NBA Coaching Vacancies + Hawks Potential Draft Targets | Thru The Ringer | Ringer NBA

NBA Coaching Vacancies + Hawks Potential Draft Targets | Thru The Ringer | Ringer NBA

[Music] welcome back to through the ringer I’m still your host Tate Frasier I’m still here and I’m here with Kevin o’ Conor and KOC when we bring you on the show we ask you to power rank things I I know it’s a tough task it’s tough to put together these power rankings there’s what can one man do with so much power so I I turned it over to you and I said who is the potential number one pick like who is in the group that could there there’s probably three names so I wanted you to power rank those three names so I toss it over to you who are the potential number one picks in the 2024 NBA draft well seems like all indications are right now that number one with the Atlanta Hawks will be Alex SAR a near seven foot center power forward or Zachary rhe both of them are French prospects ree is more of a 3 andd style forward SAR more of that versatile Swiss Army knce SWS Swiss army knife Defender and then I think there’s a third one worth mentioning here that could kind of you know disturb that French party there with Saar and REE Donovan kingan wow Yukon Center backto back two-time Champion all indications are that he is thriving in workouts right now he’s showing off an improved three-point jumper we know when he was back in high school he shot freeze albeit not very well at all he did not shoot them at Yukon he fancies himself as a guy that can become a three-point shooter I think if you’re looking for somebody that could potent potentially you know overcome SAR or overcome Reay as the number one p Clingan feels like a high floor potentially High cealing guy that could be the guy that does that and sometimes winners translate and Donovan kingan won a championship uh two years ago he won a championship this past season one time he was a role player coming off the bench this year he was their Star Center so he’s been able to win in different roles which I think is something that could benefit him as far as clinging and some of the comps I mean you’ve heard people in these workouts coming out I’ve heard Brook Lopez thrown out I’ve heard Brad Miller thrown out and it’s not to say that he’s going to be your number one option we’re going to run plays for Donovan kingan there in Atlanta but you do get a nice Cog and a nice starter and a big that is we’re in a league right that that bigs are valued maybe more than ever right KC for sure I mean he’s 7 foot2 280 pounds with a 7 foot7 wingspan and he’s only 20 years old and the way he improved from freshman year to sophomore year maintaining production on a significantly higher minutes workload he got better offensively I mean like I think you look at kingan he was great defensively as a freshman even better defensively as a sophomore but offensively he showed better passing better interior scoring so if you’re considering the rate of improvement maybe someday he does become a guy that you can throw the ball to and ask him to get a bucket for you out of the post maybe he does become a guy that can pick and pop and hit Threes And if that’s what he is maybe that’s more valuable than Rees aay who has been super inconsistent as as a three-point shooter this year I mean he’s below 70% from the free throw line he had a long stretch where he hit nearly 50% of his threes but also a long stretch where he was under 30% from three which is closer to his career numbers where he’s always been inconsistent or versus SAR who highly versatile Defender I mean there’s no doubt about his defense there’s no doubt about some of his flashes as a Creator at near seven feet but another guy who has never been a good shooter and I think kingan is the guy where there’s a clear very clear and obvious role for him and that’s room protecting Center who sets screens and rolls hard of the rim and rebounds I think at a minimum kinging is going to be a really really really good five for you it’s just a matter of where the ceiling is and that’s where SAR and Reay are the theoretical higher upside players which is why I think you’re seeing the Hawks at one and then the Wizards are too look more favorably at those guys over kingan and kingan is one of those guys where he was hurt the entire year so it was hard to get an evaluation of kind of where he stood right now but as the season waxed on he continued to get better and obviously goes and wins a national championship it was a big reason for that and went up against Zach ETI who was 7 foot three in case you missed it so pretty good stuff there do you have any comps I I started calling it The Combine not the combine because there’s just comps being thrown out all over the place uh bronny James was getting a whole lot of them but for reaet the ones that I heard KFC and you can correct me if I’m wrong I heard Tobias Harris uh um that that was one I heard Harrison Barnes that was another name that was thrown out there I heard Michael Porter Jr was there something that someone that you see in Reet that you compare to I mean in in my draft guide I have Michael Porter Jr there I’m gonna remove that and plug in Tobias Harris there you go that’s a much better one that’s a very good comparison for re where it’s a lot of theoretical upside with Reet that I’m not totally sold on um so yeah I like the Tobias Harris comp that’s a good one Alex SAR in case you missed it his brother Olivia played at wake farest played at Kentucky he is in the OKC blue um Thunder organization right now so you have another SAR brother out there um that is good news you know when it comes to the anmos the Vagner right there’s a lot of brother combos out there that you can make work so maybe some team is trying to get Olivier and they bring Alex in and they get the whole SAR family so uh I like that the power ranking the potential number one pick SAR is the the lead leader in the clubhouse right now let’s do some uh headline that are out there K the Cavs decided to fire JB bicker staff After Five Seasons a little bit shocking I guess but um now the Cavs are trying to figure out what their future looks like there’s a lot of questions