Top 3 Thunder Draft Fits

Top 3 Thunder Draft Fits

welcome to down to dunk I’m your host Andrew selector part of the athletic podcast network with me as always on Mondays it’s my good friend Mel Barra Mel what’s up well it’s 10 days before the draft so we can um start a countown and and see what happens I mean it’s a it’s not a stressful draft I would say I mean it’s not hey what will happen it’s uh the first few minutes of the draft and you will know if you are like you have Chetan or maybe jayen II I don’t know so this year it’s um hey it’s fun there’s nobody I really like but hey it’s a draft so we should celebrate anyway hey and listen if you wanna I mean I I think that there’s a a high likelihood of Trades happening that night I think the Thunder could be involved in some stuff uh leading up to the draft maybe even on draft night uh I would they almost always are so I I would want to be around other Thunder fans so you should join us at the Jones assembly next Wednesday June 26 the Draft starts at 7 get there a little bit earlier get in place get some food hang out with some friends hang out with all the dunkers the Whole Fry po pod crew will be there it’s going to be very very fun that’s at the Jones assembly next Wednesday night for the first round only and then we will do a postgame pod from the Jones assembly there it won’t necessarily be live but we’ll be there so I’ve had people that just want to hang around and lurk and listen uh on site if you want to do that you can but it’s just the place you want to be the Jones assembly one it’s like the coolest place to go downtown so you’ll want to go there anyways uh it’s a great place to watch the draft and you get to be with all the dunkers so don’t watch the draft Alone come watch it with us at the Jones assembly next Wednesday night Mel I thought it would be fun to run through our top three Thunder prospects as guards wings and bigs from this class and so we can discuss this we can even give our official Monday top three where we we have a list between the two of us where we have to kind of agree a little bit the Jones assembly is Downtown Oklahoma States downtown DB so join us Downtown OKC uh it’s very fun just of the Arena um okay where do you want to start what position Mel would you like to start at um I think that the most controversial will be probably the guards so I would spare that for last okay we can start from the most boring one because the answer is sha all over the place we can start centers I feel like um we can start there I mean we we may argue if uh like we should include or not Zak but I think that that is the only thing that we need to discuss uh in the top three and I also like Andrew texted me um we should discuss the top three obtainable players so for the sake of this exercise I left as side alexar um zacharyi Ray because I think that those two will probably be top two I should also leave out uh Reed Shepard I think I’m not sure you can get him um maybe also topic is right there topic just he’s all over the place if you on draft night I don’t think anybody would be shocked honestly like if I think everybody just kind of puts SAR as a placeholder yeah but like if the Hawks don’t pick number one and they trade the pick and somebody else really loves ree or wiards yeah perhaps like if SAR fell I don’t think anybody would just be like oh my gosh I cannot believe they let Alexander SAR you know I think to me one I don’t know that the value is there to trade up in this draft like I don’t know that the value exists and I don’t think that it’s the right thing I think the Thunder are in The Sweet Spot we talked about The Sweet Spot before I think there’s going to be a lot of reaching there’s going to be a lot of busts at the top of this draft I think guys that we are sure about are are not going to work out and I think some of these guys that may have a little bit more obvious flaws but like or maybe like lower ceilings than people think kind of fall to this range and people make mistakes all the every single year teams make mistakes in this range it happens all the time in this range last season who fell Derrick Lively fell case Wallace fell Jordan Hawkins fell I like Hawkins a lot Keon keay George fell those guys fell into like this sweet spot range in 2022 who fell Jaylen or didn’t fall but he wasn’t selected until 12 Jaylen Williams nor did I think um Derek liely and and K they were they were mocked around there I think yeah not that they a fell is the wrong word they weren’t selected until later they weren’t considered to be better than some of these guys above them because of some case maybe his size with live maybe it’s just that he viewed as a traditional big um yeah for jdub some of it was age some of it was who he played against at Santa Clara you know there’s guys in this range that hit almost every single year it just happens now 2021 may be one of the exceptions where The Sweet Spot is not so sweet Davon Mitchell Z Williams James book Knight Josh Primo Chris Duarte wh that is like that is there’s a hot steaming crab right there but like a little bit further like guys that did fall shenon 16 and Trey Murphy 17 no Mur murf did not fa M murf is some Johnson did fell and that was someone where I I might have pushed him if I had the chance like we did we didn’t like him yeah we did not and we were extremely wrong um the reason why was we we said last Monday I think um yeah we talked about it Jack bable trades must have none uh and it’s uh those kind of prospect that are like what is he really for the league uh murf was just Mur was just the highest pain that prey inflicted me after dein Booker which was already gone but I still feel that he could have maybe got in there somehow these two are like bad moments d like and in 2020 Vel tyes Alberton 1112 yeah you know like over guys like abdia and Obi toppen and Killian Hayes and aong Wu and a cororo and Pat Williams you know people make mistakes in that like five to nine range every single year look at look at 19 19 is is also one of those where it’s jerck Culver six Kobe white at seven is looking a lot better jerck hulver I know Jackson Hayes at eight Jackson Hayes e rely position though yeah yeah except for he didn’t pass yeah you know he just didn’t pass any it test as well but right didn’t pass the it test either ruy hachimura cam reddish and then it’s cam Johnson PJ Washington Tyler hero you know it’s people make mistakes all the time in that in the range that people are talking about like oh she trade up to this range like I don’t know it’s just a kind of a dangerous range of the draft even last year it’s like maybe these guys end up being good like Taylor Hendricks jarus Walker Balu laal you know Anthony black like I there’s a lot of those several of those guys that I do like but you know like jarus Walker and Taylor Hendricks just didn’t play last year that doesn’t mean anything for their career Anthony black didn’t play on the stretch either you know I mean that Hendrick didn’t play it’s kind of bothersome to me because Indiana was trying to maybe competing um they tried to compete and and you could tell okay we want to get Pascal sakam I think it’s it’s okay with Utah is I mean why waiting what are you really doing there like it’s not fully clear to me yeah totally so okay so let’s talk about the bigs that you like who’s who’s in your top who’s in your top three for the big men that you would like to take um I mean I don’t think that kingan and SAR are really available um I do think that kingan may fit okay with OK see because of the rim protection SL Rim running and maybe passing chops I think that he would be very hard to fit like like Ed um I’m not sure if I I would not trade up for for neither of those guys so in some sense value wise those two guys SAR and and kingan are not in my top list because it would require trading up and I think that in this evaluation you really should factor in hey if you want this guy you need to either trade up or trade down and I would not trade up for an Nether um I