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- [00:00]
Jessica Hawk
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Sam Bassini
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- [00:49]
Sam Bassini
When.
- [00:50]
Jessica Hawk
Pro defensive end Cam Jordan isn't running after quarterbacks, he's running his own businesses.
- [00:54]
Sam Bassini
He sat down with Microsoft's Jessica Hawk to learn how AI can help being innovative with how to have success and how to formulate that success. That synergy between AI and a business coming together. It's like coaches game plan as well as the player. AI is creating a perfect plan and it's the business like hey, we have this imperfect solution. Let's meld them together and see what happens. Ready to raise your AI game?
- [01:18]
Jessica Hawk
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- [02:03]
Andrew
Welcome to the Saturday Slammin Jam here on the Athletic NBA Daily. On today's show we're recapping the NBA draft. We're going to do draft awards, we're going to play a little draft game and we're doing some trivia. With me as always is my good friend Alex Spears. Alex, what's up?
- [02:20]
Alex Spears
Hi Andrew.
- [02:22]
Andrew
Hi Alex. And also with us, the only person that I would want to recap the NBA draft with, Sam Bassini of the Athletic and the Game Theory podcast. Sam, how's it going?
- [02:34]
Sam Bassini
Well I have live streamed for seven hours now over the course of the last two days gone through all 60 or no, I'm sorry, 59 picks.
- [02:45]
Andrew
59. Yep.
- [02:46]
Sam Bassini
That have been made and you know we only had one that was off my top 100 board. Shout out the Indiana Pacers I'll try again next year with Taylon Peter.
- [02:58]
Andrew
So. So heading into the draft, many were expecting that Ace Bailey was going to fall to one of his desired destinations from the 6 to 8 range. Instead, it was the Utah Jazz that grabbed him at 5. There's been a lot of discussion this draft cycle about what situations may be best for Aces. Continued development. What do you think about him ending up in Utah?
- [03:21]
Sam Bassini
So I love it. First and foremost, I thought that for Ace Bailey, this was probably the best spot that he could have gone to. Now, like, does that mean that I would have taken him if I was Utah? I probably would have taken Trey Johnson because I prefer Trey Johnson. But I think it's a completely reasonable pick. And I actually like applaud Utah for doing this and saying, yeah, dude, like you don't want to come here, too bad, Try it. Like, try and sit out for a year and see what you're going to like. Are you really going to sit out for a year and not make $10 million? Go for it. Like you're not. Ace Bailey is a prospect that people are very interested in and like really think has a high ceiling if everything breaks right with his development. But they're not so high on him that if he was to enter next year's draft, he would go any higher next year and he'd just be missing out on a year of money. So, like, I loved Utah calling the bluff. I thought it was the right call, assuming it was a bluff in some way, shape or form. In terms of like, why I like the Utah landing spot, I think the biggest thing for Ace Bailey early on in his career is he needs somewhere that has a bevy of ball handlers to be able to not make him as reliant on creating pull up jumpers all of the time. And with Utah, like, you can talk about the efficacy and the actual talent of Keonte George and Isaiah Collier and some of these other guys that they have, but they are definitely guys who can handle the ball and who can create shots on their own in some respect. And Collier is actually a pretty good passer as well. So I like the idea in addition to if they keep calling Sexton, if they keep Jordan Clarkson, like whatever that looks like too. But I like the idea of that, of him going somewhere like Utah versus somewhere like Brooklyn. I actually really like both of these coaches in Jordy Fernandez and Will Hardy. I think they're both excellent offensive minds and I think they run their schemes in the way that modern basketball should be run. But the Nets don't really have like a ball handler and a creator for Ace. Like if he would have gone to Brooklyn, my worry would be that we'd see a lot of the grab the ball, jab step, jab step, pump fake, jab step, pull up, you know, step back, right hand dribble, crossover step back. Like all of that stuff that we saw at Rutgers that really bogged down their offense this year. I think with Utah, Will Hardy is going to make him run off of actions and is going to get him open and hopefully he's going to have him get open threes at the end of the day. So I really, really like him landing in Utah. And additionally they have like a ready made scorer in Lowry market in there next to him. They have defensive infrastructure with Walker Kessler there. Assuming that they keep Kessler this summer as opposed to trading him before his extension eligibility, I think that this is about as perfect a landing spot for Ace Bailey as Ace Bailey could have hoped for.
- [06:23]
Alex Spears
You mentioned Trey Johnson, who ends up going to the Wizards of six. Sam, you revealed in your winners and losers article that you tried to make a last minute adjustment on your draft board before the draft guide was published to move trade at number three on your big board. What was it about Trey and his game that made you just keep pushing him up your board?
- [06:42]
Sam Bassini
I believe in the worker, I believe in the human. I believe in him just becoming the best version of whatever his best version is. He is a, he is not just like a like normal hard worker. He is somebody who goes so far above and beyond what it takes. And like I've seen it in person, like I've gone to see him work out. It's different than when you see other guys work out. He is going hard from the moment he steps on the court. He has a real intensity and a real singular mindedness about his approach to working that is like reminiscent. I mean, I'll speak to you guys, right? Like Oklahoma City, obviously. Like it's reminiscent to Jalen Williams, right, in terms of like that level of work ethic. So he doesn't have the frame Jalen Williams does. He doesn't have the super long arms. He doesn't have, you know, the power, the physicality the J Dub did. I don't know if he has quite the seat, like I don't know that he has quite the ceiling that J Dub does necessarily. But I think that whatever version of is the best of Trey Johnson's game, he will reach that version. And he's a genuinely elite shooter. Like he's Going to step in and be a monster movement shooter from day one in the NBA. 40% three point shooter drill, shots off of screens, has no conscience whatsoever. I think he got better as a passer as the year went on. I think he started to understand the way that defenses played him as the year went on. And he wants to learn, he wants to be great is the other thing. So I am a believer in Trey Johnson for sure. And you know, I, I still love Khan, you know, I still love vj. I still, you know, have reservations about Ace, but acknowledge the upside. To be clear, I just think that I buy into Trey a little bit more than what some people do.
- [08:40]
Andrew
The New Orleans Pelicans had some, some pretty eventful things happen in this, in this draft, including at 7, they drafted Jeremiah Fears from OU. They traded up to 13, including an unprotected 20, 26, first to Atlanta in the process to draft their Queen first. How concerned are you about the process of this? Dumars, Troy, Weaver, front office. And then I'd like to know more about the fit of Fears and Queen. But first, let's talk about the front office.
- [09:13]
Sam Bassini
I'm sorry. So can I reverse that, Andrew? Like I, I do want to talk about the positives at the front about.
- [09:20]
Andrew
Let's talk. Yeah, let's, let's spin positive. Let's talk about Fears and Queen and then we can, and then we can.
- [09:26]
Sam Bassini
Do the other part because I, I really don't. I want people to know up front before I start talking about the catastrophe that I think this was.
- [09:36]
Andrew
Huh?
- [09:38]
Sam Bassini
This has nothing to do with Jeremiah Fears or Derrick Queen.
- [09:40]
Andrew
Sure. Yeah.
