NBA Draft Predictions: Bronny James to Lakers? Hawks decision at #1 w/ Sam Vecenie | Hoops Tonight

NBA Draft Predictions: Bronny James to Lakers? Hawks decision at #1 w/ Sam Vecenie | Hoops Tonight

all right welcome to Hoops tonight here at the volume happy Tuesday everybody hope all of you guys are having a great week well we are going to be diving headlong into the NBA Draft today which is tomorrow it feels like the NBA finals were yesterday and here we are the draft is already about to take place I can think of nobody better than Mr sasini my good friend somebody that I trust as a basketball mind more than most but I I know I’m G to I’m G to I’m going to come off as pandering here but I think he’s the very best at covering the draft as well in addition to diving into it year round he also gets the players themselves on his show with him they go over tape together he picks their brain it’s just it’s an incredible uh it’s just an incredible process that he goes through to to properly cover the draft if you guys haven’t checked out his draft guide yet you have to if you’re not following or subscribing to his YouTube channel yet you need to but Sam I’m really excited to get into this Draft today I I was telling you before we we uh before we uh started the show that this is one of the hardest shows that I’ve ever had to prep for just simply because I don’t look at the draft at all during the regular season and then I try to cram it all in in a week but also there’s just so much up in the air this year it feels like nobody knows where anybody’s going and obviously you’re a lot more well-connected and it seems like from what you’ve told me that it’s been like that for you as well so why don’t you just tell us a little bit about this draft and what it’s been like covering it this season yeah thanks for having me I mean the big thing that I would take away from this is that because the talent is so flat at the top right there’s no Victor wanyama there’s no like everyone knew Kade Cunningham was going number one the year that Kade Cunningham went number one there’s no Zan Williamson I would argue there’s not even really like a Marquel folz where people felt like you know Lonzo ball and Jason Tatum in that year were pretty similar at least if not you know in the same tier to Marquel fults it was very clear that marel was going to go number one won that year I would argue there’s not even you know for instance I do teers in the draft guide every year and I don’t have a tier one or a tier two player tier one guys are like guys I expect to be all NBA players tier two guys are I noticed that I was confused I was like am I missing pages like what’s going on here yeah so tier two is guys that like I think you know very realistic chance that they’re Allstars it’s like your like I I thought Chad Hol grin fit into that bucket I thought Paulo banero fit into that bucket really high level um I think both those guys are probably going to exceed that at the end of the day but you know I had some questions about them in general and I felt a little bit more confident putting them into the All-Star bucket as opposed to like the definite like you know top 15 guys in the league like all NBA bucket right I had Victor in that bucket last year um I don’t have anybody in those two tiers and I’m not like stingy with those grades uh in the four years I’ve been doing the draft guide prior to this one I’ve ranked 16 players with tier one or tier two grade look sometimes it works out and you have Brandon Miller with a tier two grade other times it doesn’t work out and you have James wisman with a tier two grade right um I think I had tier twos on like Anthony Edwards and Lamela ball that year uh you know I think I had you know I think Evan Moy was a two I think Jaylen green was a two I think Suggs was a two uh and I still believe in basically all those guys uh in some respects but yeah I I would say that this class does not have a guy that I look at and I can confidently project Allstar like an All-Star future onto them undeniably just by the law of large numbers and the way that development Works once these kids get into situations guys will emerge as Allstars no questions asked but when trying to find like a middle ground in terms of that evaluation and like an expected outcome I don’t know that I can like confidently tell you this specific player like I have alexar at number one I don’t know if I can tell you that alexar I am expecting a number one uh level of production or an All-Star quality level of production for him I think he has a chance to be that player I think there are certainly outcomes that he can hit where he becomes that player but I don’t know that I can sit here and tell you for sure that you know that was that’s what I expect of him either and that goes all the way through my top group of of prospects so you know there will be Allstars that come out of this class it’s just going to be really hard to identify them and I think that they’re going to be maybe even a little bit more development based than what we’ve seen in previous years yeah that makes sense so let me put you on the spot here so if if you had Jaylen green as a tier 2 Prospect does that mean that if Jaylen green was coming out of this class you would have had him number one not even close yeah that’s super fascinating to me and I’m not surprised because like obviously I went through all these guys today and like alexar obviously you had at number one that was a guy we’re going to talk about Zachary Ras here in a minute because he’s actually the vegus favorite to go number one which I I really want to dive into here in a minute but as I was watching Alex I’m like good player really good defensive player doesn’t feel like a number one overall pick to me you know and so like that makes sense to me and like into to your point like that that kind of uh um that kind of tier that you’re talking about that tier two and I I by the way Chad and Paulo like they both have exceeded expectations I would say when they got to the NBA they both have been better fastert than we expected and that’s to I I think that those sound properly rated to me so like um I I wanted you had mentioned to me before we started to that you wanted to that you were expecting a lot of draft day trades or things surrounding the draft that involve trades um let’s get to that as we kind of go through the picks so I want to start with number one here so according to DraftKings Zachary Versace is the the heavy favorite to go number one overall as I was watching his film I’m like interesting kind of like weak side shooter super confident can drive Closeouts some interesting stuff on the ball I I thought about what you talked about with me when you came on during the finals and we talked about like the two things that you look for in uh in uh like in terms of success for modern NBA basketball with spacing and then ground coverage on defense and I thought about his length and he’s pretty mobile and he’s pretty good on the weak side like jumping p passing lanes and and being a help help Defender but again I I I I don’t even see the angle there over Alex SAR so like what is what is what do you think is driving the Intel that Zachary’s going to go potentially number one overall do you expect that to happen and if so is it gonna go do you think he’ll end up in Atlanta or do you think there’ll be a trade there yeah so the easiest way for me to talk about this right now is first and foremost I don’t feel wildly confident about anything with