The Toronto Raptors' can solve 7 needs on draft night...

Welcome to Pensar Basketball Live, and today we're talking about the Toronto Raptors. We are talking about a few things. Number one, we're talking about the needs that this team has on this roster, and there are a lot of needs despite a surprising 46-win season and a really competitive playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers. It was obvious during that series and throughout the season that the Raptors have glaring needs, and we're going to talk about those needs. And we're specifically going to talk about players who could possibly address those needs in the NBA draft. Is there a magic player who can address all eight needs? No. Not one that you can get. And even if there was one you could get, he wouldn't address all eight. Maybe six. So, we're also going to talk about how the Raptors can address seven of those needs.

Talking about a couple of things. Number one, Dan Tolsman met with the media a couple of days ago and talked about the Toronto Raptors and what types of players they were going after in the NBA draft. And of course, you can gauge from context and past history what types of players the Raptors will target on Tuesday night and of course on Wednesday night in the second round. But also, he mentioned something very interesting, very interesting, which was that the Raptors have a need or are looking at a vertical spacing big. That is cool because I've been calling for a vertical spacing big next to Scotty Barnes for a very long time, and I'm glad to see that there are plenty of players that might be available in the trade market, in free agency, and in the draft that could address those needs for the Raptors.

Uh, some housekeeping. Up at 8:30, we're going to be having a members' live to make up for last week's members' live. We're also going to have a members' live on Sunday, so in two days. So, this is not a replacement for this Sunday. It's a replacement for last Sunday. Last Sunday's members' live was a little bit of a personal, you know, story for people who were interested in that. But this week's, you know, this members' live uh at 8:30 is going to be about why the NBA draft is such a crapshoot and how prospects grow at different rates and why it's so difficult to understand how that growth occurs. And we're specifically going to talk about like four players that are on the thumbnail.

Also, there are some shows coming up over the next three, four days. One presumably with Mike Roach, potentially with Raptor Shack, and of course with Cheap Seats 73. We're going to have him on as a pre-draft preview. And I'm also going to have my final big board coming up this weekend or on Monday, depending on how long it takes to put together the graphics. So, a lot of content coming your way. We've been a little bit sparse on content re lately, but that's actually a really good thing. I'm very happy I did it. I needed a break. And that's actually what tonight's members' live is going to be about, too. Like why sometimes growth is weirdly nonlinear, but it's always linear.

Okay, let's get back to this. Oh, we're also going to talk about Isaiah Stewart. It has been reported by several league sources that the Detroit Pistons would like to move off of one of my favorite basketball players in the NBA, uh, Isaiah Stewart. What would it take to get Isaiah Stewart here? I'm going to give you a trade. I don't know if you're going to be for it. It involves the Raptors losing the 19th pick, but they get the they get the 21st pick. That's what I'm going to tell you about that. Let's go down the needs and let's talk about players who address these needs and why the need is there to begin with.

Now, there's a lot of different ways to build an NBA champion, right? But the most obvious way is through star talent, using star talent. And whether or not you're talking about star talent like superstar talent like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, or you're talking about sub-star star talent or all-star talents like Jamal Murray, and fringe talents who are fringe All-NBA types. I think usually to win a championship, you need two players on that level. I think the Raptors have one player on that level, and that's Scotty Barnes. So, it's good that you have one, but it would be nice to have two. Is there a star talent available in this draft? Yes. Guaranteed there's at least one or two in the top three or four. So, in the top four, I could I could bet dollars to donuts that two of those guys are going to become stars. And two of them are going to be really good. And maybe all four become stars, but I'll be willing to bet that at least one or two of AJ Denson, Sadiq Bey, Darren Peterson, Cam Whitmore, and Caleb Wilson become de facto stars. Apart from that, I'm willing to bet that there's at least two more stars from pick five to pick 55. And I don't know where those stars are. They might be in the second round. They might be in the 20s. Or they might be on the 19th's pick where the Raptors pick, because the Raptors are pretty good at picking in this range of the draft. As Scottie Barnes was a star at 27. I would say OG Anunoby is pretty close to a star, and he was picked 23rd. The Raptors may also have a star in-house depending on how high you are on the potential growth of Ja'Kobe Walter or Colin Murray-Boyle. It's certainly possible that one of those guys has star in their upside, maybe going forward. Maybe not a superstar like a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander type of outcome, but at least like a really high outcome, high consequence, de facto, this guy would start on every single team in the league type of star. So depending on how high you are on those two, you might have one in-house, but let's just assume you don't.

Is there a star available in the trade market? I don't necessarily know if Trey Murphy is what you would qualify as a star. Giannis Antetokounmpo is allegedly available. Do the Raptors have the pieces and does he fit the timeline? Probably not. Would Kevin Durant potentially be available? Do the Raptors want to kick the can on that again? Would Devin Booker potentially be available? Is Ja Morant the type of star you're looking at? These are the names that are available. Jaylen Brown is another one. Jaylen Brown, if the Boston Celtics decide that they need a third team in a Giannis trade package, would that be a star? Tyler Herro, is that a star that you're willing to bank on? Norman Powell, is that something that you want to sign and trade for? These are the players that are available. I'm not necessarily sure the Raptors are going to be able to address this one need, but if they were able to address this one need, it's almost guaranteed that you would be addressing certain other needs within this one need. Because if, for instance, you were able to get Jaylen Brown, not that I'm a very big fan, you would be addressing some athleticism concerns, you'd be addressing downhill pressure, you'd be addressing some vertical spacing, you'd be addressing some shooting. And so even with Trey Murphy, you'd be able to address shooting, vertical spacing. You get the point. Stars address a lot of other things as well, but I don't know necessarily know if the Raptors are going to be able to solve this problem.

What about shooting? There's a lot of really good shooters in this draft, and it starts right at the top. Darren Peterson is a lights-out shooter. The Raptors are not going to draft Darren Peterson. If the Raptors have a chance to move up to four, five, six, seven, there are some there are some shooters there. Mel Brown is a great shooter. I think he will be a good shooter. He shot about 35% from three, but he shot on insanely high volume, and I think he's going to be a great shooter. Darius Acuff is an awesome shooter. I don't think he fits the Raptors at all culturally or defensively, but he's a great shooter. Bennis St is an awesome shooter. Christian Anderson is an awesome shooter. There's some really good shooters. Henry Ware, if the Raptors want to reach or if the Raptors do end up moving down and they just really like Henry Ware, that's another really good shooter. There's a lot of really promising shooters in this draft. Cameron Carr is another shooter who, by the way, also addresses your need for athleticism, vertical spacing, and potentially, potentially, I doubt it, but downhill pressure. So, it's very tempting when you're looking at this draft board and you're looking at this little Wheel of Fortune needs for the Raptors to try and draft a player who fits all four needs. But sometimes when you try to draft a player who fits all four needs, you end up drafting Grady Dick, which is to say, you end up drafting a player who fits no needs. The Raptors' calculus on Grady Dick was he was really good at a lot of things and exceptionally good at one thing. Now, unfortunately, the exceptionally good thing is not working out. And all the things he was supposed to be kind of good at haven't really worked out either. And so, it's kind of like a jack of all trades, master of none situation, except he's really bad at defense. And I think that just kind of sinks him. He was a pretty positive player this year, believe it or not, but his individual outcomes could be compromising to the team defense, and the Raptors have to work so hard to work, you know, and he gets hunted. And so, I understand that the Raptors fans might be a little bit dubious about drafting another player who doesn't defend because it's pretty obvious that players who don't defend don't play for Darko Rajaković, unless, of course, their name is RJ Barrett. So, shooting is something you can definitely address. You could potentially also address it in free agency. You could potentially also address it by bringing Precious Achiuwa back. I have to say Precious Achiuwa addresses downhill pressure, shooting. He addresses some athleticism because as a power forward, I think he has some sneaky athleticism. He is a very solid basketball IQ guy. He's a good connector. I think Precious is worth at least 8 to 10 million, but of course, there's a chance that the Raptors don't bring him back.