- [09:41]
Sam Bassini
I had Jeremiah fears at number 18 on my board. They took him at 7. I don't really care. Like, I completely acknowledge the fact that Jeremiah Fears has significant upside. It's just not my kind of player. Right. Like, I don't love these smaller guards where they're, they have a very narrow pathway to success, in my opinion. They basically have to be all star caliber players or it's hard to fit them on like a winning team at the highest level, basically. Right. I'm still, like, I've said this previously. I love Darius Garland as a player. Darius Garland is a rightful all star. He is amazing. I still worry about him at the highest levels of NBA competition because of the size, the defensive ability, the way that he can be attacked. And I think Cleveland, obviously, you know, with him next to Donovan Mitchell, another smaller player, even though Donovan had a really good defensive year this year, it's not idealized for him. But like that that's the level that you have to ascend to in order for me to even think that like drafting a smaller player like this is worthwhile at the end of the day. And that's my personal evaluation, you know, belief. There are plenty of them other ones out there. And Jeremiah Fears is genuinely special with the ball in his hand. Like his speed, his creativity with the ball, his innate understanding of how to get paint touches in ball screens, his flexibility with the ball in his hands to be able to navigate defenders bodies. I think he is a unbelievable ball handler who can really separate from his man who can get to his spots regularly. So even though I had fears at 18 and you know, they took him at 7, it doesn't bother me. I understand what they're going for and when I do like draft stuff I'm very willing to acknowledge that just other people have opinions. Right. And other people evaluate things differently. This is a art, this is not a science. Like I will hear out so many different ways on what you think of players. And that goes the same for Derrick Queen. Right. I actually really like Derrick Queen as a player. I think he's an ass kicker. I think that you know, he's one of six players in the last 45 years of college basketball, is a freshman to step in and average 15, 8 1.9 assists and shoot 50% from the field. Yeah, he is going to be able to be impactful on the box score from day one in the NBA. He is a great grab and go big. He's tough, he's, he's a Hooper. Like he like the pre draft process I think like just didn't treat Derrick Queen well because he is somebody that isn't meant for the pre draft process. Kind of like he's not, he's not the super athlete. He's not like his athletic testing is never going to be good. But you watch him play basketball and you'll be like that dude can go. You know what I mean? So all of this to be clear has nothing to do with the players involved and it's fine that they took those players where they took them. This was the craziest trade I've ever seen that didn't involve a superstar. Guys, I had an assistant GM like text me like early this morning when we're recording this. This is the worst non superstar trade in a decade. This is the worst trade non luca division that we've at least, we've seen in at least a decade. Yeah, I've had over a dozen people from front offices hit Me and wonder what in the world these people are doing in New Orleans. I had two different teams tell me that their models right now currently have New Orleans in the bottom five of the NBA right now for next season's projections.
- [13:31]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [13:33]
Sam Bassini
So we haven't said what the deal is yet. The deal is that in order to move up 10 spots from number 23 to. To number 13, the New Orleans Pelicans gave the Atlanta Hawks their unprotected 2026 first round pick. But it's not just their unprotected 2026 first round Pick. It's the best of their first round pick in Milwaukee's first round pick. Which means that this is a pick that has, look, it's not as valuable as like Brooklyn's pick next year. It's not as value. As valuable as probably Washington's pick next year. Certainly not Washington's pick next year because they have Zion Williamson on their team. Right. Like it's not as valuable some of those teams, but it's like in the next tier down from that. And what this deal fails to recognize, it just has like a blatant misunderstanding of what their place is in the league right now. It has a in from a team building perspective, these two things are connected, right. The Pelicans have the worst defense in the league right now. I feel comfortable saying that, like they have less defensive talent on their team than any team in the league, despite the fact that they have Herb Jones, who is one of the three or four best perimeter defenders in the NBA.
- [14:59]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [14:59]
Sam Bassini
Look across their roster, their backcourt next year has a chance to be Jeremiah Fears and Jordan Poole. I thought Jeremiah Fears was the worst first rounder defensively this year. He, he is just, he's size issues, he's very skinny. His engagement levels are not very good. He has no idea where he's supposed to be on the back line defensively. He's just extremely young. Right. And like, I don't know if I need to say more about Jordan Poole defensively, right. Like, we've just seen that for close to a decade now.
- [15:26]
Alex Spears
We're good.
- [15:28]
Sam Bassini
Zion Williamson is not a good defender point blank. Like we can say that. We've seen this for eight years now, seven years, and then they're big. Eve Missy is also like not a great defender. He's young. He has a chance to become a good defender. But we saw this this year. It was a real struggle, right? And then on top of it, Derek Queen is like a bad defender. They have no defensive infrastructure to rely on whatsoever. They're gonna have to outscore teams like 135 to 130 every night to have a chance. Despite the fact that they really only have two shooters on the team in Jordan Pool and Trey Murphy. Like, you look at their other guys, like, Derek Queen's not a shooter from day one. Zion Williamson, not a shooter. Jeremiah fears at 28% from three this year. Herb Jones, reluctant shooter, like makes them at times whenever he's open. So you're an offensive team in a math driven NBA that doesn't really make threes all that much. Except for Pool and Murphy, who are genuinely great shooters. Like two of the best shooters in the league probably. But that's not enough in today's NBA. And you have the worst defensive infrastructure in the league and you traded away your 2026 first round pick. And by the way, don't rule out the fact like, what If Giannis misses 35 games next year, right? That's what, one of the five worst teams in the east, right? If Giannis misses 35 games, like forget, forget like catastrophic injury. I just mean like a, if he's out for two months injury, right? This is, this is like malpractice. And the problem I have with it is it follows the exact blueprint that Troy Weaver did when he got the Detroit job. And I get it that like Joe Dumars is the head front office executive. But like Troy Weaver's fingerprints are all over this. Like you can look at the fact that they went out and got Sadiq Bay. Troy Weaver's a DMV guy. So like most of his moves over his past, like he really seems to love DMV guys. Sadiq Bay, DMV guy who he drafted in 2020. Jordan Poole played for the Washington Wizards last year where Troy Weaver was as a senior advisor last year. Derek Queen from Baltimore, they just signed Hunter Dickinson to a two way. Like it's crazy that we're here and doing these things and nobody's stopping it.
- [18:12]
Andrew
Like nobody's stopping it.
- [18:15]
Sam Bassini
So like his, his fingerprints are all over this and it's just like the exact parallel between the way he did this when he took over the Detroit job, right?
- [18:22]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [18:22]
Sam Bassini
So selected a young point guard at number seven overall in Killian Hayes. I think Jeremiah Fierce is better than Killian Hayes. I don't want to like put that in the ether necessarily that he's that, but I, you know, number seven overall point guard, right? Go get your point guard. Traded a first round pick for a big man in the draft in the middle of the draft in an undersized big man nonetheless. And Derrick Queen and Isaiah Stewart, right, traded for a volume scorer. And Jeremy Grant, who wasn't quite a volume scorer at the time, but very clearly at that point wanted to become a volume scorer based off of everything that he had said, like publicly at that point that he wanted a bigger role. What did he do? Trade for Jordan pool this time? By the way, Jeremy Grant, also from the Maryland area, like, it's bonkers. It's. It worked so well the first time that they won 74 of 318 games when Troy Weaver was in charge. And in the fourth year they had a 28 game losing streak. And by the way, Joe Dumars in his final five years with the Pistons went 1:40 and 2:53. Like, I don't enjoy doing this, right? Like, I don't come on this show just to be like, oh, this is great. I'm just gonna go on the Pelicans for a minute. Right? Great. Awesome. This isn't fun like this. It's nice to talk about good basketball, but what are we doing?
- [19:58]
Alex Spears
Sam, do you know, are there any rumors about whether that offer was made to any of the other teams? Because it seems like such a no brainer offer that anyone would accept. Like how were they not able to get higher than 13?
- [20:11]
Sam Bassini
Yeah, I was told it was made to other teams. I don't feel great sharing beyond that. I was told it was made to other teams.
- [20:25]
Alex Spears
That's crazy.
- [20:26]
Andrew
That is nuts.
- [20:31]
Sam Bassini
Insane. But, but like, so I thought we were at a point in the NBA, I guess, where. And I wrote this, like, I'm just gonna say it again. Like, I thought we were at a point in the NBA where like sharp analytical people. And I don't mean that like analytics in terms of numbers. I just mean like thinking about things with an analytical mindset and like using logic and like you know, being like, you know, strategic about the way you operate. Right. I thought we were kind of past the point where we hired just it. Let's go get we ball GMs. That's what this feels like, right?
- [21:12]
Andrew
It, it's, it's a gift to podcasters. Honestly. I think it's a nice gift to the podcasting community to, to bring, to bring these guys back. And not only bring these guys back, bring them back together on the same team. It's great.
- [21:26]
Sam Bassini
It's great. The number of teams I talked to that told me like they were trying to target the Pelicans for like a trade because they knew that something stupid like, this was coming very high, very high.
- [21:43]
Alex Spears
Okay, so moving on from the Pelicans, another team that had a big surprise was the Brooklyn Nets, who at number eight drafted Jaeger Demon. They also set an NBA draft record by using all five of their first round picks. What do you think about the players they drafted as a collective? Like, is there a through line here? Like, do these players make sense in combination with each other?
