The Ringer NBA Show - The Future for Big Men and Rebuilding the Blazers | Draft Class (Ep. 252)

Episode Date: April 20, 2018

The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor, Jonathan Tjarks, and Danny Chau debate the pros and cons of taking traditional big men in the draft (2:07), discuss how the Portland Trail Blazers should rebuild their team (12:18), and receive grades for their analyses (25:14). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today's show of draft class, we won't really be discussing the draft, except that we will be talking with the draft through the lens of the NBA playoffs. But first, let me tell you what's going on at the Ringer. On the site, you can find an interesting piece by Paolo Yugetti, aka Palo Esco blog on Jabari Park is strife with the Milwaukee Bucks and whether he'll stay with the team going forward. Also, we've changed the programming for the Ringer NBA show. Heat Check is now going out late Sunday nights,

and group chat will be going up on Wednesday nights. And of course, you still have our regular Tuesday shows in the afternoon in this very show on Friday. We also wanted to tell you that NBA Desktop, hosted by Jason Concepcion, is now going twice a week. Today's episode features lots and lots and lots of water models. Watch the NBA Desktop to find out why on the Ringers YouTube channel and all of our social media pages. Every week on Tuesdays and Fridays, it's awesome. NBA Desktop is my favorite TV show, and it's not even on TV. It's just on the internet.

And now let's get into draft class. Welcome to the Ringer NBA show. I'm Kevin O'Connor, and this is Draft Class, calling in from Dallas, Texas's fellow Ringer staff writer, Jonathan Charks. Hey, what's up, guys? I'm excited to talk playoffs with y'all with the best guitarist at the Ringer, Kevin O'Connor. I don't know about that, John. Give that title to somebody else who does not want to be named.

Sitting across from me, is Danny Chow, Ringer Associate Editor. How you doing, Danny? I've exhausted, but let's go. Isaac, how are you doing over there? I am also exhausted. I feel like I've produced. 150 podcast this week, but I signed up for it. I love basketball. And we're your favorite podcast, so it's all good.

No comments. That's Isaac Lee, who will be producing today's show. Music is by Oso Oso. If you're just tuning in a draft class for the first time, this is our show where we and you, the listeners, discuss the 2018 NBA draft, and the draft as a whole. We're on every Friday. Let's get into today's show. The NBA playoffs are happening. Hopefully you've been watching. So let's start there on how the implications of what's been happening might impact the or at least the perception of the big man in the draft.

Jonathan Charks wrote a piece on the ringer this week titled, The Bucks and the Sixers are pushing the boundaries of small ball. Charks, what's the SparkNotes version of that? I guess basically, you know, those two series, you got Janice and Simmons, and then before Embed came back, their best lineups were when they went small with those guys at the five. And there was that game one in Philly where they went Simmons and four shooters,

and they just really embarrassed to San Wightside off the court. And then with Milwaukee, they even be up and down in these playoffs, But for the most part, their centers have really been killing them because Boston's not guarding them. Henson and Zeller. And they've been their most effective lineups to take those guys off the floor. And you're just seeing across the playoffs, like traditional big men having a hard time making an impact in these series. And specifically in game three of the Sixers Heat game, Whiteside had one shot attempt and two turnovers. He was in the post once in a possession against Simmons.

And White's side took one dribble. And then Simmons knocked the ball loose for a turnover. It was just like that was inexplicable to me because it's like we're truly seeing a point guard play center. This is how the game has changed. I'm going to immediately jump into devil advocate mode here. Greg Monroe, Celtics put him in the game when the Bucks went small in game two, and he destroyed their small ball lineup, just completely killed them. They put Chris Middleton on him for whatever reason, and he beat him up.