Vertical spacing. This is something that Dan Tolsman brought out, especially from the center spot, and I think this is something that's been really missing. If you see how Wemby succeeded in the NBA Finals and throughout the NBA playoffs, you can see that there is a real threat to the rim and there is a real estate above the rim in which he is constantly attacking that place, and that place is hard to get to. Right? If you have a slow-footed wing underneath the basket and you have a Carter Bryant coming downhill, or you have a Victor Wembanyama coming downhill, there's nothing you can do to meet him at the apex of his shot, which means that shot becomes unguardable. The Raptors have a lot of below-the-rim finishers. I would argue Brandon Ingram has some sneaky explosive hops sometimes when he feels right, but for a large part, like Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Jakob Pöltl, Ja'Kobe Walter, uh, especially, you know, Jamal Shead, guys like this, uh, Grady Dick, even these are around-the-rim finishers, below-the-rim finishers, but these are not like explosive leapers. Even Scotty Barnes, who's probably the best of the bunch, and Colin Murray-Boyle are not like explosive, explosive leapers. And so you would think to yourself, what would a prime Tyson Chandler be? What would a Walker Kessler do? What would a what would someone like Jaden Quaintance do if he worked out for you? What what would a Kristaps Porziņģis Jr. do if he worked out? What would a Cameron Carr do for your offense? What what would I don't know, potentially a Jonathan Kuminga? These are, you know, it's an important thing to have that element, that wrinkle within within your offense.

Going hand-in-hand with vertical spacing is athleticism. Now, athleticism can be defined as a lot of different things. It can be defined as a lot of different things. You can talk about quickness. Jamal Shead is an awesome athlete. He's an awesome athlete. I was just talking about you know about this with Swipe a couple of hours ago. Jamal is one of the 10 fastest players in the league. I have seen him do a no-step tomahawk. This is a guy who is insanely strong for his size, but maybe that athleticism needs to come in a slightly bigger package. Ja'Kobe Walter is getting better this summer. I think there's a lot of stuff that's going to come out about Ja'Kobe over the next couple of months that's going to make people very excited about his future with the Raptors and, you know, in year three. But he's not like a pogo stick. He's also not like the most impressive strength athlete. And so when we're talking about like super athletes, we're talking about like Adetokunbo, Carter Bryant, like these are insane athletes, right? The Raptors don't really have that outside of Scotty Barnes. And you can see how in the playoffs, athleticism is really starting to show up. Carney Towns a great athlete, right? It's a phenomenal athlete. Stephon Castle, phenomenal athlete. Dylan Harper, like really coordinated, the del, the strength, the combination of quickness and agility, like these are great athletes. Might this be a reason that the Raptors make a pitch for a Ja Morant? To have that one player who has that vertical beat, you know, who has that quickness advantage, that has that first step, that has that finishing package around the rim that no one can stop it when it's going right. I don't know. I think Ja Morant might be a bridge too far, but a Trey Murphy is a phenomenal athlete, like a phenomenal athlete, right? You look at a guy like that and you're like, man, when you talk about Scotty Barnes in the middle of the court, all you need to do is surround this guy with guys who can move from place to place. Now, RJ Barrett has been awesome as an off-ball mover around Scotty and around BI and around the Raptors offense. And, you know, sometimes he's able to cut through space, but what if he was faster? What if he was more explosive? What if instead of those reverse layups that sometimes get swatted or those, let's call it 50/50 free throw, you know, outcomes where he gets fouled and gets to the line, then he shoots 60% from the free throw line. What if instead of that, you had a guy like, who am I thinking of? What if you had a guy like a Franz Wagner? You know, what if you had a guy like a Carter Bryant athletically at least? What if you had that guy? Well, in that situation, all those reads are going to be a little bit faster. Those cuts are going to put a little bit more pressure. There's a million ways to create spacing in the NBA, and speed and athleticism is definitely one of them.