Atlanta and the big key with Atlanta is there are just a number of voices in that room from what I understand Quinn Snider is certainly a voice in that room you know they convinced him to come you know out of after he left Utah and like they didn’t convince him to come just by telling him you know you’re the coach and that’s it right like he has a voice in the room whenever it comes down to crunch time uh Landry Fields certainly has a voice uh you know there is there are differing degrees to which you will hear from folks that ownership and uh you know Tony wrestler and his son Nick wrestler will have a voice uh when it comes to it on draft night so that creates a lot of differing incentives it creates a lot of very challenging things for opposing teams is they’re trying to get a plan for what Atlanta’s trying to do to par through I would say that right now look I have Zachary ret marked or mocked right now at number one I they I know that Atlanta has certainly reached out to a few different teams they’re looking at potentially moving down the board they’re trying to figure out is there a way we can trade down W which makes sense right they’re looking at a number of different options on a board where one through five or so looks pretty steady right in terms of talent uh there are teams that have preferences in that group there are teams that maybe have one of those guys a little bit ahead of the other but it makes sense why you would try and trade down when all of the talent is relatively flat the problem that I understand they’re running into is like who’s gonna move up in that case then who’s trying to who who’s desperate to get up get to Zachary ret when you know I kind of just outlined that I don’t think that his likely outcome is necessarily like Allstar I think he’s going to be a really good starter I think he’s going to be a guy that you know like you said like great weak side shooter I think he can attack Closeouts but the problem is I think he struggles to maintain advantages after attacking uh he’s very skinny right now so it’s a big hope that he can continue to develop his frame and really get stronger despite being like kind of thinly framed like he doesn’t have a lot like wide shoulders he’s actually like quite skinny in terms of his shoulders so like the worry there is how does the frame develop is he going to be able to actually maintain the advantages that he creates uh in space in traffic uh I think that he generally has struggled a little bit with contact this season if you look at him when he’s like driving to the rim and trying to finish if he gets bumped I think that like he kind of loses control of the ball loses control of his touch a little bit so I I I have him at number five personally I I really like him and again I have him in this top group so anybody in that top group of players like I’m not going to crush Atlanta for taking them because I just don’t see it as all that different but uh yeah like you mentioned Alex Zar like I just think Zar is bigger covers ground a little bit better he’s definitely a worse shooter than what riset is but I think that if you look at where the league is going like these dribble pass shoot bigs are kind of worth their weight in gold and I would just rather take an informed this NBA draft is all about this is the easiest way for me to explain this NBA draft is all about informed bets right you’re trying to think about this in terms of bets not in terms of you know what this guy is going to be I am trying to figure out who are my Best Bets in terms of the intersection of upside and like relatively High floor um I have Stephen Castle ahead of Zachary ret I think Steph’s upside is higher than ret because I think Steph can pass I think that he can play through traffic I think he’s a better Defender than ret but undeniably his floor is lower than risse’s because risset can shoot it and Steph Castle right now struggles to shoot it if he Steph Castle continues to struggle to shoot it it’s going to be a problem for Steep but if the shot comes together the informed bet that you’re taking would be that Steph Castle is probably going to become an All-Star if the shot comes together in time so thinking about this draft almost more in terms of like bets and like informed bets and I don’t like love it seems like dehumanizing on some level and I don’t necessarily love framing it that way but that that’s the way that you almost have to think about it in terms of like investing in this class in some way well in in the ruthless World of Sports that is how it works unfortunately but I agree with you it is kind of it is kind of funky talking about it I I always feel like it it’s it’s weird being like uh a super micromanage about prospects too you’re like oh this guy struggles with this it’s like like but he’s awesome at all this other stuff it’s kind of just the weird nature of the job in so many different ways I’m I’m confused so like if Atlanta were to take risset how does that clash with Jaylen Johnson because don’t they kind of are they viewing him more as a three I think it’s actually a good fit with Jaylen Johnson for what it’s worth because Jaylen I think is probably going to be best is like a crash and like bang athlete who runs up and down the court in transition and physical and his you know driving I think ret can like help space the floor and then you can have guys at the three and four Jaylen Johnson’s like this immense athlete who’s you know driving and trying to pass and playmake and do everything that we’ve seen him do in his breakout season this year in his third year brisay can be the you know kind of off- wi who can really knock down shots and be able to like have like highlevel defensive capabilities on the weak side uh taking up a bunch of space with frame and with his length and Jaylen Johnson as well is a pretty good Defender so I actually really like that fit um I do like have questions about what it would mean for somebody like DeAndre Hunter do they try and just move DeAndre Hunter this summer at the end of the day uh I have some questions about you know what it would mean for their guard room uh just in general that’s another piece of this Atlanta conversation is nobody knows what they’re going to do with the the back well straight up just with the rest of their roster like you know how are they going to get under the tax like are they going to trade Clint capella are they going to try and do it via the a potential to Jon Murray trade like it you know will they consider moving Trey young if someone tried to blow them away with an offer there’s just so many different variables with the Hawks right now and that’s what makes projecting their pick hard folks around the league that I talk to do tend to say risse’s name more than others but Donovan kingan went in there had a great workout with Atlanta from what I understand really you know fits a lot of what Quinn Snyder particularly is looking for from the center position having come from Utah having had Rudy goar who was this unbelievable screener unbelievable drop coverage rim protector big uh I think that Quinn Snyder would do a lot of really great things with Donovan kingan but Donovan kingan would not be a particularly sexy number one overall pick right as I’m sure you watched when you saw kingan you know really good player like G to be an awesome player if he snuck like an All-Star birth kind of like how Jared Allen did that year in Cleveland would by no means surprise me but I would say he projects as like a top 10 starting center