think that at the top says probably home uh because he he can maybe should pass and dribble uh I’m I’m not entirely sold on him being a legit three-point threat from the beginning he has all the tools to get that so I think that he should probably be number one uh number two is a choice between flip and and and and Ed for me I don’t know flip is way more versatile uh for what OKC wants to do um I I don’t like the fact that I watched an entire game in order to prepare on uh Bob carington um of um why I’m blinking on the on the team of Bob kington um P pit sorry uh pet against stuk and I think that I like him way more as a nor ball guy than a guy that you run your offense through flip I’m talking about because it’s a it’s a role that I don’t want anybody but Chad to play for KC defense is just fine so I think that he can be someone who can space the court for you um maybe maybe you can sometimes use him as a highp post guy so I think it’s it’s him and then Edy um I really think that he is just uh hey let’s try if he’s a monster if he can be a monster in the league and he can give you like 18 minutes I don’t think that he can play like 35 in the league for the next five years to especially not for the Thunder especially not for the Thunder but I think that if in those I mean I really see Ed as a hartenstein uh Zubat or old valunas kind of proposition a guy that you can buy extremely low because I think that he will be there at 12 and if you play your cards very well maybe giving you like getting some Intel you may be able to get an asset on top of that um I really think that he can give you that byow uh try out that if he works he can be way more valuable you can have you can have him for cheap for 10 years instead of paying Haren Stein 25 millions and he can be decently ready from the beginning he doesn’t have to give you an extremely high level production I think that defensively can be your drop big especially if you have point of attack Defenders like K and Dort so um in some sense I think that he’s um a very short Min guy in year one whereas the other two are maybe more versatile prospects that you can play way more but if this guy hits I think that he can be better than any Center in this class which is why I think he’s still number three but not like it’s not far back yeah um I think I have Holmes number one okay I have I have flip number two I like the vers I think the word you said was versatility with with both those guys and that’s that’s that would be the reason yeah like just kind of believe in their versatility and I still just really kind of question whether you would use a lottery pick to draft a backup bck Pi you need to trade back that is the proposition yeah I would not the number 12 pick either and the truth is like you’re going to use the 12th pick for a backup period MH you know know and so like maybe it doesn’t matter maybe we reached the point where it just doesn’t matter like what the position is I just know that you can typically get backup bigs for just a lot cheaper yeah than you can most any position uh and so I just wonder if that’s what you’d want to do and with both those guys they have the versatility to where especially Holmes like if Holmes became like a Nas Reed kind of guy where it’s like oh my gosh like Nas right now I think there are a lot of teams that be like yeah we could start him you know there’s a lot of teams that would start Nas um I think that Holmes could end up being one of those guys if the shot translates you know that’s the thing that has to translate the most the defensive stuff I think he’s versatile enough as a Defender to kind of fit in he’s not great at anything like he’s not going to be he’s certainly a backup big man when it comes to the defense stuff where he’s gonna hold just fine like he’s not like a downgrade on Jay will you know like I think I don’t think so I think he’s actually an upgrade over Jay will at this point defensively because he can protect the rim a little bit better um and so everything else like there’s he’s got he’s a good enough passer he’s a good enough ball handler he’s a good enough shooter he’s not huge which is part of why I think that he is versatile is because he’s not very big um so there are concerns there in that like you play him against a real seven-footer like what does that look like you know because you measur 68 you know he’s so he’s a little bit on the small end with flip like I’ve just been a flip fan since I’ve watched him earlier this season I just think the shoot pass dribble stuff from him is going to be valuable somewhere I just think that he’s going to be a career backup big man like maybe and he may not have a very high ceiling I don’t think that he has a super high ceiling but what if he’s like a cross between like Mason plumbley and Kelly oin you know where he can just like do like a little bit of everything what a bad what a bad Fusion of two players both those guys have just like hung around the league for so long yeah and are just like pros I think flip is going to be just a a long-term Pro I don’t know that he’s going to like stick on some where he’s going to stay forever you know but I think that he’s going to be a pro that’s going to bounce around the league that’s going to help people as a backup big I’ll probably at some point in his career if he’s like the starter for some team I would not be surprised but he’s gonna be like the fifth starter on a team you know yeah I think he is a backup big man he has a he has flaws he’s like not the greatest finisher in the world he’s not the greatest defender in the world he’s really not the greatest anything in the world but he can do a little bit of everything and and so he’s just one of those guys where it’s like hey you want to you want somebody that you think can get on the court like I think he can get on the court and I bumped him down from Holmes because I think Holmes just has a higher ceiling than that like I think Holmes has the ability to become like a legit score in the NBA where Flip Flip it’s the path is just a lot harder for him and Trust the shot of holes a little bit better even mean if uh it’s a shot that is improving a lot from year one and two to year three um but nevertheless I mean the free throws are better the percentage overall are better so I think that we have to account for that somehow I think they will be both there at 12 yeah all three guys will be there and I don’t think there is anybody else like really worth discussing yeah like Tyler Smith of the g-league um like he’s a little bit interesting in a really likes him I’m not a huge fan I think he’s kind of a tweener in all the wrong ways MH um I mean I guess like if the Thunder traded up to two and and SAR was there you know yeah offensively I question s more than probably anybody else maybe except for Holland he honestly he you could like make the argument that he was like one of the least productive players you know of he’s like bottom five most you know productive players in like the top 30 like he just wasn’t super productive some of that was like he just didn’t play a lot of minutes for Perth a lot be coming off the bench for Perth and so it’s just like a lot mean it’s a huge Buy on potential for him because he’s like a he’s a 7 foot one player that has a ton of Versatility like the fluidity is there he he plays on the perimeter a lot but he is a project like let’s make no mistake like he is a project and that’s why it’s such a weird spot for the Hawks to be like if SAR is your guy like are they develop are they like gonna develop Alex SAR like maybe that maybe they are but man it’s just a tough spot to be and that’s why I question a little bit his fit in OKC it’s just like yeah maybe maybe they the potential of him and Chad playing next to each other it it would take a very uh unique player for them to bite on like another seven-footer to play next to um to chat and I think it would probably be a player like this that has like perimeter oriented skills that you think can defend both big positions and