Yannis, they would have been able to beat him up as well. In game one, Al Horford gave Yonis trouble. And then with the son White side, maybe he just stinks. I don't know if it's really about the big man is evaporating from basketball as much as maybe it's just the type of big man more so than just big man in general because clearly there's still value when you have a guy like Greg Monroe put him on the floor as a neutralizer against the small ball lineup and he just ripped it apart. But I wonder, is that more about Milwaukee not being able to shoot? Because against Milwaukee, you can hide bigs everywhere because they play like Shabazz Muhammad and Shabari Parker. They're just like a really suboptimal lineup. Do you think Greg Monroe is going to play against the Sixers?

Do they make it that far? I don't know. But I think that also speaks to the difficulty in playing small ball, right? Where it's easy on paper to be like, okay, we're going to play small with, you know, Janus at the five. But, well, what about the rest of our roster? Like, that's not easy to necessarily build. And I know you've written about this on the past charts and, like, you're 100% right about it. There's a lot of big men in the league, right?

There's an overflow of big men. And maybe it's easier to find big men who are able to stay on the floor more so than some of these wings that can, defend and shoot threes, as you mentioned with the Milwaukee. Like, you can't have Shabaz Muhammad out there because he can't shoot and you don't want to defend him. Even in other series across the league, right now, Al-Farukamino is not being defended by the pelicans sometimes. They're just staying off of him, even though he's like a 33, 34% career three-point shooter.

And the weird thing about that series is that they're asking Aminu to kind of create off the dribble for some reason. Like, Lillard and McCollum have gotten so scared of the tactics that the Pelicans are throwing at them that, like, you're seeing Aminu on the wing take dribbles for like five seconds, and you're just like, what is going on with this Blazers offense right now? They're completely rattled. Yeah, I think it's interesting, too, about Aminu. Like, you're looking at that series, they're saying, well, we'll put Aminu on Anthony Davis. It's not really working, but Terry Stott's going. They're the same in the Heat series. In game three, they put James Johnson on Joel

Embed. And, like, that didn't work either, but these coaches are like, my bigs, evenly have good big, unless you have, like, this elite apex predator big, like Mbid or they're like, we'll give up some size and play small against them because a big can't guard them either anyways. Do you still need big men to neutralize those guys though? I mean, I don't think so. Like what big's guarding Davis? Like with Joel Embed.

So Joe On Beed right now, maybe you can live with putting a slightly smaller guy on him because he's not the most efficient low post player. I would argue you can't because he can draw files like a maniac down low. But when a guy like Ambita is in his prime, don't you need a big man to be able to contain him even if it means you're giving up a little bit on offense. But can bigs contain him, though, at all?

That's what I'm saying. Most bigs can't do it anyways. So either way, you're getting screwed. In other words, you're saying, you're not going to be able to stop a dominant big man like him anyway. So maybe make it as hard as possible for him on the other end of the floor where you're pulling him out of the paint and taking away what he does best. Yeah, I think so because, like, I mean, the ideal scenario is to have Joella and Beter Anthony Davis.

But if you don't have them, how do you best match up with them as the question? Yeah, and I also think, with Joel Embed specifically, you kind of want to bait him into those post-ups because obviously

it's a lower percentage and although he's getting a lot of knick-knack fouls that are getting called his way, eventually that's

going to swing because eventually everything swings. And the other part of it is I think we're still seeing a lot of big men actually play

and play well in the playoffs. Kelly Olenick is out there doing pretty good things for the Miami Heat right now. Acrossley, I mentioned Greg Monroe

earlier. Big men, the value has changed in the way these guys are being utilized has changed. But I think small ball is a little bit overblown. I just do. I just feel like there's still a value in the big man position,

especially with the younger guys coming into the league where you're going to need guys to either contain those players or it's going to be still super hard to find the wings that can defend and space the floor to make it worth taking those big men off the floor. Well, see, that's why I'm really interested in Jontay Porter because I feel like, yeah, Johnthes going to get hurt on defense, but he can actually be a three-point shooting, bet you can dribble. And so if you're giving up points, I think at least John Taylor will get him back to