A center. Now, this is not specifically a Jakob Pöltl, you know, the two things are related. Obviously, a center, a really good center would replace Jakob Pöltl, or at least shift Jakob Pöltl back to a backup role, but a center, like a true legit center. Now, the Raptors often played Colin Murray-Boyle out of position, Scotty Barnes out of position. I don't know how they feel about Trace Jackson-Davis. Is he someone who's in their cards going forward? Will Ochai Agbaji get another chance to make the rotation? Would he be able to get a summer league invite and maybe have a chance to make the team as a two-way and resume, you know, what was starting to be a very promising G-League career and potentially become something for the Raptors? I think you need a lot of things from the center spot if you're playing for the Raptors. You need competent levels of playmaking. You need good rim protection. You need good defense. You need a guy, you know, as Dan Tolsman brought up, like you need a center who can look comfortable on the perimeter. I mean, these guys don't grow on trees. They don't grow injuries. There. I I don't think there's everything you need from a center is not available in any center in this draft. That's the cold hard truth. A a Diarra is not super switchable. Okay. Uh Jaden Quaintance has almost no touch around the basket and is not a good free-throw shooter. If you're looking for, you know, if you're looking for a guy who's going to pull down boards, block shots, get, you know, get out on defense, get out on the perimeter, switch everything, make competent reads as a connector. I don't know if that player is available in this draft, much less in the second round. You're going to have to find that guy in the trade market, free agency, or more likely, you're gonna have to find it as a trade. But can you get something? Can you get something that works? Can you get something that is reasonable? Can you prioritize one side of the ball over the other? And that's where I think, okay, even the Warriors offense, which was heavily motion-based. Even the San Antonio Spurs, even those teams had guys who were play finishers. The Spurs this year have play finishers. Keldon Johnson, right? That's that's more or less a play finisher. He's not a great playmaker for anybody. And so I don't think the Raptors need to be so picky that they have to prioritize this like because Trace Jackson-Davis in theory gives you everything, doesn't he? He's competent around the rim. He's a good shot blocker. He's a reasonably decent passer. You know, he's a guy who has a little bit of an ability to switch out. You can understand why the Raptors are fascinated by Trace Jackson-Davis, or at least why they traded for him, but then subsequently didn't play him very much. He's a guy who has ways to go and he's a little bit older now, but that's the archetype. A Daron Sharp. A Daron Sharp fits a lot of a lot of those needs that the Raptors have. He's a vertical spacer. I'll bring it up again. You know, like I don't know where the Brooklyn Nets are going with Daron Sharp, but he's on an expiring contract of $6 million. And I really don't even think that it's the worst idea in the world to call him up and ask if they've changed their mind about him. Maybe if they end up going with Adama, you know, I I doubt it. I think they're going to go guard, you know, with their draft pick. But if they end up like addressing that center need somewhere else or maybe in a Michael Porter Jr. trade and, you know, Daron Sharp, he fits a lot of those needs, but as I said, a player who fits all those needs is going to be hard, much less a player who fits all those needs to the level that they're going to be better than Jakob Pöltl. But I do think the Raptors need to address this Jakob Pöltl problem because again, what Jakob Pöltl is supposed to bring is stability, reasonable switch defense, good rim protection, great rebounding, great finishing, and an excellent screener who who makes heady connective plays. That's what he's supposed to bring. As the defense slips, the equation changes. And the equation changes to what are you giving up to what are you getting? You're getting a competent, you know, guy who finishes around the rim pretty well, but you're giving up on the vertical athleticism at the rim, the the consistent pressure, the isolation scoring, the shooting. You're you're definitely not getting the defensive impact that you were three, four years ago. So, I think the equation is sort of turning into I don't think you can play this guy more than 20 minutes a night. And honestly, going forward, if you want to manage his back, maybe take out, you know, take out the idea of him playing 35 minutes going forward. It stings. It stings because you paid him like he's going to be playing 35 minutes a night for you. But I'd rather get 22 good minutes from Jakob Pöltl than 30 so-so minutes with him getting injured half the year. So maybe it's a short-term thing or a long-term thing, but he's not getting any younger. I think the Raptors need a Jakob Pöltl replacement. Who is a Jakob Pöltl replacement? Honestly, I would rank Jakob as like the 17th to 22nd best center in the NBA. The guys ahead of him aren't available. So, more than likely, what's going to have to happen is it's going to have to be a multi-year approach, or you're going to have to trade for a guy, and I think maybe Isaiah Stewart is the answer. Now, I understand that Isaiah Stewart is 6'7" and a lot of people might have some issues with that, but I'll remind you that Draymond Green played center for the, you know, for the Golden State Warriors, and I don't think that I really don't think that anyone's bullying Isaiah Stewart. He brings spacing. He brings a little bit of verticality. He's a really tough enforcer type. He brings that toughness. I think he's very responsible for the culture shift and success over in Detroit. And we'll talk about a trade that might bring him here. But I think Jakob Pöltl, you know, um, even if Jakob would start and maybe Isaiah Stewart being a little less scheme, you know, a little more defensively sound and a bit of a better rim protector, maybe Beef Stew could finish games. But I think he's a good enough shooter, right, that he could actually provide some space. And he's only making $15 $15 million a year.

Downhill pressure. And once again, we talk about spacing, right? You talk about those wide angles that Scotty and BI need to attack the rim. Well, one of the ways that you can create angles and create pockets of space is through rim pressure and downhill pressure. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jaylen Brown are the star versions of this, but is there a role player version of this? Well, one player that I think would create relentless downhill pressure that's available in the draft and will probably be available around where the Raptors pick is Ibou Badji. And I think Badji and potentially, potentially, uh, Nnaji, that's very theoretical. Thinking, thinking, thinking, loading, loading, loading. Denon Swain is another downhill pressure guy in this draft. So if you were to pick Swain, you would address your needs for downhill pressure, a little bit of vertical spacing, athleticism. Shooting would still be a question mark. Center, Jakob Pöltl replacement, true point guard, and star talent would still be question marks. Ibou Badji would provide like a type of player that the Raptors haven't had on this team in ages. Like truly ages.

True point guard. Do the Raptors need a true point guard? If you already have Scotty Barnes and RJ Barrett and Brandon Ingram and Immanuel Quickley, can't you play point guard by committee? It is not lost on me that there was no true point guard other than maybe Jose Alvarado who played in the NBA Finals this year. But a true point guard, I think, and especially when you consider what Jose was able to do for the Knicks in critical junctures of the game, stabilizing the offense. Oh, how badly the San Antonio Spurs could have used a true point guard. I was really that frustrated with De'Aaron Fox throughout most of the finals that I was willing to just say, "Fuck it," and play Jordan McLaughlin, you know, just to get a a floor organizer out there who can get people touches. I think the closest thing to a true point guard that actually played major minutes in the finals was probably Dylan Harper. And I think the Raptors sometimes the offense becomes a little bit too predictable because they don't have great court organization. Even Scotty sometimes struggles with management of court and floor balance, especially when things get really sticky and tight against really good teams. I think the Raptors should probably walk into this offseason thinking that they were roughly a 40-win team. Think the 46 might be a little bit of fool's gold. I think you should probably also walk into this, you know, into this offseason thinking that other teams are going to get better around you. And so when you think about a team like Indiana that has three floor generals, you know, that I would trust over Immanuel Quickley in a pinch and TJ McConnell, Andrew Nembhard, and Tyrese Haliburton, you really are up against it because that's a team that finished behind you. And I think the Raptors guard room is really, you know, it's it's a sticky place because you have a lot of incomplete players. And so, you know, you have a true point guard on this team, definitely. And Jamal Shead, I think Jamal Shead is through and through a great point guard. Can we get a great point guard or a true point guard? Do we need a true point guard who can actually shoot the basketball? Or is this one of those things where Jamal Shead is going to come out next year in training camp and he is going to be a 38% three-point shooter and everyone's going to be like, "Wow, I don't know where the hell this came from." Look, man, nobody on earth has a clearer offseason plan than Jamal Shead. It is so obvious to me that if this guy starts shooting it at a reasonable rate, and he's shown flashes of it, I mean, he did go five for six in a playoff game. If he could become a 38% three-point shooter, I really think it kind of alleviates the need for the Raptors to have a point guard, another point guard on this team, period. Because it's obviously if he's going to shoot 37, 38% from three and he's going to be guarded out there and he's actually going to get run off the line, then his athleticism and playmaking and his ability to get paint touches is going to go to a completely different level at which point maybe Chuckie Hepburn is the answer at third string point guard, like Chuckie Hepburn and Elijah Martin, let them duke it out as third string point guards, and Scotty's going to run some point too. So like maybe your needs just get addressed through internal growth. It's the same thing, you know, with shooting like Ja'Kobe Walter. Like I I've compared it on on X. If you follow me on X, I compared Ja'Kobe versus OG Anunoby. And if you look at it, man, they are like neck and neck as players after two years. Like really, really close. And you could also give the edge to Ja'Kobe because Ja'Kobe's been the better passer. He's been the better playmaker. He's been the better shooter, you know. Um, I think defensively maybe I give OG the edge because he's bigger and a little bit stronger, but man, Ja'Kobe is getting stronger this offseason and with a little bit more strength, he already has a lot more composure and wiggle and, you know, craft to his game. So, it's like maybe he's the guy who's going to address some of your shooting concerns and athleticism concerns because and downhill pressure concerns because that dude is not afraid of anybody. And so if those two take a big step and you know, Colin Murray-Boyle takes a big step, I think half your needs on this board are kind of taken care of by internal growth. And honestly, like if Scotty Barnes becomes a better shooter going into next season, I don't even think shooting is as big a need as it was last year because now you won't have like two, three players who constantly don't get guarded.