you know that would make you very very unique as a team so like have two s Footers that are kind of doing similar things Chad is obviously like much much better yeah hundreds of thousands of miles ahead of where SAR is as a player you know um but if you think that SAR can be something close to what people believe he can where he’s like shooting threes and protecting the rim and doing a little bit of everything like sure but it’s to me it’s a pretty big leap of faith to get and will cost too much for a player that will likely be productive in four years yeah I mean I don’t know if you listen on to the athletic EMB that I did with Fred um and with Bryce Simon yeah where we talked about like different trades where Fred Fred is the one who brought up I I think that it’s kind of wild to think that this could actually happen but Fred brought up the idea of trading Josh giddy to the Wizards for number two and like just feel like Josh when it comes to like what his trade value is is so all over the place that it’s just hard to like even get a grip on what teams think I think if it was number like you’d have to we eventually got to the place where you’d have to attach 12 to Giddy and some but you probably have to attach another first rounder where it’s like absolutely 12 a future first that has high potential and giddy for number two yeah and then like if honestly if I’m the Wizards I bite on that like so fast because what you’re like you’re getting like are I think that you might want the potential of what some of these guys could be but like giddy showed in the year prior whenever he had the ball in his hands a lot more that he could be a guy that could have the ball a lot and that team was like a that was a 40 win team you know he had a really nice season and then as JB Rose giddy’s position on the team just became really difficult yeah that’s no fault of anybody’s that just is the situation that everybody found themselves in and now Josh had to take a lesser role which is he’s not he’s just not super well suited for it it’s just it’s kind of an unfair position for him to be in honestly and you know now he find like they find his trade his trade value is prob is much lower than what was being proposed on that podcast probably but it’s probably higher than what Vini and Bryce talked about with just swapping 26 and a future second for him you know no that that seems low I think I think that if the Wizards and in OKC talk about someone to trade for giddy it’s probably trade centered on gidy and maybe um a swap to get Advia because Danny is a nice player Danny was also okay being paid very little money and he was play playing okay too well for a horrible team so I don’t think that the value of Adia is a first home pick necessarily um not a good one now I don’t know between the two is who between the two has the more value because yes Danny fits on most teams I do think that gidy can be great on one team that has players to surround him of a certain way I think that for example for the Spurs if they draft I don’t know um rash and suddenly R is good and you have uh WB rash Vel um Kellen Johnson even and you put gidy there like surrounded with defense and shooting that guy can cook he can average 168 and eight and and you’re there thinking oh oh we left like we did leave that guy uh on the market he he can’t be that guy forc I think he can easily be that guy with wmi like easily I have I have no doubt in my mind that he can be really good at point of attack uh like not point of attack defense like being the leader at the point of attack like playing PE and roll with a guy that that can be a PE and pop guy or a lob guy in he can do crazy stuff with that kind of roster he just needs to be the engine he just needs to be the guy who takes the first screen then relocates attacks uh with the floor completely spaced out and I’m sorry you you cannot convince two guys that are more efficient than him in Shay and jdub being okay yukook and they did that yeah the beginning of the of the in the second half they were feeding him at the beginning of games so they they even try that it’s just not going to be good for him good enough where it’s okay to to have a subpar Defender and a subpar shooter um closing game for the Thunder I think that there are easier way to maximize your roster which which is why I think I mean that the value of gidy and Advia may be the same for many teams yeah yeah I I I don’t know how teams value him I know that there are I know that there are teams that do I know that there are teams that would trade for Josh I don’t know what they would give up I don’t know what it is I don’t know what the I don’t know what the value is um but I’m pretty confident that it’s not the I don’t think the Thunder will be walking away with the second pick in the draft unless they’re willing to just throw a lot in and maybe they just believe in one of these guys at the top like hey this the missing piece maybe it’s buellis or S talk about wings then talk about wings so our top three for the Monday pod for the for the centers I think that we had the same so it’s fine HS yeah flip yeah I’ll and Shaq ity I’ll reluctantly put Shaq e on on our list great he everyone everybody need to chat uh give me some love to convince Andrew to put sha with number three that is and by the way since we are doing like this uh small break between Center and wings I’m sorry with our friend Alex wojack um I quit soccer a long time ago I may watch game Euro games there was this European Championship competition just because it’s it’s soccer and it’s Italy so we really need to watch it but I have no predictions uh no assumptions so I I just watch maybe some of the games just like that justy would so no expectations Italy is quite bad though I watch the game and it’s um no no not their time no uh shout out to Jonathan mobo who will be like a small ball Center in the league who I just I don’t know how it works but I’m very interested to see somebody try to make it work um okay let’s go to Wings in this class players that I have in consideration I do have Maus buellis MH in this group I do have t Saloon in this group do have Tristan DeSilva in this group and I have his teammate Cody Williams in this group um I think that I don’t have um Saloon I might have the Silva I would love to put Ron Holland there I just think that Ron Holland is a player that I I cannot evaluate properly I always been wrong on this kind of player I hated uh Anthony Edwards pick for the walls I was very vocal about that saying that he was not a good shooter um not an efficient player and probably a hotthead um same with uh jayen Brown I mean what is this guy can he really shoot the basketball he he couldn’t um but those were athletic freaks um with uh such a Competitive Edge and they made it work so I think that D Holland is um not an under pick but if he works out he can be exactly what they need going forward because he’s a super duper athletic six S8 whatever um like Defender can play right away he will be extremely bad on offense extremely bad but he can be a guy that um just plays because he’s he’s a energetic player so and he’s not like he’s scoring the basketball quite a lot yeah he he I don’t know I understand that he that he goes very far from what pry has been Target for the past few years but I wonder if you if you can somehow get the best of him what kind of scening he can give you over the next five years yeah he is such a rocket yes he he’s like everything the Rockets have like been doing in their rebuild like from the beginning where he’s just this crazy athlete that can I mean the dude can just fly he throws down some like really fun dunks in transition um it’s so God I hatte so much that he went to the ignite I wish that he just like went like just like go play USC so that he could be your new Dort I just want him to play like just play for go play for like some winning program please like go play for some college program it’s just so hard to know because that ignite team just like lost every game