the other end. Like, I would say he's probably the best pure perimeter player of the bigs in this draft. Looking ahead in the playoffs, let's discuss something Danny wrote last month about Rudy Gobert. The subhead pretty much sums the whole article up. It says, Rudy Gobert, a mountain of a man, has turned the jazz defense into a force as imposing as some of the NBA's best offenses. But, will the defensive player of the year candidate also by Utah's Achilles' heel in the postseason? And Danny, basically, within the article, you question Gober's value moving forward in the postseason, based on how some teams like the Rockets and Warriors have played him in the past. Right. So basically the idea of the post was that Gobert is undoubtedly a transformational presence

on defense. He raises the Jazz's ceiling. He raises their floor. But when you have a team that can prey on his weaknesses, specifically if you can play that kind of small ball, if you can have multiple three-point shooting creators on him, suddenly that means that the jazz are stuck between a rock and hard place. You're at a point where, you're at a point where. where you're asking yourself, do you leave him in because he is everything to your defense? Or do you take him out and you risk, you know, looking like a below average team? I think this is something that we have to kind of consider, especially because of their physical similarities when you talk about, you know, a guy like Moamba.

And when we're talking about, you know, Gober's. We're talking about a guy who's probably going to win defensive player the year this year. And if he doesn't, he's certainly going to get a lot of votes. And if he doesn't win, it's because he didn't play enough games. but he certainly is a defensive player of the year caliber player. And then one of the examples you used in your article, Danny, was how Houston played Gobert earlier the season, I believe, with Bahamute at the five, and took Gobert out of the paint, and he did not have the foot speed of the lateral quickness to contain Baumute on drives. And we're talking about that with potentially the defensive player of the year, right? Maybe the best defender in basketball this season for the past three years even.

So what does that say for some of the other big men in the draft? who are theoretically great defenders, a Jaron Jackson or a Moe Bamba or a Marvin Bagley or a DeAndre Aiton. But if we're saying it with Gobert, Charks, that at least is a little bit concerning when you're thinking of the highest possible outcome for some of these other big men prospects. For sure, this has got to make you wonder. To me, Jackson is a safest because I feel like he's really, really fast,

and he's a really smart team defender. But the other guys are either not crazy fast. They're not great team defenders. and I wonder in a later round of a playoff series, how valuable are they going to be five years from now? I think with all of those guys, you at least have them as an offensive threat as a guy who can possibly develop into shooters.

So there's at least that marginal utility that is more so than a guy like Yusuf Nurchich who is not only a very classic drop-back five, but also can't finish around the rim. So you're looking at it. He's been killing them. Yeah. Plus, you know, a guy like Whiteside who,

isn't really nuanced enough on either end of the floor to make up for his lack of inherent ability on the perimeter. Not everyone can be well-rounded, and you kind of have to build around what you have. Yeah, and I think that's what makes bagley interesting. I mean, I think he's really gotten a lot of knocks, like for me included about him not being able to protect the rim. But he's also one of the fastest bigs,

and he has one of the more advanced perimeter games. So maybe in a smaller, faster league, where Bigs of the Guard, 3.0.1 the whole time, maybe his lack of rim protection becomes a little less of a downside in a small ball game. I think it's worth mentioning that size still matters too. I mean, when we talk about quote unquote small ball, you mentioned that Sixers lineup earlier charts without unbeed, Iliasov is still 6'10, Sarge is 6'10, Simmons is 6'11,

and he's frigging jacked. Covington's 6-8, long arms, Reddick is 6'4. That's a really big lineup still, right? Well, yeah, I guess like when we say small ball, really we mean medium ball. Big wings are more important than ever. And that's where, like, I feel like in the draft, big wings are the number one thing now. And that's what these series are kind of showing, too.

Like, the trapping the pick and rolls exposes the lack of secondary guys on Portland. If you're three, four, and five guys can't shoot and make plays, that's going to get exposed. And that perfectly leads us to the Blazers, but first we have to take a quick break. Today's ringer NBA show,

draft class is brought to you by the Google Assistant. With the Google Assistant, that you can complete over a million actions on your phone, in your car, and around the house. One of my favorites is to play podcasts when I'm in the car and can't be messing around with my phone. I just say, Hey, Google, play the latest Bill Simmons podcast.