So let's go into this trade. So, this is the trade that I would suggest that people look at. Let me make myself small and let me make this big. Now, what do you guys think of this? Isaiah Stewart, Caris LeVert, and the 21st overall pick from the Indiana from the Detroit Pistons. And to the Pistons goes RJ Barrett and the 19th pick. Now, two things, three things have to be true. One of them allegedly is true. The thing that is allegedly true is that the Pistons do not necessarily want to employ Isaiah Stewart on their team anymore. Okay, so that's prong one. Prong two, that the Pistons see RJ Barrett as a meaningful enough upgrade on Caris LeVert. That they see what he did in the playoffs and think to themselves, this is exactly the type of secondary creator we've been thirsting for, you know, through all these years next to Cade Cunningham. Now, of course, the narrative is they want to put shooters around Cade. RJ Barrett is not exactly a shooter, but honestly, neither is Caris LeVert. Although I would argue that Caris is a better shooter. Uh, FA said, "I am not doing that trade." Why not? Let me know. Why not? Uh, call-in link is in the description if somebody wants to call in and have a conversation about this trade or any of these needs. I'm happy to talk about it, but I don't necessarily think this is a bad deal. Let me sell you on it. Caris LeVert is very similar to RJ Barrett. He is a very similar player to RJ Barrett. Unlike RJ Barrett, however, he will come off the bench, which I think is important because sometimes the Raptors didn't have anyone who could put the ball in the basket off the bench, right? Number two, he is a significantly better defender than RJ Barrett. Now, how much of that was necessarily context-dependent, you know, with uh with the Detroit Pistons having such an impressive interior defense, and how much of that is just he's always been a better defender than RJ Barrett. Number three, as I said, he mimics a lot of the same stuff that RJ Barrett does. Gives you a lot of that downhill pressure. He gives you like a wing who can sort of handle the ball and give you some point guard, you know, adjacent creation, you know, from that wing position. Now, really, you're not really doing this deal for Caris LeVert. You're really doing this for Isaiah Stewart. And Isaiah Stewart is really the point here. At $15 million, you get two smaller salaries for one bigger salary. I think you immediately get better. I think this makes you a lot better. It takes away any need to bring back Precious Achiuwa because you won't have space for him. It gives the Raptors one of, in my opinion, the best 3-4-5 defensive combos you'll ever see in your life in Isaiah Stewart, Scotty Barnes, and Colin Murray-Boyle. I could argue all three, all three have the chance to be top 15, top 20 defenders next year. And you could put three of them and they can all switch, and Stewart can give you rim protection. Honestly, they can all three of them can give you insane rim protection, but also some switchability. And the bonus is I think Isaiah Stewart is going to be able to shoot a lot better. And, you know, he's already shown so much so much promise as a jump shooter that I think, you know, he can kind of occupy that above-the-break space that no one ever guards. And yeah, he's not going to put it on the he's not going to put it on the deck and create, you know, for you. He's not necessarily the greatest passer in the world, but that's okay. You're getting what you need. You're getting an enforcer. You're getting a tough guy. You're getting a guy who's going to throw his weight around. You're getting a guy who doesn't back down from anybody. You're getting a guy who fits into your culture. You're definitely getting a guy that's beloved by his teammates. So, I think that this is the type of nastiness the Raptors really haven't had since Charles Oakley and guys like James Johnson and Serge Ibaka. This is the type of thing that kind of swings you into like the confidence to go out and win a championship.

Now, the third thing that really has to be true. So, the first thing that had to be true was that the Pistons really do want to get off Isaiah Stewart. Let's believe the reports. Thing number two is that they have to believe that RJ Barrett is a meaningful enough upgrade on Caris LeVert. Let's assume that's also true because Caris is also an expiring contract, but so is RJ Barrett. So, they have to the number three thing that they would have to believe is that they can re-sign RJ Barrett to a deal that they can stomach that is more reasonable than the deal he's currently on. This will require some work with not only the Pistons, but also RJ's representation, which is the same, you know, uh, representation as Scotty Barnes. And they're going to need some assurances from the Pistons side that they're going to give RJ Barrett like the type of contract that he's looking for. But also, I think the Pistons are going to need some assurances that he's not going to hold out for $35 million a year next to Cade Cunningham because they don't have that kind of money to throw at a secondary star right now because they're going to have to pay Jalen Duren through the nose. Eventually, they're going to have to pay, you know, Dennis Smith Jr. They're eventually going to have to pay Ausar Thompson. And honestly, is RJ Barrett the two between Cade and Ausar? Is that enough shooting? Uh, what does that do with Duncan Robinson? Is RJ RJ Barrett a sixth man? Will the Raptors finally have the cojones to put a guy that they love and that fans love into a position that he isn't exactly perfect for him, even though it's perfect for the Raptors? Because honestly, if you're not going to make this move, I think you have to extend RJ Barrett right now because if you don't extend him, it's another one of those Fred VanVleet, you know, Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby situations where it becomes a distraction. Guys start getting frustrated with their touches, with their role. Scotty has to accommodate. BI has to accommodate. Immanuel Quickley's running point. He's obviously force-feeding RJ. It has the potential to implode in the Raptors' faces because look, man, there's no star athlete who's going to go out there and be like, "Yeah, I'm in a contract year. Everyone else got extensions except for me. IQ got an extension. Brandon Ingram got an extension before playing a single game. Scotty Barnes got a max extension. But I'm sitting here, you know, I was the second best player for the Raptors in the playoffs. The third best player for the Raptors in the playoffs. I I worked hard all year. The fans love me and I'm the one who doesn't get the trade."

