NBA Draft Insider Gives Wizards Best Options For Second Pick
it is Tyler metca an analyst for No Ceilings NBA uh he does the film School segments for them on their YouTube page which are great Tyler appreciate it uh as you let help us learn someone who’s going to be a wizard next week yeah I now now it’s officially draft season for everyone I know for some teams it’s been a little longer but uh you know that this class keeps getting talked about is a bad one but there’s always talent to be found you just have to find it right that well that is Will Dawkins methodology and he’s the one who’s got to find it of course the GM of the Wizards so um we excited to talk to you about it and it is always kind of a wacky bit this time of year like the finals end and you’re like wait my team hasn’t been playing since April it’s mid June like literally it’s been over two months now since the Wizards played a basketball game and the same season in which they played their last basketball game just ended but that’s uh that’s what it is all right so for this NBA draft Wizards uh obviously have the second pick the number one uh I would say consensus name if we were to do a not not consensus the number one uh aggregated name is Alex SAR if you were to compile all of the big boards in all of the land he would wind up having the highest average in terms of position is he number one on your board and what are the chances you think at this point that the Hawks uh Veer from that and he’s actually available for the Wizards at two yeah so personally he’s not number one on mine um I have at two on my board but at No Ceilings we do a collective Big Board uh you know get where we compile all like nine or 10 of our big boards and sar’s been number one for us all year the really interesting thing about this year though specifically is that his like actual average ranking has never been below two so it’s ranged from anywhere from like 2.1 to 4.5 but he’s always been in that top spot and that just kind of shows you how much variance and how much different thinking there is going on at the top of this draft where the top 10’s really kind of fluid um when we talk about the number one pick it kind of seems like the the two names who keep popping up are Zachary Reese and alexar there’s some sprinklings of Donovan cling in in there but I think that would be kind of a surprise um I think he’s kind of worthy of going number one honestly I I have him in that same general tier but the the two names that I keep seeing popping up are SAR and R so as everyone at this point probably knows if people know one thing about this draft is that it is not as Talent Rich at the top as it like it’s a bad year to be at the top of the draft where last year obviously we’d gotten wemi uh and there’s some other guys that were really really really coveted any of whom would probably go number one in this draft so what is it about SAR as this draft’s number one Prospect we’ll just call him that for the the sake of conversation here that is lacking compared to I’m not even to say wemi because like duh nobody’s wemi but the typical Top Flight Prospect so for for me my hesitations come with how theoretical the offense is um the the athletic tools are insane the way he moves it’s so fluid he runs the floor like a wing uh really good footwork really good spin move solid handle for his position um and you know we we’ve seen how incredible like guys like wimy and Chad and Evan Moy have been early in their careers and that’s the kind of hope for archetype wise when we’re talking you know stylistically that SAR will grow into because the the the defense is the biggest biggest calling card with him the way he moves the shot blocking the rim protection the kind of athleticism and all three areas of the floor on defense is very real it’s just the offense is really theoretical at this point and he doesn’t play with that same type of physicality the guys like Chad and wmy and Evan Moy play with where yeah those guys are skinny but they’re tough and they really play physical they draw fouls they rebound at a really high rate and S doesn’t do that and that’s where my big concern is with him where it’s like how physical are you can you be and are you willing to be and is that going to limit you at can you actually play the five or are you exclusively a four or can you kind of float in between if he’s not going to be super physical if he’s not going to be a big-time rebounder it really concerns me about his being him being a full-time five uh one thing that Michael Winger and Will Dawkins talk about a lot with the Wizards is the human side of it and trying to understand who these guys are as people because that’s going to ultimately tell us what they can become from a potential standpoint and like can you coach that into to a guy what do we know about sar’s makeup and kind of how his growth trajectory has been where team’s mayor may not feel like he can take that kind of Step because I would tell you as someone who’s covering the Wizards that if you don’t have that physical toughness like Brian Keef’s not going to want you that’s that’s what one of his calling cards if you’re not willing to grind like that you’re not going to be a part of the culture they’re trying to build here so is SAR the kind of kid that they look at and be like yeah he hasn’t done it yet but we feel good enough about him that we can that he can become that I I definitely think so I I think it’s in there because even when we just look at him over the past year to two years he’s grown exponentially where coming into this year uh he he was previously with the OT uh down in Atlanta um