in the league and that’s just like not something teams are wildly enthusiastic about taking at one yeah I when I had mentioned the fit I was more meaning on the defensive end do you think Jaylen Johnson’s good enough on the ball because I always get worried about the as someone who rooted for the Lakers last year when you have a three and four that both suck on the ball yeah it could be it could be a little bit of an issue and so that’s more what I look at like I I almost want one of my three or four to be a guy that can like fight over screens and Chase a shooter around or chase a ball handler around that’s that’s the one thing like what I like about the Alex SAR fit is like it makes sense like you think of Jaylen Johnson and Alex SAR as kind of like this foundational kind of front Court obviously right now Alex SAR is not good enough offensively to play the four I actually one of the things that I’m H one of the reasons why I’m higher on Alex even though the the shooting is obviously an issue well first of all his shooting has been making some improvements it seems like year-over-year um the form isn’t awful uh it’s not it doesn’t cause me any major concerns and the main thing is is he’s really comfortable with dribble handoffs which makes me think like especially if Quinn Snider were to kind of continue to kind of like uh build out more of a five out type of system where there’s more ball and player movement and Jaylen Johnson’s coming off of dribble handoffs out of you know Chicago Action out of the corner and stuff like that like I just imagine Alex SAR being a really functional piece there I liked to the short roll reps he was getting with Bryce cotton out in Perth too like just when he just making quick decisions on the role like I just kind of see him as more of a shoe in natural fit but to your point like what it’s like if if you like Zachary racee how how long of how big of a drop off is it to like a Cody Williams as a big lanky Wing that can that can play if you were to trade down how big of a drop off is it to go from an alexar to a different big further down in the draft but at the same time if you can’t actually trade down because no one else wants to trade up then you’re kind of stuck and so like to me Alex star just kind of seems like a more natural fit in Atlanta but I mean the Vegas numbers seem pretty confident that he’s going to be headed uh that it’s going to be Zachary rachet so if if Rach goes one who do you think goes number two to Washington yeah the name that I’ve gotten mostly connected there is SAR uh you know it feels like you know that that seems like where this is headed is Alex R to Washington uh Will Dawkins who is now the general manager of the Washington Wizards was the assistant general manager of the Oklahoma City Thunder pring to prior to getting this job you know played a role in drafting Chad Holm uh alexar certainly also repped by WME Bill Duffy the same agent that is rep represents chat holgren uh it’s it’s a pretty easy connection to make there in terms of you know Will Dawkins I think wants guys that have this immense upside athletically and allows him to play a potentially interesting five outs brand of basketball in a similar way to how Oklahoma City has built their roster it is difficult to find centers who can dribble pass shoot or at least that have potential to dribble pass shoot it’s part of the reason like we’re not going to talk about this guy today but you know Kyle filipowski seems to be a guy that’s like kind of falling down boards whenever um I talk to teams like I don’t know where his floor is on draft night quite yet but I’m way higher on him because he’s a genuine dribble pass shoot big man in an NBA that is like begging for those guys right now alexar has potential to genuinely be that on offense even if it is trying to think about the extent to which I want to say this quite theoretical right now at this point the jumper you know when I watched him throughout the year I thought it had way too much off-hand interaction more than anything he’d get like a bit of a side spin on the ball when I saw him later in the year he clearly had been working through cleaning that up in a real way looks a little bit less side spinny and then I saw him in a pre-draft workout and you know look there was like a very very small amount of s spin but it was clear that like he’s making that adjustment you know in real time being a teenager kind of fixing his shot I think he has good Rhythm through the shot I think he has very good balance for a guy he moves like a wing at seven feet tall right like seven foot4 wingspan and you know that ground coverage defensively is really critical he’s very comfortable dribbling with the ball in his hands you mentioned kind of the dribble handoff game the short roll passing that I think he’s flashed but it’s all it’s all in flashes though right now with Alex it’s not you know this is not Chad holgren when Chad holgren came out of gon zaga I was like this is the most like anticipatory big Defender that I’ve evaluated like he just doesn’t have Victor’s tools right you know Victor is 7 foot4 with an eight foot standing reach which gives him this like immense margin for error but like Chet’s anticipation defensively is unbelievable uh for a guy that is you know seven foot with a s foot five Wings Spin and then on offense he was a 40% three-point shooter iin zaga who could like grab and go on the break and like be functional with his balance and coordination like Alex isn’t any of that yet but he has potential to get to a point where he is like a 15o you know eight rebound you know three assists per game guy that’s also a really high level Defender with like all Defense level upside because of how much ground he can cover on the weak side and I think even in switch scenarios down the road yeah I I love how aggressive he is in ball screens too like one of my biggest pet peeves watching bigs defending ball screens this used to always kill me with Daniel Gafford when I was scouting him but when the when the Mavericks got him where it’s almost like they just they almost find themselves in no man’s land where they’re not bothering the ball handler or bothering the rle man in any way shape or form like what in and it he gets burned for it sometimes but I like how Alex is aggressive on the ball handle one of Reas think coulde certain of Team the guards are to pass or when they struggle to make those passes his length being aggressive in ball screens I think could be useful uh I I think he I think he does have a pretty damn High floor which is why it made sense to me that you had him at number one like he’s going to be a solid NBA center it’s just a question of whether or not he has that true upside and and obviously only time will tell as you said it’s an informed Gamble get ready for a night full of big fights and big action it’s UFC 303 and it can be even bigger jump in on all the action at draftking Sportsbook the official sports betting partner of the UFC it’s super easy for first- timers to get started try betting on something simple like picking a fighter to win go to the draftking Sportsbook app select your fighter and place your first bet it’s that simple the light heavyweight title is on the line in the main event but there are so many more Amazing matchups happening in Vegas and speaking of amazing if you’re new to DraftKings listen up new customers bet $5 to get 150 in bonus bets instantly download the draftking Sportsbook app now and use code Hoops that’s ho o o PS