Ranking 20 NBA Draft Prospects for the Cleveland Cavaliers! Cavs News

Ranking 20 NBA Draft Prospects for the Cleveland Cavaliers! Cavs News

this is the moment we’ve all been waiting for for the thousands independants and the millions watching around the [Applause] world let’s get ready [Applause] [Music] here welcome to the junkyard pod today we are rounding out our NBA draft coverage with a very exciting episode where we will be ranking about 20 different prospects for the Cleveland Cavaliers to consider joining me to do so is James of the everything Cavaliers Twitter page James thanks again for joining the show and hey the draft is only two days away how are you feeling Tony thank you again for having me on so soon it’s it’s an honor um I’m so excited for this draft to happen just because we have no idea how the top is going to unfold I just need it to happen already I’ve been in this world for two and a half months now I’m ready for it to be over yeah I man I’m excited too and I’ve never been like a huge NBA draft guy I I tend not to watch much college basketball or anything like that but whenever the Cavs do have a pick even if it’s 20th in the draft I just I always get excited when I start diving into the prospects looking at the mock drafts the big boards just the unpredictability especially this year where no one seems to know what how it’s going to shake out I think it’s so fun to find out so I’m really looking forward to it me too and to break down how our episode today is going to work so we each picked from about 20 potential prospects I know we had you had a couple guys on your list that I didn’t include just because I’m not too familiar with them but we’ll get into the specifics to kind of explain this episode for anyone watching on YouTube we have five categories to choose from uh at the top the S tier which is the best available prospects our next tier was called swinging for upside uh that’s the prospects who we believe are a bit of a gamble but bring a ton of potential after that we have the lowrisk tier for prospects who are probably a little safer but come with a lower potential ceiling you can think of someone like Tristan D Silva as an example of that uh after that tier we have worth a shot which feels self-explanatory these are the guys who are not super high on as prospects but hey they’re worth considering and then the last tier is Out Pass which again pretty self-explanatory and like I said we each have our own list in a moment I’ll put them on screen for you to see and what we’ll do is we’ll break down each of my rankings and then compare and contrast where I stand with how James ordered his prospects and finally I’ll put them on the screen now Corey my co-host was not able to join us today but he did create a tier list of his own which we will share uh it’s unfortunate that he’s not here because his turned out very different than ours as you can see as I’m putting them on screen so I wish he was here to explain a little bit but I’m sure uh next time Corey’s available we will get his opinion on all of this and it should all be on Twitter too so this was how Cory’s ranking panned out uh little higher on Salon Salon how do you say how do you pronounce his name I I hear people say it differently every time I think it’s Salon but I I don’t have a super clear understanding of it either I think everyone’s kind of up in the air about it yeah I I try and figure it out but every video I watch someone’s pronouncing it differently so we’ll say Salon if that’s incorrect we apologize Cory’s a bit higher on him than I believe either one of us was uh and yeah there’s some there’s some differences here Kevin mcculler swinging for upside is one that I definitely uh disagreed with but we’ll get into that I’m sure uh again Corey wish you were here so we could get into this but looking at our two lists is there anything right away that jumps out to you as you want to discuss this first um I’d say the first thing and I think you know where I’m going with this is is why Kyle filipowski is in your worth a shot tier and maybe not a little bit higher so I just want to hear from you on that part yeah I I figured that this would be where we would start let me scroll here I have my notes okay so I have him in my worth a shot tier right yeah of that group I’m probably highest on filipowski I think you could convince me to move him all the way up into the second tier maybe even the S tier uh because he genuinely is one of my favorite prospects for the Cavs his shooting the size the ability to dribble the ball and create plays is something that I value a lot uh so I don’t want to come across like I’m low on him just because he’s in this tier I would definitely jump at giving him an opportunity especially staggering his minutes alongside the two bigs I think he’s a good fit there my main concern and why I ended up moving him down the list I worry a little bit about his athleticism uh at least more than some of the guys I had ahead of him I don’t know how effective his ball handling and playmaking will be if he can’t handle the speed of the NBA and a lot is riding on his ability to space the floor and while I believe in his jump shot I don’t have absolute faith if that makes sense so that’s why I wound up having him a little lower than I expected when I first started looking at prospects okay that I understand all of the concerns especially the athleticism and defensive concerns because a more ground bound negative wingspan big doesn’t scream defense to anybody but I think because we have Jared Allen and Evan Mobley that’s what makes him that’s what makes the fit so good here in my opinion because they can cover up on the backside I think for some of his deficiencies where he I think he could handle more he’ll guard other bigs and they can help come over and kind of clean up at the glass a little more um I don’t think he’s not a good Defender by any means but I think he’s better than given credit for because he’s in the right place a lot of times it’s just he can’t impact the ball as much as you’d like out of your big and on offense I think the fit is awesome especially because he would just replace George nang’s everything about him in the rotation right he’s better at pretty much everything besides the three-point numbers which I buy for filipowski he jumped to almost 35% this year not super high volume but I buy the mechanics and the touch for him to be able to step out and shoot kind of in that 36 37% range which isn’t where Nang has been for his career you know he’s been hovering around that 40 41% but I buy the dribbling and the passing on the move for filipowski so much that I think he could play the four in some lineups and if you pair him and Moy two bigs that can in theory dribble and pass it can give the Cavs a whole new look that we really haven’t seen to this point yeah I mean listen you don’t have to convince me that we can upgrade at the George Nang position I’d sign up for this in a heartbeat and yeah I do think