- [22:07]
Sam Bassini
Yeah. So again, I'm very open to a lot of different evaluations. Like when I do draft grades, like, I don't think about, you know, I think about where I had them to some extent. But for instance, I had Jaeger 26, I had Nolan Trea or a 22, and I Drake Powell at 34. Right. Those are my first three. Those are their first three picks. Yeah, but like I'm way lower on Jaeger than what the consensus is. Right? Like the consensus for those three picks was 14, 22 and 30 going into the draft. Right. So I'm like very open to the fact that like I might just be way low on Jaeger. I might be a little bit low on Drake Powell. Right. It's fine. What I couldn't understand is kind of exactly what you said, Alex, where I don't get. Where I don't get why they did three lead guards. Because I think that all. I'm more open to three lead guards if one or two of them can shoot. Like, if you feel like they can shoot, they might be able to play together. But like, I don't think any of these guys can really play together effectively on an NBA court right now is my problem. Like Nolan Treore, like his main struggle right now is like, how does he score? Like he doesn't shoot it super well. Jagor, his main problem is doesn't shoot it super well. How does he score? Yeah, Ben Seraph's main issue is, you know, he can actually score as a pull up shooter in the mid range, but you know, not a three point shooter. Doesn't really have like a great, you know, catch and shoot game because he's like kind of a funky mechanic that people are worried about extending beyond the NBA line a little bit. So I just like don't know how those three play together. And then Drake Powell, right. Like to speak to just offensive viability. There's been no player drafted I think since like 2010 that has had the usage rate that Drake Powell has, like just point blank. I mean, just looking through the draft guide here. Right. So I'll pull up the exact numbers while we're talking, but he had a 13.8 usage rating this year, which was the lowest of North Carolina's nine rotation players. No wing has been drafted this low with a that low of a usage rate in his pre draft season since they've been tracking it actually or no since 2008, the wings that had a usage rate below 17 that were drafted. So like actually a pretty big jump here from where Powell was. Tabler John De Bler, A.J. griffin Dalen Terry Johnny Furfee Andre Jackson Caleb Houston DeAndre Liggins, Ryan Dunn, Josh Primo, Chris Livingston there's like half of a hit in there. Yeah, right. Like I don't know about that one. And I love Danny Wolf. Like I, I won't say anything negative about the Wolf pick. I actually genuinely love that pick for them. But yeah, it's, it's tough. It's a, it's an interesting decision to draft all of those like non scorers or like questionable scorers basically in the NBA draft.
- [25:30]
Andrew
The prize of the Kevin Durant trade for the Suns was the 10th pick in this year's draft, which they used to draft Common Moloch. They also traded for Mark Williams almost, it feels like at the exact same time, which significantly bolsters the center position for them, which was a very obvious weakness. How impactful do you think Malawatch can be in year one? And does the Sun's new center rotation change your outlook on the team next season in any way whatsoever?
- [26:03]
Sam Bassini
It helps. Yeah, I think they're going to be like fairly competent like with their bigs now, which is good. I'm a little bit lower on Mark Williams than I think some people are. I really have not liked his defensive play. But you know, get him out of Charlotte, you know, get him into a situation where guys like fight over screens and you know, really at least give like significant effort. I think he might be a little bit better in Phoenix for sure. He's young. Like he, he continues to miss time due to the injuries. Obviously why he's not on the Lakers right now. So like, you know, maybe with further development, I think there's a chance. I didn't love the acquisition of Mark Williams just because I thought that you don't really. These guys where you don't have enough information on them is what worries me a little bit. Before you have to like decide to give them money. Right. The Suns gave up two first round picks in order to potentially have to give Mark Williams like a fairly sizable extension before knowing if Mark Williams is, you know, a real starter. Frankly, like, defensively, like, he is not a starter right now based off of the New Orleans or the Charlotte tape. I'm sorry. He is somebody who can maybe get there, I think, like, in fact, like, I think he definitely can get there. He's enormous length, obviously can finish at the rim, really good rebounder, but the. The defense is going to take real improvement. And then you take Malawatch, where it's a very similar player, like, genuinely, it's just a better defensive version. I think that Mali watch is like a very impactful positional defender right now. Great size, but again, he is like a drop defender. I think that, like, some of the switchability stuff has gotten a little bit overblown with him. He moves well where he's. If he gets caught on an island with another guard, he's not gonna, like, get tanked or anything, but he's not like a guy that you're gonna play anything but drop with. I don't think you might be able to play at the level occasionally, but I think you're probably just mostly playing drop with Bala watch as it is. So you kind of, you know, got two very similar players here. It feels like a strange use and allocation of the assets that we already know are, like, fairly limited for them as it is. Yeah, I'm just. I'm a little bit confused, I think, by the overall process here, while also acknowledging that, like, this is a better team for next year, for sure. Yeah, they're going to be younger, which worries me, but, you know, they're a. I don't even know if they're a better team for next year. They're certainly a little bit deeper than they were, you know, when they started the week with just Kevin Durant on the roster.
- [28:52]
Alex Spears
So the most shocking pick of the first round had to be from the Portland Trailblazers, who moved back from 11 to 16. They picked up an extra future first, and they drafted Hansen Yang, a 72 big man from China who most had mocked in the second round. When a team reaches for a player like this, negative reactions are inevitable. I know you didn't like the pick, but if you were putting yourself in the position of the Blazers, what is the pitch for this working out and what could this working out look like?
- [29:24]
Sam Bassini
This working out would look like him getting way stronger, playing with way more bend than he does because he has, like, a very high center of gravity. And I think that he plays very upright right now. So I think he would really need to get way stronger and then be able to play with bend and, like, Be able to get leverage and like physicality against players that will be guarding him in the high post, in the post, you know, at the top of the key. Right. Because a lot has justifiably been made of his skill set, right. Where he is a genuinely terrific passer for a big man and has great touch around the basket too. But what worries me and why I had a second round grade on him is that he doesn't play with a lot of force right now. And the players in this archetype that tend to work, the Jokic is the Vusovich is the, you know, Sabonuses, even like Carl Towns, right. Like he fits this. They tend to be ass kickers. Like they tend to really like be able to put their shoulder into people and move them backward and he doesn't really have the ability to do that. And then he's also just not as explosive as they are with his movements. So, yeah, I'm just a little bit more worried about him than what the Blazer seemed to be. But the, the way that it works is if he plays with more bend and physicality, I think, and gets stronger and like way more physical.
- [31:12]
Andrew
Yeah, that makes, that makes a lot of sense to me. One of the biggest fallers of the night was Casper Yakachonis, who was mocked in the lottery for most of this cycle. He's seventh on your board, but ended up falling to Miami at 20. How big of a steal is this for the Heat and how do you see him fitting in the. The Heat system?
- [31:36]
Sam Bassini
Yeah, I love it. I love Yakosonas. I love the player. I think that because he played so much on the ball at Illinois this year, I think that like the versatility of his game kind of got underrated where it's a perfect fit in Miami spoil know exactly how to use him. He plays both on and off the ball at a really high level. And you'll be able to play him next to Hero offensively, you'll be able to play him next to like a variety of lead guards, I think, and be able to make it work. And oh, by the way, he can also act as your backup lead guard, I think, and be able to run the show for second units particularly. I don't love him against like starters necessarily, but I think that, you know, as a starter with the first unit, like kind of like a, you know, the role Nemhard plays offensively for the Pacers, right? Starter with the first unit, secondary ball handler, transition creator, and then, you know, comes in, maybe leaves the game early, then Comes in at the end of the first quarter or just plays the entire first quarter and then you bring back your bat, your starting ball handler. Right. Like, there's just a lot of ways you can make him work. He has a lot of outs as a player, is kind of my thing. He could be like a real, you know, pick and roll decision maker. I think he's an unbelievable passer, sees the court incredibly well, a great decision maker, real shooter, I think, in my opinion. Or he can be a secondary ball handler who can, you know, attack closeouts at a really high level when you have to close out on him heavily. Or he can cut to the rim and force help that way and then make a super high level pass. Right. These guys just have a lot of outs, I think, on offense. Defensively, it's going to take some time. Like he needs to improve a lot defensively. But offensively, I. I'm huge on, you know, dribble pass shoot guards with real, like, positional size. Right. And he definitely has like, all of those attributes.