before going over to the NBL he had a you know he played with the French national team their their uu8 U 17 you 19 teams for years um but he was always kind of like a more of a role player and doing the little things just kind of more so contributing on the defensive end and when he went to the NBL it’s probably the most physical league in the world so when I’m harping on concerns about the physicality and the strength and all that kind of stuff you know it’s going against some of the toughest basketball players in the world so it’s kind of understandable um and when we look at how much he’s just grown over the last calendar year I had him in the late first coming into the year because I was worried about the processing speed I was worried about the decision making I was worried about if there’s anything even there on offense and this year he just got better throughout the year so the he really burst onto the scene with those showcase games in Vegas against the ignite where you know I was like oh my God is this Victor wanyama 2.0 um he’s not I just want to get that on the record he’s not um but he had that kind of performance where I was like holy crap he’s taken these games by storm those performances kind of tailed off a little bit throughout the season but that growth and that that Improvement was there throughout the years so by all accounts he’s a really hard worker really good kid um so I I wouldn’t have any worries in that realm Tyler mcaf from No Ceilings NBA is with us here on the Hoffman Show Breaking Down the NBA draft all right to uh Alex sar’s Countryman zachari RAR that is my best uh French I’ve been trying so hard the audience like yeah we know you’ve done du lingo you’re trying to learn French for the Olympics it’s not going well got it uh but zacharyi rash 19 years old come on really strong as of late he had some really nice shooting performances late in his season which was a big question for him what is the overall scouting report look like though on RAR I I’d probably say best three and D Wing in this class um and the the big thing with him is he’s always been an awesome Defender uh going back to when he was like 16 and first burst onto the scene with the their FEA play it was like holy crap this dude is an insane Defender for you know on ball off ball wherever can he do anything on offense and for years he couldn’t is awful couldn’t shoot at all this year first 35 games of his season he’s shooting like 47% from three on four attempts a game it’s like oh my God like that’s why he was at the top of everyone’s board for so long had like a month two Monon kind of shooting slump where those numbers dropped but they still only dropped to 39ish perc and like you said he finished the season on a strong note so playing about 50 to 55 games which is at least 20 more than basically everyone in college and still shooting 40% on solid volume it’s like okay I think the shooting improvements are very legitimate is he going to be a 45% shooter in the NBA probably not tough to do but if he’s around 40% playing awesome defense that’s awesome I and I think that’s going to give him a really long career the hesitation with him is is there anything in terms of on ball creation and when you’re taking a guy number one two three you want that kind of offensive Creator upside you want that franchise Cornerstone upside and I’m not sure that he has that I think he has incredibly High role player upside like a really solid number three number four guy and a really good starting unit but I’m not sure I see that kind of Allstar all NBA level upside does he have like I think of and obviously this is a different player because Drew is a point guard but like the way Drew holiday plays with the Celtics where he’s just like running around making stuff happen setting screens getting offensive rebounds he’ll flash to the high post and then just swing the ball nice and easy into the corner for a three like does rear have any of that to his game or are we talking like when it comes to a decision- making with the basketball there is basically nothing to go on there’s not a ton there’s not a ton um and it it’s tough because the role that he played with uh with J Borg this year was more just off ball and the previous year we saw a little more kind of ball creation uh when he gets out and runs in transition he’s really good that’s where we kind of see some of the footwork and decision- making really shine um there flashes of being able to to attack Closeouts make a good pass if you just just look at the highlight film there’ll be some passes in there where you’re like oh that’s fun but they just don’t nearly pop up enough um you mentioned Drew holiday I I kind of see like a lot like some Jaden McDaniels type upside uh like a bigger cavius Caldwell Pope type of player more of that just kind of three and d and at his size with he is he does have some ball skills that you can improve on so the hope is that you know in time because he’s still very young in time he’s able to kind of be a a little more dynamic as that kind of second side Creator tertiary Creator where he can attack a close out dump it off throw a lob make a skip pass just kind of simple stuff like that yeah for sure uh we talk about this and you realize just how much of a chico drw is for the Celtics oh yeah you have a Handler who could run an offense and be pretty good at it as your fourth guy that’s that’s a neat trick uh and that’s why they hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy last night uh Tyler meaf is our guest uh he is from No Ceilings NBA talking NBA draft all right your pinned tweet Tyler is of your film