that’s code Hoops for new customers to get $150 in bonus bets when you bet just five bucks get that big fight feel only on DraftKings DraftKings the crown is yours so number two on your big board you had Reed Shepard now obviously he had that rough game in the NCAA tournament but he had just a historic shooting season at Kentucky I was I I was really fascinated reading in your draft guide his uh his background and just the pedigree that he came from and just like just like uh I that’s crazy his dad was the the most outstanding player in the NCAA tournament back in 98 was it 98 I think like that that that’s crazy he’s he’s Kentucky royalty like it’s the easiest way to put it like he is city of Kentucky royalty like his dad Jeff is one of the like beloved players in the University of ky’s basketball history and his mom Stacy is like one of you know when she retired or you know stopped playing at Kentucky I think she was like one of the 10 best players in University of Kentucky history like it’s crazy yeah I think that’s what you had in the Bios she’s a top I think she’s like top 10 alltime in scoring at Kentucky which is crazy so uh I I you read in in my my brief little film session I did with him I I kind of view him as a guy that I think could be a really good fifth like fifth best player on a good team just because he does everything really well uh functions within a a team really well just a deadly shooter from all these different ranges he’s got the ability to get shots off from every kind of footwork like he can hop into it he can left right he can right left he can come off the move he can go off the bounce like there’s so much that he can do creatively a little bit of Austin Reeves in there with some of the creative risen fire stuff from the 15 to 18 foot range where where do you see where do you want him to go where do you expect him to end up yeah so I like the idea of him in Houston personally when I look at that young Houston core I see you know amen Thompson Jabari Smith Jaylen green tar een you know cam Whitmore certainly I think deserves to be mentioned in that group and then Alper and shenon of course is like their you know Center that you know could be an All-Star as soon as next season the one thing that I think they’re missing there is like a super high level shooter at the end of the day getting Reed to like operate in dribble handoffs Al and shenon like that would be disgusting to me I also think Reed like really fits well with amend Thompson in terms of like having that secondary playmaker out there if you want to try and make a men a point guard which is what he was drafted as even though this year he played kind of more on the wing and like even in the front court at times after shenon went down I I think that Reed just makes a ton of sense for them as like a connction and is the kind of guy that helps you win I think that his anticipation defensively is just like outstanding uh he has physical tools that are very limiting he is 6 foot one not super long in terms of his uh uh you know arm length or anything he has like a 63 6’4 wingspan something like that but he blocks shots you know he has a 40inch vertical leap and he blocked like s shots this year which is a crazy number for a guy that measured in just under 6′ too he is somebody that like really scrambles well on the backline defensively like he makes these crazy like scramble reads where he’ll just like force steals at a super high level and one thing that like I’ve watched a lot of recently and we’ll talk about this when we talk about Devon Carter too I know I know that you are a fan of after watching his tape uh the the degree to which you can space the court not just in terms of percentage but in terms of how far away you can actually shoot from that is really important to me if only because if you don’t have these immense athletic tools or an immense bag of like tricks where you’re Crossing dudes up I think that being able to shoot from 30 feet is kind of a differentiator because it gives you so much more space to operate away from help defense if you can change pace and you can shoot from 30 ft it’s it’s just hard to stay in front of guys just point blank at this point in the NBA Reed made 50% of his threes from Beyond what is the number here I have from Beyond 27 feet this year so like that’s crazy I kind of think that you’re gonna have to account for him in such a real way it’s kind of like Tyrese halberton right Tyrese halberton has that kind of funky load into his shot so what did he do he just learned how to shoot from 30 Fe at the end of the day and that’s how he became so valuable as like a floor space a and then allowed him to use his passing ability and take advantage and really get into the teeth of the defense and spray the ball out I’m not saying that Reed is that as a passer I don’t think he is I think Reed’s best transition passer in this draft class but in terms of like half court reads I think he’s still figuring it out but I also think that like that shooting gravity gives him way more upside than what people are thinking in this class when mixed with the fact that he can also handle the ball I like the Houston fit a lot too just because I imagine with them playing a lot with pace and with all their athletes in transition I loved watching his footage at Kentucky operating in transition where like everyone’s kind of scattered and that’s when he can really get into some Nifty footwork and dribble combinations and to pull up three-point shots and I just imagine defenses reacting to him there and then just athletes running around him and him being able to find those reads I I enjoyed watching him today even better with that real quick or amen Thompson like Sprints down the court all the way and then you’ve just got Reed Shepard like trailing and spraying out to the wings right like it’s just it’s really synergistic in the way it would work I think yeah the 30-footers too are great when you get to be old like me that’s how you that’s how you play Lazy basketball you’re you’re 66 and you shoot 30 foot three-point shots and you don’t have to worry about landing on someone’s ankle okay so uh Stefan Castle uh from Yukon famously was being left wide open in the tournament but making some making making them pay hit a couple of them uh I really enjoyed watching him too it’s kind of there’s some fun players I enjoyed watching there’s some fun players in this in this draft the to me Stefan Castle kind of reminds me of like a bigger version of jayen hood chafino if that makes sense in the sense that like he’s very it’s very Pace seems sad Pace heavy I know I know try but you gotta remember like like i’ I that that burned me too it’s a whole other thing but uh uh the what I mean by that is like I I he he reminded me of Jaylen H if you know when I was scouting him last year where it’s like the jumpers the big question mark yeah more of like a power methodical put you in jail kind of operate from the short range kind of area deadly hook and floater short jump shot that sort of thing but just a way better version of him and the main reason why I think his footwork is better and I think got more counter moves in that short to mid-range that allows him to operate and like honestly like I didn’t see anything with his jump shot he’s a little down in front of the face a little bit of a long load but I think that can be worked out in time uh I’m I’m pretty high on Stefon Castle I saw you had him way up at third on your list where do you see him ending up I’m really glad