- [33:30]
Alex Spears
So we mentioned the debut of the Joe Dumars front office. We also had the debut of the new Sacramento Kings front office featuring Scott Perry, who traded into the first round, getting the 24th pick from the Thunder, and selecting Nick Clifford. What did you think about that move for the Kings?
- [33:46]
Sam Bassini
Sure. Solid move. It's like the. It's very unsexy to me. Just like very, very unsexy to me. I have no problem with it. He is a, you know, really solid player. He, like I keep saying, solid is just what it feels like to me. He can pass, he can defend at a solid level. He. The key is going to be the shooting. If he shoots it, he's going to be a really good rotation player. If he doesn't shoot it, he's probably like a end of the bench kind of guy, but if he shoots it, then this is a rotation player in a position of need, in a role of need, because he is a good defender for the Kings in a way that I think that they certainly can value and I have no problem with them valuing this. And I like the Maxime Reynaud pick in the second round as well. So, yeah, I think the Kings did well here. I. I've no, like, it's a. It's a solid, like B draft to me. I think that they did a solid job.
- [34:48]
Andrew
All right, well, shout out to the Kings. We're going to take a quick break. We come back, we're going to play a game, and then we're going to do some trivia. This message is brought to you by Apple Card Apply for Apple Card today and start earning up to 3% daily cash back on everyday purchases. And that daily cash can even create grow automatically when you open a high yield savings account through Apple Card. What are you waiting for? Visit Apple Co Card Calculator today to see how much daily cash you can earn. Subject to credit approval Savings available to Apple Card owners subject to eligibility savings and Apple Card by Goldman Sachs Bank USA member FDIC terms and more@applecard.com.
- [35:36]
Sam Bassini
When.
- [35:37]
Jessica Hawk
Pro defensive end Cam Jordan isn't running after quarterbacks, he's running his own businesses.
- [35:41]
Sam Bassini
He sat down with Microsoft's Jessica Hawk to learn how AI can help being innovative with how to have success and how to formulate that success. That synergy between AI and a business coming together. It's like coaches game plan as well as the player. AI is creating a perfect plan and it's the business like hey, we have this imperfect solution. Let's meld them together and see what happens. Ready to raise your AI game?
- [36:05]
Jessica Hawk
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- [36:45]
Andrew
And we're back after that quick break. Alex, you're going to intro a little game that you have drummed up for us.
- [36:54]
Alex Spears
Yes, Sam, this is a game you've played previously. We've made you play it. So basically I went back through all of the drafts of like the last 15 years just looking at the lottery, seeing how many guys turned into something good, how many guys turned into something bad. And on average in these lotteries there's usually four guys who end up being like fringe all star. Think like Aaron Gordon all the way to an all NBA player. There's three guys who end up being like key starters or bench players, four who end up becoming just role players and then three who are like fringe, MBA or out of the league. And so what I'm going to ask you to do, Sam, is to slot these guys in now just for fun, as a warmup exercise, we're going to do last year's lottery first so the 2024.
- [37:43]
Sam Bassini
Can we do this slightly differently?
- [37:45]
Alex Spears
Yeah.
- [37:46]
Sam Bassini
I have to find between the two classes combined. Can we combine the two classes?
- [37:52]
Alex Spears
Okay.
- [37:54]
Sam Bassini
Instead of doing it.
- [37:55]
Alex Spears
Okay, yeah. So we'll have, like, eight all NBA, different all Stars. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, sure. Let's do that.
- [38:01]
Sam Bassini
I think that'll be, like, more fun because it, like, kind of gives an idea of, like, how strong this draft is compared to last draft.
- [38:08]
Andrew
Yeah, I like that.
- [38:10]
Alex Spears
I like it. Okay.
- [38:14]
Sam Bassini
So I will take Cooper flag for the first category. Cooper Flag.
- [38:20]
Alex Spears
Great.
- [38:21]
Sam Bassini
Dylan Harper.
- [38:22]
Andrew
Great pick.
- [38:26]
Sam Bassini
I will take Trey Johnson.
- [38:29]
Alex Spears
Five more names needed for fringe all Star to all NBA.
- [38:33]
Sam Bassini
Okay, so here's my next just, like, question here, right?
- [38:37]
Alex Spears
Yeah.
- [38:39]
Sam Bassini
Where would we slot like, Desmond Bain in this? Would we say he's a key starter?
- [38:43]
Alex Spears
That'd be Fringe. That'd be fringe All Star.
- [38:45]
Sam Bassini
I would say, okay, I'll throw Khan. I'll throw Khan into the all NBA to, like, fringe all star group, then. That's, like, my kind of name for Khan is, like. It reminds me of, like, a very Desmond Baney kind of player.
- [38:57]
Andrew
Yeah, okay.
- [38:58]
Alex Spears
That would be, like.
- [38:59]
Andrew
That would be great for the Hornets.
- [39:01]
Alex Spears
That would be great. Now, I notice you haven't said any names from 2024 yet.
- [39:08]
Andrew
Yeah. If you're watching on YouTube, there's not a lot of green in here yet.
- [39:12]
Sam Bassini
Can I throw? I will throw Ace into this group.
- [39:16]
Alex Spears
Okay. Three names remaining.
- [39:23]
Sam Bassini
I will throw Steph Castle in.
- [39:25]
Alex Spears
All right. 2024.
- [39:33]
Sam Bassini
I will throw. I'm trying to decide how adventurous I want to get here.
- [39:42]
Alex Spears
I would say. I would say very adventurous. Enjoy yourself.
- [39:46]
Andrew
Would encourage. Very adventurous.
- [39:52]
Sam Bassini
I will go. All right. I'm gonna. I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna do the two stupid picks and make me look stupid. I am going to take Reed Shepherd.
- [40:07]
Alex Spears
Okay.
- [40:08]
Andrew
Okay.
- [40:10]
Sam Bassini
I'm still in.
- [40:11]
Andrew
We're still in on the Reed shepherd experience. Okay.
- [40:13]
Sam Bassini
I'm still in on Reed and your final pick. And then I am going to. I know that Risa Shay is the right pick here. To be clear. I just want everyone to know I understand that Richochet is the right pick here.
- [40:26]
Andrew
What is about to happen?
- [40:28]
Sam Bassini
I'm gonna take Cedric Coward.
- [40:31]
Andrew
Yeah. Okay. Okay. Yeah. So you were a fan of that.
- [40:36]
Alex Spears
Trade for the Grizzlies, then?
- [40:38]
Sam Bassini
I was.
- [40:38]
Alex Spears
Big fan.
- [40:40]
Andrew
Yeah, I am, too. So. So to recap.
- [40:44]
Sam Bassini
Right?
- [40:45]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [40:45]
Sam Bassini
Yeah.
- [40:46]
Andrew
From. From the last two drafts, the eight guys that are all starter, Fringe all Star, Cooper Flag, Dylan Harper, Trey Johnson, Con Knipple, Ace Bailey, Stefan Castle, Reed Shepherd, Cedric Coward.
- [41:00]
Sam Bassini
Those are the eight and to, to be clear, to be fans, do not freak out. I understand that Risa Shay is the correct pick here. I am fully cognizant of it. I get it. I wanted to have some fun and like try to predict something a little bit more aggressive.
- [41:20]
Alex Spears
So the next category is key starter or bench player.
- [41:24]
Sam Bassini
Definitely Risa Shay and Vijay.
- [41:26]
Andrew
So what. What kept you from putting Vijay in that first category?
- [41:30]
Sam Bassini
So I think Vijay is going to be really good. I think Vijay is going to be like an awesome, awesome. Like I've been calling him like Gary Harris with a jet pack. Right.
- [41:39]
Andrew
Kind of my idea, Harris jetpack.
- [41:44]
Sam Bassini
And like that might. That's like pretty close to like Fringe all star, you know what I mean? Yeah, that's like quite, you know. You know, I just love the use.