his his mechanics his form his jumper I believe in it uh the the main reason that concerns me a little bit is just that I think again I think he has more Riding on His jump shot than somebody like Don Holmes who I have in my S tier where even if Holmes doesn’t pan out as a shooter I still think I believe in his playmaking and his versatility a little more um again and you know what before we officially get into today’s episode I want to say three quick things one if you enjoy this content and you aren’t subscribed please consider doing so and drop a like while you’re at it those two things really help the channel on can’t tell you how much I appreciate it and secondly why I transitioned into this is because you know I want to be very clear I’m not an NBA draft expert it’s why I brought James on the show to begin with so at least someone here knows what they’re talking about and also thirdly first you know go support James as well as other draft content creators who I will have plugged on the screen right now on YouTube in the editing process I’ll put a couple guys up there who these channels do great work they’re largely responsible for helping me form my opinion on these prospects so please go support them as well and uh now that that’s out of the way and and we can reopen the Cal filipowski discussion as we move along but I want to start here uh we’re gonna go through my tiers starting in the S tier now I only had one guy up there and it is donon Holmes a guy who I’ve fallen in love with recently I believe the Cavs speaking of filipowski as well another thing that I meant to say the Cavs are able to cover up any potential limitations he has defensively The Bigs really help him in that department and I think it’s similar for Don Holmes and Cleveland I think they would be able to maximize his potential being a big who if all goes well he can appropriately defend multiple positions protect the rim set screens operate dribble handoffs push in transition spread the defense with his shooting to a degree and serve as a la threat now that’s the dream scenario the question is how good will he be at any of those particular skills that’s what makes or breaks him as a prospect if he ends up being just okay at all of those things then that’s a big concern but with a skill tree that’s that diverse if Holmes can polish his game even if it’s just a few of those areas this could be a home run pick because I think it matches so well with either Allen or Moy and so that’s why I’m so high on Holmes as a prospect and you also had him in your ass tier so tell me a little bit about Don Holmes so I I do agree that of all of the prospects that we talked about he is in the S tier as well even though I’m a little wary on the versatility stuff translating on offense just because he is more of a tweener a term that we don’t see as much anymore you know they use unicorn and stuff like that but with his build and the improving touch I would say other than his effort in motor there isn’t another skill in my opinion that really gets him on the floor and keeps him there so the development of his offensive game is really important for me he’s a really hard worker we could see that in the jump and three-point percentage attempts and his free throw percentage in his Junior season last year but it has to come together because if he doesn’t shoot then him playing with Moy or Allen just really becomes sticky for me I don’t I don’t buy him off the bounce as much as I buy filipowski or the Natural Touch either so if I had to rank them I put filipowski Just a Touch higher than Holmes because I buy the offensive fit a little more but imagine having Don Holmes having a lineup with Isaac aoro Dean Wade donon Holmes and either Evan Mobley or J Allen I don’t know how you score on that team so it’s just can the offense translate enough to Warrant him playing with one of the other bigs that’s my biggest question yeah and I I agree I do see all those concerns again that this is a phrase that gets tossed around a lot but it is true you don’t want a jack ofall traits master of none that’s someone who Don Holmes could fill that archetype at his worst and so and also I should have mention this at the top but and I think this is true for both of our tiers it’s ranked in tiers but we don’t have them in any specific order inside of these tiers like you said you would have filipowski ahead of Holmes just want to clarify for anyone watching that Don Holmes is number one in the way that it’s written but it’s it’s kind of interchangeable once we get to there um and so moving along here going back to my tiers and The Swinging for upside category who you could argue donon Holmes is maybe even in that tier as well in fact let me see it I believe Corey sorry I’m kind of jungling things around Corey had Don Holmes in his swinging for upside tier and I could hear a case for that because again I think he’s a little bit riskier of a prospect than I probably made him sound when I was gloating about him but someone who absolutely fills that category for me is Bob Carrington um elite shot Creator I think he’s going to hunt his own shots and create off the dribble throughout an NBA career uh there’s a big gap that the Cavs have to fill in their Supporting Cast and I think bub could be a project who pays dividends in that category but of course there’s a risk there because if he doesn’t manage to score at an NBA level he doesn’t bring that much else to the table at least defensively he’s not a great Prospect offensively he does have a I think I believe in his handle I think he has potential as a playmaker but there is a there is a path where this doesn’t pan out for him but I do believe in him and I think if you’re going to take a swing he’s a prospect who I’m very comfortable doing that way yeah I mean everyone knows how much I like Bob Carrington in this draft I by pretty much everything translating even though he shot the same percentage at The Rim that he did on pull-up jumpers this year both at 50.9% um I think that’s again that’s a product of him being being a late growth guy where he was six feet tall six foot tall until about 18 months ago I think so he’s learning how to be 6 foot five on the court he’s learning how to use the different angles he has access to now which it takes some time to adjust to that so I buy pretty much everything on offense he could especially being a third guard next to Garland or Mitchell uh he could I think he could play on or off the ball the off the ball stuff this p last year was a little tricky because the catch and shoot numbers weren’t very good but that’s a rhythm thing you have to become more comfortable without the ball and I think that’s something you know he’s working on this entire pre-draft process and again he’s 18 years old his rookie season he’ll be 19 the entire time so I’m not concerned about that improving because his touch is so good on pull-ups I assume the fluidity and touch will translate into catch and shoot as well and I really I