that you brought up the shot because you know you mentioned that like he has like the load up here and then like it comes up and it’s kind of a funky show shot and he has like a little bit of a hitch kind of at the top I think that that’s mostly when he’s kind of going to his left I think when he’s going to his left because like most right-handed Shooters right just more comfortable stepping back to their left they kind of you know drifting to their left a little bit just helps them get into Rhythm a little bit easier but with him what I see is he drifts a little bit too far to his left and I think it kind of like throws off his gra like Center of balance and everything and I think the shot’s a little bit Hitcher when he’s going to his right he tends to take those shots off the Hop and I think that like it just looks way cleaner and I think that everything like kind of tracks a little bit easier and if I was in organization kind of working through his shot like I would love to just you know kind of with his shot prep and like you know getting into the shot and his load into it just like start having him take things off the Hop a little bit more like he tends to One Two Step from the left side take it off the hop in the right like I just think it looks cleaner uh going off the Hop but in terms of where I see him going know San Antonio’s been connected with him you know for a while now uh you know for a couple of months it feels like uh that is a situation that everyone would be like pretty amenable to in terms of both San Antonio and Castle’s Camp uh if you know there was somebody who fell to number four like if Reed Shepard got there I think it’d be a question if ret got to four I think it’d be a real question but uh and then I think the castle would very likely probably go six at the latest you know maybe eight would be the latest let’s say because I would be surprised if he would get beyond the San Antonio second pick at number eight right but somewhere in that four to eight range I I would say is where Steph will end up I think that you kind of hit the nail on the head in terms of what the offense is I think he’s a really sharp passer if you even go back to his high school stuff you can see some like really impressive ball screen reps uh utilizing his passing ability where he’d hit skip passes pretty well and he’d be able to uh really really be able to get downhill out of that screen and maintain that Advantage kind of like you mentioned keeping guys in jail kind of on his hip and everything uh the big question is the shot though and the other thing I will say is I don’t know if if I think of him as an all Defense level Defender but I think of him as this incredible chess piece Defender who is kind of above average doing every assignment on defense like they had him in the tournament guard Mark seers who was an allam can point guard at the point of attack and just make his life miserable uh you know they had him guard produce point guard Bren Smith throughout the season they would have him like Chase Baylor shyan another potential first round pick this year off of screens because you know kraton just ran Baylor off of screens constantly they would have him guard like true off guards like scoring guards and things like that as opposed to Wings I think he can guard fours with how physical and strong he is there’s just a lot of Versatility in what his role can be on defense and I think that particularly in San Antonio it would be really valuable to have somebody like that next to Victor W Bama next to Devon vasel particularly as well because Vel looked like a guy who’s going to be a really good Defender coming out of Florida State and it just hasn’t really happened at this point for him in the NBA I would love to get somebody like Steph Castle in there that can like just take on a lot of different assignments and you know hopefully the offensive game just continues to grow and develop so we’re GNA move to a little bit more of a rapid fire format here because as as usual Sam we just have a tendency to go for a very long time yeah what a shame and uh and uh it’s so funny you like you like complained no you didn’t complain you were like thank you so much for coming and doing this thank you like I know it’s crazy busy I’m just like Jason I love doing this like this is great these are like the my some of my favorite conversations that I do is with you and like thinking about the game in different ways it was just like very funny compling in our profession is always relative that’s always something we have to keep in mind uh but I want to I want to get to a bunch of additional players and I want to get to bronnie in the next 16 minutes so we’re going to go a little bit more rapid fire here really quickly it it um really quickly if if you when you talk to people from San Antonio when you do some digging on that front what would be their dream outcome for getting four and eight who would be their dream outcome then so I think that their dream outcome would be finding a way to get risset and Castle uh if they could find a way to move up and get uh like you know four and five or three and four in some way uh if they could figure out a way to do that I think they’d be really happy on draft KN I think it’ll be a little bit difficult but uh that that would be my guess in terms of how they foresee a win especially if risse goes one I think it’d be a little bit difficult to do that yeah I I really enjoyed Stefan castle like he just no matter how big the game was no matter how big the situation was he just never got sped up he just was always kind of playing at his own pace he was fun to watch Donovan kingan I like a lot of stuff with him I love how he functions in that Yukon offense just as like a a really good you you talked a lot about his screening in the uh in the um uh in the draft guide that you did but I also think he has got a really good Instinct for when to slip like he always can he always just kind of has his eye on when his Defender showing and what as soon as his Defender decides to show he just doesn’t even bother setting the screen anymore he just gets out of there and then like he just he’s got good hands he finishes most uh most of his catches around the basket the one thing that freaks me out with him is I worry about him being a a little bit matchup dependent because I don’t think he’s quick-footed enough to guard in space what’s your take on Donovan Clinton no I I agree with all of that I think he’s like pure drop coverage is a big um what I will say is generally you know in terms of The Scouting I think you really nailed what he is it’s not a complicated evaluation he’s just an elite level drop coverage big man Elite level rim protector great finisher at the basket the thing I will throw on is he’s a really good high post passer and like passer in terms of he can run dribble handoffs deny dribble handoff find a cutter like a super super high level he manipulates Defenders already really good at that but if he gets down to like the three to six range on draft night there are a bunch of teams so like the three to six range the Rockets have shenon the Hornets have Mark Williams uh the Pistons have Jaylen durren and then four is San Antonio they have Victor wanyama right so like those teams don’t need a center in theory right there are a number of teams in the like seven to 12 range or so let’s call it 7 to 11 range I’d throw Oklahoma City in I guess that have like a real degree of interest in him and that’s kind of the one that I’m targeting