- [41:54]
Andrew
Of Gary Harris, that's all. I don't know. But he.
- [41:57]
Sam Bassini
So the reason I use Gary Harris is like very similar size, like somewhat skinny. A little bit more of a shooter than what Cason is. Off the catch, I think, but like not really the pull up shooter that Cason is, frankly, is why I like, you know, Cason's another name that's come up here.
- [42:12]
Andrew
Okay. Yeah.
- [42:15]
Sam Bassini
Like really going to help you win basketball games. VJ at a high level, much like Gary Harris helps teams win basketball games. Honestly, I should switch. We're going to do this. We're going to switch VJ and Cedric Coward. This is, this is the correct decision.
- [42:29]
Alex Spears
Okay, so what do you want to say to Hawks fans now?
- [42:36]
Sam Bassini
Still? Apologies. I honestly, like, I think that. I do think that like Risso is gonna be very good. Like, I really like Zach. Okay, so I have four more here, right?
- [42:50]
Alex Spears
Yeah.
- [42:52]
Sam Bassini
Okay. So star. Yes.
- [42:56]
Andrew
Yeah, that makes sense.
- [42:58]
Sam Bassini
I will go clinging.
- [43:01]
Andrew
Yeah, Key start. So key starters here, Sar and clinging at the big positions. That makes sense.
- [43:09]
Sam Bassini
I will go Common. I just think Common is like very likely to be good.
- [43:16]
Alex Spears
Yeah.
- [43:17]
Sam Bassini
Like, okay, my issue. My issue with Common is more like the upside of Common, but I think Common's definitely going to be like a good starter. Oh, man. I kind of want it. I'm gonna go. Oh, man. This is kind of gross, actually. This is extremely gross. I'm going to go modest here. I actually really liked what we saw from modest this year.
- [43:48]
Andrew
Yeah, me too. That's what I was gonna. That's. That's probably what. Where I would go.
- [43:52]
Sam Bassini
I. I would also like to trade one. I will. I will add two out of the league players for one Fringe or one like key starter if I can.
- [44:07]
Alex Spears
Okay. So. Or whatever it Is So we want to go up to like eight out of the league and then eight.
- [44:16]
Sam Bassini
Sure.
- [44:17]
Alex Spears
Is that what you want to do? Okay.
- [44:18]
Sam Bassini
Yeah, I would. I would like a couple of extra like good player. Really? I only want. I only want one for one.
- [44:26]
Alex Spears
Okay.
- [44:27]
Sam Bassini
Yeah.
- [44:28]
Alex Spears
Okay. We'll do seven and seven. Okay. So who is your last key starter? Bench player.
- [44:33]
Sam Bassini
Okay. It's gonna be Murray Boyles.
- [44:35]
Andrew
Okay, that makes sense. That makes a lot of sense. So key starters, bench players. To just recap real quick, Zachary Risache, Cedric Coward, Alex Saar, Donovan Clingan, Common Moloch, Modest Pizzealous, Colin, Murray Boyles are the key starters or bench players for a team.
- [44:58]
Sam Bassini
Okay. And then role players.
- [45:00]
Alex Spears
I almost feel like you have some ideas for fringe out of the league. Would you like to go there first? Would that be easier?
- [45:07]
Sam Bassini
Role player next. Go Holland.
- [45:12]
Andrew
Okay, yeah. Ron Holland.
- [45:14]
Sam Bassini
We will go. Edie for sure.
- [45:17]
Andrew
Zach Edie, role player.
- [45:18]
Sam Bassini
You feel a little bit bad about putting Ed in this spot? I think Ed is quite good. I will go. Carter Bryant here for sure.
- [45:30]
Alex Spears
Oops. No.
- [45:35]
Sam Bassini
I will go. Bub Carrington here for sure. I will go.
- [45:45]
Andrew
Did any part of you want to put Bub as a key starter? Was there any part of you?
- [45:50]
Sam Bassini
I think he's going to be a starter. Yeah, I like Bub.
- [45:53]
Andrew
Okay.
- [45:53]
Sam Bassini
Bub was one of my guys realizing.
- [45:55]
Alex Spears
These numbers aren't going to add up, but that's fine.
- [45:57]
Sam Bassini
No, no, not at all. I will go Topich and Carter here.
- [46:06]
Alex Spears
Okay.
- [46:07]
Andrew
Okay. So what Just to pause real quick because this was really funny. Throughout the finals there'd be people that would ask about Nikola topic like before finals games. It was a very bizarre experience and Mark Degnal had to keep answering questions about him right before he coached an NBA finals game. Where are you at with Topic and like what he could actually do for the Thunder next season?
- [46:37]
Sam Bassini
I would like to know more about where the shooting is. Look like topic is probably either going to be a role player or he's going to be like an all NBA fringe all star. Right? Like that's to me that's like kind of like there isn't like a starter, you know, outcome there. For me that makes sense and I think there's a real case to have him as like your fringe all star. He's a great pick and roll playmaker. Really understands how to make passing reads. Really great out of ball screens in terms of making reads. Super high level scorer at the basket as well. I just want to see a little bit more before I like go all in personally.
- [47:22]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [47:23]
Sam Bassini
Especially coming out of mid injury.
- [47:25]
Alex Spears
I have made adjustments. So you're only going to get one more role player and then everyone else is going to be fringe or out of the league. So who's your final role player?
- [47:34]
Sam Bassini
I will take. I'll take Derek Queen here.
- [47:42]
Andrew
Yeah, that's the right answer. That's what, that's the name I was staring at.
- [47:47]
Alex Spears
So Andrew, recap, role player.
- [47:49]
Andrew
Well, I said the role players that Sam has taken from the 24 draft and the 25 draft. Ron Holland, Zach, Edie Carter, Bryant, Bub Carrington, Nicola Topic, Devin Carter and Derek Queen.
- [48:04]
Sam Bassini
The fairly gross exercise that you make me do every year and I do hate you for it, Alex. I just want to be clear about that.
- [48:10]
Andrew
Yeah, it is. It's pretty mean.
- [48:12]
Sam Bassini
Yeah. But make me do this on the night where these kids are like celebrating getting drafted and that's right.
- [48:20]
Alex Spears
Hopefully until Saturday. Okay.
- [48:27]
Sam Bassini
So maybe you are a bad person. You know that, right? Like it's like the. It's like the.
- [48:32]
Alex Spears
And like I said, there are, you know, I forget which it was the 2020. What was the CADE draft? Is that 2021?
- [48:39]
Andrew
21. Yes.
- [48:40]
Alex Spears
That. That draft like it was, did not look like the averages. There were so many guys that I would consider like either key starters or bench or like fringe all stars or all stars.
- [48:50]
Andrew
Yeah, definitely.
- [48:51]
Sam Bassini
Yeah. I mean like it's. It's Cade, it's Jalen Green, it's Mobley, it's Barnes, it's Suggs, it's Giddy Kamingo. Like isn't fringe or out of the league even like Davion Mitchell is not. Davion Mitchell is probably a role player, guys.
- [49:05]
Andrew
He's a role player.
- [49:06]
Sam Bassini
Yeah, but then we have Z. Williams, James Book Knight, Josh Primo, Chris Darte. So we got the four.
- [49:13]
Alex Spears
That is true. Alex, get the four.
- [49:15]
Sam Bassini
We did get the four.
- [49:16]
Andrew
We got the four. We got him.
- [49:19]
Sam Bassini
Okay, so you're rewarding like six. There are like six all NBA or fringe all stars in that group. Yes.
- [49:25]
Alex Spears
Oh, and just in case people don't know who the remaining names are to John Saloon, Rob Dillingham, Cody Williams. Completing that exercise is to now play Andrew versus the Beat, our weekly trivia game where Andrew goes head to head against an NBA beatrider or in this case, San Versinia. And Sam, I've come up with eight questions all sort of related to this year's draft. So you're going to give me a number between 1 and 8. It will correspond to a question. If you get it right, you'll get at least one point. If you get it wrong and you'll have a chance to steal for one. And we'll go back and forth until all the questions have been asked and answered. So to start us off, I just need a number between one and eight.
- [50:06]
Sam Bassini
Number seven.