buy the on ball defense for him guarding guards is I think his foot speed is really good he’s his ability to avoid screens is insane for an 18-year-old that just grew four or five inches you know a year ago and he can flip his hips super quick to me I just I buy the on ball defense not really a an event Defender and that’s why he gets knocked a lot the steel and block rate were really low and off the ball he’s just not super impactful cuz he’s not generating that chaos but I think think his ability to stick with guys and kind of navigate traffic that’s underrated as well and I I just buy everything about bub for the most part so I think he’s going to be a steal whoever gets him and I really don’t think the Cavs are going to have the opportunity to draft him yeah and that’s totally fair and I agree I think that I would be surprised if he’s there at 20 I’d be pleasantly surprised uh as far as the defense goes uh that’s why you’re on the show to bring a little more insight because I just from what I’ve heard he’s not a great defensive prospect but it’s probably because he’s not an event Defender you don’t see those big plays as often um and hey like we said with filipowski the Cavs are a team they can they can hide for Defenders even if that’s what bub ends up being especially because he’s young I think the Cavs will have no problem hiding him you have to be a George Yang level Defender to stand out on this team so as long as he can avoid being that I’m sure they’ll be able to make it work and the fact that he is so young that’s a he’s a project check that’s where we get into The Swinging for upside category so that’s why I put him there but I totally understand why you would have him in the S tier because I’m right there with you I believe in him as an NBA player the pull-up jumper is just undeniable it’s it’s absolutely why you buy into him as a prospect um I want to ask about why Tyler Smith being in the swing for upside I want to hear your cell on Tyler Smith okay well here we go this this is where I was going next anyways this is my this is my big upside swing if I had to pick a prospect who people are a little mixed on who I just seem to really really believe in it’s Tyler Smith I think he just has so much raw potential as a pick and pop threat as a guy who can space the floor at that power forward position but his athleticism sets him aside from some other traditional stretch fors I think he has the tools to be a massively impactful modern NBA power forward the G Knight were such a mess that it’s hard to really analyze his flaws and get a good sense of it so that’s why I believe in his upside a little more I think if you put him in a winning position you make him the power forward next to an Evan Mobley or Jared Allen you can probably get the most out of his athleticism uh whether or not the thing that concerns me is his feel for the game that’s my biggest gripes I’m just not sure how well he sees the game again playing with the ignite makes it a little difficult probably but at best I can see him spacing the floor pick and pop even being a threat to roll to the rim that athleticism paired with the shooting is what gets me so excited about Smith yeah I I totally get it I do like Tyler Smith um I do have him a little lower and the worth a shot tier I believe um just because his upside is stuff he already kind of does and it’s not really on ball stuff right so it’s a lot of spot UPS or pick and pop jumpers I don’t really believe in his ability to handle the ball at all I just didn’t see it and when I saw him rip downhill and um go to the rim he just he’s really upright and stiff to me the driving angles aren’t great and I don’t think he he utilizes his frame and his athleticism in that way can that be learned sure I just had a tough time seeing it cuz I don’t know if he can be bendy and bursty enough to get by that guy even if a guy jumps and flies by I’m sure but if he closes out short I just I don’t know if it’s there but if he shoots 40 41% from three that’s not really going to matter right um and you know as a lob threat he can get on the rim pretty springy athlete the defense is really what concerns me and before I did my dive into Tyler Smith I had seen the whole oh he’s terrible on defense like some of the worst tipe I’ve ever seen I’m like it can’t be that bad right I don’t think it was some of the worst defense I’ve ever seen But it re it really was not very good again he’s he’s upright to me I think his hips are really stiff so he doesn’t slide very well and his problem solving for when guys when he closes out guys rip by he fully opens like a swinging door and tries to beat the shot off the glass instead of taking a better angle to cut the guy off maybe at the free throw line or a step in he’s trying to meet him at the rim and Spike It Off The Glass so I think he’s been able to do that in at previous levels being a great athlete he was a top five recruit in his high school class I believe so old habits die hard and hopefully as he gets him the NBA and into a system he can work on that maybe get more flexible hips move the feet a little bit better but I I just struggled to see it and he played a lot of five for the ignite and that’s not his position at all so that’s also a way I’m having trouble conceptualizing him at the four in the NBA because the fours can really handle they’re really threes you know five years ago but if he has slow feet guarding fours and fives in the G League what is he gonna do when you know Jason Tatum’s out there or Giannis is out there and he gets caught in the switch or has to x out or something so I’m just skeptical to foot speed and the hip mobility for him to be able to actually defend yeah and I I agree with that for sure uh there’s definitely big concerns in his game and of course that jump shot if it doesn’t pan out to be and if he doesn’t become an elite shooter honestly then the rest of his game becomes harder to justify uh and again the thing that concerned me along with the defense is just I’m not sure what his feel for the game is his instincts uh they’re very questionable to me so that’s a big concern but hey sometimes you got to you got to just swing for upsides you got to get bold here uh the other person who I had in my swinging for upside tier is Cody Williams now him and Dalton connect are in parenthesis because they’re potential trade-up candidates and so as far as Williams goes I’m not the biggest fan uh I think he’s highly touted as a prospect just because of how much potential he has uh because of his frame 610 athletic verse Stout player some real Mobility makes it it makes him too interesting to ignore I don’t necessarily have much faith in him putting it all together but if the Cavs they have better Intel than I do if they’re working out and they see that if if they just fall in love with him as a prospect is what I’m trying to say I could see justifying this decision uh but again I’m not the biggest fan of Cody Williams where do you stand on him um I like