The Ringer NBA Show - Ten Questions Leading Into the Playoffs | The Mismatch

Episode Date: April 9, 2019

Top prospects audition for the pros in the NCAA championship game (0:46) while the still-murky NBA playoff picture continues to shift (15:23). Then: 10 burning questions for the 2019 NBA playoffs (22:24). Hosts: Chris Vernon, Kevin O’Connor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What's up, guys, it's Liz Kelly, and welcome to the Ringer Podcast Network. April is a huge month for TV, and starting this weekend, the Recapables feed returns to give you in-depth analysis on your favorite TV shows, including Killing Eve, billions, and many more. There will also be a special pre-capable series on the Recapables feed on the final season of Game of Thrones, where our staff forecasts what will happen every Sunday on the show. So make sure to subscribe now before the premiere of Killing Eve and Game of Thrones on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your show. podcasts. Welcome to The Ringer MBA show. I'm Chris Varnan and joining me as he does every Tuesday from the ringer.com is Kevin O'Connor, aka Kevin O'Bomber, aka Kevin O'Conflict, aka Kevin O'Chammer, Kevin O'Connor. You mentioned the O'Connor in there, Chris. Tomorrow night, Mews is playing in Boston, but I will not be going and I'm very sad about that, but also very happy because

get to see some playoff scenario shake out for the final day of the regular NBA regular season. We're finally here, Chris. We have finally made it to the very end of the season within a few days. The story of last night was Virginia winning the national championship. Though there were some that declared this would be a complete bust of a game and thought that it would be not entertaining, this ended up being insanely entertaining last night. and we had on display a couple of different guys that have been there in the top five to ten draft picks for the upcoming NBA.

And it feels like opinions have really moved a lot on both of these guys, even as the last few weeks have unfolded. You have Jared Culver, who was the Big 12 player of the year and best player on that Texas Tech team. And then you have DeAndre Hunter, who when it mattered most, made play after. play last night in order to get his team a national championship. I mean, they are down by three. Somehow Texas Tech, who is an amazing defensive team, loses him in the corner. He bangs down a three. You know, he gets a steal.

He gets blocks. And Hunter, who I think had been relegated in many circles as a guy, I'll be a pretty nice role player in the NBA. Is that what you want? he played like a big time star last night when the lights were on brightest. So obviously, congrats to Virginia. But in terms of what we talk about, how this relates to the NBA draft, and especially with those two prospects specifically, Kev.

Well, I think with DeAndre Hunter and last night's game, 27 points, nine rebounds, had only one assist, but it was a really nice assist to end the first half. lot of people rightfully so say oh you know march madness performance is overrated you know we overreact to stuff like that and that's true a lot of the time but i do think it's hard to say with a straight face that what dionre hunter did last night doesn't matter just because it was one game for him to do that on on such a big stage coming up clutch multiple times and multiple different ways he hit the three to tie the game as you mentioned he also hit a go-ahead three later in overtime as well. He had two

incredibly clutch athletic rebounds over Texas Tech Defenders, one of them over Jared Culver, where he just used his long seven foot wingspan to stretch over him and rip down the board. In multiple ways, he came up clutch. And then through the entire

game, he locked down Jared Culver, who a lot of people view as, in their eyes, as the number two or number three or fourth best prospect in this year's draft. And Hunter put the clamps on him, the entire game. So overall for Hunter, look, he's still most likely a role player, like a high-end role player. That's most likely his scenario. But for me personally, watching last night's game,

it showed that he has, he has the ability to come out big in big moments. He's somebody that you can rely on. He's not going to fold like some players do. And he did it all over the floor in the defensive end and on the offensive end as well. It was a spectacular performance and one of the best national title performances that I can remember from an individual player. Over the last couple of rounds, obviously Culver gets a tremendous amount of attention from the opposing team. And I know he did not have his best game by a wide, wide margin. He hasn't been good for a while, though, too. I mean, like the past five games, he's shooting only 28 of 89 from the floor. That's 31% from the field,

shooting only 4 of 26 from 3, only 15%. So it, like, wasn't just last. night either he's decides the end of the final four game where he turned it on he's really been struggling as of late in the tournament i will make a bit of an excuse for him today because i do think that when you are a team like texas tech and he is the best player by a wide wide margin that i think the other teams like if you are if you are thinking about virginia you know that they can beat you in a myriad of ways ty jerome can beat you and kyle guy can beat you And obviously D'Andre Hunter can beat you. I think when you are thinking about Texas Tech,

while they did have guys off the bench like Edwards and guys, they came out of nowhere like Mooney in the prior round, I do think that when you are the best player by a wide margin and you command that level of attention, I do think that it's a little different. And I will tell you that I watch this tournament and I get the shooting numbers, but there's a lot more to the games than just whether, he was making shots or not.

And my opinion of Culver did not go down during this tournament in the least. And in fact, I mean, again, we're not talking about, I understand that we always want to think we're going to get the best player on a title team. But the truth is, there's only a handful of those guys. And so do I get somebody, you know, I always put out that list of guys that won't suck. Do I get somebody that's going to be a starter for me? the NBA for a long, long time.

And a guy who does have still a ceiling that can be met. And I think the answer with that kid is, yes, he certainly got the requisite athleticism. He plays harder than hell. And I get that some of his shots weren't dropping, but he was the best player on a team that was a minute away from winning a national title.

And I think a lot of people would have told you, history would tell you talent-wise, generally teams with one really, really good NBA player or that plays for a long time in the NBA, those aren't the teams that win the title. And they damn near did it. You know, Virginia, at least four of those guys is going to have a, you know, they're going to get an NBA contract, at least four of them.