- [50:07]
Alex Spears
Question number seven. Ooh, fun one. Jace Richardson was drafted by the Magic at pick number 25. Richardson measured just over six feet tall at the combine. When was the last draft where a player under six feet tall was drafted in the first round and you get to choose who answers first. So you're going to give me the draft year? You can make Andrew answer first and then you could say more recent or older or you could answer first and if you get the year exactly correct, you would get a bonus point. And this is based on basketball reference heights.
- [50:40]
Andrew
Yeah. Okay.
- [50:42]
Sam Bassini
Oh, based on basketball reference heights. Not based on. Oh, okay. That changes things a little bit.
- [50:50]
Alex Spears
Yeah. Because not everyone used to go to the combine and so I didn't know if I'd be able to find everyone's height.
- [50:56]
Sam Bassini
I'll let Andrew pick the num. Pick the year.
- [50:58]
Alex Spears
All right, Andrew, this is very tricky.
- [51:03]
Andrew
For second round guys. I can think of second round guys. I'm having trouble with that question.
- [51:07]
Alex Spears
Andrew.
- [51:08]
Andrew
I know, I know.
- [51:13]
Alex Spears
A different game you're playing. I know different questions.
- [51:16]
Andrew
I don't know. 2013. I don't know.
- [51:20]
Alex Spears
All right, Andrew has set the bar at 2013. Sam, would you like to go more recent or older?
- [51:27]
Sam Bassini
I swear I wasn't actually looking stuff up. I was just looking at my Twitter mentions. I will say more recent. That's a lot of drafts. That's 360 players. I'll take 300. I'll take the odds. I will say more recent.
- [51:44]
Alex Spears
So the player was Shane Larkin and he was drafted in 2013, which means Andrew got it exactly correct. He gets a bonus point. Wow, what a start. What a winner.
- [52:00]
Sam Bassini
My goodness.
- [52:00]
Alex Spears
And you control the board.
- [52:01]
Andrew
Andrew, number one.
- [52:04]
Alex Spears
Question number one. On Wednesday, the Brooklyn Nets became the first NBA team ever to leave a draft with five first rounders. Who was the last team to leave a draft with four first rounders? You don't have to tell me who they were, but just they came away on that draft night. Four first rounders all holding up their jerseys.
- [52:26]
Andrew
Is it the Wolves?
- [52:28]
Alex Spears
No. When were you thinking?
- [52:34]
Andrew
What does that think? I mean, like way back, way back.
- [52:36]
Alex Spears
2009. So they actually did have four picks that year. But they traded Ty Lawson. I was looking it up.
- [52:44]
Andrew
Yeah, because that's right.
- [52:45]
Alex Spears
They did have three. Sam. Okay, any guesses?
- [52:49]
Sam Bassini
I believe I have the answer.
- [52:51]
Alex Spears
Okay.
- [52:52]
Sam Bassini
I believe it's the. Cause we were talking about 2021 draft earlier. I believe it's the Houston Rockets in 2021 with Jalen Green, Alperin Christopher and Usman Gruba.
- [53:04]
Alex Spears
That is correct. That is correct. Wow, two steals in a row. And Sam, the board is yours.
- [53:12]
Sam Bassini
Let's go. Number six, question number six.
- [53:16]
Alex Spears
Phoenix drafted Common Malwatch with the 10th pick. He is the fifth seven footer the Suns have drafted in the first round over the last two decades. Can you name the other four? And you have to name all four, so I'm not going to tell you if they're individually correct. You just have to name out four seven footers other than Malwanch that the Suns have drafted over the last two decades, which goes back to like 2006.
- [53:46]
Sam Bassini
And this is via Basketball Reference.
- [53:50]
Alex Spears
This is by Basketball Reference. That is correct.
- [53:53]
Sam Bassini
Okay. And it's all first round, not second.
- [53:57]
Alex Spears
Correct. Yeah. Poku is seven foot on Basketball Reference. Is that true? Is he actually seven foot in real life?
- [54:04]
Sam Bassini
And to be clear, just one last time here.
- [54:08]
Alex Spears
Yes.
- [54:09]
Sam Bassini
Is this originally drafted by or is this. They drafted them and kept them.
- [54:16]
Alex Spears
They drafted them and kept them. They played their rookie season in a Suns jersey.
- [54:20]
Sam Bassini
I have to say this eventually. I think Dragon Bender is one of them.
- [54:23]
Alex Spears
Right. Okay. I'll mark it down as your second name.
- [54:29]
Sam Bassini
Well, wait, timeout. I would like to know if they are right so I stop guessing in case. Andrew.
- [54:38]
Alex Spears
Oh, okay. Yes. You have been correct so far. Ayton and Bender. Did you see that Poku won the Serbian League?
- [54:45]
Sam Bassini
I did.
- [54:46]
Alex Spears
Scored 11 points in the final.
- [54:48]
Sam Bassini
It was delightful. Did he really? I didn't see that.
- [54:51]
Alex Spears
Yeah.
- [54:53]
Andrew
Shout out to Poke.
- [54:54]
Sam Bassini
Shout out our guy. It's funny. So like my immediate. And this is not a guess. I know it's not right. But the, the thing that was going through my mind is that the pick that they use for Marquis. Chris.
- [55:08]
Alex Spears
Yeah.
- [55:08]
Sam Bassini
They traded up from the pick that Sacramento had for Papianis. So I was immediately thinking of Papianis.
- [55:15]
Andrew
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [55:16]
Sam Bassini
But that's not. That's not right, obviously.
- [55:19]
Alex Spears
How would you compare the Hanson Yang pick to the Papayanis? Like, which was more surprising?
- [55:26]
Sam Bassini
Hanson Young is drastically better than Papianis.
- [55:30]
Alex Spears
Okay. Papillonis is still the goat when it comes to. Whoa. What does that goat.
- [55:37]
Sam Bassini
I think that I probably had Papa Giannis higher on my board at the time, but that's because I was stupid when I did this. In, like, 2014 or 2015 and probably shouldn't have had the job.
- [55:49]
Alex Spears
But you've been working for the Kings.
- [55:52]
Sam Bassini
The. The. The level to which I think he's better is. Is pretty real.
- [55:58]
Alex Spears
Okay.
- [55:59]
Sam Bassini
Like, just more skilled, more gifted with the ball. Okay. Uh, 2006. Yeah. I don't have these. Alex, I'm gonna call it.
- [56:07]
Alex Spears
Okay. Andrew, can you name the other two?
- [56:10]
Andrew
Alex? Len.
- [56:12]
Alex Spears
Yes.
- [56:12]
Sam Bassini
Oh, that's a good one. It's the year before I started doing this.
- [56:16]
Andrew
Robin Lopez.
- [56:17]
Alex Spears
Rolo. That is correct.
- [56:19]
Andrew
Yes.
- [56:21]
Sam Bassini
Yeah. I mean, that's way early.
- [56:22]
Alex Spears
Okay, Andrew. Of control the board.
- [56:25]
Andrew
Number two.
- [56:26]
Alex Spears
Question number two. The Duke Blue Devils had three top ten picks in this year's draft. The last time that happened was in 2019 when Duke had Zion, RJ and Cam Reddish go in the top 10. Who is the only other school to ever have three players drafted in the top 10?
- [56:41]
Andrew
I'll just say Kentucky, but it feels wrong because it feels too easy.
- [56:45]
Alex Spears
It is wrong. Andrew. Yeah, Sam, do you know the answer?
- [56:48]
Sam Bassini
So my first reaction was, is there someone I'm forgetting on the Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love UCLA team?
- [56:56]
Andrew
Oh, it's a good question to ask.
- [57:00]
Sam Bassini
They were in the same draft, right? I believe they were, yeah.
- [57:04]
Alex Spears
Yes.
- [57:04]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [57:05]
Sam Bassini
Because. Yeah, that would be. Collison went in the first, but not in the top 10.
- [57:12]
Alex Spears
In that draft class, too.
- [57:13]
Sam Bassini
Second round, though.
- [57:15]
Andrew
Yeah, second round.
- [57:17]
Alex Spears
Good class, though.