The final thing that has to be true for the Raptors to pull this deal, and I think this has to be true for the Pistons as well, is the jump from 21 to 19 has to be meaningful enough for the Pistons, and I think that the drop from 19 to 21 has to be meaningless enough for the Raptors. So beauty is in the beholder when it comes to the NBA draft. I have graded out this draft and I am comfortable with 20 players in this draft. If they were Toronto Raptors, I wouldn't freak out. There's like four or five guys on the fringe, guys like Kareem Lopez, KA Pete, guys like that where I'm like, not super sold on it. And even within the 20 that I'm okay with, there's a couple that I'm not so happy about. Like, but thankfully for me, most of them are not going to be on the board, guys like Jalen Suggs, guys like Kareem Lopez, Nate M'Baye. I'm not necessarily sure I'm for these guys personally. So for me personally, I would look I would look at this draft as an opportunity to pick one of those guys. Now obviously 19 is higher than 21, and but I also look at the I I look at it from the perspective of, you know, who the Pistons are targeting. Like let's just say a guy like Nate M'Baye starts to drop, right? Let's just say, and the Pistons become really high on the potential of Nate M'Baye. I think the Raptors hold a beautiful place in the draft at 19 that an ability to move down two spots because a team is worried that the Raptors will take Nate M'Baye. I think that that could net you a sizable, you know, upgrade in order to downgrade. And if guys like Bennett Stutz and Ibou Badji are still on the board, I don't really see why that's really even a bad thing. You know, a lot of people talk about that deal that Danny Ainge pulled off with Bryan Colangelo where they moved down from one to three, letting, you know, the Philadelphia 76ers pick Markelle Fultz, and then at third at number three, they picked Jayson Tatum, and we all know how that deal went out. But that idea of moving down a couple spots and still getting the guy that you really want because you know he's going to be there, like I don't think that's the worst thing. And I mean, again, it's like when the Raptors picked at 13, was there a team, was there a team that was like eyeing Grady as like the eighth player on their draft board that they could have just moved down? Like I guarantee you when the Raptors were at 19 with Ja'Kobe Walter, there was a team out there that graded Ja'Kobe as a lottery pick. And so for that team that graded Ja'Kobe as a lottery pick, what would they have given the Raptors to move down two spots or three spots or four spots? Like would they have given him an extra first-round pick? This is the type of deal that the Raptors don't usually do. They tend to play it safe and pick their guy. But in all honesty, we've never really seen a front office that's 100% run by Bobby Webster. And so this could provide something really new for the Raptors, an ability to do something like this, like to make a deal like this would require a little bit of innovation and creativity, but also most importantly, Kahjounus, you would have to understand that you're putting RJ Barrett in a contract situation, you know, in a contract year into a possible bench role that this is possibly, you know, souring, you know, some of the relationships with Canada Basketball and his father. Obviously, this is squandering, you know, a lot of good faith with the Raptors fans who've grown to really love RJ Barrett. And, you know, it's also selling very high on a player that still has a chance to become something better than what he's shown. But again, like with RJ Barrett, I still think that the limitations are too glaring and the Raptors will be better off splitting this one asset into two 50-cent assets. And I don't even think it's really fair to say that RJ Barrett was a better player than Isaiah Stewart this past year. I think it's arguable, debatable between those two, but you're adding Caris LeVert, you're splitting the money. And I think Caris brings you a great deal of depth, you know, at that wing spot in order to shoulder, you know, shoulder an injury. And and I think because you trade RJ, that opens up a starting spot for one of Colin Murray-Boyle's or potentially, you know, that if Colin Murray-Boyle were to start in that situation, you would move Scotty to the two, right? This necessitates necessitates absolutely that Scotty and CNB become better shooters, but it also of course is going to necessitate that Brandon Ingram and Immanuel Quickley take more shots. But also the whole thing works a little bit better because off the bench after five minutes of Jakob Pöltl, you could put uh, you know, Isaiah Stewart and therefore you can almost play five out. It's not necessarily the greatest five out and Colin Murray-Boyle is probably still going to be the dunker again. There's a lot of known knowns with the Raptors. There's also some known unknowns. I don't know if Colin Murray-Boyle is ever going to be a good shooter. I'm certainly hoping that he will be. I don't know if Jamal Shead and Scotty Barnes are ever going to be good shooters, but if two or three of the Raptors' so-so shooters or non-shooters become better shooters, I think that would alleviate a lot of the concerns I have going into next season.

Now, in terms of draft picks, I think it's worth thinking about which draft picks really address multiple needs. So, let's let's just go down. I'm going to go down my draft board and I'm just going to talk about like which which needs these particular drafties would address on okay draft. There we go. Okay. So, let's start in a reasonable place and we'll start with Lebron and Phylon. I think Phylon gives you like a 2% outcome of like a star talent, but he does give you shooting. Shot 40%. He shot 40% this past year, you know, at Alabama. So that that's that's a worthwhile thing. He gives you a little bit of downhill pressure, but not very much. He gives you a little bit of athleticism, but not that much. Obviously, he gives you shooting. Is he a true point guard? Yeah, I I'll say he's a true point guard. So, Lebron Phylon immediately that addresses a ton of needs for the Raptors. Kareem Lopez. Now, I'm not a big Kareem Lopez guy. I'm not really a fan, and I actually don't think he addresses a single need on this on this board. There's not a single one that I can definitively say. Unless he becomes a star, which I would say the outcome of that happening is like less than 0.5%. Unless he becomes a star, I don't see him being a competent connected piece around. Gives you ver he gives you size and he gives you skill, you know, he gives you skill at that size. It's a little bit like Nate M'Baye. Like with Nate M'Baye, sometimes I ask myself, what is he good at? Like, what is he really good at? I know what he's theoretically good at, and and I know that what he does is very impressive for his size, but size for skill is not getting Zach LaVine minutes in the NBA right now, and he was a former first overall pick. I think at some point, if you just, if you can't do something exceptionally well for the star on your team, you can't really get meaningful minutes on a playoff team. You know, um, Jalen Suggs. There's a very small chance that Jalen Suggs slides. There's always been some concerns about his maturity and, you know, his personal profile and, you know, rubbing people the wrong way and stuff like that, and comes off a little bit arrogant. So, unless he interviewed really poorly, I very much doubt that Jalen Suggs is going to be there. He gives you a slight star talent, but he gives you athleticism in spades. He gives you hints and pieces of downhill pressure and vertical spacing as well. So there's elements of that. Hans Hans Steinbach. I think Steinbach gives you a Jakob replacement potentially. He gives you a center. He gives you athleticism in the sense that he is very sneaky coordinated for a seven-footer. He gives you some potential shooting. He does give you some downhill pressure as well because again, as a center, I think that he has Precious qualities in terms of like ability to drive. Uh, Allan C said, "You'd be better off dumping BI." So, are you suggesting that you trade Brandon Ingram to the Detroit Pistons? I mean, Hans drops, you take him and run. Best rebounder. Yeah, he's a really good rebounder. He's not the necessarily the greatest rim protector and he's not necessarily the greatest shooter, but you know, he has some very strong coordination and like again, as a seven-footer, he catches everything. He has great hands, which is a good rebounder, but he doesn't block a lot of shots and he doesn't exactly provide you the greatest defensive uh for. So, yes, but he does have a nose for the ball. You are correct. So, he gives you he gives you a lot. Moving on to what does Christian Anderson give you? Well, Christian is like a true point guard. He's a great organizer. He gives you shooting. That's it. That's what he gives you. He's not exactly the shiftiest guy off the dribble. He's going to s He's going to He's going to He's small. He's like 6'1". So he gives you shooting, but he gives you like potentially the second best shooter or the best shooter in college basketball. That's worth something. It's got to be worth something. So, you know, it gives you space for your athletes to be athletes. I would actually be much more interested in keeping RJ Barrett if Christian Anderson is the pick. Think they would pair very well together. Cameron Carr, the aforementioned Cameron Carr. He gives you shooting. He gives you vertical spacing. He gives you athleticism. He potentially, potentially gives you some downhill pressure as well. He is certainly very relentless attacking the rim. So, I think that I understand the Raptor fans are like very high on the idea of Cameron Carr because the fit is so obvious. Morz Johnson. Now, Morz is very interesting. Doesn't give you a ton of star talent because he's not a great self-creator, but he does give you some shooting upside. He does give you some vertical spacing. He does give you a really coordinated and very good 6'9 athlete with with excellent length. He does give you a center. He does give you a Jakob replacement very soon potentially. Although there are some concerns about whether he'll be a center at the NBA level or a power forward. I think the diff the difference is

negligible. He does kind of give you some downhill pressure as well because he's pretty good at attacking the rim, but I think the downhill pressure is more like theoretical at this point.