Yeah, sure. I mean, I think with Culver, some of the struggles are things that we knew about before. Just like some of the good things Hunter did last night we knew about. It's not necessarily that we learned anything new. We just saw Hunter do it in a big time moment on the biggest, stage with the most amount of pressure with with culver his struggles as of late i'm not i'm not sure it's any different than the concerns we saw before like all season long and both his years at texas tech we've seen that he's stiff as a ball handler like you and i talked about last week he's

probably not going to be that go-to-scoring guy but what he can be is somebody who is a smart overall player somebody who can play within the flow of an offense hopefully for him maybe put him in a motion offense with more cutting, more off ball movement. I think that's where he could flourish at the next level. Because that's what could really take advantage of his, his smarts as a player. He's very intelligent. He's an unselfish playmaker as well.

I think that would maximize him as an offensive player. But what he's not, but what he had to be for Texas Tech was an on ball presence. And it would have been nice to see him do more of that against college level players. But he didn't. You know, that's just not his game. It's probably not going to be his game. unless he makes drastic improvements well beyond what he is now.

But he still can defend well. He's still a good rebounder. He's versatile. He's a smart player. He's a hard worker. And if anybody's looking at these last five games, I'm thinking, oh, Derek Culver, going to knock him way down my board. I think that would be a mistake.

He's still a top prospect in this year's draft. With that said, one thing to remember, though, is that Culver would not have been a top five pick in last year's draft or the draft before that. He's a good prospect, not a great prospect. So when setting expectations for him, I think it's important to remember the quality of this class. The top five this year is not quite the same as we had talked about in the past couple of years. Yeah, I think with a couple of these guys that you're looking at them and saying these are going to be complimentary players. And if you look back to last year, somebody like McKell Bridges, by the time McKell Bridges has taken, nobody's thinking McKell Bridges is going to be the best player on my

NBA team, but he might be the third or fourth best guy under NBA team. And this is a particular year where inevitably some of the guys will be stars farther down the list, but you're probably getting a third or fourth best player on your team, even if it is with the top 10 pick this year. That's just what this draft is, Kev. And people have been saying that since this class of won and duns, you know, when everybody saw them in the McDonald's game and the McDonald's practices. etc. I mean, that's what this draft is. And so I know people roll their eyes at the idea of getting

their second, third, fourth best player that you want to get a guy that you think is going to be the best player on your team when you've got a high pick. But that just may not be the case with most of these guys. So at least you've got a sure thing that you've got these McKell Bridges, auto Porter kind of players, right? Your third or fourth best guy. Yeah, definitely. And obviously those players are important. So look at Memphis, for example. Right now they're in a position where they want to convey their pick to the Celtics just to get it out of the way,

to wash their hands of the Jeff Green mistake that was made a couple years back. They want to get rid of the pick, but still retain odds of getting the number one pick in Zion Williamson. Because in this year's draft, I think the best value, the best range isn't that three to six or seven range, which is where Memphis would be if they were trying to tank, right? they would be in that slot.

The best value spot is really that, I think that eight to late lottery range, eight to 15 or so. And then beyond that, I think that's the best spot to be in this year's draft. So for teams like the Atlanta Hawks, they'll have their own pick. And if they keep the Dallas pick, which right now has the eighth best odds or someone like the Celtics with the

Sacramento Kings pick and also potentially getting the Grizzlies pick, I think those two teams stand out as teams that have ability. to move around within the draft and have at least one pick in a high value area. I think that's the spot you want to be in this year's draft. But with that said, you're not going to get DeAndre Hunter or Jared Culver there, but there are a number of other guys in this year's draft class that present similar-ish value as prospects, but also will have much less significant contracts as rookies. So you're not committing as much money to those players, but you might be getting a near

equal quality player in terms of upside. or ability to contribute now. Not Culver or Hunter, though. They won't fall to that point to be clear. But there are other prospects like Jackson Hayes for an upside center or Brandon Clark, who we talked about before in this podcast, or want to take a home run swing, someone like Bowl Bowl or Nasir Little. There's some value to be had in that late lottery range this year.

I do find it interesting that what we have seen in college basketball the last few years is we have a Carolina team that does not have a bunch of NBA guys that. is a veteran-laden team, that Villanova team, which was absolutely unbelievable and stomped everybody on their way to a title last year. Devin Chenzo moved up in a massive way. McKell Bridges ended up being a top 10 pick. Obviously, you've got other guys, Bronson, Spelman. Other guys got NBA jobs, but it wasn't loaded with the lottery talent or the best talent.

And then this year's Virginia team, you will have Hunter and then who knows? you know, Ty Jerome probably has the same kind of plight as a Brunson in terms of, well, draft stock, etc. Ty Jerome was really, really good in tournament, really good, and especially last night's game. And it's been a long time since we have had, I guess it would be Anthony Davis since we've had, I know that that Duke team that had three guys go on the top with Jalil Okafour, but he didn't go number one. I mean, he went a little further down because that was the Wiggins draft. but Jalilil Okafor, Justice Winslow, and then Tyos Jones, they all went in the first round off of that team that won the title.

But after Anthony Davis, we had Anthony Bennett, not involved. Andrew Wiggins, an absolute disaster getting knocked out of the tournament by Stanford. Carl Anthony Towns got bounced. Ben Simmons wasn't in it. Markell Fultz wasn't in it. DeAndre Aiton got humiliated by Buffalo last year. And now this year, I guess, I mean, Zion was one point away from being there, right, in the final four. So I guess Zion has had, you may be the most success here in a little while for somebody.