and like there was it was like some of the most meaningless basketball all year yeah you know like I just I just don’t even know what to think about it like I would love to see him in just a context that makes sense to be honest like the g- league is kind of hard in it in it in itself to evaluate but man the ignite was just so bad this year that I just don’t even know what to say and like yeah Holland has like if you’re just like stacking up like raw talent MH like you could make the case for him at number one yeah you know like if Ron Holland was the best player in this class like that would not super surprise me yeah you know if he was to foray the season he would probably be number one just saying yeah he’s like he has this uh very neat uh leg injury which will not harm me in the future like whatsoever yeah uh it’s just a sharp break so it will fix itself perfectly but he can’t play he will be number one um or or if he went and played in Australia or something oh no I mean I I’m not a fan of like that League it’s really hard to evaluate because like coaches will just not have a ey for development but look at SAR though yeah like this this is this is uh telling you how bad this draft is I think I know that’s also the wishful thinking like yeah but he was playing like against grown-ups gidy was extremely productive yeah he was and he’s not like a for sure NBA starter today yeah I know I mean name the guys who came from the G League from the MBL that were not productive not the greatest like it’s Clint Ben it’s us it’s um was the name of the player that we were so afraid that pry would draft last year um I don’t remember another french guy who was it last year the oh oh yeah guy went in the second round right then there was Terence Ferguson there was um ruper exactly there is another guy um oh was thought to be better than Melo than lamelo um oh wow I’m bad with names today um and over the past two years I’m started getting old and forgetting about every name but anyway the track SAR played for the OT you know and like oh right you know right and then like went and then like went to Perth yeah and I don’t I don’t know like his his basketball career is so intriguing but like back to the point like if Ron Holland played for almost anybody besides this G League ignite team and for whatever like for for guys like Modis Bellis like it didn’t see hasn’t seemed to affected their stock quite as much as it has Ron um he has like a nicer game nicer like well-rounded game oh it’s like yeah as a role player like you could just see how he fits a little bit better but like Ron Holland almost averaged three assists a game but a lot of that is like you said the ball his hands like all the time you know he’s 27 and three and almost a block per game and like crazy athlete like it’s just it is a little bit wild to me that he’s not considered to be a little bit higher you know which should tell us something maybe yeah but I still like the I mean in total honesty I don’t think there is anybody who could help the thunder right away in a meaningful way there are maybe guys have you watched have you watched Dylan Jones um not yet not that I’m like saying like he’s gonna come in yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah he’s old his game is so freaking fun though he’s like this 65 thick daddy senior from Weber State dude can like freaking pass and he can rebound and he can score but it’s like not like not like the and like you watch him and you’re like I just don’t know that this is an NBA level athlete you know like those that’s the thing that kind of scares you about him the most but like I just love watching that guy play basketball like I don’t know if he can defend like I don’t know if he’s gonna make it in the league but and he’s likey 2.0 he’s like I think he’s a better shooter than Rody was he was 32% better score like he went to the free throw line like seven times per game at 85% yeah you know he almost shot 49% from the field like there’s there’s some stuff to like about him where like Rody like maybe he’s just a better player than Rody was like he’s a better passer he’s just like a guy that like if Dylan Jones made it in the league I would not be shocked either like physically he’s just massive and he’s super duper strong um yeah like I think he could be a guy that just kind of like popped up on a team like man Dylan Jones is you know playing for the Knicks or like he’s playing for he’s starting Berling sorry um Portland now like I don’t know he’s just he’s just fun and like crazy crazy productive like probably like one of the most productive players that’s goingon to get drafted in the second round yeah back to the ready to help I think that Tristan the Silva is the only one who can really get minutes on see constantly um I just wonder about the long term like do you really want to to pay a like a 12 bck for a guy that is Tre L where you probably pay Trey LS right now like you can probably pry him away um and give him some money and he’ll be okay for you he’ll be probably much much better in year one um Saloon I I don’t know uh to me I I didn’t watch a ton of him but the the thing that I that I looked at he he looks like a guy that is energetic enough that he wants it it’s just I mean can he really stay on the court I think Ron Holland has a different kind of production so I think he can be on the court for for guys like Salon um Salon whatever uh it’s um it’s a difficult proposition to to find minutes MH yeah is it is really really tough um to yeah especially developmental minutes yeah that’s where I have a hard time with Saloon like similar to like almost like repair I was like oh my gosh repair is so far away you know yeah like Saloon maybe be able to make it just because he’s just a crazy energetic like high high motor kind of guy where it’s like we can play him off the bench for 20 minutes or not 20 minutes 12 minutes because he’s gonna go in he’s gonna rebound like a maniac and he’s gonna yeah um you know I I I think there’s a there’s a chance that he can just be a like a guy that comes off the bench but to develop him into like a starter is really hard I mean look look at us like it’s really tough like us has all the skills he’s got height he’s got length he can handle he can do so many things but like the when it came down to it at the end of the season they couldn’t find the minutes for him yeah and he started off with a good stretch the first 10 games he was not bad at all um it was just then probably Jay will being uh a little bit off to start the season yeah and when he just he wasn’t playing bad basketball or anything it’s just uh mean a little bit of a lag of aggressiveness and and strength um whereas I’m I’m more than fine saying that I would forgo this for just the upside that uh Cody Williams has because Cody is the thing that I like a lot and it will be the same thing for me talking about guards is Cody Williams is extremely efficient extremely efficient um yes you can question it the three-point shot but like those fingertips you can trust he is a guy with touch I think that he needs to be stronger that he will probably need to play guard minutes for ok probably most likely he will not be able to guard a guy like Jaylen brown or or strong Wings yeah he’s like not a like I think people see his height and think about him as like oh he can be like play at the four like it’s going to be before he can play the four I would say even the three he can stay on a guy like Klay Thompson probably yes uh against a physical guy not sure that he can yeah he can got like twos ENT trees right now but I’m fine because that efficient that efficiency at 68 I mean you want to just buy and see yeah and and it makes sense I know that he wasn’t exciting at Colorado I know that um if he doesn’t play then what happens with uh with JB like will it be a problem for Mark Daniel I have no idea um I have a brother um uh I had no no issues with guys telling me hey your brother is not working hard I mean sure just tell him to work hard uh it is his