I do like Cody Williams um I wouldn’t trade the farm for him though just because we saw such a small sample from him especially pre-injury he was really good pre-injury if he kept that up I have a feeling he would be in the mix for the number one pick but he had a facial fracture I think he had an ankle injury too so he really struggled from I’d say January on just with depth perception on the court and he’s more of a slasher at this moment so just jumping off one or just around bodies and traffic in general it’s mentally taxing when you don’t fully trust your body um I do like the toucher on the rim though I think he finished around high 60s percentage wise around the rim so for a guy that’s about 170 pounds it’s pretty dang impressive as he continues to put on weight and hopefully the jump shot comes along percentage was good but super low volume that’ll make him very Dynamic on offense and defense I didn’t really know I think he was fine he has the tools for sure I just need to see it more against NBA level guys again he’s so skinny the couple injuries kind of worry me um and I could see the Cavs really liking him because they didn’t get their Williams fixed two years ago I could see them convincing themselves this time around and just buy trying to buy low if Cody Williams ends up falling a little bit yeah I mean if he falls somehow I take it immediately uh because I do see the Intrigue of him as a prospect there’s I mean when you get guys of that size and that Mobility with all the touch it’s it’s hard to ignore so I absolutely see the the case for him there uh moving into our next tier now the lowrisk tier and I feel like the the person who really just defines that is probably Tristan D Silva uh I’ve wavered back and forth on him as a prospect but he just has a skill set that so obviously translates to what the Cavs are missing uh I worry about his ceiling and his floor not really being all that great well he has a he has a strong floor that’s what makes him a good Prospect for this he seems like a lowrisk pick but if his scoring doesn’t immediately translate then it kind of hurts his stock it hurts his value to the Cavs you kind of have to hope that that’s going to be something that he can bring right away that’s the selling point for me at least with the Silva is that he’s going to be able to come in and help much faster than some of the other prospects and so I’m not sure how much better he can get as an older Prospect but if you want a lowrisk pick and if he’s available because it seems like he might not even be available by the time 20 comes up uh I think it’s a good pick for the Cavs I agree I also don’t think he’s gonna be there at this point um just because you know 68 69 Wing shot near 40% the last two years at Colorado um I could really see you know Philly LA or even Miami thinking about him fitting right in right away wanting a piece that’s ready to go we’re trying to push in the playoffs um and really figure it out I also have been going back and forth with the Silva I can’t tell if it’s paralysis by analysis and I’ve been overthinking this too much because the stats are there he put up the same pretty much the same stats for two years in a row at Colorado like 16 points a game 40% from three six state with I think is like a 610 Wings span and just dribble pass shoot Wing knows how to play the game impactful off ball Defender yet I’m sitting here thinking well if he doesn’t he’s 23 already if he doesn’t shoot 39% off the gate if it’s like 36 how valuable is he is he’s pretty physically mature at 23 but he’s still pretty skinny and struggled with that in the Pack 12 as a senior I keep saying he looks like a CrossCountry Runner that just happened to be good at basketball and I can’t get that out of my head I I do worry about him in high leverage settings because I don’t buy the onal defense high enough and if he because he’s 23 he just doesn’t have that Runway if the shot isn’t falling so are you going to take that risk but if you if you pass on him and he’s so obviously just good right out of the gate you feel stupid so that’s the that’s the tug of-war that’s been going on in my brain for about 10 weeks now yeah and that’s basically how I feel too is like you see how good he is at scoring and it’s an easy buy in for the Cavs who basically need exactly what he provides but as an older Prospect as a guy who might have a lower ceiling if that doesn’t translate you’re kind of cooked it’s like what else does he really fall back on and because again he’s an older Prospect say compare him to bub Carrington for example if bub doesn’t come out the gates firing you’d say to yourself okay well he’s not even 19 yet we can take some time to develop him if the Silva comes out and he’s struggling it’s a lot harder to justify that pick and it just feels worse if that makes sense and a guy who I would kind of put in the same category here and we both have him in our low risk here is Jaylen Tyson I’d like to hear what you think about him as a prospect because I share many of the same feelings as to Silva yeah with I also have kind of a hard time with Tyson too because of the scaling down Factor he had such a high usage at Cal this past year the defense was not good he was getting clipped on screens left and right the effort and attentiveness wasn’t where it needed to be but again he was their whole offense I think that was the least enjoyable team I watched this draft cycle there was nothing redeeming about the guys he was playing around so I give him kind of a pass there because the previous year at Texas Tech he shot 40% from three on lower volume and the defense was a lot better so I just don’t know how it necessarily scales down because it’s not the thing we’ve seen most recently from him but again know six sevenish in shoes strong kind of stocky can score at three levels and really playmake I think on the second side it’s does the defense come around and can you cut out like 15 to 20% of the bad dribble jumpers he took and just make those easy catch and shoot threes if he’s the clearest Levert replacement to me if he’s good because it’s similar size profile and I think the skill sets are similar there as well as long as Tyson doesn’t shoot 5% on short pull-up twos I think he’ll be okay yeah I agree with everything you said there and you know just to throw this out there too Cavs today announced that they’re hiring uh Kenny ainon as their coach uh someone who comes from a Warriors background right now we know he has he likes a free flowing read and react offense this type of system where everyone needs to be able to handle the ball and create plays is hopefully what I’m I’m hoping to see uh come to the Cavs with ainson and so someone like Tyson who can handle the ball create shots that seems like a natural fit there so again I I wouldn’t be mad if we ended up with Silva or Tyson even though I I waver back and forth on them and another guy who I’m a little unsure about is Dalton connect a potential trade candidate um