But I do find it interesting. Towns went to the Sweet 16, I think, if I remember correctly, early date. Regardless, to be fair to that team, they did make a little bit of a run. And they had a historic regular season. His team did go to the final four. The team that lost to Wisconsin, which again, right, was. the guys on that team, Frank Komenski, Sam Decker, these guys have NBA careers. Nigel Hayes.

Yeah, but that was a veteran team. You know what I mean? It was. What I said is the highest level talent. I mean, if you want to call that Duke team, the number one pick, the last time he's there at the very end was Davis hoisting a trophy. And even before then, I mean, Rose was right there at the very end. And obviously got his heart ripped out by Chalmers.

but yeah, I think what we're seeing at college basketball, we're seeing a lot of these veteran teams, these three and four year guys with a great player kind of sprinkled in, somebody that ends up being a top 10 pick on that team, but not necessarily the ones that are loaded with the one and done talent. Hard to do. It's hard to do.

Very difficult to win a championship, Chris. Very difficult. That's why you're going to tank and get top players. Oh, for goodness sakes. All right, let's get to the, let's get to the standings. And let's get to the standings. Oh, you know what?

This is crazy, Kev. I'm looking at the standings. I don't see a lot of the tanking teams doing all that well in these standings. In fact, oh, the bucks, the raptors, the nuggets, the rockets, the rockets, the trailblazers, the jazz. Wow. Oh, not exactly loaded with a bunch of the teams of the tank. But anyways, I threw you a softball, Kristen.

There you go. Thank you. This has been a bad year for the tanking crowd, to say the least. I'm glad that Philadelphia lost for seven years to get the three seed. Anyways, we have, when we are looking at these standings, we're not going to be able to figure out necessarily who all are going to be maneuvering and who are going to be playing each other these last couple of games. Obviously, Detroit is the one that is hanging up for dear life.

They actually host the Grizzlies tonight. with Blake Griffin questionable. They've been in this free fall. Seven of nine, they've lost. They've lost four straight. Whereas you have the Hornets who have won three straight games. I mean, that is the one spot, that eight spot that looks to be decided still, whereas everything in the Western Conference is merely a matter of seed at this point.

The eight teams, we know who the eight teams are going to be, but those last three spots, six, seven, and eight. You have the thunder, the spurs, and the clippers all within a half a game of each other. So there's maneuvering to be decided. And then obviously in the Eastern Conference, it's either going to be Detroit, Charlotte, or Miami, right? Oh, boy. And you have one of those teams. Charlotte has made this push and has gone seven and three down the stretch.

As I mentioned, you have seven of nine losses for Detroit and four in a row. and the heat have lost four in a row. So now, I really don't know. Detroit, they have their last game. They played the Grizzlies tonight, and then at the Knicks. So they should be able to win that. They should be able to.

Should be able to. I mean, God, man, when we were talking about them a couple weeks ago, they looked like a sure thing. Like, they were just locked in, and we were worried about Brooklyn making it. And now Detroit's hanging on for dear life. who would you rather see in the playoffs

Charlotte or Detroit I think honestly like I'd love to see either of those guys rewarded Blake Griffin especially the progress he's made this season man I mean he's he's arguably that sixth all NBA Ford this year I'm probably going to have him

six on my ballot once I submit that this week I think Blake's progress would be great if that were to be rewarded but at the same time it's like I'm worried about this guy's durability he is not at all healthy right now. He is lumbering out there on the floor. The season has worn him down as much as it can. I'm not sure how much he has left in the tank for the postseason with Kemba Walker. Obviously, the start he had was terrific. He looked like an all-in-a guy. I'm not so sure he will be at this point. I guess like we talked about last week or the week before, I'm intrigued what's going to happen with Walker's all-N-BA votes if they make the postseason. But I guess to make a choice, I'd rather see Detroit just because of the progress, Blake, has made it as a player and Drummond as well mid-season making a big leave.

I would like to see that rewarded. Yeah, and we were just talking. It was just a week ago, Kevin, we were talking about at least we would get to see M. B. B. versus Drummond and him posting all the Instagram and Twitter stuff. And like, that ain't happening. That is for certain. Not even close to happening.

And Detroit's just going to hang on for dear life regarding the last few games of the season and what is going to take place between these teams all jockeying for position. We do have an NBA watch of the night tonight. The Houston Rockets at the Oklahoma City Thunder on TNT 9.30 p.m. Eastern time. This does have implications, Kiv. Sure does, Chris. If Houston wins tonight, they're absolutely going to be the two or three seed, depending on what happens with Denver.

If Denver were to win, they're final. two games, Houston would be the three seed. But if Denver loses just one of those last two games, then Houston would be the two seed. But if Houston loses tonight and obviously OKC right now, their seed hasn't been determined either on their end. They could be a wide range right now. But if Houston loses to OKC and then if Denver loses their two remaining games, Houston would be the two seed.

If Denver won one of those two remaining games and Portland won, this is confusing. this is the most confusing thing I've ever heard in my life. All I'll say is this, if Houston loses tonight, there's a chance to be the foreseed, depending on a number of factors that happen over the final two nights of the regular season. Oh, for goodness sakes. Well, here's what we know. Oh, man. Chris, how are we only two days left in the regular season?

And it's still this confusing to figure out the playoff spots. That was the most complicated thing I've ever heard in my life. Anybody, just watch tonight. Set the audio of that, like that Zach Gellafanakis meme of him with like the math problems. The Rockets at the Oklahoma City Thunder on TNT 9.30 p.m.