- [57:19]
Sam Bassini
Really good class. Yeah. Ohio State with Greg Odin and Mike Conley had two. And then Daquan Cook. Cook went later in the first round as well. Yeah, but they didn't have a third in the top 10, is it? Oh, I do know the answer to this. It's going to be Florida in the Al Horford, Noah Corey Brewer year.
- [57:43]
Alex Spears
That is correct, Sam. Very nice.
- [57:48]
Sam Bassini
Very nice.
- [57:49]
Alex Spears
Billy D. Andrew, shout out to Billy D. All right. Well, we've had so many steals in this game. I think it's been all steals.
- [57:56]
Sam Bassini
I like that we've all. That we've gotten all the questions right. Just each other's questions.
- [58:00]
Alex Spears
Yeah. Sam, you have control of the board.
- [58:04]
Sam Bassini
Number three.
- [58:05]
Alex Spears
Question number three. The spurs drafted Dylan Harper at number two. That is their third consecutive top four pick. Who is the last team to have three consecutive top four picks before this version of the Spurs?
- [58:21]
Sam Bassini
The Rockets. Right. With Reed, Jabari and Jalen.
- [58:24]
Alex Spears
That's correct, Sam. And Sam has pulled ahead four to three. Oh, this is exciting. Andrew. Three questions remain.
- [58:35]
Andrew
Number four.
- [58:36]
Alex Spears
They're all the dumbest ones. Question number four. Cooper Flagg becomes the second active NBA player who Was born in Maine. Who is the other?
- [58:46]
Andrew
Born in Maine.
- [58:47]
Alex Spears
Born in Maine. There's only one other active NBA player who was born in Maine.
- [58:51]
Andrew
I don't know. I'm passing. Can I not pass?
- [58:54]
Alex Spears
Gosh, I guess you can.
- [58:57]
Sam Bassini
There's like a method to my madness when I say this name. And I just want to be clear, like, I don't think it's right. Donovan Clingan's mother played at Maine. He grew up in Connecticut. Is there a chance he was just born in Maine? Sure. Clingan.
- [59:16]
Alex Spears
No. Wrong.
- [59:19]
Andrew
No.
- [59:19]
Alex Spears
Correct answer. Kind of makes sense when you hear it. Duncan Robinson. Yeah. I could see him. Being born in Maine.
- [59:26]
Sam Bassini
Yeah.
- [59:27]
Andrew
Makes sense. And that he looks. He has the face of a man who was born in Maine.
- [59:31]
Sam Bassini
Yeah. I mean, kind of makes sense. Played knapsack, went to Williams before he got to Michigan. Yeah, I get it. Yeah.
- [59:38]
Alex Spears
Okay. Sam, you have control of the board and a one point lead.
- [59:42]
Sam Bassini
Number eight, question number eight. This is always the stupidest question and I always save it for last, so I'm for it.
- [59:50]
Alex Spears
There's actually a dumber one. This is the really. This one's. This one's fun. This one's a good one. Thursday night was the second round of the 2025 NBA draft. Over the last two decades. So going back to 2006, 16 second rounders have gone on to make an All Star game. And we're going to name them all, all 16. So Sam's going to give me a name, then Andrew will give me a name and we'll go back and forth. So you just have to give me a second rounder real quick. Again, 2006 draft. So you just have to give me a second rounder who made an All Star game.
- [60:20]
Sam Bassini
Chris Middleton.
- [60:21]
Alex Spears
Correct. Andrew.
- [60:24]
Andrew
Anika Jokic.
- [60:26]
Alex Spears
Correct. Sam.
- [60:29]
Sam Bassini
Isaiah Thomas.
- [60:31]
Andrew
Correct. Andrew Draymond.
- [60:36]
Alex Spears
Correct. Saint.
- [60:39]
Sam Bassini
There are so many names and, like, so many things going through my mind. It's just the ADHD clutter thing where I have to, like, stop and think.
- [60:48]
Andrew
How far, how far back did you say?
- [60:50]
Alex Spears
I said 2006.
- [60:52]
Andrew
Okay.
- [60:53]
Sam Bassini
And there are 16.
- [60:56]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [60:57]
Sam Bassini
A lot more than I expected, actually. DeAndre Jordan.
- [61:02]
Alex Spears
Did I say okay, we're actually going to go back? We're actually going back to 2001. Yes. DeAndre Jordan. I think I meant last 25 years, maybe. I don't know what I meant. But the oldest Name is from 2001.
- [61:19]
Andrew
Jalen Brunson.
- [61:21]
Alex Spears
Yeah, Jalen Brunson.
- [61:24]
Sam Bassini
Sam, there are probably so many more, like, active ones that I can't think of in My head, because my brain is just broken.
- [61:31]
Andrew
Wait, what year did you adjust to again?
- [61:33]
Alex Spears
Now, I adjusted to 2001. So we're doing 25 years. I think I did 25 years because. Kyle Korver.
- [61:44]
Andrew
Yes.
- [61:45]
Alex Spears
I think I did 25 years because there's one name that I really wanted to include. Andrew. Maybe that's a hint. I don't know. I don't know.
- [61:53]
Andrew
Carlos Boozer.
- [61:54]
Alex Spears
Carlos Boozer. Yes.
- [61:56]
Sam Bassini
That's a good one. That's a very good one.
- [62:00]
Alex Spears
Okay, back to Sam.
- [62:03]
Sam Bassini
Oh, boy. Paul Millsap.
- [62:08]
Alex Spears
Yes, Paul Millsap.
- [62:10]
Andrew
A couple in the same cloth, those two. Marcus Hall.
- [62:17]
Alex Spears
Yeah, Marcus. Paul Millsab used to be like the go to for second rounders. Like. Yeah, he was Paul Millsap.
- [62:24]
Sam Bassini
Yeah.
- [62:26]
Alex Spears
Okay, there are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 names left.
- [62:30]
Sam Bassini
Gerald Wallace.
- [62:33]
Alex Spears
Gerald Wallace.
- [62:36]
Sam Bassini
No.
- [62:39]
Alex Spears
He was drafted. He was the 25th pick. 2001 draft. He did make one all star game as a Charlotte Bobcat. He wasn't a dunk contest. It was really bad, but wasn't taken in the second round. Andrew, did you have any other names? Locked and loaded.
- [62:59]
Andrew
Mo Williams.
- [63:00]
Alex Spears
Yeah, Mo Williams.
- [63:01]
Sam Bassini
Oh, that's a very good answer.
- [63:04]
Alex Spears
Any others? Any others?
- [63:06]
Andrew
I think it's. I think that's where I ran out, so.
- [63:09]
Alex Spears
Hall of Famer manage nobly. That was one.
- [63:12]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [63:13]
Sam Bassini
I honestly thought that. I thought. I was worried that he was drafted too early.
- [63:17]
Andrew
Yeah, that's kind of what I.
- [63:18]
Sam Bassini
That's.
- [63:19]
Andrew
Yeah, he and like Michael Red. I got it. I just didn't. I couldn't remember what year money was.
- [63:25]
Sam Bassini
That's definitely too early.
- [63:27]
Andrew
Yeah, Michael Red's way too. I think Michael Red's 2000.
- [63:30]
Alex Spears
You know what? Ginobili was actually drafted in 99, so he. Technically.
- [63:34]
Sam Bassini
Yeah, that's what I thought.
- [63:35]
Andrew
Okay. Yeah, that's what I thought, too.
- [63:37]
Alex Spears
Yeah, that's what I thought too. Yeah, whatever. Okay. Other names.
- [63:40]
Andrew
I did.
- [63:42]
Alex Spears
Goran Dragic.
- [63:43]
Sam Bassini
The 15.
- [63:44]
Andrew
Dragic. Oh, I forgot. Dragic made an all star team.
- [63:49]
Alex Spears
Rashard Lewis.
- [63:51]
Andrew
Charlotte.
- [63:52]
Sam Bassini
I always think he went late first. So. Yeah. Okay.
- [63:55]
Alex Spears
Agent 0. Gilbert Arenas.
- [63:57]
Andrew
What year was Rashad Lewis drafted?
- [63:59]
Sam Bassini
This one.
- [64:00]
Alex Spears
Andrew. It's not. It's not important. Okay. Yeah. He was also drafted in 1998.