school on one of my favorite guys in this draft I think is a lot of people’s favorite guy in this draft that is Steph Castle um there’s a lot of Buzz around him in Wizards land because he seems to fit a lot of the things that they want he’s got great positional size he’s got terrific athleticism and somewhere in there is a shooting upside because he’s had stretches and also with the combine performed really well in the drills and it’s like okay can the player development program in Washington get that out of him on a more consistent basis realistically once we take our like optimistic glasses off what’s a realistic scouting report on Yukon guard step Castle um arguably the best perimeter defender in this class incredibly physical definitely has positional size and strength really showed a ton of kind of offensive versatility in the type of role that he could play this year where in high school he was the guy you know we the kind of common theme with him is oh is he a point guard is he not a point guard and in high school he was the point guard because he was a 66 skilled you know really good athlete those guys tend to have the ball in their hand almost all the time especially in high school uh at Yukon he took a back seat played did all the dirty work turned into an awesome Defender was a really good cutter really good rebounder really good connective passer so the fact that he showed that he can do both of those I’m not really concerned with whether or not he’s a point guard all I know is that I want him to be one of my primary decision makers I want the ball in his hands um the shooting concerns are legit they’re they’re he didn’t shoot well this year and for most of the year he was hesitant to shoot and that’s the kind of stuff that worries me more as the season went on though the confidence got better I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with his mechanics you know there’s some minor things here where it’s not always the most fluid some stuff with the lower body needs to get cleaned up but you know he’s 18 19 years old kind of common um so I don’t think the shot needs to be rebuilt or anything like some other players in this class I just I just think he’s a winner and what whatever you do when you throw him out on the court you mentioned Drew holiday earlier if I have him I have castle one on my board and that’s because I do see Jimmy Butler Drew holiday upside with him where if he does hit that Peak that’s the type of player I think you’re getting he also seems if if the Wizards are for Real about Jordan P being a part of their future which they might have to be because I don’t know if another team is going to make the kind of trade that makes it worth it giving up on the upside of what pool could be he seems like an ideal fit with pool like a guy that can play on or off ball a guy that’s got the positional size to make up for Jordan’s defensive uh incapabilities uh and and sure he got better as the year went last year but from what um you know and so I I think I look at Washington’s Player Development ability and like how they were able to get belal to shoot the ball in year one how much improvement even a guy like Cory kissper who was an awesome three-point shooter two years ago gets in this new program that they’ve got and which is even fully staffed yet and to me like if I’m making the pick I have not done nearly the level of scouting but like the more I hear about the the strength and weaknesses of all these guys and obviously you’re not going to convince me otherwise because he’s number one on your board anyway Steph Castle just seems like such a logical pick and yet I don’t feel like I’ve seen him mock to Washington in any mock draft I don’t know if if that’s there’s some some stuff around the draft Community where nobody’s making that connection for a reason or like what’s the what’s the disconnect there um I I I think in most mock drafts it’s because PE a lot of people have either SAR and Ray as their kind of top two guys and if they don’t have one going to Atlanta they just they’re like oh well he’s my number he’s my next guy up so let’s send him to Washington because he’s the next highest on my board the other name that kind of keeps popping up there is Donovan kingan and I mean when you look at the wizard salary cap for next year it’s Marvin baggley and ran Holmes who’s probably going to pick up that player option as I believe those are the only two bigs on the roster not ideal going forward so if you’re drafting for fit which you absolutely can in this class given the variance of it Donovan kingan is someone who I still have in that kind of top tier of you know four players and I think he would make sense I just I think Castle is the best player in the draft with the most upside so when you talk about fit too I think it makes a lot of sense where he can kind of play that combo guard two one whatever you want to call it and guys like if they reup tyus Jones with you know and Jordan P both those guys have proven that they can play off ball they can play kind of you know a shooting guard role you can run some inverted pick and roles with them we saw how OKC kind of use Cas Wallace as a roller this year we saw how Boston just did it with Drew holiday against the Mavericks in the finals and Castle did that stuff at Yukon too so being able to kind of get him in the middle of the floor in those situations kind of unlocks his playmaking from the middle of the floor unlocks the floater unlocks his ability to get to the rim and takes some of the pressure from him for being that outside perimeter Creator all the time and he’s a pretty good Defender