Eastern and remember if you want to watch every NBA game, subscribe to NBA League Pass on NBA.com or from your preferred video provider. All right, we're going to take a quick break. When we come back, we are going to go through 10 questions leading into the NBA playoffs.

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That's get shipped.com slash NBA. All right, Kevin, I got 10 questions leading into the NBA playoffs. Are you ready? I'm ready, Chris. Let's do it. Number one, the most vulnerable top four seed in the east, the most vulnerable top four seed in the West. And I will give you Bucks, Rappter, Six, or Celtics, Warriors, Nuggets, Rockets, Blazers.

Blazers is the easy choice in the Western Conference, considering the use of Nurkich injury. There's not a lone argument on planet Earth for the Warriors. And I just wouldn't, I wouldn't, I definitely wouldn't pick Denver or Houston over Portland. It's not close really in the West. All right. I will give you, I will get Portland an immense amount of credit, especially in the 10 games without McCollum.

Going eight and two and being able to hold on tight to this home court advantage is mega impressive. But I was reading this morning, though they do have some injury, some nagging injuries, Utah's record post-all-star break is the second best in the entire NBA. Being that that would be their first round matchup, I actually think the Jazz might be favored in that matchup. So I'm with you on Portland. What about in the east, Bucks, Raptors, Sixers, Celtics? Are you going to say the Celtics because of the injuries as of late? For what it's worth, in the Western Conference, that most vulnerable could be dependent on the playoff season.

which can still change. Right. But like it's, it's highly unlikely that Utah would move off that five seed, but that would change the most vulnerable.

But yeah, in terms of the East, it's certainly between Philly and Boston. I think I would still choose Boston. Gordon Hayward's been a lot better as of late the past month or so. He's improved, but there's still something missing

from the Celtics team, the qualities they've had in the past, chasing down loose balls, playing with consistent effort on defense. That's still missing. And that's a little bit concerning for that. heading into the postseason.

Maybe in the first round that gets activated against the Indiana Pacers are a hardworking team. Maybe Boston finally clicks in the first round. But I would pick Boston is the most vulnerable overall in the postseason looking ahead. Yeah. You know, Indiana really gacked it here at the end of the season. Three and seven down the stretch. Also, you know, giving away that home court advantage, which they really needed. They recently have lost 10.

of 11 games on the road. So it does matter greatly whether or not they were to have home court advantage or not. It would give them a much better chance, at least if it played out like it did during the season, if they were getting to playing bankers life instead of playing on the road, rough stuff to say the least. Is there any argument for Philadelphia as that most vulnerable team in the east right now? Like, what is it? uh no well i guess if they may be dependent upon the danger of their opponent you know which would be Brooklyn here's what we know the sample size is not huge but because they've struggled as of late

well the sample size isn't huge but their lineup of Simmons redick Butler Harris and bead again not a huge sample size but per 100 possessions that's been almost a plus 18 in a little over 160 minutes. That lineup and then the Raptors line up of Lowry, Green, Kauai, Siakam, and Gasol, which has been like a plus 12.2 per 100 possessions. Again, we're still talking less than 200 minutes, but the immediate level of success that those two teams have found, and you know things tighten up in the playoffs in terms of roster management and who's on the court at the same time with each other, I just think

it's pretty clear that their apex, you know, when they've got their best five guys out there on the court, at least what we have seen so far has been outstanding. The Sixers, it's been outstanding. Seriously. And so no. In fact, that will leave me to question number two. This is a good one. The most dangerous of bottom four seeds in either of the conferences. So in the east, we'll just go with Detroit since they're in the slot today. Indiana, Brooklyn, Orlando, Detroit, in the West, Oak City, the Spurs, the Clippers, and the Jazz.

In the west, it's Utah for the reasons you mentioned earlier. They have arguably the defensive player of the year in Rudy Gobert. And if he's not the defensive player of the year behind Janus, he's a damn close second with the year he's had. Mitchell over the second half has just been ferocious after a very, very inefficient scarily inefficient first half for him in the season. He's been really tremendous in the second half. I think Utah, their production on both ends of the floor, their depth, their options, their versatility,

their ability to attack with different players, Rubio and Ingalls, their versatility with O'Neill coming off the bench. They have the ability to play different styles and take on different shapes depending on the opponent, depending on what the game calls for. And they have two really great players in Gobert and Mitchell. so they're the pick for me in the West. Are you an agreement there?

Yes, and especially given what I mentioned earlier, which is their record after the All-Star break. The thing that I do worry about is the level of injuries that they have sustained. You got a bunch of guys with nagging stuff, Rubio favors. We know that injury killed them last year when it got to this time of year. Now, you have had guys like Ingalls like O'Bair that have been able to play all the games, but they've got a group of guys that has been banged up. Forver's been banged up a little bit.

