James Ham discusses Kings selecting Devin Carter in NBA draft

James Ham discusses Kings selecting Devin Carter in NBA draft

20 well James ham Kyle Madson and Jesse Topia filling in for James ham who is On Assignment down in Cabo but nice enough to hop in today after the king selected Devin Carter number 13 overall uh James I’m not even going to ask you how vacation’s going because you were on yesterday we know it’s going well you look great you look refreshed uh your thoughts on the Devin Carter selection by the Kings yeah it’s you know Kyle I feel like we spent an entire segment or two on Devin Carter like two weeks ago talking about him as a potential uh Prospect because he like very few players in this draft sort of checked the boxes right um we know that Monty and West like players that are mature uh they are not in the sort of speculation business they are in the productivity business they like to know what players are capable of what they have done in the past and uh there were only like three or four players that could possibly be around the Kings range that sort of fit that bill and uh he’s one of them he’s a great defender um you know a guy who probably can step in on day one uh although there are some major major concerns uh like from what I’ve heard about his shoulder and where that’s going to go so we’re gonna have to wait and see once the king’s medical staff gets their hands on him what I’ve heard that he has a shoulder issue yeah Monty McNair was asked about it last night um but uh like just sources around the league were slightly more concerned about the shoulder issue than clearly the kings were um which again you’re drafting a 20 22 year old you’re hoping that he can play sooner rather than later uh but overall like look I think you guys know we we watch this draft there’s something about this particular draft where um I know I like I I lose you guys with movie references but the movie The Golden Child with Eddie Murphy there’s this scene where he’s got to take a glass water across a bunch of like little posts that are floating in the air and most of them fall like uh to a bottomless pit that’s what this draft felt like it felt like there were so many steps all around you that if you stepped in the wrong little post you just like the the low floor high ceiling player was all over this draft and this is a high floor decently high ceiling player that I think was one of the safest bets in the draft and I’m surprised he was there at number 13 me too they solid player but now there’s a bunch of guards on the Kings so like what do they do next about that yeah I mean that’s where the the true work begins um we saw this happen a couple years ago where the Kings walked into the season with like five centers and it’s like what exactly are you doing like I don’t I don’t understand like you cannot do this this does not work only one of them plays at a time and uh and that proved to be a problem like throughout the entire season this roster has been balanced for a couple of years and you feel it like the whole time they just don’t have enough forwards and even the forwards they do have they are not the right mix of forwards to go with the guards and the centers that they have so I’m intrigued to see what happens next uh Monty and Wes they got a lot to do they got a lot of work to do on this roster I think you know maybe the disappointment that everyone is feeling because number one um the Kings didn’t trade the pick for Kyle kozmo or Cam Johnson uh we can discuss those guys here in a minute but uh that’s the I think the first shock the second shock was that it was a guard and not Dalton connect uh which I think a lot of people were super excited about but I think Monty said something in his press conference last night that made so much sense like the playoffs was nothing but guys like this yep like you look at the reason why the Boston Celtics win the NB CH NBA championship is because they had guys like Derek white they had guys like Drew holiday they had guys like uh like Jaylen Brown like these guys are just they they play defense at such a high level they’re long they’re athletic they know what they’re doing they play Within the their roles and um and the Kings don’t have enough of those guys you know look how much Keon Ellis made an impact on this roster late in the season and and we’re talking about a two-way guy who just happens to be one of these types of guys and I’m intrigued to see how they blend all these guys together and and also what’s the finished product what is if at the end of the day when we get to you know July 15th or July 20th what does a roster in its entirety look like yes yeah that’s what we’ve been talking about a lot today and if this James ham of course typically the co-host on the show out on assignment in Cabo nice enough to join us from vacation um man I I just that’s it I really like Devin C on the Kings and I think if you put him in the right spots this year he just he will make winning plays for you I compared it earlier a little bit to and and not Apples to Apples for for a few very obvious reasons but it I think he can have the type of impact like if you go watch the the 2022 Wars and you watch Gary pyton II where he’s catching lobs and he’s getting offensive rebounds and he’s knocking down a big three and he’s playing great defense and just coming up with Hustle plays that um they they didn’t have a player making those type of plays so I think he can be a contributor to a winning team now which is again number one concern was just improve the roster and I think they did that but now how many times last year we did we talk about all this comes back to needing size athleticism on the wings and that to me is where the Devin Carter conversation is one thing and that’s great okay put him on the list he’s in the guard rotation now but that can’t be it like there has to be more to this offseason if you’re going to feel really really good about the direction the kings are going into next season oh no I I agree 100% um I I completely agree I I would say like when I’m looking at at Carter as a player um like they’re all kinds of comparisons we can make that are out there but like I think people should understand like he’s not a small guard like wish shoes he’s going to be almost 6’4 and you know he’s 6’2 and a quarter and like the wingspan is is huge I mean he’s a plus seven and a half inch wingspan from height to wingspan so those things like I went back and looked and you know while he’s not as heavy as Marcus smartt he’s he’s actually taller and has a same wingspan as Marcus Smart and so these are players like the the Josh Hart comparison Josh Hart is like an inch taller than him and and is a dominating rebounder at the NBA level I think the the rebounding number are incredible and that can really help the team um especially you know this team’s already a really good defensive rebounding team but they need somebody who will go and get boards no matter what it is um and then like look this is where the team has to make the moves this is this is what you get paid for uh the the number 13 pick in the NBA draft was a huge trade ship for the Kings but it’s