life his professional life so um but deep down it can be an issue um going forward I would still take my chances because if you get a 68 efficient Wing that may be just even serviceable defensively it doesn’t have to be great it just has to be efficient and being just normal good defensively to be an extremely helpful player yeah I I’m I’m a fan of him I I like his I think the some of the Intel is really good on him too like as far as like like his character and stuff which is not surprising like he he and JB came from the same family a military family a te a family that like you can tell that they have their values in the right place and so I would be I would be all for drafting him if he falls to 12 like yeah I think that it makes a lot of sense because he can theoretically do the things that Thunder players do shoot pass dribble all it’s gonna he’s a little bit of a project but if he can be a project while making threes and you know defending wings and he can just be a guy that gets minutes here there you know similar similar minute type to like uh and he would have to like outperform some of these guys too like the way that wigs is like in the lineup out of the lineup you know he’d probably be in the G League at at points next year um but he’s somebody that could grow and like he’s a swing for sure like I think that he he’s a guy that I think could be a role player a little bit next year and then be a swing as far as a prospect that could make a jump he’s still young to me I probably have him at the top of my list just because I believe in the like the outside shooting more than I do mest buellis is um MOS has a good shot though it’s just situational that he didn’t go in it’s almost like um a guy that we will discuss in two minutes Bob kentin yeah I think that true the shot looks so natural for Matas uh the question is would you rather have would you rather trade up for either um yeah or Holland or just draft Cody with the number 12 I think I would just rather draft Cody yeah depending on the price if it’s uh like a bad first to to to grab Matas I would probably do that for Holland I would not spend a pick I would just be torn between him and and Williams if they are both there and maybe I would pick Williams anyway say that balis and um and Williams are gone I may think about Holland quite hard before getting into the bigs for example yeah I agree I would rather draft a guard or a wing than a big yeah because I just those guys are so much harder to get via free agency and Via trade yeah like if you if you just like wanted to get like a backup big man I just have to pay bit I mean you could give up probably just a few second round picks and go go get like Clint capella from the Hawks if like oh I don’t think they you have to pay for that I think that that the Hawks will likely give you a second rounder you yeah you may get a second rounder just to take him into your space and then it’s like yeah well great now we have a backup big that is doesn’t feed anything that the Thunder wants in a everybody everybody’s crying for some some different kind of big like you can go get those guys you know so capella will probably be okay for 10 minutes even in a playoff setting you just have to set a screen he can block shots he can yeah down like he’s still fine like it’d be fine it’d be fine and you just need fine you just need not to be minus 300,000 when Chad is not just need I mean in order to beat Dallas by quite a lot you just need to be decently bad yeah yeah yeah yeah and I just I think you can find that and I would rather have the upside of a wing or a guard than like I like Holmes and I like flip and you like shakiti and but you put him third anyway so you kind to because I don’t want to be too mean um but like I like those guys I just don’t like are we are they for sure making a meaningful difference in the next two years no before the Thunder no like it just it just like like I’m I’m maybe a little bit closer I’m I’m in I’m like maybe maybe they could is kind of where I’m at I don’t think the answer is absolutely no like they could be any rookie can like we had I was not convinced that KAS could jump into the rotation and be a good player so yeah yeah so what’s your rank final rank I think and for this reason alone I probably have Cody number one because you don’t I don’t think that you’ll have to trade up for him perhaps you would but I don’t think that you have to trade up for him I balus number two because I think you would have to trade up for him yeah if it’s just like in a vacuum I probably have balus at the time yeah I agree but I have Cody above him three I have Tristan de Silva just because I think he’s really going to shoot it and I think he knows how to move the ball well that’s my top three and then I you kind of talked me into just like the upside of Ron Holland even though I just don’t know that I believe in him as like a thundery guy but it’s just like okay so for me it’s it’s like if they don’t draft him we will never know yeah know for at least a couple of years so the thing about Ron is like when we talk about throwing something different onto the Thunder people are always talking about like throwing a different kind like a like a traditional big onto the Thunder like what if it is like a crazy athletic Wing like what is that what is what does that different look like you know what I mean because like they don’t really have that they don’t have like the six s68 crazy athletic wing and I mean if you go back I know that they draft him they did not draft him in they just acquired him as a two-way but L Dort is getting a lot of minutes and Lou Dort yeah I do remember scouting ludor it was an experience it was quite the experience he was insane in on defense but he was he was all over the place on offense like so many mistakes up until like two years ago was like that and but the like it he got what he needed when it came to development and time to like work out his game these guys do not are not going to get that benefit yeah but lud Dort was in a role when he came into the league in year one he was able to perform into a role yeah so I don’t think that they you necessarily need to spread your wings all the time yeah I mean Isaiah Joe was never able to spread his wings since he was drafted he started started from hey let’s start small being efficient in a small role and then expand later that is that can also be a way to grow it’s not necessarily that you have to it’s not necessary that you have to spread the wings immediately and then be churned because basley I think that the churn version of basley was much much better than the the hey spread your wings take El advised jumpers it was just hey take twees block shots that’s it was much but he could have gone and have a career if he just stuck to that and perfect that instead of hey I’m I’m a good pullup jumper no you’re not I’m a good driver no you are a decent three-point shooter and a decent shot blocker yeah someone in the chat mentions no Saloon I just think it’s gonna be hard like he he’s a he’s a total project and like maybe they want another project to me it’s just like do does your does can the coaching staff take on another project I think is like a really significant question and maybe the answer is yes like the answer could be yes but like we’re talking about like his shooting like in 237 three-point attempts this past year and like every game and every League he played in like he saw shot 31% like he’s not some like great shooter you know 74% from the free throw line like this is not like some great shooter and his the a I don’t know what to do with his athletic testing but it was like bad some of these guys like some of the the Euro Athletics testing it was really just like shockingly bad for some of these dudes where I’m just like with he and Reay it’s just like oh my gosh like what do you what do you do with it like some of the measurements like for for topic was like not good I I don’t know I don’t know what to do with it like it it’s kind of it continues to