So that's the one thing I do worry about. But obviously, given their record and how we have seen them play, the one I would have taken would have been Oklahoma City, who I do think at their best is still great. It's too few and far between. And they have been not good these last 20 games of the season. So this is a side question. But I'm curious, do you think Russell Westbrook should be an all-NBA, guard. I mean, this year, the four locks are definitely Curry and Hardin for first team,

and then Lillard and Irving for second team. That third team, I'm going to have Westbrook on my ballot in all likelihood. So I'm going to do a little bit more deeper research just to confirm that. But there's been, you know, arguments against Westbrook for his lackadaisical defense at times, for his inefficiencies as a scorer. I guess I'm curious, would you put him on a ballot ahead of the many other guards that would be in consideration for those last spots. Bradley Beale, Clay Thompson, Kembo Walker, and so on and so on. Ben Simmons, for that matter, should be in that conversation, too. Would you have Westbrook on there? A hundred percent. I, you know, I've spoken on this before, but I believe that Russell Westbrooks,

I believe that his accomplishments become discredited because of the way he acts. I do. I know he has not shot the ball well this year. but he affects the game in so many ways. And for some reason, everybody, it became cool to roll your eyes at triple doubles. But his triple doubles impact the game in a massive way. And he is a real force of nature in every game that he plays in. I wish that he did not act the way that he did.

But I will tell you, and this is from being at the All-Star game at Summer League, and you know I am friends with a large majority of the, NBA media. Privately, people don't like him because he treats people like crap. He does. You mean like with media? Like the way he acts?

Yes. It is so. Okay. Yes. It is hard for people to separate that he treats people poorly. He just does. And people, and I get it, fans never want to hear about this and they just roll their eyes.

And I'm telling you, I don't particularly care. I see him in other settings. I have friends that are friends with him that tell me he's truly a great guy. I don't know why he acts the way he does. He is a great guy. And so I don't know. I know the way he acts in public. You know what I mean? And I do think it affects people's opinions of him. I don't think there's any doubt about it, that if Russell Westbrook was a charming, cool, cooperative guy that we would look at him a lot differently. Now, I am a fan of his. And I do think that somehow some way, over the course of the last couple of years, people started rolling their eyes

that triple doubles. And I don't believe that that should be so. I think that if someone else was doing it, that it would be viewed differently. And instead, it's like stad hunting and, you know, he's just hunting for rebounds or whatever. Like, bro, like all these guys would love to get, these guys, to average that is just insane.

It really is. It's insane to average that. Every single night, you're getting me over 10 assists, and you're getting me over 10 rebounds every game. I mean, that's just crazy to me. So I think it's, of course, I think he should be all NBA. Well, I think with Russell Westbrook, the post-game locker room stuff, that definitely does affect people's opinion.

It's sort of like in baseball for years, Jim Rice wasn't voted into the baseball Hall of Fame because of sort of how he treated media members. And that was a grudge people held against him until he was finally. inducted into 2009, 10 years ago at this point after his career ended, I believe in 88, 89, 1989 his career ended. So 20 years after his career ended, finally got voted into the Hall of Fame. It's sort of that type of thing with Westbrook and the relationship with the media. Personally, I don't care. I mean, if I think he makes it hard on himself sometimes when he's like, next question, next question instead of just putting on a happy face. But you know what?

Whatever, man. Like media is invading your locker room. space after a game. I understand if you're agitated by that, I wouldn't want to have microphones in my face right after recording this podcast. I know, but it's part of, but it's part of the job, but it's not part of your job. It is, and also media

matters too. Like, media, media still is delivering a story to fans in that sense. Like, well, this isn't about to me, this isn't about being nice to the media. This is just about being nice. This is about being nice purely. Yeah, yeah, I agree. You know what I'm saying?

I agree. Just being nice to another human being. Yeah, why can't you just be cool, man? Like, why can't you just be cool? Different strokes by different folks, man. I mean, I think he's making it hard on himself sometimes too, but it doesn't matter. Ultimately, with Russell Westbrook,

it's about Russell Westbrook, the basketball player. And this year, like you said, he's an inefficient score. He just jacks up some really cringe-worthy shots, but he still overall had a spectacular playmaking season, averaging 20.6 potential assist. The next closest player was LeBron at 16.

Then John Wall and Chris Paul at 15.7. So he was an outlier in terms of generating potential baskets for his teammates. He led the league and appoints a created via assists. He was solid early in the year defensively. He's falling off in the second half, but that's okay. I think overall he's still one of the six best guards and should be an all NBA player. little bit surprised by some of the arguments against him for his overall sheer impact with so much focus on his inefficiencies. That to me is an argument for two years ago when it came to

James Harden or Westbrook for MVP after the 1617 season, but it does not, it's not quite as important now. I'm going to have Westbrook in all likelihood as like the fifth guy on my guard all NBA ballot. I think he's very, very deserving. Let's run through the rest of these. All right, Kev, some of these are quick ones. The player that will be third in MVP voting. So this is a prediction. This is not my choice. I would predict Stefan Curry will be third.

Oh, wow. Interesting. Kauai's was too many games. Because if you're going, it's usually teams that win a lot, right? Obviously, this was going to be Paul George if we did this a month ago, but that's not the case anymore.

MB, do you think he gets some votes? Yokic, get some votes? Yeah. Yokic, Paul George. I mean, I think you're going to have, obviously Hardin and Yannis will be in the top two. Probably with Yonis winning it. After that, it's Curry, Yokic, George,

and Bede. One of those guys probably is going to get left off. But I think the vote will be pretty close for those three to five spots. I think you're right. I think it'll probably be Curry too. Do you think it should be Curry? Would you have him third in your ballot? I think that Steph Curry,

listen, their success has gotten old to people. but come on, man, almost 28 points a game, five rebounds, five assists a game, all while shooting. And the same thing goes with Durant for that matter, right? I mean, this guy, but Curry's going to end up. He has shot 47% from the field, 44% from three while taking 12 a game.

