens. But why not get beyond the ball, too, and get more stats? Right. Not everybody's a selfish player. I don't know. He's, you want to get your money.

It's important for young players. You know, he specifically talked about in the draft. He signed with the best agent because he knows that if he wants to be the best, he needs to associate himself with the best. He kind of has that alpha mentality. I don't see him being okay for the long term in terms of being kind of off ball threat.

And I think it's also too, like if Garland's clearly better than Sexton, it's going to be hard to sell him on letting Sexton run the offense. Especially because Sexton doesn't pass all that much. It's just going to be hard. And then you have like Kevin Porter at 30, which doesn't really matter, I guess.

But that's another guy who wants. wants the ball. They're going to have a really interesting chemistry mix in Cleveland. That team is fascinating.

Why are they fascinating, Danny? Just the fights for the ball. Yeah, like they have all of those guys. Dylan Windler can

definitely play off ball, but like... He'll never get the ball. That's him. Good luck. I just, I don't really understand how that...

Yeah, I don't understand how it all kind of comes together. And it may not. These guys are very young. They might not play at all. But...

I think it's kind of going to be like survival of the fittest in that trading camp. Like, who's the best? I love to watch like Porter, Sexton, and Garland thing one-on-one. They don't go out to their throats.

To me, like, everything you're saying is almost identical to what we just said about New Orleans, where there's just accumulating talent and the guys who figure it out. These guys are six-one and six-two, though. They're acumen talent who plays defense, who has defensive ability. But if it doesn't work with Colin Sexton, like, then peace out. Yeah, I mean, for sure. It's like figuring out who are the keepers and who are. It's about getting the best talent.

Like, I'm almost like, would the fit, like, it matters for development, but I don't think it's a bad thing for Garland to play off ball. I don't think it's a bad thing for sex and stuff. Well, see, I think that's why I just love what Atlanta's doing, because I feel like they're maximizing every pick by drafting guys who complement each other. And I think that has, like, synergy off the court, too. Because I think it builds chemistry with the young guys

because we all have our own lanes. If you know your role, you know your lane, yeah. It's less like, I don't know this. Maybe that's just me being more of a kumbaya kind of guy, but I kind of like them all having their own little things to do instead of being like Iter's throes'n, though. It's not like DeAndre Hes doesn't want the ball. But playing with Trey Young, great passer.

It's like I talked to Camerettos during the season, and I said to him, I was like, hey, man, like, how is that adjustment been playing next to RJ Barron and Zion Williamson, like, being the third wheel. He's like, obviously, it's tough, obviously, I want the ball more. And that's something I've had to adjust to. And it's the type of thing where, like, every guy wants the ball more. Every guy wants touches. That's the knock on Garland and Sexson in comparison to Trey Young. Trey Young is like, he's a good enough pass where he can keep everybody happy, theoretically. Whereas Garland and Sex, the big concern is, will guys want to play with them if not passing?

the ball. Charks, that's one of the reasons why with these next two picks that happened in the draft with Minnesota and Chicago, why you like both these guys selected because of their unselfishness on the court? Yeah, the fit. I love the fit with Culver in Towns in Minnesota and with Kobe White and with Lari Market at Wendell Carter

in Chicago. I think all those guys are going to play. So we'll start from the top. I think with Minnesota, you have Carl Towns who can stretch the floor who needs the ball on his hands. So you have Culver who's a slasher and who moves the ball who's pretty unselfish. So Culver knows, okay, I got a Minnesota Towns is a guy.

I'm getting him the ball. I'm cutting off him. I'm playing off him. And then he can cut off towns and he can play a good defense. And I think that's what you need in Minnesota. Our guards will give Towns a ball. I think that's going to work really well for him.

Yeah. And I mean, Culver has shown a lot of kind of big abilities as well. Like he's a great rebound for his size. He's a great, you know, multipositional defender. You can kind of create an interesting inverted ecosystem where like Carl Anthony Towns

is kind of creating from the outside and a lot is kind of, you know, shuffling in and a lot of, out, you know, along the baselines and all of that. And Towns will be so happy to the high IQ player, I have to play with Liggins for so long. It's like, this guy can cut off me. He's really smart. He works hard.

This is fantastic. He's going to love this pick. Yeah. And then when Kobe White, he's a guy that I was not particularly high on. I mean, I like him. I had a ranked 10th on my board, but don't love him. However, like, there's no doubt in this Bulls offense with the amount of guys that they have who can handle the ball, Laurie Markinen, guys who can play make a little bit at the

big man position, Markinen, and Wendell Carter. now you have Kobe White, who is somebody who is not a primary, but is somebody who can still move the ball within the flow of the offense and shoot the ball off the catch. And with him, it's going to be about the development of him off the dribble.