complet have no faith that he will be there at 20 so this is absolutely a trade up thing and I’m a little unsure about him because I do think his three-point shooting will translate his interior stuff I’m not quite sure and just to be honest I have little faith in him being an NBA level Defender he is very upright to me uh if he manages to break even on that side or at least be someone who you can hide to a degree then this is an easier fit for the Cavs he’s not someone who I personally would want to trade up for but if they did I would still consider him one of the lower risk prospects just because I feel pretty confident his three-point shooting will translate and if his other like he could be a three-level scorer at the NBA level if he manages to get into the paint and finish the mid-range shots but the three-point shot at the very least I feel comfortable betting on and with his size that’s an NBA level Talent so where do you stand on connect I also do like connect similar with Cody Williams I wouldn’t move a bunch the few remaining assets we have to go get him but he’s an NBA level scorer can score at all three levels on movement stand still from all three levels the finishing stuff I do agree with you to a to an extent very right-and dominant around the rim um and it’s very powerful finishes not too much craft and when you move from college to the pros and you have you have to go into wemi you have to go into Jared Allen or Evan Mobley or jiren Jackson junior does that same straight line drive try and out hang them finish work and it just doesn’t right so the defense too he’s just not a good Defender he’s his flips are so inflexible to me and he he’s like a bull in the china shop coming around screens he really has to figure that out at the next level to be an impactful player like more of a 16 game player than an 82 game player I don’t think he has any issues at all playing in a regular season he’ll probably have a season where he averages 20 points a game shoots 39% from three and looks awesome but if you play him in the last six minutes of a playoff game he’s going to get hunted every single time I think early you stick him on more power drivers I think he can guard up because he is strong and has a good build the switch stuff is going to get a little tricky if he doesn’t become more flexible but that’s something you can work on even though he is older in his basketball life he’s 24 I believe so good off again good great offensive player don’t know about the defense if he fell I don’t think he’ll fall past 10 but if he somehow fell to 12133 and there’s an option and a available trade up for him I would consider it heavily yeah I mean he’s he’s kind of the definition in this draft at least of a high floor low ceiling uh because he has those concerns defensively that I’m not quite sure he’s going to be able to overcome some questions offensively as far as the interior scoring like I said but that three-point shot I feel very confident in and again if he slides even a little bit in the Cavs think they can get him at a reasonable price I’d understand doing it uh moving into our next tier this is the worth a shot category and chobe Walter is a guy to me who kind of fits that uh his off ball prowess makes him someone worth taking a shot on considering him I do believe in his jump shot the problem is the rest of his game is pretty raw and unpolished I’m not sure how much better he can get in those in that regard if he’s available at 20 he’s someone worth taking a chance on but I believe you had him you’re you’ll take a pass on him right yeah so let’s let’s let’s hear you talk about that yeah I really I hate to say this because I’ve heard great things about jacobe but out of all the guys you ranked he is near the bottom for me for the specific Cavs team because what the Cavs need he just doesn’t do for me he projects as a good movement shooter but we he didn’t shoot it well at Baylor I don’t believe the on ball stuff I don’t think the first step is very good I don’t think the handle’s tight enough to Warrant the creation reps that will help his help and Aid his development and I just don’t know about the defense either he has a good build he has that kind of kcp Gary Trent I think he’s Gary Trent I think that’s the closest player comp to me where he’s like 60th per outcome and I just I don’t think the Cavs need a guy like that that you don’t need to spend a first round pick on that to me because if we’re going to take a stanel shooter I’ll just take the 69 Australian guy I know I don’t love him either but it’s just a size profile thing for me where this team just we just need to get bigger and if I have two guys of the same skill set I’m just GNA take the bigger guy frankly if I bought the on ball stuff more I’d be more in but I just don’t buy it at all yeah that’s totally valid and I mean by the way that you described him and and I kind of agree here it’s like at that size and with that skill set you’d almost feel comfortable just saying hey we have Sam Merl already we know he can shoot the lights out off the ball let’s just try and get him more involved and draft someone else who feels a different need I think would make a lot of sense there also I I moved past this a little faster than I wanted to uh you have Baylor shyman Teran Shannon Jr and cam Chris on your board you want to talk about each three of those rapid fire because I didn’t have them on my board just because as I said I’m not an NBA draft expert there’s only so many prospects who I can catch up on in a month’s time month and a half so fill me in on where you what you think about these three guys sure so with Baylor shyan I am more than ready to be hurt by the old Lefty white college shooter I’m more than ready I’m ter or Baylor shyan’s just really good at basketball great difficult shot maker let me pull up his he shot 48.8% on unguarded catch and shoot jumpers this year uh he he’s a sniper most of his stuff actually comes off of movement because he just he doesn’t get and just Standalone catch and shoot jumpers that much because he’s so Dynamic he has more create or more playmaking than I initially thought he could he’s really good at running a DHL I could see him with Evan Moy running it and he can score in the mid-range to if need be give a little bump around the free throw line hit up fade away he’s just a smart basketball player and out of EV every wing from this tier down for us he’s the one I would take because I just don’t see him failing and as long as he stays healthy right we’ve seen we’ve seen that one before but I have a hard time seeing Baylor shyan not being a top 25 guy in this class just because how smart he is uh going to Teran Shannon Jr totally different Prospect right equally as old but just he’s shot out of a cannon at all times I love the rim pressure from him it’s something this team their bench unit could really use in my opinion the only problem is he’s just a Score first guy he had a crazy usage for Illinois and he Aver like 2.8 