It's like the resent and its old hat, their success, but if you're just lining up these numbers, absolutely Curry should be right there. Special shout out to Damien Lillard as well. I think he's somebody who's also going to get some votes. But one of the note on Curry, the fan of me, like I hope KD leaves, not just for parody in the league,

but also I would love to see Steph in that post-KD world because I think he's a better player today than he was during that historic 15-16 season. So I would love to see him moving forward with like two or three shots, more shots per game, more opportunities with the ball in his hand, even more than he already has now. Like we're talking about his numbers the past four seasons

where he's averaged 28 points, six rebounds with insane efficiency. I would love to see him in a post-KD world with two or three shots more per game to see what type of raw numbers he would put up. He would be probably the MVP favorite heading into the next season if KD leaves this summer. all right that leads me right into question number four speaking of if he leaves jimmy butler kawai leonard kairi irving kevin durrant which of those four guys does kevin o'connor think is most

likely to be in the same uniform they are in right now next season jimmy butler kawai leonard kairi irving kevin duran i would rank them kairi Kawhi, Butler, Kady. Wow. So, Kyrie, most likely. Most likely to remain in a Boston uniform. Interesting. I mean, I think that's also because I think Boston is in a position to be the most likely team to trade for Anthony Davis.

That's a factor there as well. Though, like, Kyrie is going to consider other teams, I believe. But I do think, but ultimately he's going to go back or he's going to stay with Boston. and I would still bet on Boston trading for Anthony Davis as well. Would you give up Tatum and Brown to get him? I mean, if that's what it takes to get anything Davis, if there's a full commitment from him, obviously that's going to play a factor in there too.

I think ultimately teams would rightfully be nervous about trading for AD without a long-term commitment, but I have a hard time rationalizing in my head reasons why AD would leave a contending team, whether that's Boston or whether that's Toronto or somebody else, I just have a hard time figuring out why he would leave just to go to L.A. with an aging LeBron James. And also, like, the Lakers might not have cap space, depending on what they do this summer, too. All right.

A couple more offseason questions. Next offseason question, DeMarcus Cousin, Nikola Vucevic, Tobias Harris. Which one of those three guys gets the biggest contract in the offseason? I would definitely put money here on Tobias Harris, getting the most this summer. I think with Booky, he's been a little bit. better got progressed over the course of the season, but he's still not at that same level. He was pre-Achile's injury.

And then Vucevic, like we talked about, I think we talked about maybe two weeks ago, three weeks ago with him. He still plays the center spot. And I think with Capella's contract last year, among other centers, the Valley won't be there for him as quite as much this off season.

With Tobias Harris, versatile at the forward, I'd bet on him. Okay. And again, I want to make this very, very clear, do not hold Kevin O'Connor to this forever.

Do not hold him to this when it comes to the June draft. When it comes to the June draft. But Kevin, the NBA draft is tonight. And you have the fourth pick. The first three picks were Zion, Williamson, John Morant, and R.J. Barrett. It is regardless of team, regardless of fit, regardless of situation. Team matters, Chris. No, you just have the fourth pitch.

No, you just have the fourth pick and you are taking who? So I have the fourth pick in the draft, this theoretical team were fit and that doesn't matter or situation does not matter at all. I'm probably having, depending on what happens and workouts and all that, I'm probably taking Jared Culver, despite everything that happened the past five games in the tournament. I think his overall volume of work projecting forward with him, I think he'd be the guy. there's other quality options but I think Culver showed a lot and I think with his work ethic he'd be the guy at this point. Wow. I love Culver too. I didn't think you were going to go that route. You know, I've talked to a lot of people that really loved that kid from Vandy that didn't play but six games. Darius Garland. I got to watch more on him, but I've gotten some very high praise for that kid.

He's good. He's really good, man. I think Darius Garland is going to be the name right now where he's, been you know out of sight out of mind for people who are just watching college basketball for draft scouting we haven't seen him in months so but he's somebody who i think by the time the june draft comes he'll be more in the conversation as a top five pick right now he's not there in my mind i do like him quite a lot though and i think he's deserving of being a top 10 guy note about no doubt about that but i need to reevaluate him more and also finding out how he's recovered as well but he's definitely going to be in that conversation for the four, five or six pick in the draft. I love Culver, too, and I think he will inevitably be on my list of guys that will not suck in the NBA.

So I'm a fan. Next one, we'll get through a couple more of these. Kevin O'Connor, you are hired to replace Ernie Grunfeld. Oh, cool, man. Wow. The first thing you want to cover, the first thing. that you are thinking if you have to go into the basketball meeting as the new guy who is going to run things for the wizards. Your first order of business outside of, quote, draft

preparation. You're looking at that wizard's job and you're saying, all right, here's what we need to do. Here's what we need to do. No, here's what we need to do. Well, I think big picture, you need to think about the Bradley Beale situation. I think with Bradley Beale, his comments recently about how money isn't going to be the motivating factor. It's going to be the direction of the Wizards. I think with him having two years left on his contract, he turns 26 this summer after a all-N-Ba caliber season where he showed that he can be more than the second option behind John Wall, I think you're going to have to head into the summer with the, at least the

open-mindedness of trading Bradley Beale if you're able to get a significant offer because the longer you wait with him, the more leverage you're going to lose. if it gets to a point where it seems like he's going to walk because when he does hit free agency in the summer of 2021, at that point he'll be 28 years old, still in the prime of his career, and he's going to have a lot of suitors at that point. So I do think the Wizards entering the summer

should at least have on their mind and be open to trading Bradley Beale. Otherwise, you're going to have to make some other types of moves to appease him moving forward because he's somebody where people are going to be lined up around the corner trying to get him because of his versatility as a scorer. Yeah, that's the thing, right? Do you walk in saying, I want to build around Beal or do you walk in and say...