So, and the and the shooting is also more or less theoretical, although he he has pretty good shooting indicators. Chris Cak Jr. out of Houston. Ironically, NBA draft room has Chris Sak going to the Raptors. Chris gives you a 1% chance at star talent, but he also has probably the highest bust rate, you know, in terms of just the type of player that probably doesn't succeed in the NBA.

You know, he does give you some shooting, especially from mid-range. He does give you some vertical spacing. He does give you great athleticism at the five spot. He does give you a center. He does give you the Yako replacement. He doesn't give you a ton of downhill pressure, but man, he finished around the rim at an incredible rate. and he also had some incredible defensive numbers around the rim.

There is a chance that Chris A Jr. is the NBA draft steel of this entire draft and everyone who doubted him looks very dumb. There's a chance. There's also a chance that the eye test is the eye test. The guy just never has like the brain power to figure out what he's supposed to do on a basketball court on a consistent basis.

Bennett Sts, true point guard, check. Star talent, obvious superstar, all. No, I'm just kidding. very unlikely to be a star, but I remain 1% hopeful, maybe 1.5 to 2% hopeful that Ben could become an all-star. But star talent definitely hypothetical at this point. Shooting 100% yes. Vertical spacing almost non-existent. Athleticism questionable. Center, no. Downhill pressure, not really.

But I think pressure downhill is created through the passer and the recipient. So downhill pressure, I'm going to give him a yes because I think he's the best pocket passer and I think he'll be able to throw lobs. So I think Scotty and RJ and BI are and and Colin Murray Boils are going to get like unlocked when playing with a real great passer and processor in the middle of the court who can shoot like a Bennett Stur. So I'm going to give him a check on downhill pressure because I think he brings that even though he doesn't bring it himself.

Moving forward to other players, Ibuka Cororey, the aforementioned, we already talked about Ibuka. He definitely gives you downhill pressure. He gives you I don't know if he gives you a true point guard. I don't think he's a true point guard. I think he's like more of a combo guard like a Lou Williams, you know, or Tyrese Maxi type, you know. I don't think he's necessarily the greatest shooter either. Like his shooting mechanics are kind of all over the place. but he did get a lot of grenades and he wasn't on the greatest team, but he had a huge responsibility and he had flashes of really good shooting, but he also had some very, very, very bad misses. He gives you a great deal of athleticism. He's not a center and the vertical athleticism is shaky at best.

Allen Graves, not not a star, probably not never going to be a star. Shooting, hypothetical, vertical spacing, non-existent. Uh, athleticism, shaky. center unlikely even though he played center last year for Santa Clara. Yakob replacement no downhill pressure not really and true true point guard no. So basically we're talking about like Kareem Lopez and Ka Pete gives you some stuff at least.

Weirdly enough, I've been so low on KOA and higher really than the consensus on, you know, on on someone like an Allen Graves. And yet, I'm I'm guessing that KA Pete actually he actually gives you athleticism. He gives you vertical spacing. He potentially gives you a center even though a very very small ball one at that. He gives you a little bit of downhill pressure as well because he's such a force going downhill. He actually fits more of a need for the Raptors than Allen Graves. What Graves does give you though is he gives you like a very interesting defensive prodigy who can pass. But that's really doubling down on what you already have on the team with Colin Mary Boles, isn't it?

Um, [sighs] I think Malik Thomas gives you a very interesting, but not necessarily needed look at what a guard could be off the bench for this team. He's about 6'4. Uh, I think in the minutes that he played without Darius Auff, it looked very promising. In fact, I think he scored at a much higher rate and was even more efficient without Auff. Not sure that's an indictment of Akuff, but you know, this is an this is another Arkansas guard, and I think he has a chance to be sneaky special. It's possible.

Um, Jaden Coins and Terrace Reed, Zubie, Edge of Four, center, center, center. So, three centers at the end of the first round potentially right now. Jaden Acquaintance did not get a green room invite. that lets me believe that teams are maybe scared of his medicals. There's also a chance this guy's out of league in a couple of years because it just doesn't it doesn't work.

Uh if we took Baba Miller at 19, will you lose it? No, of course not. Baba's a really cool dude, man. Like um I I really like Baba Miller. In fact, ironically, Baba Miller, [snorts] he gives you a little bit of vertical spacing and athleticism. He gives you a center. I'm not really sure he's a Yakob replacement. I'm actually not even sure he's a center. He sort of unfortunately falls into the same Allen Graves mold, you know, but I think he's just such an interesting defender and he's such a he's such an interesting processor of the game at 611 with like a really good defensive floor that if the Raptors had a different roster, I think I'd be all over it. But at 19, it's just a little too rich.

Among the three bigs, Zubie Edor, Jaden Quaintance, and Tus Reed. I think Tyus Reed is the one that I'm just overlooking the most. And I don't know why it is. I don't know why it is. Maybe I watched the wrong games. Maybe I need to go back and watch a couple more games tonight, you know. Um, I really found him to be very impressive in his interviews, you know. Uh, I I really liked, you know, some of the stuff that he was talking about. It's a big dude, man. He does give you the center replacement and potentially Yakob replacement. Excellent. Excellent wingspan. 74 wingspan. He's a mountain of a man, right?

And you look at this draft like Visar, Sak Mara, Morz, uh obviously u Jaden Quaintance, Tyrus Reed, Zubie, Edger. If the Raptors want a center, I wonder if um I wonder if uh if Castro will be available in the second round for the Raptors. I do wonder that he's like if the Raptors could move up for one of Castro or Yenso. I I wouldn't feel as inclined to even take a big at 19. But right now, I'm thinking like the biggest need on the Toronto Raptors right now is a way for Scotty and CNB to play their more natural positions. So, I am very interested in the center that the Raptors like the most. Obviously, the Raptors haven't worked out all the centers. They also haven't worked out a lot of the wings that are in this in this range.

I already talked about Dalen Swain a little bit that he would give you, you know, a creator and a lot of downhill pressure and a little bit of athleticism even though like the shooting is still a little bit. Tariq saying, "What's your thoughts on Peterson not wanting to go to Utah?" I don't blame him. I don't want to go to Utah either. Do you want to go to Utah?