about Donovan Mitchell Darius Garland what were your thoughts when you saw the news about bicker staff typical I mean we see this across the league whether it’s the Lakers the Suns and now the Cavs teams kind of you know pinning in on on the head coach for some of the teams underwhelming uh Seasons that they had not reaching expectations it’s hard to expect bicker staff to do a lot with the roster that was completely depleted at the series however I think you got to look back at the regular season at the process of this team and you could blame one of two people you could blame bicker staff for not maximizing the talents of some of the guys on on the roster or you could look at the front office and say well you handed him a a team with too much overlap two small guards two non-sh shooting bigs not a lot not enough wings and forwards truth is is blame needs to be deferred anywhere to everybody in the Cavs organization and and ultimately it seems like this Choice was more about do they believe in him to be the guy to elevate this team moving forward from an exis and O’s perspective there were times he was underwhelming this year and maybe that’s where you need to go in addition to making roster changes because just changing the head coach isn’t going to be enough for the Cavs they need to make some changes to the roster and if Donovan Mitchell stays in Cleveland and you have Evan Moy I mean there are pieces there I mean Jared Allen will be a hot commodity OKC has been rumored to have interest there so I mean there are moves to be made in Cleveland and uh like you said I mean there’s some guys that are there for the storm and there’s some guys to reap the rewards of the storm you know what I mean we all know the Mark Jackson Steve CT situation right for sure I mean and ultimately that game five that Moy had against Boston where he had 33 points on 15 made shots 24 attempts Mobly for all the ups and downs that he had throughout the season he did show some serious flashers in the moments that Jared Allen was not out there and I think for the Cavs moving forward I’ve been a Mobly skeptic because of his offense at times there’s no doubts about his defense but I’ve been a movably skeptic because of the inconsistencies on offense and the lack of a reliable three-point jumper but what he showed in that game five against Boston if that’s a sign of things to come Cleveland’s got to think about optimizing that guy and moving Jared Allen for a better fitting front Court piece next to moy CU that’s going to be the key for them to take the leap is your number three pick three years ago becoming the star that you hope for I love that and I’m happy for Moy I am a Moy guy I’ve have always believed but like you said we needed to see that offensive uh progression and honestly at times this season it looked like regression unfortunately for him but looked good in the playoffs let’s talk about another team that’s looking for a head coach and now they’re going to be in competition with the Cavaliers it seems like at least for one of those candidates we talked about this last time you were on the show the Lakers I think the longer that the Lakers wait right KOC more signs point to JJ reck because they’re going to wait until the playoff cage is over for him um what are your thoughts on what’s next for the Lakers and where do they sit right now I mean we’ll see I mean they seem to be dragging their feet a little bit with making the head coach decision unless it’s already been made and they’re just waiting as you said for the finals to be over and to to hire JJ after that um JJ would be so interesting I mean because I think I think JJ if he does get hired by the Lakers you’ve got like yonis Haslam on you know a former teammate of LeBron saying how it would be a locker room that doesn’t have trust uh but at the same time I mean JJ is somebody who he is meticulous he is hardworking he is driven he is somebody who’s a major competitor he clearly has a good relationship with LeBron James for LeBron to be willing to do a podcast with him maybe JJ actually does have some good coaching quity qualities and I would be very intrigued to see what he could do with that roster but as Bill Simmons said to me on his podcast earlier this week does it matter who’s coaching that team because look at the way the West has improved what are the Lakers going to do to be able to close the gap with Denver Minnesota OKC getting even better next year the Spurs if they accelerate around Victor wanyama like what does it really matter when it comes to contending well I mean I guess we’ll also see what the Lakers could have up their sleeves with their three first round draft picks are able to deal moving forward they could get creative as well to try to get things going here because I’ll tell you what they’re still one of the only teams that had two players named to an all NBA team with LeBron James who’s still a top 10 player and Anthony Davis who just played the best basketball of his life so there’s still a chance for the Lakers so I do think it matters I don’t totally agree with Bill there I still think they could have a window here but it’s all going to depend on again it’s not just about the coach it’s about what does the front office do I’m always a GM first guy to me it’s about what the GM in the front office does so what are they going to do to surround LeBron and AD properly moving forward and what are they going to do to entice someone to really want that job that has the pedigree right I mean buen hler is already off the books right he’s going to Phoenix right there’s only a certain amount of coaches vogle just got fired and he obviously was there before he’s not going to be one of those guys but there’s a small group of guys that can get hired that have that pedigree um unless you look across town at tyou and try to entice him to come coach the Lakers I don’t know if that’s something that’s you know in their back pocket that they may try to do he did go to the birthday party um that Darin ham was not invited to I don’t know is that something else Darin here doesn’t go but tyo does I try to I try to read between the tea leaves I also think another thing that’s