Like he shows flashes, the shot creation is probably the fastest guy in the draft. Yeah, I think so. For sure. It's like what level does he reach as a shooter off the dribble? And I just love it too

because you have Otto Porter there and you have Wendell Carter. Those guys can handle a lot of playmaking. They can like Kobe play free. Like Kobe doesn't have to be like, give him too much responsibility. Just run the ball, run the floor, get your shot, spot up, be an aggressive, high, active player.

I think he's a much better fit than Chris Dunn with this team. And I love this lineup of Kobe White, Zach Levine, Otto Porter, Lari, Wendell Carter. Five three-point shooters. With great size and the positions. Like, that's going to be a fun team. You know, Gar-Packs from the Bulls always get made fun of. I feel like they're doing a good job.

They're doing a good job, man. There's our take for the day. They're adding some real talent, dude. Yeah. I mean, like, we talked earlier about Atlanta's cap space situation. You can say the same exact thing about the Bulls, where, like, Otto Porter, he has a player option for 2021, but he becomes unrestricted for sure in 21, 22.

And you look at their cap situation that year, it's like they're going to have the young guys that they just drafted this year, including Daniel Gafford, a center for Arkansas who was selected in the second round. But on their, on their books, they have Zach Levine, Larry Markerman, Wendell Carter, Chandler Hudson, and again, the guys that drafted this year. They could easily head into a loaded, loaded free agent class with max cap space, or at least immense flexibility to make trades, to make, you know, other signings. So for the Bulls, it's like they have this roster that can just play so many different styles,

so many mix and match lineups. Like, if you're a free agent a couple years from now, you're looking at that like, yo, I can be the final piece to a team in one of the biggest markets in basketball, a team on the rise. So for Chicago, times are good right now. There's this reason to feel good if you're a Bulls fan. And this is why I love the Porter trade for them at the deadline. Because, like, Poir is a guy who gives structure to an offense.

And he makes a young guard like Kobe White a lot better because, like, when White's out of control, poor, like, all right, slow down, I'll get it, I'll run a play, move the ball, create a shot for somebody else, no problem. There are a couple of, what are you doing moments? Yeah. In this year's draft class. In this year's draft lottery, Danny. That was pretty good.

I like that KFC. Yeah. One of them, Danny, happened in the ninth pick with the Washington Wizards. Rui Hachimura. A guy that I think I had down in my, down like the 20 range on my big board, went ninth. Probably the most notable Gonzaga star this year. Their leading score, definitely. But I don't know, man. He has some basketball IQ issues that I can't really get over, especially on defense, where he just kind of gets lost a lot.

but obviously very physically gifted a guy who kind of came into the game young or came into the game late. I just don't know at 9. Charles, you did grades today which people can find on the ringer.com and you gave the Rui Hachamara Pickack D for the Washer than Williams.

I don't, I guess I'm not a big fan of Rui's game for kind of the same reasons Danny said. And I look at it like if I'm taking a project forward, I had much other have Dumbaya who's what, like three years younger than Rui? Yeah. And they're not that far apart in terms of skill and basketball IQ and he's so much younger. And he's even bigger than Ruey.

Like to me, they were better. If Ruey's a project, if you're taking a product that are better products available. Like to me, that's a tough pick. I feel bad for Rui because it's going to be a tough situation in Washington. That's like really, there's no shooting around him. Beal's probably gone. Wall, who knows, happens to him. It's kind of a mess over there.

Well, they're going to keep Beal for now. They want to sign him. They want to extend him long term. Will he want to? That's the question. But in regards of Rui, it's like, I don't love him as a prospect at all for the same reasons that you outlined Danny. The basketball IQ is concerning, slow decision maker on offense.

Like, he has some moments where, like, what are you doing? Just like, why are you hogging the ball? And I'm not sure. Like, he's a high character kid, though. He's a hard worker. He's gotten better every single season at Gonzaga. So for the Wizards, it seems to me that they're betting on the person. So, like, he might be 21 years old, which is old, you know, by, you know, common standards, you know, for a prospect.