assists per game or something like that so he’s he’s looking to score at all times s the jumper improved this past year I believe he was around 36% from three mostly off the bounce stuff I don’t know if I buy the three-point shot translating and without it how valuable how valuable can he make his athleticism he’s not super crafty around the rim it’s kind of the connect thing where it’s just power just straight up if you need if you need to watch watch him play um Yukon in the tournament where they didn’t score for like 50 real time minutes and he’s driving straight into Donovan kingan for over a half and just getting nothing from it and on the defense he’s an event Defender though he he makes stuff happen and I think he could be a really impactful two-way wing on the right team just if the shot doesn’t come along I don’t know what it looks like with us so that’s last year I was higher on him I would love him in the second round but at 20 it’s a little risky for me and then going to cam Christie I just think he’s a a better little bit bigger version of jacobe Walter and a little bit younger too so that’s why I like him I have him ranked above jacobe because he’s a little bigger a little younger I like the shooting better and the athletic and the athletic pop more so that’s why I have Cam Christie above jacobe Walter in that sense yeah I mean thank you for breaking that down this is why I’m not an NBA draft guy I’m bad at this stuff this is why I had to have an effort on help me out here but uh uh rounding out my worth a shot category because we already talked a little bit about flip is Daddy a is that how you say it pacol dadd uh he’s someone who you know what I’ll be honest with you it wasn’t until like a week or two ago that I even found out about this Prospect so again uh not an NBA draft guy but just from looking at him and and the little bit that I was to catch up on uh honestly you could convince me to put him in The Swinging for upsid here uh I only have him here because one I’m not as familiar with him and I feel less confident in this swing as I would for the other prospects that I put in there I think there’s a greater risk uh but again definitely worth the shot he’s young and underdeveloped but is the length the size the offensive touch to be a fascinating Prospect I really think we Overlook that natural feel for the game that some prospects show when I watch him dribble attack the rim some of his more creative acrobatic finishes some of those mid-range shots his craftiness I can just tell he oozes feel for the game and that’s really valuable to me when analyzing a prospect so where did you have him in your tiers I had him in the swings side tier yep um I think he’s worth that because I see the dribble pass shoot archetype most clearly with him CU he all of his numbers were low volume in uh in Germany this past year he played I think 58 games between their regular season a cup and something else and he logged like 900 minutes so not not a lot of playing time he was he came in Midway through the second quarter and a lot of his stats came at the end of games when M was up 1520 because they were a pretty good team and he got a lot of his counting stats at the end of games when they didn’t matter so much but his shooting profile is pretty impressive he shot 30 38 and 39% respectively on guarded and unguarded catch and shoot jumpers and 20 or 46% on dribble jumpers so I buy the scoring profile for him the the touch is good the mechanics and need to be cleaned up I think he could get a little wild with his body on his pull-up mechanics there’s some Jordan pool flare to him where he has the ri the wrist wrapped he has some in his bag moments where yeah some of them are late in clock but he comes off a screen in their space so he combos a little too much does a weird pivot and throws up a not a good shot I like the creativity but you hope he reigns that in a little bit um and the finishing stuff was really good he was I think 74% at The Rim uh wow yeah yeah and he finished I think 74% at The Rim in the half court most of them came off Cuts but he’s a smart cutter whether it was designed by m or not his recognition on when to cut and where to cut was impressive and the multitude of cuts as well it wasn’t just navigating the Baseline it was 45 cuts from the top of the key and he can get on the rim a little bit uh he not the craziest athlete in the world but off two feet he’s pretty explosive the defense isn’t awesome either I I like him against wings but that’s kind of it I think he gets lazy on ball a lot of times he’ll kind of get up in his stance especially guarding ball screens and he’ll try and cheat the screen allow a reject and it’s a layup stuff 18-year-olds do so I’m giving him a little bit more grace there because he is Young I did like him against like I said against Wings he does need to get stronger there are times where guys were able to go through his chest and finish over him CU he’s he’s not super strong even though he has a good frame not super vertically inclined if he’s not kind of in a straight line and the wingspan isn’t great it’s pretty much an even wingspan at 69 I believe so he just doesn’t have a lot of margin for error on defense and that shows up in the low steel and block percentage for me the block percentage was like under 1% and the steel was under 2% he just doesn’t make stuff happen on defense and it off ball is not awesome either doesn’t navigate screens very well to me and I think he got a little hot especially guarding Corners he got too high up the line too frequently and he’d lose his man and because he doesn’t have those recovery skills it puts him in a bad spot again I don’t know if it’s mm’s defensive their tactics for Corner guys to get up the line in the Gap and deter drives but he just didn’t recover well enough to execute it and I don’t think he doesn’t rebound that well right now either and going back to the offense one last thing is he’s not a good he’s not a good passer um especially on drives he’s pretty much looking to score the full time I like his swing passing and the crispness on him it was it was pretty much the first I notice about him is the velocity he gets on his passes and I really like that it’s just when he when he’s looking to score that’s all he’s looking to do and there’s no manipulation on the defense at all so I know I said a lot of negatives but being an 18-year-old 68 and shoes Wing scorer I’m that’s a guy I’m willing to take a swing on if the organization wants to put the time into that and sees the potential that he has yeah I mean based on your description I I see exactly why he would be someone that you would swing for upside on is he has those concerns those gaps in his game but because there’s so much raw potential and I mean those in his bag moments they they’re the stuff of Dreams and Nightmares you see the potential when he can get cooking like that it’s really easy to talk yourself into it but then you have to be real and acknowledge the