Download the Google Assistant today. And now, back the draft class. The Blazers are down 30 in the series of the New Orleans Pelicans, and as you alluded to before the break, Damien Lillard and C.J. McCollum are really getting stifled by the New Orleans Pelicans defense. I wrote an article today on The Ringer.com

about how it's getting pretty much close to the time where it's time to think about breaking up that McCall and Lillard backcourt, which to me kind of speaks to what we just talked about. Do you favor guys like the Melvin Frasers of the worlds of the Kyrie Thomas, those versatile defensive wings who can shoot threes, who can switch for you? I mean, is it easier to build around those types of guys more so than a Trey Young? Trey Young, granted he's a more offensively gifted player, playmaker, shooter, scorer. He really does a lot on that end of the floor.

man, he is going to be a defensive liability no differently than what we've seen with Lillard and McCollum, where they've just been attacked relentlessly by New Orleans on the defensive end, and then offensively they haven't been able to make up for it because of the stifling New Orleans defense. Yeah, Kevin, I'm looking at your trade possibilities. The Mavericks will drive Harrison Barnes to Portland. Really? Harrison Barnes for CJ. Let's do that right now.

Let's call up the GMs. Let's make this trade happen. Now that you say that, John, I'm wondering should I have asked for the first-round pick from Dallas, as well. If you want Barnes, please take him for CJ. I'll do that in a sec. Well, I guess CJ and Dennis is kind of a tough lineup too. Oof, yeah.

I don't even think Portland goes for that. Well, let's give the listeners some background here. So basically in the article, it goes through why Portland needs to think about breaking this up and what's wrong with their roster and what they're missing. And obviously, they're missing a versatile wing, as we alluded to earlier. Right now, they're liable defensively with McCollum and Lillard. Their cap space is all screwed up. You can read that on the ringer.

But right now, with the trades, There's five trades in there that just really structures ideas. And one of them is Harrison Barnes for C.J. McCollum and Myers-Lennard. For Portland, that would allow them to alleviate huge salary with Leonard, but also get a versatile defender in Barnes who can also score. It's really just changing the mix-up. I just got excited when I saw that trade possibility. Let's negotiate it then. Let's negotiate it, Charks.

Let's pretend that's your starting offer. Barnes for McCollum straight up. I'm like, I want the Mavericks first round pick, number three. Well, I guess let's see where it ends up. Well, let's say it's number three. Number three. Yeah, it's number three. And that's what I want.

And the reason why is because McCollum, he's proven in times Damien Lillard has missed games when McAllard has been off the floor that McCollum is a legitimate 27 point per game guy who can elevate his playmaking ability. There's more to his game. And if I'm talking to you as Dallas, I'm like, dude, you could have a dynamic back court with Dennis Smith, unbelievable athlete. C.J. McCollum in a more significant role. Maybe you're a more appealing free agent destination as well. Give me that pick, Charks. Give it to me. For Portland, I like the idea, kind of,

but I'd want, like, a much better version of Harrison Barnes for C.J., if that makes sense. But who? Is he out there, Danny? I don't know. And I'm just thinking, like, if you're trying to sell me on C.J. and Dennis Smith, Jr.,

I'll sell you anything if I'm trying to win a deal. I'll tell you, Wesley Matthews is going to magically get healthy. Is that any better in the future or now than C.J. and Dave. It's not. And that's why I wouldn't do it if I were Dallas. No, but I would say if I was Dallas, I wouldn't mind me where Portland is now. Like, I would love it to be a 45 to 50 win team

that make wins a playoff series every once in a while because I don't think that's going to happen here for a long time. I think McCollum is also theoretically a greater free agent draw than Harrison Barnes. So Dallas, they have some cap space coming up. That's not theoretically. That's obvious. Yeah. No doubt about it.