For a prospect. However, like, he's 21 as somebody who didn't start playing basketball full-time until a later age. So, like, if you're talking about developmental years, maybe he's only really like 18, 19. And his physical gifts, he's an athletic player who has a very strong build right away. And it's fluid, too. There's not a lot of guys that can move like him with his size. Yeah, and that kind of gives you a little bit more leeway in terms of your development. But even with his athleticism, he feels more like a straight-line driver than a guy who has, like, enough wiggle to be a, dynamic creator for himself.

I mean, I think which we'll see in this draft, like Rui, it's all about can he shoot threes. If he can shoot threes, he'll stick in the league. If he can't, it might be tough for him. I think Rui is more of a, a whoa, pick for me, than a what are you doing? The what are you doing moment for me happened at the 11th pick with the Phoenix Sons,

and they drafted Cam Johnson, a senior out of North Carolina, one of the best shooters in the draft, which is a great thing. Let's just say that right off the bat. Shooting matters. However, like, he's somebody who's had hip issues in the past, had surgery for a torn labrum. He's somebody who was an average defender at the college level.

He is somebody who does not do a lot off the dribble for you. He is not a playmaker, not a guy who's going to create offense for himself. And even with his shooting, like, to me, he's more of a standstill guy than somebody who's flying around screens. So, like, we have a comparison for him in the draft guide, Jonas Shorubko. To me, he's like a knockdown shooting version of Jonas Jorubco, which, as a quality NBA player who's going to be in the league for a while.

But with the 11th pick, dude, I had a hard time with that decision for the Bright Future Sons. I think, like, what it stood out to me with that pick, I feel like he's a lesser version of Mikhail Bridges who they took at, what, 10 last year, and they're just, like, so burned by guys like Josh Jackson, Dragan Bender.

They want the exact opposite way. They're, like, we're getting an older guy, high character, great shooter, and, like, we know... Exactly what he does. And the one thing about, what the sons are doing. So the rumor is they're going to go after DeAngelo Russell. Realistically, if you're playing with DeAngelo Russell and Devin Booker, you ain't going to get the ball very much.

So you might as to be able to shoot it because you're not going to be dribbling too often. Which could be part of the plan here. I think so. I think it has to be, right? Knowing that the offense is going to run through that back court with Russell and Booker, and you're getting a guy who, in his time in North Carolina, proved to be an unselfish player who accepted the role that was given to him. even as an upper classman, he was an offball player. No mistake player. And he thrived within that role. So it's like you're essentially drafting the guy for the role.

And maybe it's like we look back at this and you're like, yeah, there was some better players selected after him, but Cam Johnson's a good role player and that's who they got. I got a stat for you, KS. I like Cam Johnson. So you gave an A, right? I gave it a B. So coming off screens in college this year, he was in the, so coming around off the screen, catching and shooting, he was in the 97th percentile.

Like, he's a pretty versatile. shooter. He's not a versatile offensive player, but he can shoot off movement. I think he'll stick. I don't think they'll play much defense in Phoenix, but they'll score a lot of points. So they got two guys in this draft who are basically, you know, a shorter and taller version of each other.

Elite shooters. I should restate that. It's like he, like statistically it's great, but I think I mean like the dynamic movements. I mean like coming hard off a pin down screen, having to fully contort your body mid It's like he does like some basic actions and he shows good footwork, but like he still needs to develop that like JJ Redick S stuff to really like in my mind be a truly elite elite shit.

Well he's like six to nine so he's probably not bending like that. You know, there's total guys can do some crazy stuff. I'm curious KOC. Would you rather have him or Dylan Winnler if you're picking guys? We're talking like at the 11th pick. I guess in general maybe. I mean I had Windler ranked like 26th and Camas. I think 27. So, yeah, for you, it's the value, right?

Yeah, it's the value, exactly. It's like I don't have any issue with the pick. Yeah, I had Dylan Winnler 26th, and Johnson, I had 29 for Walser. I think for Johnson, I feel like he just barely crosses that threshold of average defense. With Winnler, I don't seem to hang defensively. Johnson would be a great defender, but I think he can do just not stand the floor. And that's really his upside. Speaking about defense, with the 12th pick, the Hornets took PJ Washington,

a guy who projects as a mobile defender at the big man position. I think we all like that pick, right? We all like that. Yeah. With PJ Washington, do the Hornets, they finally have a good big man? I mean, it's interesting because last year they took Miles Bridges, who kind of feels like a PJ Washington,

a guy who kind of fell through the cracks a little bit in terms of hype. College sophomore, right? Yeah. High, you know, big program. But, like, it was a productive guy and looks to be, you know, a productive NBA player. So I think it's a very kind of safe, Charlotte-esque pick.