flaws and that’s where you know you like I said I could push him all the way up to that swinging for upside tier as well uh he’s a very intriguing Prospect to me I wish he was on my radar earlier in this process because then I would feel more confident assessing him uh but that rounds out my we at the shot category now we’re gonna move into I think we both had quite a lot of guys in our we will pass on them tier uh we can start here I’ll go Johnny Fury to start off um let me pull him up real quick in my notes this is someone who we talked about last time in our previous episode which I recommend checking out if anyone’s interested uh look appreciate his motor and his competitiveness I think you combine that with his height and his shooting and I feel comfortable saying that Fury probably will end up being a useful NBA player somewhere my concern is that I’m not sure if he will ever expand past being a backend rotational player and while yes that’s a success for the 20th pick in the draft I just don’t know if the Cavs need to play it that safe I don’t need another Dean Wade I would like them to aim a little higher with this pick there are prospects who in my opinion the ones who I have listed ahead of him they’re talented enough to develop into legit rotational players I’m talking six or even seventh man in your depth chart type of guys and while I think Burpy could easily become the ninth man in your rotation I just have less faith in him making that leap when compared to other prospects and so basically what I’m saying is I I don’t hate him as a prospect I just like the other players above him more which is why I placed him in this tier uh what’s your reasoning for passing on Fury a lot of the same stuff you said Tony I don’t really see the upside with Fury I think why the Cavs reportedly like him and why I think they’ll end up drafting him is he does stuff coaches love he shoots it well he plays hard he rebounds he cuts well and he that that’ll get you on the court for pretty much any team no matter the level um but besides that stuff maybe I’m harping too much on what he can’t do but seeing the struggles this team had in the postseason we need more guys that can Boogie without a ball screen we need more juice it’s just for and I just don’t think he can do that the like we talked about in last episode the shop profile is very limited it’s a lot of standstill stuff a lot of corner stuff we have guys that can do that already and if he’s not not providing anything outside of that how sure the cutting is fine and the defensive rebounding is fine he I he averaged like 1.4 offensive rebounds a game I think so again crashes the glass plays hard but he has to be a good Defender and I don’t think he’s going to be a good Defender unless he gets a lot stronger or the feet move a lot faster and I don’t know if either is going to happen so I just don’t know where his value at 20 comes from for the Cavs again I get it but I’m there are a lot of guys I’d rather take over him at this spot yeah that’s basically where I’m at uh I see why someone would want him but there’s just guys that I would rather have if he is who we end up with like I’ll say out of this out of my tier here for the ones that I’ll pass on it’s probably Fury and I would say fur where and uh and Salon those would be my three who I feel the most comfortable moving up a tier if I had to uh maybe we’ll we’ll you can convince me on a couple other guys as we go through this uh moving to someone who I’ve been wanting to talk about is George kesan George uh is it kesan or kishan I’m pretty sure it’s kesan okay so kesan George if it’s kaan I apologize uh this is you know this category really in itself is just loaded with the potential for freezing cold takes but we’re just having fun here you know why not get a little bold and I know you have him in your worth of shot tier so we’re gonna disagree here a little bit I just don’t really believe in George I don’t believe in his skills that much I do think his shooting is legit I think he can absolutely shoot the ball honestly he reminds me of ammani Bates in a way where he’s like a more polished ammani Bates where I have no doubt that he can strictly shoot the ball I just don’t have any faith in the rest of his game developing to a point where he can be a serious NBA player and I promise that’s not meant as a discs to ammani I’m rooting for both ammani and George to prove me wrong whether it’s in Cleveland or somewhere else I’m just keeping it real with how I see their games uh I’ll give George Credit in saying I think he has a strong feel for the game uh I think he has good Court Vision he’s made some passes that really impressed me again I think he’s more polished than ammani at this stage I don’t want people to think that’s a direct one toone comparison but George his his athleticism or lack thereof is the biggest concern to me I it’s his ability to break a Defender down off the dribble his lack of a vertical pop his finishing even the attempts that he converts they just look like he would be swallowed up by NBA level Defenders uh now he’s young so maybe he will develop into something more and with all that shooting upside I get why he would be worth a shot uh but I’m just out on George as a prospect personally where do you stand um I’m a little higher on kesan because of the because the offensive profile the dribble pass shoot I think he has a better handle and more playmaking chops than Fury the shot was better and I for this specific Cav team I’m more willing to take a bet on that and the ammani thing I think he’s older than ammani by a little bit I K kesan excuse me is gonna be 21 this year I believe that’s part of the reason why I’m a little lower on kesan relative to I think everyone else in the Cav sphere because he’s like an older freshman and just didn’t really produce with d i can excuse it he’s in a on a pro team at 18 years old kean’s a 20-year-old going on 21 put up like seven four and three or something along those lines granted that Miami team was a freaking disaster anytime it got to a guard’s hands the ball it was a black hole so I think kesan could have put up more stats but he just didn’t he just didn’t I mean frankly he just really didn’t um and on the defense I like the I don’t even know if I like the feet better I like the the body a little bit better I think he’s a little bit longer he looks huge on the court that’s the first thing I noticed on film is he looks massive out there and I think it could help him guard more positions than Fury even though he’s a a worse athlete than Fury um but I think the floor for kesan is lower because the athletic profile not sure he could jump over a phone book and it’s I don’t know that’s why I think he’s worth a shot because there’s more upside to me with him where if he hits It’s a dribble pass shoot Wing that can in theory guard a couple positions and it’s just a skill that the Cavs don’t have that’s my biggest thing with this draft and kind of my rankings is if you can