like if I’m uh if I’m Memphis uh particular right like that’s my favorite fit in this draft would be Memphis ending up on draft night with Donovan clinging maybe if he falls to five they trade a future first round pick in number nine to move up to number five to assure themselves Donovan kingan who would be this incredible fit within their scheme setting screens for John Morant being uh the drop coverage Defender to let jiren roam on the backside defensively uh but if if Donovan Kling gets into that three to six range look for somebody to move up to get him in my opinion because if you hear as I hear things from teams it seems like there’s a lot of interest in him in that like seven to 12 range and I think somebody will try and Spike up to grab him that’s super interesting so you’re saying these front offices basically have like a bunch of a bunch of uh game plans that are contingent on what’s on who’s going where so if this guy slips then we’re prepared to D trade up if in the event that that happens I really like the the cling and fit with Memphis as well I think they’re rangy enough around him I I don’t think I don’t think people realize good yet how good GG Jackson is too and just slot if they get a legit Center and it’s Morant Bane Jackson uh and then J jiren Jackson and then a legit Center like that I I think they’re going to be right back in the mix at the top of the conference next year especially as a regular season team with all their youthful exuberance they have Marcus Smart too like that’s the other thing like Marcus smarts like yeah Marcus Smart like G GG Jackson like I want to see where it goes with G Jackson like I’m really interested and like if I was redrafting last year I think I would have GG like in the top seven of that class like Point Blank but you know next year like Marcus is gonna be the guy that’s like really valuable for them and like we’ll see what GG looks like it’s what up where I’m at well and and then also there’s that they would inevitably have to have a small ball look anyway where you could imagine Gigi being the four next to jiren Jackson um now you and I are admittedly by highest on the Williams family I think I think you and I might be the two biggest Jaylen Williams fans in the world although I did almost get in trouble with Sam the other day on the phone because I told him that I thought that Jaylen Williams has potential to be better than Shay and and Sam had to quickly put him put me in my place Willam that I was just like oh wow I was taking a back by the degree of the T I love Jaylen Williams I so obviously you know it’s kind of funny I there’s a little bit of Jaylen in Cody’s game uh mainly the pull-up jump shot footwork looks similar in the sense that they they both look really good going left they have that same right left footwork where they both kind of lean back a little bit but Cody just has this like a totally different look to him because he’s like lanky and and a little bit a little bit taller a little bit skinnier uh tell us a little bit about Cody Williams and where you want him to end up yeah I think he really is kind of like a you know when Jaylen was that young Jaylen was still pretty he was shorter actually like when he committed to Santa Clara as a senior he was I want to say like 6′ three or so like honestly might have been like 6’2 and then like grew before he got to Santa Clara and then kept growing all the way up to like 64 and a half I think he is without shoes now but has that enormous 7 foot2 wingspan Cody is 67 7 foot one Wings band so big and long just very skinny and is continuing to grow into his frame uh I think that the footwork as a driver is where I see the similarities uh I think that a lot of that looks quite similar I’m glad you brought up the pull-up game because you know Cody’s pull-up game is definitely still developing I would say uh you know didn’t take a ton of Pull-Up Jumpers in high school where he went to I think Perry down in uh year neck of the woods in Arizona um you know just a really really good upside bet I think is a wing that could be like a playmaker I think he passes really well uh I would like to see him be like a little bit more disruptive defensively but I think he can get there just with his length and with his physical tools so I I look at what Cody Williams has and I I ended up with him six on my board you mentioned the risset comparison uh earlier in the show I have them literally five and six so I don’t see an enormous difference between the two of those uh players they’re different types but uh I quite like J uh Cody Williams as well that’s I think a good indicator of this draft right there is Ree might end up going number one and and like yeah Cody’s not a perfect cor Larry they play a different style but they’re two lanky Wings right that you like I obviously u r is a much better shooter at this point uh but Cody shot well in catch and shoot situations it seemed like when I was looking into it today um all right we have three more quick players that we’re going to get through first probably the guy that I had the most fun watching today Devin Carter out of Providence I I really like thought it was fascinating he was seeing really aggressive coverages which I’m assuming had a lot to do with the roster that he was playing with uh but like it seemed like towards the tail end of the season his playmaking was improving after struggling with it a little a little bit to start the year but freaky athletic really good score just I I thought he I thought his motor really impressed me just in general he just was like he just seemed like a foxhole type of dude like a guard that I’d love to have competing alongside me so tell tell us about Devin Carter and where you hope to see him end up yeah kind of a like you know very different players but like a Derek white like kind of starter kit to me uh you know Devin I think is the best athlete in the class just kind of you I keep saying Point Blank but Point Blank uh he he is a 40inch vertical leap guy he is you know any combine tests you put him through he’s gonna win I think he literally won almost all the combine testing and he’s not one of those guys where it’s not functional it shows up all over his tape like he blocks one shot per game he gets into passing lanes and you know creates transition opportunities he had like 30 halfcourt dunks or something this year at 6’2 with like a 6’9 he is a serious serious leaper and then the big thing is like what is the handle right it’s a lot of straight line stuff a lot of like trying to change Pace how he started to account for that this year was he just started moving back and taking deeper threes right uh if teams were gonna collapse down on him whenever he shot okay I’m just gonna take 27 foot threes right uh that’s the big question with Devon you know his first two years in college one at South Carolina one at Providence which is where he ended up this year as well uh made like 27% from three this year got way better way up to the volume was it like 38% or so from three on seven three-point attempts per game a lot of Pull-Up shots a lot of contested shots uh the thing I love about Devon though is like I’ve seen him work out like I’ve I’ve talked to people about him everything that you see on tape in terms of why you love him being a foxhole guy that’s who he is off the court like incredible work ethic you know great competitor like all of the boxes get ticked there um I ended up with him at seven I’m probably the highest person in the public sphere