happening in real time just reading between the tea leaves it does feel like Chris Paul is now taking like the ESPN reps as if JJ reick is basically picking his successor if he’s going to step away to go into the basketball side of things so Chris Paul is now going to be taking JJ spot on ESPN I’m just saying I’m reading the tea leaves KFC it looks like things are trending that direction I don’t know that’s just how isn’t it that Chris Paul’s getting those reps I I I think Chris Paul should if I’m Chris Paul I’d want to go to the Lakers as a free agent and try to win a championship with my boy LeBron James like those guys have been friends for such a long time he could be a great fit there with kind of his like you know Advanced style now he’s just a playmaker he’s not a scorer as much now can still hit some threes for you off the catch but I’m CP3 I want to I want to run it with LeBron and try to go get an actual Championship man they asked him during in one of the halftime shows he’s like like what what do how do you deal with the pressure at this stage of the playoffs he’s not the guy to ask but if you’re Chris Paul I want to be able to answer that question with a ring on my finger when I get actually get in the broadcast booth and not be a guy who’s uh fallen short throughout my entire career with some choke jobs along the way he could just become Charles Barkley 2.0 K that could be the bit for the rest of his career you know guys yeah that’s that’s the real holdup that’s that would be the trouble there but maybe he finds some sort of footing we’ll see what happens he did say he was addicted to the NBA finals so uh if he’s covering the finals that will be able to feed his addiction a little bit which will be good uh speaking of people covering the finals Inside the NBA there all signs are pointing that next year would be the last year Charles Barkley’s talking about this he said he might try to sign the guys to he’s already trying to figure out a coup to get the show to stay on the air but we’ll see what happens just from an NBA fan uh point of view how much is that show a part of NBA conversation and how much will we miss it when it does uh you know hopefully fingers crossed it doesn’t leave but if it potentially does I mean unfortunately all all good things end at some point um so like I think philosopher K I like that I mean it’s just a truth I mean you know Charles has also talked about how Ernie Johnson at 67 years old um he could be somebody that retires you know he could retire soon sooner than later so maybe the show would have ended anyway what whether Turner got the rights or not um but ultimately regardless of when it ends or if it ends it’s going to suck when it does because that show has always brought laughs it’s always made you think it’s been four guys on that stage that have never been afraid to say what’s on their mind and they’ve always had my respect for that they’ve always entertained and educated me and so I would miss it very much and I hope I hope Charles Barkley is successful in getting those guys on because because he you know Ernie Ernie if he were to retire from TNT maybe he’d be willing to do like a a once a month stream on YouTube with Charles barley and and the production company and all that maybe they make it a once a month thing or maybe it becomes a a Netflix show right where they do a once a month thing I think there’s other ways for them to still be in our lives as a forsome even if it’s not every single week on TNT and so that’s my hope is that something even better comes from it because you because no matter what format those guys are in they’re still going to be awesome together and so that’s my hope that even better comes from it yeah KO cup half full right there I like that uh that is what we like to hear um and also I think if anyone deserves a farewell tour we’ve seen a lot Kobe had one obviously Coach K had his famous farewell tour inside the NBA they need a farewell tour so if they have one last year we need the full coverage uh one last thing KFC before I let you go I’m looking at mock drafts I love looking at your mock draft but gavone has put out a mock draft as well ESPN and he has bronny James to the Celtics s and I talked about this um what do you think Celtics just despite the Lakers they take bronny James at 54 what do you what do you think about that it would be absolutely comical if that happens draft I mean the NBA has moved to two nights for the draft one night for the first round one night for the second round that would that would be the moment of night two of the draft that the Celtics of all teams draft Brony James because not only would you be trolling LeBron James bronn’s father you’d be trolling our boss Bill Simmons sure would go record an emergency podcast streaming live on YouTube and fand executive of the Year Brad Stevens is under attack if that happens yes he’s he’s going at Brad fire him get rid of Brad Stevens oh man that would be great Uh Kevin you and Chris Vernon doing the mismatch uh last night you did it right after the playoff game where can we just you know plug that for everybody out there and obviously the ring your NBA draft show as well yeah Chris Vernon and I recording the M mismatch every Monday night and Thursday night throughout the playoffs throughout the entire regular season somehow in our eighth year thank goodness been a lot of fun no you guys have a great time we appreciate you coming on the show KC and we’ll have you back very soon to break down all that’s happening in the playoffs appreciate you man thank you tape of course and on the other side of the break we have the ringers very own Megan shoer to break down everything F1 so stay there and we’ll be right back on the other side of the break

Tate Frazier and Kevin O’Connor break down the potential draft targets for the Atlanta Hawks with their first overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Then they break down the coaching options for the Cavaliers and the Lakers. Plus, what would happen if the Celtics drafted Bronny James?!

Check out the Bill Simmons YouTube channel: youtube.com/billsimmons

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