dribble pass and or shoot two of those three things unfairly in on you as long as the other stuff isn’t horrible so that’s why I have kesan in the worth a shot tier yeah I I mean I agree with everything you said there and you know in all honesty we could have even added just an additional tier because for me like let me just looking at the guys who I have in this uh out past year the guys I’m absolutely out on I want nothing to do with that would be Zach eie EES Mei uh I think I would put Mull and D in there as well and then Kier is it Kier ker I I should know how to pronounce these people’s names but honestly I don’t even know I I ever gotten a clear anunciation of it yeah well those are the guys who I would have in my just like completely out on tier list I can go kind of quick on a couple of these guys and we will we do have to wrap up here and we got a couple prospects to get to so we’ll go super rapid fire but for mcculler dun and Mei I’ll make it really simple just it’s the lack of shooting I don’t believe in any of their ability to space the floor the Cav straight UPS don’t need that at this point and I know you don’t want to draft strictly for fit but I’m sorry I’ll just I’ll pass on all these guys because I don’t believe them as three-point Shooters and I think that’s something the Cavs just can’t afford to do um the other player here uh where is he hold on I’m looking for my oh Edie yeah sorry just not doing it uh at his best he could be a drop big in the NBA I think but I don’t see the use for that in Cleveland uh I hope he makes it at the NBA level but his archetype he’s kind of a dinosaur at this stage in basketball it’s it’s just not needed for many NBA teams especially not in Cleveland I think it would be a mistake for the Cavs to be the team that takes a chance on him um and then I do also I I’ll let you jump in here in a second but I want to adjust or maybe amend my opinion on Salon a little bit as well because probably should have him at least in worth a shot uh I I’m a little worried about his shooting upside is my concern I don’t have too much faith in that jump shot and his lack of self-creation is the thing that’s staggering to me but the size and potential it it makes him worth considering I probably should have him a tier higher but where do you stand on the flurry of guys I just listed so with Salon I put him in swing for upside because that’s he’s theoretical to me if he can if he can shoot if he he can’t dribble at all so if there’s any dribbling thing going forward that would be a plus but he finished like 46% at The Rim this past year so being a a true 69 muscular 18-year-old he just doesn’t know how to use his body yet so if that stuff comes together he’s going to be an incredibly useful player especially in a playoff setting in my opinion and he’s already a good Defender so it’s really the offens it’s the offensive stuff for a lot of these guys that we say we’ll pass on with Edy again I’m not really interested in a non versatile big at this point mcculler it’s the injuries for me I if we have nightmares about Windler we’ll never get over mcculler if we take him because he’s way more B than Windler ever was in college um I think I know Ryan Dunn has no offense at all but if he gets it he will be like a top three his defense is that good I think he’s a generational Wing Defender so if there’s any offense at all he is incredibly valuable but he’s starting at zero on offense so that’s that’s why I put him in out pass but just looking at that defense the motor from him it’s just I get it I do but just having no offense for a team that hasn’t been able to score when it’s mattered it’s just it makes it hard to sell me on it yeah if the C are in a different position I would be able to buy into dun immediately uh taking a chance on a guy like that no question but because of where the Cavs currently are it’s just not a gamble that I think that they realistically should be taking uh they don’t have they I just don’t know where you would be able to afford him the Reps to even get him on the floor with this scam with the lack of offensive tou right now um someone who I would also like to give some credit to is where I I I would like to toss him into that category of you could convince me he’s worth the shot uh I think he has potential to be a floor spacer although I wouldn’t be surprised if he does but I’m not really sold on that either I do think he has solid mechanics but the volume is super low his free throw percentage is not very impressive and much like I said with a lot of these guys I would just rather take a chance on the prospects ahead of him but he is close to being in the worth of shot tier as most of the people in this list yeah with with wear it’s kind of the same thing with Edie he’s wear strictly a five and I I just I don’t buy the outside shot coming along so with this Cav specific situation it just doesn’t make sense he’s never going to get on the floor so it’s just unless you’re going to trade Allen and you still want to pair mbly with a five that has more of a potential to maybe shoot than Jared Allen then I get it but what are we doing if that’s if that’s the goal the front office is going so that’s why I’ll pass on kware for the Cavs yeah he’s a guy where if somehow all of these other prospects were off the board then I guess you know why not but I don’t foresee that being the case and so I’m gonna have to pass on him I believe the last person who I haven’t talked about is Clint man uh again you could put him right in there with these other guys it’s why he’s sharing a tier with them I could talk myself into him 610 Wing he has the promise to be a three-point shooter maybe some playmaking chops to develop I think you could convince me to move him up a tier but he’s just not a guy who I’m super in love with where do you stand yeah I’m I’m right there too it’s again a an energy forward that doesn’t really shoot it or pass or dribble it that well it in the open court he looks great again he’s huge he’s a good athlete he plays hard but when that isn’t there I just don’t know what he does for the Cavs on offense again in more conventional setting maybe you can talk yourself into him more but if he’s sharing the floor with another Center that doesn’t shoot it especially Jared Allen I just I don’t know where the value comes from yeah I mean I agree and hey you know what that’s gonna do it for this episode of the junkyard pod uh special thank you James for helping me break down all of these prospects uh it really is the the NBA draft is an exciting time and and I wish that I had more time to dive into these guys but I think you helped you know round out my edges here and and help me a little bit describing these prospects and so I really do appreciate it and you know special thanks to anyone who watched or listened to the show if you enjoyed it please consider hitting subscribe and dropping a like and with all that being said go Cavs

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