I mean, CJ has a great podcast. Harrison Barnes doesn't. I think that says it all right there. But see, to me, I'm looking at these trades and I wonder, if I can't get a good wing for CJ, am I better off trying with Evan Turner and, like, getting better? like what's the point in training city for an average wing? That doesn't seem about useful to me either.

Like which deal in particular? Well, I mean, none of these guys are like, if I'm trading CJ, I want like a 20 point all-star level wing because I think that improves the team. And that's really the fundamental flaw in looking for a deal for CJ McCollum, was like, where is that guy? And first of all, that guy is probably not available.

And second of all, if he is available, that team might not need a point guard or rather a combo guard in CJ McCollum. It's really hard to find something, which is why, like, for some of these deals, like one of them is Frank Nilequina and the next first round pick for CJ just as a structure.

I mean there'd be more to a deal than that. But you'd get a dominant defensive point guard back who can grow into a greater offensive role. It could better compliment Damien Lillard. And you could also get a pick that's right in range for you to get a guy like Michael Bridges, a Miles Bridges, Zaire Smith, a guy who can grow

into that defensive wing forward role for you that could maybe two years from now, you're more of a contender rather than can you sell that to Dame? Like, let's get a guy will be good in two years. I'm not sure you can sell it to Damien Lillard at this point, right? He's what, 28? And that's the other overriding problem for Portland is the fact that earlier this year, there was a report that he met with Blazers owner, Paul Allen, who is a fellow Jimmy Hendricks fanatic

about the direction of the team. And if they're really pushing to be contenders at the rate that he wants to become a contender, the thing is, is Damien Lillard signed through the 2020-21 season. They have three more seasons to really get it right before he hits free agency again. Who knows what his game will look like by then? Who knows what his game will look like by then? who knows what his value will be. And he's already 28 years old. Yeah, already 28. And he's a little guy.

See, this is why I wonder whether they'd be better off trying to get off Turner and Nurkich. And maybe hope Zach Collins becomes better and Harklis becomes better. How do you get off Turner, though? He's got two years, 35 million total left. Okay, here's the trade I was talking about. So, Trey, Turner and your first for Wes Matthews, because the Mavs just need picks. Wes has got one year less on his deal. Wes is a much better fit than Turner.

People in Portland love Wes. he can guard threes, he can shoot the ball, and then we'll take that pick, and at least you get off Turner that way. You're still in cap hell, though. But you're a year closer to out of it if you can get off Turner. True, fair.

So you're in other words, you're saying let Nurkut-Walk, use your pick to get rid of Turner. Theoretically, if you were able to do that, then great. But then still, I mean, you still have like 80 million, I think,

guaranteed salary for the 1920 season. You have to count on Zach Collins being better next year, which I don't know, you're not a very big Zach Collins guy, Kevin, but that's kind of what they've left themselves. They have to hope he becomes really good.

Even though we are a draft podcast, we haven't been for most of this podcast today. But let's assume Portland does make a trade. They flip CJ, get a lottery pick, or somehow they trade up in the draft and they're able to get a pick that's like 10th. You mentioned him earlier, Charks. Miles Bridges from Michigan State,

six foot nine forward is a guy that makes sense for them. You seem to like him as... Six foot nine. That's a whole different ball again. If six was nine, I guess, Jimmy Hendricks' reference. Anyway, Charks. Miles Bridges, you're a big fan. It depends whether he's 6 foot 6 or 6 foot 9.

He's definitely closer to 6 foot 6 than he is. My bad, my bad. Kevin's out here selling Miles hard right now. NBA team, he's 6'9. So anyway, to me, this whole conversation is why I'm really interested in Miles Bridges. Because to me, he's been a little forgotten in this draft. He didn't really take a big step forward this year. Michigan State is disappointed in the tournament.