on him um I’ve talked to teams that are higher on that him than that honestly so uh yeah I love Devin Carter yeah it’s it it kind of reminds me of the JJ Reddit conversation obviously it’s different from a coach but it’s like give me a super competitive dude who loves basketball and has the natural Talent like understanding of the game I just feel like they’re going to find a way to figure it out that’s the kind of the way I feel with Devin Carter it’s like super competitive loves the game Relentless worker in elite athletic tools like that just automatically to me makes you a super interesting player and and a guy that I’d be willing to take a bet on all right two more quick ones Dalton connect out of Tennessee you and I talked a lot about him during the the tournament this year um The JO Brethren uh the Jo Brethren I know yeah he this is Dalton’s like the much much better version of me he’s like what I would have been like if I was way better at basketball similar kind of to height like six 65 and a half without shoes on 610 wingspan kind of a Score first mentality really showed some highlevel shot making in the NCAA tournament what do you kind of see him looking like as an NBA player where do you like to see him end up Plug and Play shooter for sure really needs to improve on defense uh in terms of hitting like top 10 upside I would like to see him land in a scheme where like he’ll run off of all that like floppy stuff that Tennesse would run him off of run him off of all sort of uh like flares and try to get him shots early in offense uh to me that’s where he’ll hit like a real ceiling but you know regardless of where he goes he’s going to knock down shots and he’s going to be valuable I think so we absolutely have to per per our agreement as NBA media members discuss bronny James yeah and uh I I obviously have not watched him nearly as closely as you have so why don’t you just give us just your pure unadulterated unbiased perspective on what Brony James looks because important little disclaimer here like I don’t give a [ __ ] about the nepotism angle like he’s gonna get his opportunity he’s going to get several years to figure out whether or not he’s an NBA player so like everyone just needs to accept that that’s the reality he’s going to get his shot the question is if he gets two three years in an NB organ NBA organization to try to figure this out what NBA level tools does he have and is there a realistic shot for him to round out into an NBA player eventually so the idea behind bronny James is like a three andt guard not like a three in Wing he’s like six foot one and a half right so he is a guard the names that will come up are Gary Harris and Avery Bradley like those are the two most popular names I’ve heard from teams and if they like him or like anybody that’s like trying to figure out a point of comparison I don’t think people quite understand how good those guys were in high school and college both of those guys were five-star recruits coming out of high school Avery Bradley a top five kid in his class Gary Harris was like you know a top 20 kid in his class Gary Harris eventually went on I think he won Big 10 player of the year if he didn’t win big 10 player of the year he was first team all big 10 uh was like an outstanding outstanding player over multiple years at Michigan State uh top 20 pick was fantastic you know became this awesome three IND guard like you know who could guard even up to the three eventually Avery Bradley was a guy that averaged like 113 and three in his freshman year at Texas and or maybe like 115 and three and was by the end of his year at Texas one of like the great perimeter defenders in college basketball like he he was a monster at the point of attack which is why he ended up going in the top 20 bronny was a I thought a good Defender this year for a freshman I didn’t feel like he was particularly crazy disruptive anywhere I would say defense was his best attribute uh this season as a basketball player and we really wouldn’t be having this conversation if it wasn’t for LeBron uh being involved I kind of have gone back in terms of the production I’m gonna I’m gonna cut you off really quickly here just just H how much do you think let me play Devil’s Advocate yeah yeah yeah kid had heart surgery before the season does that doesn’t that have a substantial impact on what his USC film statistical production would look like I think it has an impact for sure my issue with bronny has kind of always been though that I’ve never seen him as like a halfcourt shot Creator at all uh I’ve always seen him he’s pretty good in transition I think he makes like pretty solid passing reads I think he’s smart and like understands the game at in an intuitive level in a way you would expect from LeBron’s child right uh just the genetics that kind of filter down whatever it is like I think he sees the game in the open court in a really positive way it it’s just really hard for me to Envision a player that averaged you know under five points per game as a freshman at six foot one being a draft prospect like I’ve kind of gone back through like back to like 2007 2008 like something like that uh I believe bronny James would be the first player drafted that is like under six foot2 and averaged under five points per game as a oneandone player it’s just an extremely uncommon degree of production and size to be entering the NBA draft now you and I just talked about how much we love Devin Carter and like we truly like adore that guy’s game I think that there are outcomes where if bronnie had stayed in college for a couple of years we could have been looking at bronnie as a similar player to Devin Carter because Devin Carter started South Carolina average like seven points per game eight points per game whatever first year uh moved up to Providence average 14 points a game you know and six rebounds or so and then this year was you know 20 points eight rebounds four assists like was one of the best players in the country you could have convinced me of that pathway but where I’m worried now about Brony is I don’t think he can play point guard in the G League uh unless they force it like they might force the issue like let’s just be honest about it so I’m worried about him getting reps being able to develop his ball handling and develop his halfcourt feel as a playmaker in the way that would allow him to get the most out of his game long term uh maybe he will maybe he won’t uh I I wish the best for the kid obviously like the kid has gone through a crazy number of difficult situations between the heart condition the pressure that’s on him as LeBron James’s kid uh the fact that he seeming is as well adjusted as he is and like everybody will kind of tell you he is quite well adjusted and you I’ve been in like media scrums with him before he seems like a really really nice dude uh and like a again like a mature Beyond his years in some way like teenager but like at some level like the game is the game right and you got to be able to prove it like to everyone talks about like Tony Allen right Tony Allen’s you know more Rish right do you remember how good Tony Allen was at Oklahoma State Jason oh my God Tony Allen won the Big 12 player of the year he won the Big 12 tournament MVP he led Oklahoma State to a 31 in4 record and led them to the final four and that guy like Boston like tried to make him a point guard for a minute or whatever but he eventually settled in as like one of the great defensive players in the league league and that’s the