so it kind of covers up a lot of a lot of those woses from pool and tus 2 so I love castle at two I love him at one I I just think he best player all right the Wizards have one more pick so I want to get some of your favorite maybe end of first round Guys Tyler mcaf is our guest from No Ceilings NBA they do great NBA Draft coverage uh Tyler spending some time with us here uh just about a week and two days I guess not just about a week and two days before the NBA draft uh here on the Hoffman show on the team 980 so Tyler Washington is that 26th pick one like from a value standpoint is it worth it for Washington to try to trade back up into the late Lottery like mid- teens area are there guys or is it this a draft where like you’re just as likely to get someone and the NBA draft is more like this than say the NFL draft anyway but you are more likely to just guess right at 26 than you are to really find a significant upgrade at 156 17 let’s say right after the the lottery ends at 14 yeah yeah I think that in this one you you just kind of stay stand Pat and just take Who falls um because I there’s variance the top 10 there’s even more from you know depending on what team you talk to their number 15 player will be some other team’s like 80th player where it’s like who who knows how the rest of this first round is going to go um which should make draft night nights now uh yeah even more fun um so there are going to be teams that inevitably end up T reaching on guys that other teams have a lot lower so I think unless you know there’s clear value in trading up your guys is there cost is isn’t too bad you make the move you go get your guy but I think they’re fine kind of staying at 26 where I think the Wizards have to come away with a center in some form or fashion whether it’s Donovan kingan or Alex s to or a guy like e Missy or maybe Kyle filipowski if he falls a little bit Don Holmes uh is a really interesting one and then even guys from like mid Majors like an Enrique Freeman or Jonathan mobo um who I wouldn’t be surprised if they end up sneaking into the first round because of how tough tough they are as players how skilled they are their rebounding their ball skills and how much that they improved year-over-year so I I think those are kind of some of the the deeper cut names at at the center position that they could yeah Philip palsky from duke is a guy that was a lot higher coming into the year why did he fall where he is all of a sudden someone who’s going looked at at the in the 20s probably um my my concerns with him offensively are he’s build as a stretch five but he’s we have two years of him not it uh that seems of an issue that’s one of my favorite like H yeah this guy’s a stretch five but he can’t actually shoot it’s like oh well that doesn’t that doesn’t actually help you yeah and you know that I I’ve talked to plenty of people who are smarter than me with in terms of shot mechanics and they’re like the form looks awesome the mechanics are perfect it should go in I think it will go in and I’m just kind of at the point with him where it’s like I I just need to see it I I need to see it before it happens or before I buy in on it um and then you know the the the sales pitch I keep hearing from everyone is still he could be ke Kelly Alin and then most of the team Scouts I’ve talked to don’t see it they don’t buy the ball skills he’s a really awesome passer but they’re not sold is he a four is he a five can he defend NBA’s or like NBA wings and forwards in space can he actually protect the rim he’s an awesome rebounder a you know really physical which leads to him drawing a ton of fowls it also leads to him fouling a lot so there there’s some inconsistencies there some people have him late Lottery I’m just I’m not quite there yet for whatever it’s worth just put this in the back of your mind Marvin Bagley wasn’t bad as a wizard last year he just didn’t play enough but he was actually good like I am like am I the last person on Earth with Marvin Bagley stock because I think I I think I bought some really low when he came here and started playing well um so we’ll see uh obviously what they do but I I don’t disagree with you that long term getting uh someone in there with some upside is probably a smart play for the Wizards uh Tyler meaf you can follow him on Twitter at tetaf 11 follow No Ceilings NBA at No Ceilings NBA a and make sure you check out their YouTube channel for Tyler’s film room breakdowns Tyler appreciate the time man uh and enjoy the draft next week absolutely appreciate you having me this is the Hoffman show on the team 980 in The Odyssey app
The Washington Wizards have a big selection to make with the #2 selection in next week’s NBA Draft. @NoCeilingsNBA Analyst Tyler Metcalf joins the show to break down the top of the 2024 NBA Draft from Alex Sarr to Zaccharie Risacher to Stephon Castle.
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6 Comments
Give me someone fun to watch like Castle man. None of this project nonsense they never work here😴😴
Because this draft is not good, that’s the only reason why the wizards have the second overall pick if there was a player like LeBron James Michael Jordan coming in his draft wizards would not have got the second overall pick truly believe that…
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Nice interview Craig. Glad someone still covers the Wizards.
Yo My Brotherins, I like Castle , Holland & Buzelis their upside 3-D wise and still growing. Trade Kuzma and draft Donovan @ 9,10,11 or 12…..even guys @ 26 Ware, Missi, Edey. Great options and leverage we finally have now in the draft. Salute 🫡.
Good stuff