Is Baba the Bruno Kaboklo reincarnation? No, I don't think so. I I don't I don't see the I don't see the comparison at all other than the fact that they're both 610. um and can potentially play a little bit center and have reasonable length. I think Bruno was way way more unproven than Baba. Like Baba is a really high like he's a really high field basketball player. Uh Bruno Kaboko was arms and legs, you know, with a jump shot potentially and who had no idea how to play the game at that level. And he was so raw. I don't think Baba's raw.

And yeah, yo, Pen, the panel put Scotty as the 12th best player in the league. No, they didn't. They put him as 13th. Uh, they put him as the 13th best player in the league. And I'm not really that mad at it. Uh, to people who remember, I had Scotty Barnes as the 13th best player in the league going into last season, if I'm not mistaken. So, yeah, this is who the panel had above Scotty Barnes. Make myself small here. So it's Brunson, Kevin Durant, Anthony Edwards, Donovan Mitchell, Carthine Towns, Scotty Barnes, which means Scotty went above I mean he went above LeBron, which is pretty cool. You know, he he went over Jaylen Johnson, Denny Odia. I I could argue I think he should probably be 10 at this point. Did he go above Steph Curry? He did. Yeah. So, I mean, you know what? A lot of respect to the panel for for doing that. They they haven't shown him. They haven't been the most respectful towards Scotty in in years past. So, I I think this is a move in the right direction if we're being honest.

Uh once again a reminder at 8:30 we will be doing a members live episode 36 uh to make up for last week's members live in which I told a story about getting drunk at a party and telling off a friend and his girlfriend and what it has meant for me in all honesty. Oh my goodness. Uh Henry V stars our surprise pick at 19. I'm saying it here first. Uh I don't think you're the first person to say that. I I do hope you're the last person to say that though. I I don't I understand the need uh you know if we're talking about Visar I totally understand the need for a center who can shoot like that and if you project more in his game I don't I don't like his movement patterns at all I don't think he's a great defender I just he'll be serviceable he'll be a serviceable role player but I I think in a draft this deep in a draft this potentially good in a draft range as appealing as 19. I think you should be aiming for more than a fringe rotation player. And I think Var is going to be a fringe rotation player. I think Var is going to be like the 11th 10th guy on a really decent basketball team for a really long time. I'm not saying he's not going to be a good player. I just think that at some point you you do have to argue upside and age.

Like Jaden Quaintance is 18 years old. Like we have to talk about that for a second, right? Like Acquaintance is 18 years old and he was bullying grown men. Like there's elements of a defensively oriented Jaylen Duran here. And physicality like when you look at MZ and you look at Jaden and you know you look at Leberon Phylon for instance like yeah, there's a translatability to how the playoffs were just played out of how the NBA is moving towards physicality right now. And maybe I'm not so comfortable picking guys who are slight of frame and get bumped off their spot too easily. And that's sort of why I'm so much higher, you know, on someone like Han Steinbach than someone like me. I think Steinbach is going to I think he's going to hold his position a lot better.

[clears throat] Howie Arbear said, "Pen your trade. Pistons add Ron Holland for mobo and trace Jackson Davis and it's a deal. Dude, what the [ __ ] Okay, people need to understand Ron Holland is a really, really good role player who is probably the third best defender on that team. I do not see how you are expecting them to give up Ron Holland and you're giving up Jonathan Mo and Trish Jackson Davis. That does not feel balanced or fair.