vision that people have for Brony and there’s just like no to me like I I just don’t know what the backing for that is based on what we’ve seen so far is maybe the fairest way to put it but maybe he can get there do you do you think quickly do you think do you think this was a strategic move on the family and clutch Sports part to capitalize on more of the Intrigue around him knowing like here’s the thing I would imagine he’d actually make more money going back to USC in nil deals so or at least close so like do you think they’re actually trying to avoid him putting more College tape out there that kind of dampens or or kind of like minimizes some of the Intrigue surrounding his potential may I think that everything about this has been strategic from clutch like Rich I’ve never heard an agent be more public about the way he’s handling a prospect than Rich Paul has been with bronnie James at this point yeah and to me all of that is very strategic like coming out and saying that he won’t take a two-way is trying to drive him down the board at the end of the day because if you’re you’re trying to stop other teams from taking him um you know coming out and saying that he’ll only work out certain places that’s trying to drive him to a specific situation so I think the whole thing has been trying to control the process drive him to specific situations you know let’s be honest like it seems like the Lakers I’m not going to sit here and say like for sure it’s the Lakers but the way Rich Paul is handling this process is exactly the way you would handle it if your goal was to get him to a specific destination uh without saying that that is 100% the goal and that I know that’s 100% the goal everything he has done has been acting like that is the goal at least let’s say so like and I I respect it like I understand the goal I understand everything about it uh in terms of like making more nil less nil if he just stayed in school um my the most popular college that I got for Brony because he did enter the transfer transfer portal so colleges you know kind of had a sense of what was going on the most popular name I’m not saying he would have gone there I’m just saying the most popular idea I got for bronny James was for him to go to Duane which is where Drew Joyce just got the head coaching job Drew Joyce played high school basketball with LeBron at St Vincent St Mary’s his dad um you know I believe Drew Joyce senior or the second I can’t remember if Drew coaching Duan now is the third or not um was a coach at St Vincent St Mary’s uh you know for LeBron and then Drew Joyce who just took the Duane job uh was the head coach or was an assistant coach under Keith damr who was LeBron’s head coach also at St Vince and St Mary’s early in his career so there were a lot of familial connections where if you’re going to send bronnie somewhere it would be very comfortable right uh that’s a place where you know that bronnie will be treated well where you know that he’ll get every opportunity to succeed and honestly like in the A10 level I think that’d be great for bronie to get a chance to like Thrive and get a chance to play on the ball and showcase what he’s capable of but you know ultimately they decided to go a different way and I respect it uh I just have concerns as to whether or not it was what was best for his development uh because the G league is a higher level of basketball at the end of the day it’s G to be very Sinker swim for him for sure and again my my last take on it again is like I I hate when people complain about the nepotism because guess what nepotism has existed in every single field for as long as I can possibly remember it’s not even the first time it’s happened in the NBA like big who cares he’s going to benefit from it he’s going to get a lot of opportunity as a result of it but guess what no good coach is going to put him on an NBA floor in a meaningful basketball game if he doesn’t earn his opportunity to be there so like it at a certain point like we talked we open the show with it like it this is the nature of the ruthlessness of professional sports he might have his opportunity to grow and to learn on the fringes of the NBA but like No One’s Gonna just hand him a starting role on an on a legitimate NBA team he’s going to have to earn it he’s just going to get an opportunity by virtue of this but that is all we have time for today Sam can you please just tell everybody how to find your draft gu how to find your other NBA draft content I think it was I it I can’t even tell you how much it helped me today in my crash course on this NBA draft to uh to just as a reference as I was going through film like I I it just was such an incredible product and I want you to shout it out to everybody so we can get some as many people over there as possible we have a testimonial go to the athletic where the draft guide is up it’s like 130,000 words on the 75 best prospects in this class according to me at least uh you’ll be able to read about their backgrounds a little bit get more of an understanding of where they come from understand their strengths their weaknesses and kind of where I stand on them as prospects go to the game theory YouTube channel I have interviewed like eight or nine or 10 of these kids where you’ll be able to watch film of me breaking down film with them right today I released Donovan kingan right Donovan was super fun he’s like this awesome kid really good personality tomorrow I’ll release Tristan da Silva who’s like one of the most mature and like super high IQ uh basketball players I’ve got in his to talk to uh as a player rising from college to the NBA so go to the game theory podcast with s YouTube channel you’ll see all that and look I’ll be going live for the draft so I’m excited to kind of run through it and talk through it all with you guys yeah I know you’re sick of me telling you thank you but thank you again for making the time uh to to to do this for us might as well that’s all Jason we might as well record it right because we’re gonna do it anyway over the phone so let’s just content space right exactly might as well might as well have it help our jobs a little bit all right guys that is all we have for today um tomorrow I am recording a video on the five biggest takeaways from this postseason which is also going to feature some of the things that Sam and I have talked about over the course of the last few weeks and then obviously we’ll be reacting to the draft on Thursday morning as always I sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting the show and we’ll see you tomorrow [Music] he

Jason Timpf is joined by Sam Vecenie of The Athletic to break down the biggest questions ahead of the 2024 NBA Draft. Are the Atlanta Hawks more likely to draft Zaccharie Risacher or Alex Sarr with the first overall pick? Later, the guys share their thoughts on the other top prospects including Reed Sheppard, Donovan Clingan, and Dalton Knecht. And of course…will Bronny James team up with LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers?

Timeline:
00:00 – Why Sam has NO Tier 1 or Tier 2 players
05:52 – Zaccharie Risacher vs. Alex Sarr for #1
17:00 – What will Wizards do with 2nd pick?
18:29 – What is Alex Sarr’s potential?
22:22 – Reed Sheppard
28:24 – Stephon Castle
34:08 – Spurs dream draft
35:04 – Where Donovan Clingan goes
38:55 – Cody Williams
41:30 – Devin Carter
44:35 – Dalton Knecht
45:35 – Is Bronny James a realistic NBA player?
56:48 – Check out Sam’s work!

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