But how? How do you build around him, though, when you have John Wall making $38 million next season and $48 million in the final year of his deal? It's like, are you really building can you build around Beal when you have that albatross contract on there? Post-injury for John Wall? That's that's tough, man. well, Ernie Grunfeld did get fired, Kep. That's how tough it is.

But Grunfeld was there for a long time, too, though. Whoever is hired for that gig, whether it's Tommy Shepard, who is second in command behind Grunfeld or somebody from outside the organization, I would hope ownership is willing to give that front office time and patience, because until that John Wall deal is up,

I'm not sure it's fair to expect this team to be anything more than like a fringe playoff team in the East with how the top teams in the East have developed and continue improving. I think with this team long term, I know like blow it up is hard to do. Like you can't really

blow it up with John Wall unless a team out there has no other options. And I'm talking about a team like the Lakers perhaps if they strike out on all the top free agents or a team like the Phoenix Suns where Robert Sauver is like, got to win now, got to win now.

Maybe with one of those teams, then you're able to get something back of quality for John Wall. But considering the timing of the injury and the nature of the injury with a ruptured Achilles, I'm just not sure if there's going to be any value. You're getting back for John Wall who might have an Elvatross deal, but he's still a good player. Let's be real here. He's still a good player, despite his limitations.

He's the worst elite point guard in the league, but he's still a good player. I'm just not sure where the value would be. for him if you want to blow it up. All right. The lottery team, you know, as we know, is the team that will not be a playoff team this year, that you would bank on breaking through next year. Bright future

sons. No. I'm only kidding. I'm only kidding. Should be. I'm only kidding. It's the team with LeBron James, Chris. It's the team with LeBron. I think I'd say Sacramento. Come on. I'm serious. What does breakout mean?

Are we talking like get into the playoffs? Or are we talking like breakout into contention being a top team? No, I'm saying take the big leap ahead. It's the Lakers then because they have the wrong games on their team. I got to know what they end up with. And assets trade for a star player. They had cap space last year too. Yeah, they did.

Yeah. And Paul George's. They had assets for Paul George too. And they said no. I got to say what they end up with. But hey, since you said the last. Lakers, who actually had a worse record than the Sacramento Kings, by the way. Tyrone.

That is hard to believe, isn't it? Ty Lou would be a blank higher for the Lakers. Fine. Fine. Fine. Ty Lou, with the Cleveland Cavaliers, he showed that they can be a solid coach. I think with the Lakers, getting along with LeBron James is probably the most important thing. And that's what he does, right?

I think he's a good coach for LeBron James. Be fine. Last question, Kevin. These two teams will play in the NBA finals because we're not going to get to talk before all the playoff matchups are set. So without us knowing the playoff matchups, you think these two teams will play in the finals. The two one seeds, Milwaukee Golden State. Very basic pick, but that's what I'm going with. I think I'd go with Toronto.

Okay. I hate Milwaukee. Listen, I love, love, love Milwaukee. I hate them losing Brogden. I hate them losing Brogden. I just want to clip you saying the words I hate Milwaukee.

No, don't clip that. Don't clip that. Or I just said it too. Don't clip that either. Well, I mean, listen, I love that team. Obviously, I'm best friends with their GM after the All-Star game. Oh, yeah, you guys are BFFs.

Do you guys text every day? It's their fourth leading scorer, Kev. I do think that was a very significant loss for them. And you're going to have to have Janus just go absolute bananas. I just think you've got

a lot of guys that can beat you on Toronto. That Siakum has become a star. You've got Kauai. You've got Marcosol. You've got Lowry. You've got Van Fleet. You've got, I mean, there's so many guys that you could foresee leading them in scoring on a given night.

whereas there's really just one on, you know what I mean, for Milwaukee. I mean, I get it that Middleton could have a big game. You know, there are other guys that could have big games, but generally you're putting a lot on him to do it for 16 wins or 12 wins, rather to get there. But I think I'd probably lean Toronto right now. It would be fascinating if those two teams meet Toronto and Milwaukee with the number of different guys that,

Arnold can throw at Janus, the different types of defenders they can use against him. With Pascal Seacom, his development this year, man, like, obviously on the offensive end of the floor, it goes without saying with him as his improvement as a shooter, as a ball handler, all of the above. But his defense this year, as a guy who in college at New Mexico State was a high effort guy, but didn't really have the fundamentals to maximize on his effort, he has just become such a reliable high-end defender. That has gone a little bit overlooked because of his immense progress on offense.

But that guy, to me, is the clear most improved player of the year. And I don't think I'll have him on my all-on-Ba ballot, but he should at least warrant some consideration for that third team. I mean, what a story. What a journey for him to get to this point after being the 27th pick just three years ago in 2016. Remarkable. He really has become just total.

he has become totally awesome so fast so fast this is why when it comes to like talking about the future of players and their own development it's so hard to predict man like like with siacum he was somebody who like i said he busted his ass at new mexico state there was no doubt that he played hard and they loved the game and all that but there's plenty of guys who enter the league who play hard and love the game and they don't make this type of leap like siacum did there's so many converging factors that play into it. With him, it's opportunity. Nick Nurse enabling him and empowering him to handle the ball and go coast to coast.

It's his player development, whether it's his personal trainer or the team trainer is helping him along. And it's simply just also circumstances and situation. O.G. Ian and O. Be early in the year, you know, I mean, taking a step back, it's so many factors that go into it. Well, and here's another thing to think about, Kev, because I always talk about the ageism that goes on. we get to the NBA draft. Seaccombe was 22. You know what I mean? He's 25 now.