gone now you know that that pick once a player’s name is attached to it the value Val of it changes completely and and so now it’s like okay how do you build this thing out and it’s going to be complicated it’s going to be super complicated yeah I guess that’s my next question like what are their assets looking like because they did just use the 13th pick like like can you like how far in the future can you trade first round picks is it Kevin herder their top guy now is Kevin herter their top guy now or yeah I would like I I think that uh that Kevin herder number one is going to be an asset that you look at that you know makes perfect sense to trade um although there is a possibility that Kevin hder can play the small forward position and I mean at 67 um I I’d even say that Kevin herder like lateral quickness and stuff is probably better at the small forward position that he is trying to defend ones and twos um but uh also his shooting but I’ll get back to the fact that I I don’t think you can walk into the season with with both Harrison Barnes and Kevin herder standing there on the roster still and and everybody scratching their head saying what’s going to happen I’d also like to be to be completely honest I I put Davon Mitchell in that same exact category like where does Davon Mitchell fit when you just went out and drafted a guard that kind of plays like him but is a much longer version a much better offensive version and you know just a bigger version and and younger under contract for longer um and so I would look at Davon Mitchell as a guy who has a very good chance of not being in Sacramento know if they find the right deal um but at the same time like this is why money and West make the big bucks you know they they’ve got their 2027 28 29 30 and 31 picks that they can trade uh they can they can’t trade consecutive years uh and if they trade the 27 it has to have the little asteris that it could relay in 28 not 27 um so they still have assets and I think they still have the assets to go out and get a guy like Kyle kosma they just can’t offer immediate help to the Washington Wizards but I don’t even think that Washington is looking at this as like the shortest term build they know that they’re in for it for a couple of years here and so I wouldn’t doubt that you can reignite whatever conversation or that the conversation just changes now and you’re looking at you know maybe one or two players and then on top of that you’re looking at a future first round pick for kusma my one concern is that with what happened on the the day before the draft with Mel Bridges did the price go up for everybody and then with Denny AA getting like the ridiculously silly deal that uh that Portland pulled off for Denny what is Portland OR I’m sorry what is what is Washington doing with that well I don’t know but they got two first round picks for him which to me was startling and and Malcolm Brogden which you can probably turn for at least two seconds but maybe even a late first expiring too I think yeah he’s on an expiring $22 million deal but um that’s a that’s a lot to give up for Denny AA and and like you can like him all you want but like if they’re saying hey look this is what we got for Denny uh we want something similar for kakma is like look that’s not happening that deal isn’t isn’t coming around nobody in the league was gonna make that deal outside of Portland so I think there is a little bit of confusion but a little bit of uh Market infl and then today we’re seeing a weird Trend where teams are trading former first round picks for second round picks in today’s draft so AJ Griffin just got traded but we saw it earlier too there was one other player that they got dealt oh um Minnesota trying to save money traded away um oh man Carter no no wle something it was Wendell it is a Wendell good name Wendell yeah yeah no I watched him play at the final four I hey I have a I have a question for you while we’re talking about teams making moves to save money did it feel to you like the Spurs gave away Rob dingham to keep some money open because they’re working on something bigger than that maybe yeah just the number eight pick for a top one protected pick swap in 2030 and uh 2031 first feels crazy to me Kyle that was one of the strangest moves I’ve ever seen and I you know what I think I think it does it it speaks to this draft it does it speaks to the lack of quality in this draft or the lack of assurances in this draft there’s so many pitfalls uh you know we talked about um who uh the gie kid um that you know Ron Ron Holland yesterday right Ron Holland jumped to number five and he’s a guy that Not only was slated around number 13 of most mocks but there was rumor earlier in the day that he was is falling on most draft boards yeah and there he goes at number five and everyone’s like whoa what just happened um that’s it just like really does speak volumes about the the instability of this particular draft wend Moore there we go thank you Le Mo shout out Ley yeah shout out Ley as well are they just bring like are they bringing in dein Carter to being be like the pack backup point guard you think like what what do you think his role is GNA be game one um you got all these you got Keon Ellis and we were wondering if he was gonna Malik monk what his role could be like what do you think um Carter’s role would be yeah yeah I think we’re we’re gonna first and foremost we’re going to have to see um just sort of where the shoulders at and how quickly he develops so that’s going to be one thing right um if he’s going to miss time in you know whether it’s a summer or in early in Camp and all that stuff like who knows like what his role would be that would that would slightly hamper like sort of his first year um but if I’m looking at it in all honesty I have him uh battling like in a three-way battle with Keon Ellis and Malik monk for the starting shooting guard spot opposite dearn Fox knowing that monk is gonna play like the most minutes at that position you know 28 to 30 minutes and I think for right now that might be your four guard set unless herder still around and then all of a sudden things get a little different I think the cool thing about Devin Carter is that he can play the one and the two he more of a one slash two than Keon Ellis is um but he’s also solid off the ball um he’s he’s a better scorer than Keon Ellis he’s a better scorer than um probably Davon at this point too and you’re seeing a guy who has a lot of skill uh and can do a lot of different things um very like like multi-tool player so I kind of like what he brings to the table and like the fact is he’s going to walk into the league and be a plus Defender and the potential to be the best defender you have and and that’s saying a lot because I think Keon Ellis is a very gifted Defender I think Daren Fox is very gifted Defender and if Davon Mitchell is stol on this roster he’s a very good Defender as well yep uh that’s James ham James get out of here go enjoy your vacation we appreciate you for stopping by and talking about the Kings hi James with us byting Hammer all right Sam appreciate you

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