- [64:07]
Andrew
Okay. Don't worry about it.
- [64:09]
Alex Spears
Don't worry about it. It's not important. You got it wrong anyway. Okay, I got it right.
- [64:18]
Andrew
I thought.
- [64:19]
Alex Spears
No, you did. You did get a point. You did a good point.
- [64:21]
Sam Bassini
But to be clear, is Mo Williams. Mo Williams is not like too early. Right.
- [64:28]
Alex Spears
Williams. He was. He was picked 47th overall.
- [64:32]
Sam Bassini
Three you're good in 03.
- [64:34]
Alex Spears
Yeah. Okay, so it went back. It was actually 30ish years is what I meant. The final name, which is this is the reason I thought I was going back to 2001. Memet O. Kerr made an all star game.
- [64:50]
Andrew
God, I forgot that he made the all star team and I forgot that he was a person.
- [64:54]
Alex Spears
Okay, this is a really exciting thing because it's four. Four. There's one question left. It's by far the dumbest question I came up with. And I almost, almost feel like the person who's going to be second, which would be Sam, has a better chance at it. How many first rounders taken in the 2025 NBA Draft have three letter first names? And as a clarification, ace counts. Okay, so I'm giving you one of them, Ace, and you just have to give me the number. So how many first rounders were drafted with three letter first names?
- [65:29]
Andrew
Ace, Trey, Asa. I think it's three letters. Esengay, Noah. Noah, Esengay, Andrew.
- [65:40]
Alex Spears
That is incorrect. Sam, you have a chance to win the week. You can tell me how many first rounders were drafted with three letter first names?
- [65:49]
Sam Bassini
One, Cooper. Two, Dylan. Three was so con is on here for sure at four.
- [65:57]
Andrew
Dang it.
- [65:58]
Sam Bassini
Three is vj. Seven is Fears. Eight is Jaeger. Nine is who? Ten is Common. Nine is Murray Bos. Eleven is thirteen is Derek Queen. Twelve is who who went twelve? Noah Essengay. We have him. That's five. Eleven was Yang is sixteen.
- [66:30]
Alex Spears
I feel like Sam's doing his own trivia question. I like, want to jump in to answer the questions as he's going through.
- [66:37]
Sam Bassini
Yeah, I'm trying to go through all of the picks to get it right. Yeah, we'll go five.
- [66:41]
Alex Spears
That is also incorrect.
- [66:43]
Sam Bassini
Is it six?
- [66:44]
Alex Spears
It was six.
- [66:46]
Sam Bassini
Yeah, you could. I felt like you were like cutting me off a little bit. I was like, oh, was it. Take a second. The other ones. The other one's sir off, I guess is the thing.
- [66:54]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [66:55]
Sam Bassini
So yeah, Ben, I just hadn't. I hadn't gotten to 26 yet is the issue.
- [67:03]
Andrew
Okay, shout out to Ben.
- [67:05]
Alex Spears
So you guys are tied four.
- [67:06]
Sam Bassini
Four last time.
- [67:09]
Andrew
Yeah, that's true.
- [67:11]
Alex Spears
I have to come up with a final question and it's going to be an easy one. How many career points did Alexei Pokushevsky score in the NBA? Now, Sam, because you're the guest, you get to choose who answers first. You can make Andrew answer and then you go higher, lower, or you can answer and Andrew, I think there's A.
- [67:31]
Sam Bassini
Non zero chance answer. Or Andrew just has the answer in his head somewhere that I'm just like.
- [67:36]
Andrew
Visit his basketball reference page every day of my life. Yes.
- [67:41]
Sam Bassini
Yeah. I am going to let him pick the number, though.
- [67:44]
Alex Spears
Hey, Andrew, this is career points for Alexei Pokhrushevsky. This does include his time with the Charlotte Hornets.
- [67:51]
Andrew
Okay. That matters. Thanks for the clarification. I don't know. A thousand points. Let's just set it the Bar 1000.
- [67:58]
Alex Spears
All right.
- [67:58]
Sam Bassini
That's a big number.
- [68:00]
Alex Spears
It's a big number. Sam, would you like to go higher or lower? You love poker.
- [68:03]
Sam Bassini
I did play a lot of minutes on those bad teams.
- [68:06]
Alex Spears
Mm.
- [68:08]
Sam Bassini
I'm gonna go under.
- [68:09]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [68:10]
Alex Spears
Gonna go under. Alexei Pokushevsky, champion of the Serbian league in the NBA. Scored.
- [68:16]
Sam Bassini
Champion. Champion of our hearts, by the way.
- [68:18]
Andrew
That's right.
- [68:19]
Alex Spears
Also that two times, two rings, he scored 1,253 points, which means Andrew wins the week.
- [68:31]
Andrew
Yes.
- [68:31]
Sam Bassini
Good for you, Andrew.
- [68:33]
Andrew
God, it feels really good. It feels really good. Shout out to Poku to end on.
- [68:38]
Sam Bassini
That question is the key. Really?
- [68:40]
Andrew
Yeah, that is. That's pretty good. Shout out to the time that I saw Poku at the airport and I sat and ate oatmeal with him. It was really, really fun.
- [68:48]
Sam Bassini
Hey, so honestly, to be clear, because you ended on that question, Alex, I'm not even upset that I lost.
- [68:56]
Alex Spears
Oh, that's great.
- [68:57]
Andrew
So that's great.
- [68:58]
Alex Spears
I have to remember that for other guests. I don't know if it'll work as.
- [69:01]
Sam Bassini
Well, but I'll for giving us that tribute.
- [69:07]
Andrew
Oh, man. Go read all the draft grades from Sam at the Athletic. Go listen to the Game Theory podcast. If you didn't follow along with the live streams, you can listen to the podcast that has, like, that's broken up. So if you're just wanting to listen to your team, you can actually go to the podcast feed and find where your team picked, and you can kind of listen to his analysis there. That's what I did earlier today.
- [69:33]
Alex Spears
You can listen to Sam finding out the. About the Pelicans trading up to 13, which I clipped and put on Blue sky because I thought it was so funny.
- [69:41]
Andrew
It's.
- [69:42]
Sam Bassini
It was. It was a reaction.
- [69:45]
Andrew
It's. It's work. It's all worth it. You should go listen to all of it. Check it out. Go subscribe to the YouTube channel at game Theory as well. Anything else, Sam, that you'd like to promote before we get out of here?
- [70:00]
Sam Bassini
No, I mean, just go to the Athletic. Go to the Game Theory podcast. Listen to it on Spotify, you know, Apple podcasts, you know, YouTube obviously, which is where, you know, we're doing well over there. So, yeah, do all that stuff. That's great.
- [70:15]
Andrew
Yeah, dude. Thank you guys so much for listening to the Saturday Slammin Jam. We very much appreciate you guys. Leave us a five star review. We'll read it on the podcast. We'll be back next week. We'll be talking free agency, team building, all that fun stuff. Be sure to tune in. And also we'll be at summer league this year. I'm finally dragging Alex to summer league and so we'll be doing slam and jam live in Vegas. So if you guys want to come hang out with us, we would love to to see you guys in Las Vegas here in just a few weeks, sneaking up on us. So be sure to join us there. I hope you guys enjoy the weekend and we'll talk to you guys again next week.
- [71:13]
Jessica Hawk
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- [71:38]
Sam Bassini
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- [71:46]
Alex Spears
The Capital One Saver card is at.
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Sam Bassini
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- [71:52]
Andrew
Yes, Chef.
- [71:53]
Sam Bassini
This is so nice.
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Alex Spears
Had a feeling you'd want 3% cash back on dessert.
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Sam Bassini
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- [72:10]
Alex Spears
The lights on, Grainger understands that you.
- [72:12]
Sam Bassini
Go to great lengths and sometimes high heights to ensure the power is always flowing.
- [72:18]
Alex Spears
Which is why you can count on Grainger for professional grade products and next day delivery. So you have everything you need to.
- [72:25]
Sam Bassini
Get the job done.
- [72:27]
Alex Spears
Call 1-800-granger.
- [72:28]
Sam Bassini
Click granger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.