So he's 21, 22 going into the league. And it's like, well, I mean, he's 22 right now. And look at where he is within his development. And what if we just took this 18, 19 year old? You know, what's he going to look like in three more years when he's 22? I mean, listen, the kid broke out when he's 25 years old. Right? Like, I mean, that for some of these guys, if you draft him,

at 19, that six years into their NBA career. Now, in his case, he's 22 when he comes in the league, so he's 25 now, but it happens for different guys at different times. And he gets drafted at 27th, and I guarantee you if Pascal Seaccombe was the same level that he was when he was 19. I mean, he goes way higher in that draft. But the fact that he's 21, 22 gets held against him at that time. and maybe it shouldn't, right?

We decide what a guy's ceiling is because he's already 21 or 22. And he's just not going to get that much better. And look at this kid. He's freaking 20, you know what I mean? Like he becomes a different guy at 25. That's true. It's like weird with age because that's true with everything in life.

It's like when like your favorite band is going to release a new song, you were just fascinated by the potential of how great that, song is going to be. Tame Impala released patience, and I was so stoked to hear the song, and it's fine. It's a good song, but it didn't blow my mind because I was obsessed with the potential of it. It's like that in relationships. The guy or the girl you're dating, if there's one flaw that they have, you're obsessed

with the potential of that changes. Oftentimes, like, it does. Other times it doesn't. But with young players in the league, it's weird because 21 is still young when you're entering the league. And we've seen so many guys over the years come into the league at that age and make immense progress.

Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green being the two biggest examples. But if Pascal Seacum never gets better from where he is today, he is another guy who's in that conversation as somebody who made immense progress. And those are just the big names that first come to mind. But that's why in this year's draft, it's interesting because teams are going to,

teams might be obsessed or fans might be obsessed in the younger guy. But if you're drafting, a center like Jackson Hayes at 19 years old who is not at all ready to contribute at the NBA level. You might be spending a lot of money, investing a lot of resources in a guy who might not be good or competitive until he's 22, 23 years old towards his second contract, whereas there's older options like Brennan Clark, somebody who might be 22 but can come in and contribute right away. Someone like DeAndre Hunter, who we opened the show with or even like in the back end of the

first round. Every year it's like this and young older guys can get better just like younger guys can. It's just the higher upside players are just usually the ones who come out when they're younger. The best players usually come when they're younger because they're better. But age generally can be a little bit deceiving, I think. Very deceiving because even if I talk about a guy that I just mentioned a minute ago that I hated the bucks of losing Malcolm Brogden. You know, we decide what Malcolm Brogden's ceiling is. we decide what Pascal Siakum's ceiling is because they're 21 or 22 when they're coming into the league. When the truth is you look up and they're both averaging 17 points a game and are in the top four scorers on great teams when they're 25.

And I just think that's something to think about when we look at these guys and we say, oh, well, we already know what he's going to be. like I think Seacom and Brogden and guys like that like you're saying, these guys are great case studies in the fact that just because you're older does not mean that your ceiling is that we can already decide it because a lot of these guys just get so much better and you just never know. I mean, this guy 25 years old and look at him. He's just broken the hell out and is great, great player. And that team is loaded.

That team, that Toronto team, I mean, those two teams are the two teams that I was most impressed with seeing in person this year. Honestly, Toronto and the Bucks. And I think because of the Brogden loss, I think that I would put them down a little bit of a peg and I would probably say, then I would have to rock with Toronto. Because I think, I think they're awesome. And I haven't seen them with Gasol, but obviously the numbers would come. Saul in the lineup have been tremendous.

And I know Mark and what he brings to the table. And I can imagine that it's perfect for him. He doesn't have to be the man. If he takes five shots, it doesn't matter. And he can play the right way and keep the ball moving and all the way he loves to play basketball. And so I'd imagine that that's part of the reason the happy Mark of Saul is a great player to have. That's for sure. No doubt.

I mean, with Brogden, they're losing a guy who's having a 50, 40, 90 season. That's the player that they're losing. But with these injuries, even more so than before, Chris, I think with Yonis Anta Koumbo, this is an MVP season for him. He's going to get my vote for MVP. And I think he'll end up winning the award as well. But for him, it's from a big narrative perspective, it's not only a chance for the Bucks to make some noise in the playoffs, but it's a chance for Yannas to take hold of that face of the NBA title. with LeBron James out of the playoffs, with the Lakers having a shaky future, depending on what they can do this summer, and LeBron just simply aging.

And Janus emerging into just a two-way monster who should arguably be the defensive player of the year and the MVP, the first guy since Hakeem Elijah won, who would have been able to do both those things. Yannis has a chance to do that in the postseason and prove himself as the best player in the league to become the next face of the league. that's what's at stake for him beyond just the Milwaukee Bucks making noise as a 60

win team in the postseason Janus has a chance to become the face of the NBA in the playoffs if they have the success that they can. I'm with you. Kevin, it is always a pleasure by the next time we speak we will have the NBA playoffs going on.

I can't wait and I'll talk to you next week. Hey man, this has been a really fun season, Chris. And I also just want to say thanks to the listeners. It's been a great, great regular season, and I'm stoked for the playoffs. We will have shows as the playoffs. In fact, by the next time we will speak, we'll be talking about playoff basketball. Thanks to everybody for listening, as Kevin said.

If you dig what you're hearing, go give us a rating interview on iTunes, five stars, five stars, and we will talk to you next week.