muddy up like what is like a pretty murky draft to begin with where it’s like did you see like Reet is like one of the worst athletic tested Wings in like last like 20 years yeah smokes and saloon just the athletic testing is is bad and you’re going to take a swing on an 18-year-old that is a project like give me somebody who’s a better athlete than that you know and and also like we have there’s a 610 project on the team already yeah he is already there and they have invested a lot in him yeah but it’s also it’s also like povi like it’s probably hey bye if it’s not this year it’s byy time and and no we will not have Doon connect here do connect here um neither me or Andrew are like fans of all guys to take a lot of shots in order to be effective it’s it’s it’s it’s not it’s just not just you have to take off I mean and maybe he’d be great in it but like the role he was at at Tennessee he had like a third over 30% usage rate yeah me I may and maybe he’ll be awesome as a guy who plays off ball and whatnot but the defense scares me I mean he’s a he’s a a bench Wing that is like like if you if you want to move on from Isaiah Joe and you’re just like yeah we just can’t pay Isaiah Joe 20 million or whatever it is going to take to to keep him here like maybe you bring in Connect but I I’d rather bring in Jared McCain who’s like three years younger yeah you know ra guards then let’s talk guards let’s talk guards so my top three wait what was our top what Cody Matas D Silva r with Ron Holland mixed in yeah perfect well if you can mix up if you can really Mi like uh dragon ball way uh Fusion the two guys I think that you have the best player God the Silva and Ron Holland as Fusion player yes boy that’d be the that’s easily the number one pick yeah yeah yeah holy smokes I would love that God that would be great it would be yes that’s a great player I I the the the Silva like he definitely has like a lower ceiling higher like but I think he’s gonna be a guy that like plays in the league the floor is the ceiling this is exactly that kind of player yeah you’re you’re living in a a pretty small apartment there exactly you can probably lie down yeah you can lie down you can you can like scooch into it and just like lay back you’re hitting your head a lot but you know it’s a place to live it is um all right um I there’s cards in this class man there’s some guards that I like in this class they’re just all short I would trade I would trade like probably three for some pick to get Reed Shepard this is where I thought I thought at the beginning well maybe maybe three is a lot uh three is a lot two plus the bad one like 12 uh a good one and oh I mean I just I just love shooters I just love shooters I get it I get it he this is he can really shoot it like really shoot it he’s not Canard I’m sorry if Canard was a player that uh he’s shorter than he’s shorter but the shot is different I mean Luke Canard in college was not a 30 like a 52% shooter on high volume this guy can really mold defenses by just shooting yeah I know that he a horrible trade great babe I know uh but I am at the point where I really love shooting and I think that if you have a guy that can hit like 45% of his threes which seems like down like downgrading is shooting right now now and a guy that can be at the point of attack just um like a little bit better than Pritchard I think that that guy can play in the playoffs and be good and be helpful now it’s rich I know it’s very rich to pay 12 and another pick and maybe another one to get rich Shepard um I just think that that shooting can really solve any issue that OKC has um because whenever OKC was shooting 38 and more from three I don’t know how many how many games they lost in in the entire season and if you can swap like a guy that is not a shooter for a guy that is a real shooter you will get more wins which is the goal of basketball so if he fell to five let’s say he fell to five not possible it’s totally possible well I don’t think I don’t I I don’t see Houston really passing on him to be honest some it’s the it’s their Avenue to play a man Thompson sure well okay I may start rooting for Houston if if he goes there oh shut up no don’t say that don’t I have I have a houon t-shirt uh um because I went once and I think I can I can tell the story now I was out there buying tickets and there was a friend of a friend says Oh no you’re not buying tickets you will seat into my seat um said okay um I’ll leave you the seat which is a great seat like seventh row or or something like that like was pretty close then when he gave me the tickets he said one Ru I said okay you can’t root for the Thunder while you’re there said come on no dress up you will be on a red shirt for the entire game I’ll see if you don’t do like that and so I have this Rocket shirt so this is maybe why uh like I have this um I don’t know weird relationship with the Rockets maybe maybe deep down I feel for them a bit how do you feel about how how bad Kentucky was in the tournament yeah that is a one game it is it’s pretty meaningful game it is a meaningful game um sometimes starting how do you feel about him not starting it was such a weird year Kentucky had such a weird year yeah I mean Devin Booker was not starting it’s true and he didn’t have like a great tournament I know it took Shay also didn’t start to to begin the year either you know there’s some there there’s some high Jinx that goes on in Kentucky or at least there was maybe maybe not as much going forward just um it’s it’s just this guy can really shoot the basketball he can really shoot it he can really shoot it 12 four and four and 2.5 steals I know that the steals are are noisy and I know that he will not be a high steel guy because he’s is kind of McConnell but McConnell is like a guy who plays in can you imagine TJ McCollin M MC what what am I saying McConnell um shooting 45% from three that guy would be paid so much yeah he’ be amazing yeah he’d be great this is the Prototype okay so would you give up Josh giddy number 12 and two future first that seems a little bit rich or number two I said you said it was like tripix was already too rich I’m just asking you a question I’m just that’s that’s the good pick for giddy I mean like it’s 12 another pick and giddy for 12 another pick for giddy for number two to take Reed Shepard so you’re willing to to trade Josh giddy the 12th pick who could be Cody Williams or you know whoever and now I’m with my idea of McConnell shooting 45% from three and I think it’s a great proposition okay I I like Reed Shepard too I just I guess I’m not as sold I just think like the the margin for a 63 not crazy athletic guard to like really make it is like it’s it’s a slim margin I’m not saying he can’t do it I just think like the decks continue to be stacked against you you know it’s it’s a reason why like the Thunder like to take guys that have like size like size for position and doesn’t have it um length ant doesn’t have it come on do the ant part I know he doesn’t have it when you take those whenever you have those kind of guys you can overcome other aspects of the game because of them that’s really have a 42 Max vert I’ve I’ve heard people say that he cheated the max vert I think he did like this is not like doesn’t match the eye test no I mean if he has if he has that athle athleticism he’ never used it yeah exactly so I yeah I’m not buying that I’m not buying that I like Reed Shepard the shooting is amazing but the size the size really bothers me yeah gidy plus two first I think you can get like a real NBA player which is probably better than drafting Reed Shepard yeah probably yeah yeah yeah what if it’s what if it’s to draft Stefan Castle though I’m not this is our first fight I mean I’m not a castle guy yeah if it it’s I just don’t buy the shooting like I didn’t buy the Anthony black shooting yeah couldn’t get him boarded it’s better than Anthony black he has like a history of like being a better shooter than this sure he’s not a me Anthony black is like he’s he’s just he’s