You know what's sad? like I would love to see PJ at the five miles at the four. I feel like in Charlotte will be him at the three miles of the two. They'll play like Kaminsky and Zeller and Biombo or whoever else I have that roster anymore. I don't even know. But I like those two guys. And the ghosts of Kemba. I think that's the thing with PJ and Miles.

They both need a really good point guard. So if Kemba stays, it'll be a great pick. If Kemba leaves, they could be in trouble because they don't only have a good pass or give them open shots. They could be in trouble with Kembo with that salary. For sure. I mean for like PJ's career. kind of. If Ken believes, it'll be harder for him, obvious. I guess that's obvious. No doubt about it. I think

with PJ, nice part of it is like, he can, you know, he's not a guy who creates for himself, but he can at least pass. Yeah, he's a smart player. He can play within the offense, and let's move on to the rest of the draft. And so what we're going to do the rest of the way is we're going to each pick a steal from each range. We're going to go

from the teens, the 20s, and then the second round. We're just going to do a steal. And we'll go in order with the guys that we selected. So I'll kick this off with Chuma Okiki, a sophomore from Auburn, who is selected by the Orlando Magic with the 16th pick. O'Kiki is somebody who, in college, tore his ACL to finish the season during the tournament. Unfortunately, for him, obviously, he'll miss part of the NBA season as a rookie.

But like PJ Washington, another guy who can switch, defend multiple positions at 6'8 with a 7-foot wingspan, a good passer, a guy who can space the floor from three, at least at an above-average level. So for Orlando, they're adding another guy to their lump of long, switchable defenders who can switch screens, who can space the floor, make smart plays on offense. He's sort of like a guy that you really loved in the draft, Jonathan Isaac, a guy who can do a bunch of different things for you. The nice thing is Okigi's not a theoretical shooter. Like, he actually is a really good shooter. And he, yeah, he took a solid amount of attempts per game at Auburn. I believe, right?

It feels like a pick. 142 attempts this past season and shot 39. percent. Orlando, like, they got to playoffs this year. They're feeling better about themselves. Like, we're going to think long term, not pick for need, and draft the guy we like. It's a nice change to pace for Orlando. At Fort Worth, over two seasons at Auburn, shot 39% on 229 attempts.

However, did shoot only 70.3% from the free throw line. Still pretty good. Moving on. So next deal. Oh, yeah. I like the pick that came right after Chuma. I like the Pelicans pick of Nikiel Alexander Walker. I think he could have definitely been a lottery pick.

Checks out a lot of the boxes that I typically look for in an NBA prospect. Big size first position. Can shoot the three. It doesn't really have any single glaring weakness. I like high floor guys. And I think this guy is going to stick around in the league, whether it's with the Pelicans or some other team. Because I think he fits the mold of what you want.

out of a one or two in the NBA at this point. Who do you have charts? I got Goga Betatsi, the big man that went to Indiana, which is interesting because they already have two big men and Miles Turner and to Monta Sabonis. I love Batatsi's game. He's kind of got a nice combination of inside, outside, a very traditional big man

with great offensive skill set. Though I do think this does seem like the end of the road for either Turner or Sabonis, I'll be fastened to see what those kind of guys, what their trademark it is, as big centers in them on NBA. I want to see all three of them on the floor at the same time. Just being real. Why not?

Dino ball. I want to see it. Do it. Come on, they got a good team. They can't be doing. Nickmellon, our favorite listener of the ringer NBA show, hopefully he plays us three.

And Go-Go is a great fit for McMillan's offense. I don't know if Nate McMillan listens to the show. KOC, they listen to the show. If you're on, if they're listening. If he did, they'd shoot more threes. Yeah. Yeah, we'd have Sabona's and Turner pick and pop into three. So if he listened to us with GoGef Charks,

you and I have talked about this on videos and former podcasts, but I think it's worth hitting on again. With Batati, he's somebody who he fits the qualifiers for what's important and a big man in today's NBA. You wrote about this before in regards to Nicola Yokic, where it's like so many centers get played off the floor in today's league, even when you're a great defensive center in this perimeter-based league

that you need to bring something on the offensive end in in order to survive. Goga is at least an average defender, maybe better, but with offense, that's really going to be his calling card

with his passing and shooting ability. It feels a lot like the pick last year with Aaron Holiday. They said, we already have two good point guards, we're going to trust our board, draft the guy we really like and think long term.

I think that's the value of drafting in the teens for Indiana. You don't have to plug a need for your roster right away. It's kind of like an NFL pick. It's the best player available taking the best guy and whatever.