Okay, we got FA calling in. FA, what's up, man? >> I'm doing good. How are you doing? >> I am good. What's up? >> I'm good. I just listened to your live. So, let me let me join briefly. >> Okay. So, talk to me about the draft. What What are your thoughts? What What should the Raptors do? Who are you high on? We haven't talked about this. >> I think I want a guard except one of the big four. >> If not, I want a guard. I know you're very high on beners, but I kind of like lab Christian Anderson. >> What What does What sells you on Christian Anderson over Bennett Sts? >> The age, the shooting. Oh, Ben Benn have shooting too. Both of them the best shoot in the draft. The age, um, the pick and roll >> and the the the passing. I think Ben's a better passer. >> I don't think so. I think [clears throat] they're both good. >> If they're both good and one guy's three inches taller, why not guys three inches taller? >> The age and the wings the wingspan too, right? >> What was Ben's wingspan? He's 6'4 with a 66 wingspan. >> It's Yeah. Why? Um, Aurori is 62 62 2 and a2 with a 66 wingspan. >> So you prefer Aori to Ben Sts as well. >> No, sorry. Anderson. Sorry. Christine Anderson. >> I'm referring to Anderson. >> I think >> I'm not I'm not big on Aorei. I don't know why. There was a there was a graphic I was looking at in terms of like scores and their uh like what they did around the rim and [ __ ] and like I think the fact that like his numbers don't show it because Iowa played at such a slow pace but I think Bennis St's numbers would be insane in a higher octane offense and I also think his shot difficulty was so hard right when you consider like the lack of help that he had you know the high high degree of difficulty of some of the shots that he was given, how late in the clock they would take those shots. Like we just watched Jaylen Brunson be like this incredible halfcourt creator and Ben Sturds has a lot of Jaylen Brunson qualities in him, you know. >> Yeah. But but too, right, 50% of his tree and he shot about eight trees, 7.8 a game a game. 50% of his streets were self created and he still shot 41%. And everybody says 41%. I followed him all season. He literally was shooting 44.8% until the tournament. The tournament brought him down to 41. >> I mean, it's it's still a small sample. >> I think it'll be good. Imagine Scotty giving me all those passes that nobody else can make, right? and somebody setting the screen for him and him making those trees and he has NBA range and I think from what I'm reading right um Christian and Bernest they're killing workouts that two of them might not even be there that's why pylon is dropping they might not be there at 19 with the Golden State Warriors they're trying to get another peak to get st >> yeah I can that >> I mean like I think if >> I don't I think I don't think you go wrong with IDA though but I think for me it's age >> is there a chance that you would be okay like why are you low on Ibuka quari >> I don't he the passing and I think it'll be like I might be wrong right same thing I got this guy wrong. What's his name again? That went to Philly of the height and everything, but the passing and also the shooting too. >> In fairness, they didn't really have anybody like who could vertically space the rim. >> Yeah, but that said to when they played North Carolina, right, he had a really good game. So, I can't really blame him. I I [clears throat] don't think you go wrong with any of the guys at 19 to be honest. I think 19 is a really sweet spot. That's I would not consider trading ROJ to get the 21 pick. No. >> From 28th pick, there's a big fall off. >> Yeah, but you're assuming that nobody is going to go higher than you're expecting. And like honestly, we haven't even talked about Sergio de la who I think should be in this conversation. >> I like I like him too that [clears throat] realistically to be honest with you, Lakers are trying to take the trade their 25th pick. They want to get out of the first round. I would love to get another first round pick. >> They're trying to get out of the first round. >> Yeah. >> To get what? >> No, they're just trying to trade out of the first round. They don't want that 25. [clears throat] They don't want to pick cuz they're trying to keep their players, right? They're going to give Reeves close to mass or something. So, they need the money. >> Well, you're not getting a future first round pick for the 25th pick in this draft. So, you're probably going to get like two future seconds. But, um If we can give you two fish seconds, I'd like to get keep that one [clears throat] fifth and take a risk on Quint. >> Yeah, I I I think one of Chris Sak, Jaden, Acquaintance or Henry Visar should be there at 25. and you would just take whoever's there and just say, "Okay, we're betting on one side or the other or the other because it's like >> pure hypothetical, you know, does does the offense ever catch up to the defense and can he stay healthy?" With Chris Knack, it's like can the mind ever catch up to the frame? And with Visar, it's like, is there anything that we haven't seen from him yet? Right. I agree with Sak. I I am reading that um Phy and um they really like Sak. He needs to go to somewhere that he can develop and it's going to take time. I don't think the Raptors develop well well these days. So I'm not sure that the kind of player for us. >> I I think they've developed really well. Um Scotty's developing. Jacob's developing. you know, uh, Jamal's developing, uh, Jameson Battle is developing. I think our development is back on track. I think Darko is like the best development coach in the NBA. >> I know Grady, >> I'm not going to hold Grady against Darko, bro. Like Grady, Malachi, that that like God can't help those people right now. [laughter] So, you know, if you're not going to put in the work, if you don't have the physicality, if you're not going to take your career seriously, I don't think there's anything Dark Rayakovich can do for you. But like I look at how much OGN and Obi grew. I look at how much Pascal grew and I have to believe that like that half a year they spent cuz R.J.'s grown too. So has Quickly. Like if you really really pay attention to it, Darko has been an awesome development coach. He's about to get extended >> in the next couple of days. I I think Christ is a very very high reward highrisisk player. Like you might It was top five. It was like number fifth pick entering into the season, right? With all the talents and everything, bro. >> Between him and Nate man, who would you bet on? >> Why? >> Somebody that's 610, 61, that can shoot, that can dribble. I was watching this interview with AJ Deasta before the season even started. He's talking about Name that it feels like him and Name that will be talked about for years to come because Name's talent. >> Yeah, I think AJ is a better player than he is as a scout. >> AJ is a better player. I'm not saying but I'm saying he's Name is really talented. >> I'm saying I'm saying he's a better player than he is a scout. >> Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. I got you. But but men, right, you can see you can see you can see the development through the season too. Even Sak that we're talking about Sak developed through the season. >> Well, that's and that's what you want in a player and he went to Samson right because he want to be coach hard and if you listen to all his interviews he talked about all the boys start rebounding block trying to block shot playing hard and things like that the other things will come. >> Yeah, I mean I think he's going to be fine. Like I I've always had like a particular affinity for Christine A because just like the frame is so large. Like we're talking like a 75 wingspan. I like to bet on wingspan. I don't know. It's it's years of watching Messiah Jury. I've been brainwashed into wingspan equals good basketball player. Uh but but you know he has like really interesting athleticism and I just think like next to a Scotty Barnes and a Colin Murray Boils like that >> if there is Phylon and then Benners what would you do? >> I would pick Benz. >> Pick Phylon. >> I pick Benz over like Sts is like 11th on my board right now. Like I'm I'm too high on him. I need to move off of him. Like I feel like it's gonna be the Carter Bryant thing all over again where I'm just gonna like, you know, fall in love with the idea of that player next to Scotty Barnes cuz I think Ben would bring a level of seriousness to this team that does not exist. Like I think he would bring like a level of like winning um nononsensess and I think it balances really well with what exists in the locker room already, you know. Um >> I think I think Pylon is very shifty, right? Can get to the paint, create for others and score around the rim despite his size. >> Who's who Okay, like I'll ask you this question before we get out of here. Uh, who's the most likely point guard to bust in this draft in the first round among the players we've been talking about? Phylon, Ukori, Sts, um, Christian Anderson, like that grouping. Who's the most likely to fail completely? Like we're talking fail like Kobe Buffin fail. >> I think of Curry. >> Really? >> Yeah. >> I think it's Phylon. I I don't think he's violent. I followed I followed Alabama for two seasons. I don't think he's violent. Well, he would have gone top 20 last year and they asked him to go back. >> He would have gone top 14 last year. I >> Yeah, they asked him they were they tell him to go learn how to shoot and he came back and he shot 39% almost 40 40%. And the focus wasn't on defense this year, but his year one he played really well defensively. >> [snorts] >> I just think he's so slight of frame. Well, >> he's interviewed today. He weighs over 180 pounds now, right? And he's very shifty, right? And in the open spacing of the NBA, he's going to really do well. >> I'm going to watch a I have I have it on my docket tomorrow morning to watch a couple more um Alabama games. So, I'm going to I'm going to really get a better feel for him before I do my final final board because it's him and Sergio Dea are the last two players I want to I want to do. >> My son My son is a big fan of Alabama. So, I followed Phylas Tech with against Anderson, he has played the Anderson in that game. >> Mhm. I think when they played this guy too and Akov right was it not the game that Akov had 40 something he had almost 40 points he's really good and he has the eat factor that's the difference between Phylon and Henderson >> yeah [snorts] watching them it does feel like he's on a different tier like he belongs in the same tier as like Bradenber's and >> I agree >> well Anderson well like enderson would really be good with somebody like Scotty Benson and I average it very dry. I got all the kick out and everything. He's a really really good shooter. >> That's fair. Yeah. Anyways, man, thanks for calling in. Hope you'll call in during the draft. Should be fun. >> I will. Yeah, for sure. Can't wait. Yeah, >> thank you. >> Uh Marwan, final caller. What's up, man? >> Hello. >> Hey, what's up? I can't hear you, Rob. Can you hear me? Hello. Okay. Well, I am sorry that did not work out, Maron. Uh might be an issue with your connection, but hopefully next time. Um I don't know if you're a member, but if you are a member, we're doing a members live in 20 minutes. So, yeah. Anyways, thanks a lot for tuning in. Please make sure to like this video and subscribe to Vince Basketball if you're not already subscribed. And just a reminder, we are doing a members live for members only. Members of this channel, 190 members of this channel. Uh if you are not a member, the link is in the description to become a member. And also, we are doing an potentially an interview with Mike Roach. Shout outs to Mike uh over the next couple of days. Potentially also Raptor Shack and definitely Cheap Seats 73. So, it's going to be cool. And we'll see if we can get Ericson to call in from the draft, which would be really cool cuz he's going to be in Brooklyn for the draft. Also, one final thing is um Tariq said, "What's the members live going to be about?" Uh the members live is specifically about why the NBA draft is always so so hard to gauge and why it's generally a crapshoot and how players develop at very different paces and u a really cool analogy for life. Yeah. All right. I'll talk to you'all later. Have a beautiful, beautiful weekend. Peace.