just not a shooter like he’s just not yeah and I mean Castle’s form just doesn’t look as bad as as blacks did either you know yeah I know but 27% is still 27% I know it’s bad and it’s low volume yeah I can get buy one of the two like if it’s high volume but like high like low percentage 28 29% well maybe like I can get by but but being a better shooter than what he was well where he shot I mean BB bub shot it well in the midrange like killed it in the mid-range all year yeah yeah which is why you can give him a pass like not at the same level but close to the same idea so it may be just a range kind of stuff yeah um I love the fact that castle is a guy that can probably play right away in terms of Effectiveness on the court defensively just be like an NBA player but but it’s like not for OKC just yeah he he needs the ball he needs the ball it’s like an creating another problem for you I think he’s like one of I think he’s got high upside like if he figures out how to shoot it I think he’s the best player in the class possibly uh possibly the best possibly like holiday kind of guy defensively yeah like he can be he can be very good just that’s like and that’s where I like this is and if you’ve been following me for any length of time like you know that I like I have a type in with the draft and it’s like yeah guys I know that can defend guys that pass guys that I know can affect the game you know and and a lot of times you have to those guys are either the number one pick in the draft or they have like some real flaw with their game a lot of times it’s shooting and with like Anthony black that was a huge problem with Castle it’s also a problem I don’t think it’s as big of a problem as Anthony black was also had like better size better length like there was just there’s aot lot of things to like about him um and I’m still I still hold all my Anthony Blackstock um yeah I mean we I mean there is still time I don’t know uh I would not trade up for Castle uh I would trade up maybe not with two first that was probably um too much but maybe I just I just flat out wouldn’t trade up in this draft at all I know would I just would I just would not do it I just don’t think there’s anybody in this range and and if there and the truth is like if there was was then like they wouldn’t trade that pick anyways you know it’s like it’s a this is a it’s a weird draft and the Thunder would have to really really love somebody to trade up because it just takes a lot to trade up typically unless you’re talking about a couple spots you know from two to from 12 to four yeah it’s a little more difficult of a proposition but when it’s if it’s from 12 to 10 from 12 to n yeah like you could you could figure fure out a a way to make that happen but if you’re talking about trading into the top five no it’s a lot more let’s say though that you have because the two like top guard prospects are guys that you will likely not have let’s say that you have McCain um you have Carter and you have bub there what is your rank and why I love all these guys for all different reasons yeah um McCain can just like flat out shoot the basketball yeah and he’s a like he’s a competitor he is somebody that I think like passes the test of like character-wise like he’d fit on the thunder so well he like he picked Shay for start bench cut he did pick Shay for the start bench cut that included cut L and Edwards and Luca so that he’s already got that there he came to Oklahoma City and worked out here uh a friend of mine saw him at the at the airport and you know word on the street is that he’s like had all like the sit downs and workouts and has done they’re doing their due diligence they do their due Dil on everybody but it’s like can be said that they have definitely done their due diligence on jar McCain um I like him a lot and he’s somebody else that like if you question at all the future of Isaiah Joe in Oklahoma City because of the price tag like this is a guy that can come in and he he’s probably a little bit better of a ball handler than what Joe is and kind of take those duties a little bit which could you could also say like that’s a reason why they could play together mhm and he would fit I mean he would fit the Thunder like a glove he and the competitiveness like shows through in like some of his rebounding numbers like the can get boards he’s he’s strong like he’s 63 but he’s like over 200 pounds yeah you know he’s strong he he’s heavier than Ron Holland is yeah there are worries um that I Rite online um I tried to find back of number numbers to back this up but I couldn’t like McCain was a was a minus for Duke um in terms of onof okay which you know they they played like a heavy guard lineup which is not really good for what OKC wants to do now those are probably very noisy numbers um but you can you can see the difference between him and a guy like Carter defensively Carter is a maniac he’s a he’s a wild man he’s a possessed wild human being with a shot that I would not trust he it is very bad it is very bad in terms of he has a frontload shot he jumps into the shots is is is really like a lot of movements for his head like he takes a lot of them he makes a good took he took a lot of them yes I do I do want to go back McCain real quick like his guarded catch and shoot threes he was in the 95th percentile oh he’s a he’s a dead ey shooter in the NCAA this year 1.31 points per shot guarded catch and shoots yeah guarded unguarded unguarded he was actually a little bit worse but he just took he even I mean he took less as well than he did he was 1.18 points per shot which is it’s good but it’s not incredible and he’s he’s extremely quick taking those shots like extremely quick he can get it up in a in a sec the movement is pristine no wasted movement whatsoever I think he can just play same with re Shepard and there is a question like would you prefer drafting McCain or trading up for Reed Shepard I think that that that is a real question yeah I think it’s yeah I think it’s a question worth discussing like I I I think I would rather to me I’d rather have one M McCain is just he’s like a he’s going to be a stronger player from the start yeah than Reed is yeah and also like his the whoever is coming in is gonna have a small role you know on this team yeah um and I like M I like McCain his the catch and shoot stuff he can also get to his pullup which I really like yes and I think like and just like the character stuff I just I just believe those kind of guys I just think like he could be a guy that could come in and impact the Thunder and I know that there’s not a lot of room for another 63 guy but they’re not gonna be able to keep everybody you know yeah and if it came down to it and they had to trade isaah Joe maybe Isaiah Joe would be part of a trade where you’re acquiring this like bigger Wing you know and like you have and then you have McCain where you’ve had McCain for half the season or whatever it’s like yeah we believe that McCain can come in and play this similar role shoots off movement you know is play good enough defense like Isaiah Joe did you know is more of a point guard probably than Joe ever was like you could talk yourself into it you know that being a thing and because they’re not going to keep everybody and they are going to trade some of these guys you like that’s that is going to happen like that’s the life cycle of a team and when I think about the kinds of players that are thriving in the finals right now Jared McCain like checks a lot of those boxes where it’s like he can really shoot it he’s super competitive um of weight to him you know there’s a lot of things to like about him and he can really U be effective at The Rim as well which which is a nice plus yeah yeah okay so Devin Carter we can you want to talk Devon Carter next like the things to like about Devon Carter is like I I think like he can just affect the game at in a lot of ways you know as yeah he he definitely just feels like more of like just like a strictly a role player was like good on defense he