Let's move on to the 20s. Danny, who do you got? Well, since we're not bringing up Brandon Clark. Which we could. We could. We could. We talked about him a little bit earlier. A little bit, a lot. I think it's Grant Williams for the

Celtics. A guy who is 6-7 and a half 230. Just not a great athlete, but just so, so smart, so team-oriented. One of the better defenders in the draft has kind of extended his range from three. You can kind of see him playing that PJ Tucker, Boris D.

Al type of role, a guy who could help any team. And when you have the Celtics who, you know, have lost or are going to lose Al Horford, you kind of want to plug in smart players. You can do a little bit of everything. Obviously, he isn't as big as Horford, so he doesn't really have that kind of versatility. But, man, I can't see Grant Williams not doing well in the NBA. I like his fit with Brad Seamins' offense. because he wants like pretty smart bigs

who can do multiple things. With Boston, the next couple of weeks are going to be fascinating to see what happens there with Kyrie and Horford potentially leaving. They traded Aaron Beans today into Cap Space if they renounce their other free agents they could create Max CapSpace

and it's like they're probably not signing anybody but like they have the ability to like to at least chase a guy and try to get a meeting with somebody and it's like either that or like they're either going to be like pushing to sign somebody or this team is like suddenly back into retooling mode where they have just a bunch of young guys in their roster

and they're probably going to still make the playoffs. Of course, you know, they still have enough veterans to support the quality young players, but it's like this team suddenly goes from they're going to get Anthony Davis to, oh, what are they going to do with their draft picks to start building for the future? I think worth mentioning the guy that took at 14,

Romeo Langford. Like, I didn't love his game, but the more I thought about it, the whole injured was he broke his shooting thumb early in his freshman season and it kind of tanked his season and maybe if he's healthy maybe if he shut himself down in November

he's higher ranked like that's an interesting pick I don't know what to make of it but I feel that I can see why it made the pick I can say why it makes sense them to gamble on him yeah they took sort of two opposite players of Ramayampton and Romeo Langford next up for me I got Dylan Windler from the moment we alluded to him earlier knock down shooter

a guy who can make plays off the dribble for you not just someone who's a spot up player he can make plays off the dribble too. Hit a step back in the NCAA tournament. That would great. He can hit some filthy shots off the dribble. You know, defense will be the question. He at least plays hard, tries hard in the defensive end of the floor, can rebound and pass as well. Like, he just checks a lot of boxes, a good athlete as well. Just a smart player, a good athlete, somebody who I think can fill a role for the cavaliers, especially next to other primary ball handlers to them. Tarks, I know one of your favorite sleepers in the drafts and they're rising all the way to the first round. I was worried my guy Jordan Poole from Michigan wouldn't get drafted, but he wasn't even the mock drafts for a while in the top 60 mock drafts. He went 28 to Golden State.

I love this pick. I think Jordan Poole, to me, of all the shooters who got drafted in the first round, like guys like Jerome, Cam Johnson, Windler, I think Poole's the most well-rounded offensively of all of them. He can handle the ball pretty well. He was stuck in a small role in Michigan. But I saw him make some pretty good passes off the dribble. To me, he's a three-dimensional offensive player.

He'll go to goal. in state. He can play off Steph and Dremont. I bet he plays right away. I bet he's pretty good. I love this pick. Yeah, he's he's he's in it. I don't love him as a player. I want to see that ball handling playmaking skill develop a bit more. But like it's there. It's there long term. And maybe at golden state where you have to play that way in order to get on the court, maybe that can manifest for him in that I mean, without Clay there. There's minutes to be had at the two guard. That's for sure. A lot of developmental minutes for him. Let's move on in the second round. We'll each hit

one guy here that we would qualify as steal of the second. second round. Charks, you're going to lead with a guy who is the first pick in the second round. Oh, I love this. I love Nick Claxton. I can't believe fell this far. This was a fantastic pick by the Nets. My only concern I was telling Danny, it sounds ridiculous, but like, I like, I like Jared Allen too, and I worry they took a better player in Jared Allen. Like, Nick Clackson to take his job eventually. And Claxton, for what it's worth is somebody who handled the offense this past season. We're talking about, we're talking about bigs who are really, like, skilled players. Like, this is a big man who can handle and like, really unique, unique situation. He's got a

legitimate perimeter offensive game at 611, which is just so rare. I don't know how I got left once the second round on us. I'm kind of surprised he fell this far. He's a guy who could end up being just like a rotational big man, but there's a path for him to becoming like one of the better big man in the league who ends up being a steel. And Danny, you also have a guy who is very raw right now. Super raw.