But if you're looking for a big athletic wing who can shoot threes, be versatile, and then be a secondary playmaker, he's probably the best fit. You have him fifth, by the way, on your board charts. Yeah, and it's like, I get that there are holes in his game. There's not a perfect player, but to me, what you can work with, and his floor is high because he has this foundation of skills,

the size, speed, shooting ability, decent feel for the game. Like, at the very least, he's not going to get played off the floor. And I think part of the problem with Miles is very hard to find comparisons for him. He's really a unique player. So I wouldn't talk to Danny, who's like our NBA 90s expert.

Because it seems like for whatever reason, there are very few players like him in the modern NBA. I'm not quite sure why. So Miles is like 6-6-225, crazy athletic, but not a great ball handler or passer really. And most players with his size and speed

are not great three-point shooters, but he is. So it's in really hard to find comparisons for him. I think it's not for people having a hard time valuing him in this draft. So me and Danny went to YouTube. We found a few names. We're going to go back in time a bit.

take y'all on a little NBA history tour with this comp Rushmore. The first one, do you remember this guy? Danielle Marshall. Ah. Another one, a forgotten sun great, Quentin Richardson. And then do good, Rodney Rogers,

who's had a really tough after NBA career. And I say like the downside for Miles, a guy like Derek Williams, a guy who never really got a three point shot going, not very skilled, didn't commit to defense and fell out of the league. I like those sharks. And the 2018 ringer NBA

draft guide, the three comps I have are Derek Coleman, Tobias Harris, and Deshawn Thomas, a little bit more contemporary except for Derek Coleman. Certainly interesting player. Danny, neither of us are quite as high on Bridges as Trucks is, but I think we do share the intrigue with him as a prospect. Yeah, it's just with me, look, I love Miles Burgess, and I think the best probably physical comparison there is in the NBA contemporarily is probably Justice Winslow, a guy who, I think Isaac Lee definitely has.

as a strong cop. It's just he's kind of a tweener in every way that the two positions that he might be toggling between dictate. He's really freakishly explosive in space and off two feet, but isn't really dynamic off the dribble, so he can't really leverage that in ways that you would hope a wing can. You know, he's a good defender, but he doesn't really have the length to be the kind of roving,

you know, back-end rim deterrent that he was his first year in college. So it's like you're really getting the middle of, both worlds with him. That's an interesting way to put it, middle of both worlds. I don't love the Winslow comp, just because Winslow was just a dominant force. Right.

In college on defense, a little bit longer as well. I would say, too, like Miles' biggest strength is shooting, and Winsle's not a very good shooter. But Winslow's a much better, like, point forward kind of guy than Miles, much longer, too.

Winslow really can handle the ball, really can pass, which is why I think he's like, Diet Draymond Green. I mean, I know that might sound nuts, but we kind of saw that in game three last night. Oh, yeah.

He played well. He was awesome. And he was kind of playing dirty too by stepping on Joel and Bees mask and trying to break the part. Total Dremont. I dig that, man. I know it was a dirty play and, you know, kind of a shady thing to do. But, man, that mentality is what helps make him into the dominant defender that he is.

So, like, with Bridges, he kind of requires a little bit of, like, imagination and kind of, it requires a team to fine tune their expectations for his trajectory. What do you guys see him as at the next level? To me, it's like secondary playmaker. So like in that Portland series, if you track the pick and roll and Miles is like the kickout guy, he can dribble it two or three times, attack the clothes, make the extra pass, or just stroke three. That to me is his role as a secondary guy, maybe like 16 points, three assists. My question with him is, what level is his defense really?

I mean, how much of it is just us projecting rather than looking at who he is at Michigan State? And really, he just might be an inconsistent guy. See, but I thought he'd be pretty good defense this year. I mean, Michigan said a great defense. And he was one of their main defenders. His effort was really inconsistent, though. And is that because of offensive role? Which wasn't necessarily super significant for him.