shot the ball really well this year but again like it’s a one-year sample size do you trust it I think it’s like no a fair fair question to ask of him he plays a little bit more stiff than than I think McCain or bub Carrington does which I don’t I don’t love um but like according to S Vini like every all of like the the character stuff checks out with him too like just an outrageous competitor somebody that like he’s gonna work like he’s gonna work to become the best he can be um great rebounder for his size the sh the shot if you believe in the shot how how can you believe in the shot how please sold try to sell me on the stuff on the shot just a little bit because it goes in it went I mean that would be my thing is like last year he in guarded catch and shoot threes or a catch and shoot period he was in the 95th percentile 1.35 points per shot in guarded shots like they just went in it’s funky I’ve heard anecdotes about him where he’s warming up before games and is like bricking everything and then like goes in the game and he’s just like lights out um his dribble jumper he’s in the 73rd percentile yeah he hit well he’s at 0. N2 points per shot in his in his dribble jumper I don’t know at the rim and for layups he’s 81% 81st percentile like he got yeah not 81% in there not 81% at the rim no I don’t know man it is one year and it is a little bit scary yeah um yeah I look no disrespect for Dylan Brooks and guys like that yeah but to me is hey you’re amazing but I much rather have something a little bit more under control even in the steals he does even in the movements he has on the court he’s messy it’s like Ty een I know that there is a lot of guys that were in love with Ty because of his energy because of his but I mean to me I really need a little bit more of control like K can could play for Mark dnel because he was under control yeah a lot he made mistakes yes but controllable mistakes um I knew that sport fan 405 would bark at me e was a great Prospect I know just a prospect that could not work in a sophisticated controlled paced offense I still have the idea even if he’s a good enough Prospect yeah um just because guys aren’t Thunder prospects it doesn’t mean they’re bad prospects oh no not at all not at all um so yeah um dein Carter I think it’s my number three I have McCain number one because I I really do love the three-point shooting yeah I do trust Bob King passing and shooting oh the passing is so great that’s that’s the thing that like completely sold me on him is like he is like a real live dribble passer and if you think that there’s any chance that the Thunder move on from Josh giddy in the off season and you’re looking for somebody else to handle the basketball he has has this he has that trait above the other two fully and like but the thing is like he’s a fine catch and shoot guy he was it’s he has some of the like there’s it’s not uncommon it’s not crazy for guys to shoot better guarded than unguarded it’s crazy to have his stats guarded versus unguarded guarded he’s 1.15 points per shot he’s in the 83rd percentile unguarded 79 points per shot 16th percentile it is like we it is weird it is absolutely weird 12 of 42 12 of 42 it is because when he’s guarded he’s either off the dribble so he can charge as a shot while he dribbles or he’s running off curls yeah when he stands he doesn’t load the shot very well this is this is why I trust the shot because it’s really something wrong with the way in which he loads shots from Stand still position it’s not really uncommon um it it’s mostly a coordination slash strength kind of thing when you are in motion you can maybe coordinate or push a little bit more with one feet and you will be like just straight in the right position um when you have your both you have both feet planted it’s it’s a kind of a different motion yeah the thing that scares me the most about Bob is well the things plural one I really don’t want to have the ball in someone else’s hand compared to except for Chad JB and Shay because I think that the the way which OKC improves quite a lot offensively is to fit your chat way more just as a do a lot with the ball kind of guy cook more have more possibilities so I don’t necessarily look for someone who can create as much as Bob does but that is not an issue it’s just a way of he can be effective running off curls so it’s not really problem yeah he can play off ball yeah the issue the real issue is that he’s horrible just horrible at The Rim he can’t sustain contact he just he touch touches a guy and just bounce off that’s fair he’s 52% that is ludor territory which is bad he was 49% on layups yeah yeah 52 I think includes dunks 28th percent 28th percentile on layups yeah 27th percentile at The Rim Yeah that he didn’t really get there a whole lot and another issue which is South he he he loves getting to that midi and pulling up like that’s that’s what he loves to do and he was really good at he shot 55% on mid-range on mid-range pull-ups which is insane he’s one of the best pull-up Shooters period he’s probably the best pullup shooter in this class since when you were you were in love with uh the Rosen kind of guys I mean Taylor should be as shame of you like but he passes yeah you’re right that’s the thing about it is like he’s not layup for layups which is not good yeah he I just think that there’s so much talent there and and it’s a bet you know you’re with all these guys you’re betting on something working out for them like something coming around with every single one of these guys you know you’re betting on some some a part of their game coming around and I’m just betting on the shooting coming around for him yeah no I don’t I don’t doubt that that he would be like a 38 39% three-point shooter maybe a little bit you can have a guy like Trey man who suddenly is not really a good shooter from three for some reason we already had that so I’m not not sure but I’m willing to make the bat I just like the layup thing give me gives me like a huge huge boss there yeah the serviceable yeah um but between him and McCain I have like kind of no doubts uh I don’t love either but McCain I think that he can slide into the I can trade KAS Wallace in a bigger trade and have McCain in his spot and be okay knowing that that spot maybe not at the same level but to some degree would be similar similar especially on offense wor on defense for sure because KAS is U is really good so I don’t know about the layups uh if you can convince me if someone can convince me that it’s just a strength related stuff meaning when he get gets against like a um smaller or less athletic guys he’s a he’s a master at The Rim if that is true and you can prove it somehow and it’s just the hey when he gets 20 pounds on he’ll be a different player then I can flip off the two but up for now it’s um it’s a scare proposition the inefficient heavy usage kind of guy so you comfortable with the final ranking being McCain Carrington Carter yes because Carter is too much for me anyway as far as trading up is that what you mean no as far as putting him ahead of of Bob in this list yeah I’m comfortable with that because if we are looking for role players and guys that are super competitive I I would take if any of these guys are available at 12 I feel comfortable taking any of them yeah like I really I actually like this group more than I like the centers or the wings to be honest like I think this group is like uber competitive and there I could see all three of those guys like making it at the NBA level like I’m I’m big on all three of those guys okay uh long show probably kept mckel for way too long but I appreciate you guys listening the draft is next Wednesday be there at the Jones assembly you don’t want to watch the draft alone see us not take any of these guys that we talked about today next Wednesday at the Jones assembly thanks so much for listening we’ll talk to you guys again on Wednesday

Andrew Schlecht and Michele Berra discuss their favorite fits for the draft at the guard, wing and big positions.