But is somebody who you can see projectable skills to becoming a good long-term pro. Absolutely. Tail and Horton Tucker to the Lakers with the 46th pick, I believe. A clutch client. Clutch client. It pays to go with clutch people. There it is, man. Doing favors, baby.

6-4-7-1 wingspan. Just a freak, you know, size, you know, just a freak wingspan for a guy his size. He has the body type of a PJ Tucker of an Eric Gordon, kind of like this bowling ball type player. His skills are kind of a hodgepodge. He kind of has a little bit of everything, showed no consistency at Iowa State,

but he is one of the two youngest players. players in this draft. I love the gamble that they took on him because I think he can, his career can develop in many different ways, especially playing with, you know, two of the best players in the NBA. He's playing with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. That's not a bad spot to be in. It's great for him. It can develop a little bit slowly playing in the G League, occasional spot minutes.

And they'll eventually need him to play because they are so capped out. Oh, yeah. Yeah, they do. For me, I have a guy who is a bit more ahead in his development. a Terrence Mann, a senior forward slash wing from Florida State. Also a grew up in Massachusetts. We've been facing. Oh, that's right.

I've read him on Facebook when he was a high school recruit. Yes. Look at a high for talent, man. I mean, I thought he might be a one and done potentially. He was not a one and done. He spent four years at Florida State. But in his time there, he proved to be a guy who, like, he can be a glue guy for your roster. He's somebody who can defend

multiple positions. He's a good passer even as a senior. He began to handle the ball a lot more bringing the ball up and initiating offense. And that won't be his role in the NBA, but he at least showed the ability to handle the ball and make smart decisions. So I think for him when you, he fits a lot of the criteria

in what you need for guys that can survive deep into the playoffs. You can't just shoot. You can't just handle. You can't just defend. He's somebody who can do all of those things at at least an average or above average level. And if those skills can become good long term. Like he's going to be somebody

who is an important rotational player. So Terrence Mann. My favorite Terrence Mann's from the tournament. So he guarded John Morant in round two and Brandon Clark in round three. Like that's defensive versatility. Yeah. Two top 20 picks, ones.

And he gave John Moran a ton of trouble on defense with his size. And we didn't even state that he's going straight to a team that was in the playoffs this past season and likely could be again the Los Angeles Clippers. So for Terrence, man, he's somebody that maybe as a young player

is one of those guys who can earn minutes. Yeah. let's wrap this up, but one of my favorites in the draft, Zyland Cheatham. And Cheatham was signed by the Pelicans, the team we led the show with. So Dave Rick Griffin, to me,

like he sort of ran the night. He drafted Alan Smileygeach in the second round, knowing the Golden State has been scouting that dude since he was like 16 or 17 years old. Tried to hide him. Tried to hide him in the G League, unsuccessfully, clearly.

It was so obvious, though. They really, they felt a good job hiding. then traded him to the Golden State. David Griffin is probably the winner of the night, winner of the off season so far, already making a name for himself with the New Orleans Pelicans with just an unbelievably young, talented, appealing roster in the Pelicans.

What a time to be a Pelicans fan, despite trading your star player. Way to book on that podcast. You're going to land that plane. Nice. Well done. It's been great talking draft with you guys all year. And it's really cool that we're able to do this in person right now.

Only the second time this season, right? We did a couple weeks ago, post-laughtery, right? But I'm sure we'll talk more young players, prospects following Summer League, when we see these guys and see who stinks, see who thrives. See who stinks. So, yeah, that's exactly. That's what we were there for. I'm looking forward to that guys.

Thanks, Dea. Thanks, John. Thank you. It's been a great year. It's really fun. And thank you, everybody for listening to The Ringering Radio show. Shout up Bobby Wagner, our loyal, faithful producer, working hard to the night. And shout out to Bobby Wagner.

We have people in the room next to us. Ronic and Keith, we get Ronick and Keith in there. Yeah, those guys are great to do so much for behind the scenes you never see. It's amazing stuff they do. So much happens behind the scenes

at the ringer, including our guy, Bobby Wagner. Thank you again for listening to the Rainer B.A show. Please give us a five-star rating on iTunes or a thumbs up on YouTube. Share it with your friends. I mean, you've seen KFC and Danny's suits.

You have no choice. We're in some five-star players right now. Danny's suit is unbelievable. Thank you, everybody, for listening to Ringar and Ruea Show. Peace out. Thanks.