He was the primary option. What I mean is he wasn't like a 18 shot per game dude. It's not like he was carrying a load. Which is also, I think, a strength of mocking his favors because he can rebound and shoot threes. And he gets points without being a primary guy. He does multiple things. I think that's a really excellent point for him.

No doubt. I just wonder if you're looking for him as an answer is like a versatile wing that's going to really help enhance your defense. I don't know if he's necessarily the guy. Maybe it's your dude, Mikhail Bridges, charts, the other bridges on the draft. The most damning thing about Miles Bridges is the fact that it is so hard to compare him to a guy in today's NBA. Like, why is that? It just seems like the guys with his size don't really shoot them.

Because I would compare him to like Justin Anderson or Jay Crowder physically, but those guys are pretty consistent shooters. Justin Anderson is actually a pretty good comp. That might be the one, which is kind of skis. scary in a way. But what if Justin could shoot 3s to like 38%. But he's also got more length than Miles too. But like that's the thing with Miles is like the guys who are built like him don't really shoot and shooting is the main part of his game.

And that's why I like Justin Erison a lot on his draft because it was like, well, what if he improves as a shooter? And he obviously hasn't in his three years, I believe, in the league. But certainly I think that's a great point, sharks, where Justin Erison with a shot is probably a really, really good NBA player. I got to see him a lot in Dallas. I don't know if I felt like the game really slowed down for him. Anderson. He was always running around

at full speed, like his head cut off. I'm not sure as basketball IQ really. And I think with Miles, at the very least, I feel like he has a pretty solid feel for the game. Let's wrap it up there. Talked a lot about the Blazers today. Talked not too much about the draft, which is fine. But I do think some of the lessons learned in the playoffs certainly can be applied

to the NBA draft. Isaac Lee, our producer, do you have some grades for us, please? I always have grades for you guys. Let me start with Jonathan Charks. You're playing GM for the Dallas Mavericks. You were trying to sell West Matthews back to Portland. I think that was a very wily move.

You also have my Guy Miles Bridges at number five, which is higher than anyone else in this room. So in return, I'm going to jump your grade up to an A. That was the one. I finally got one. Kevin O'Connor, you found a way to sneak in a Jimmy Hendrix reference in the pot today, as you like to do in your everyday life. I cannot get through a conversation without you bringing up Jimmy Hendricks at least once. However, you express many doubts about my Michigan's state guy, Miles Bridges, which negates all of your positives, you get a D-minus for today.

And I got us height wrong too. Yeah, you got his height wrong. I'm happy with one D-minus. Danny Chow, great analysis today. But a little peek beyond the curtain, guys. We use the Slack Channel to do all our pre-production. I dropped a note in there a few days ago when Zach Collins started to go off for Portland. And Danny responded by demanding an A for being in Zach Collins' corner.

If you know anything about me, I am not someone who was easily co-operable. worst. I don't take well to that kind of stuff. So you get an F. Come on. He was so good in game two. You don't get to dictate your grade, Danny. All right. Well, the streak ends here. That's fine. Also, shout out to Gabriel Murphy for putting together our report

card. Putting together our GPA studying during finals. And he managed to accumulate all of our grades. Oh my gosh. All of our grades are on that thing? All of our grades. Charks, yes. You're A minus B plus F, F, C minus A. minus F, A. F. Very inconsistent. Charks. Very inconsistent.

This is a good week for you. Danny's first bad week. You had straight A's, Danny. What happens? Well, that was fun. Jonathan, thank you for phoning in from Dallas, as always. As always. Danny, Isaac from here in Los Angeles. Thank you. Thanks. Thank you. Please rate the Ringer NBA show five stars on iTunes wherever you listen to your podcast. Our music is provided by the band Oso Oso. For extra credit, please check out. The Ringer's. Please check out. It's fine. We'll be updating and adding more players in the coming weeks and months approaching the draft. Special thanks, as always, to my good friend and the biggest NBA fan I know, Elon Musk. Hopefully we can get him on next week. Most of all, thank you for listening. Have fun this weekend. Peace out.