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- [00:00]
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Andrew
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Sam Fasini
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Andrew
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Sam Fasini
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Andrew
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- [02:01]
Sam Fasini
Obligated is really the reason.
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Andrew
It's not even. That's not even true. That's not even true. It's not even true. I just want to talk to you about the draft. Thanks for coming on the first the first question I have is we keep hearing about how great this class is and how teams need to be tanking to get these high draft picks, which I think is true in most drafts. But like how deep is this class of guys that could potentially be franchise changing players.
- [02:30]
Sam Fasini
Yeah. I mean, so first and foremost, I want to apologize to everybody for like sweating profusely while we're doing this just because my wife and I are moving in a couple of weeks and like, we just don't have like a great situation right now that will allow me to get.
- [02:44]
Andrew
Stay cool and listen, everybody in America is like, we wish that we were sweating.
- [02:48]
Sam Fasini
So you know, Andrew, it was 105 here on Tuesday.
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Andrew
That's crazy. It was crazy. It's going to be negative 6 in okc tomorrow.
- [02:57]
Sam Fasini
So crazy.
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Andrew
Yeah.
- [02:59]
Sam Fasini
So you asked the question like, just how strong is this draft? Right. And I would say it's the strongest we've seen. I mean, at least since 2023. I don't think that any of Darren Peterson, AJ DeBancer or Cam Boozer have quite reached the level of Victor Wembanyama as a draft prospect just point blank. But I do like all three of them more than I liked either Brandon Miller or Scoot Henderson, both of whom were really, really well regarded going into that draft. Obviously I think they're all on the level of like Cade, when Cade was like a no doubter number one overall pick. And there are three of those guys in this class. And I truly love all three of them you brought up though. Like, how deep is, how deep does the class go? Honestly, like, I really like Caleb Wilson, Keaton Wagler and Kingston Flemings. Like, I think all three of those guys are genuine real top five picks and like top four picks. Even maybe in a normal draft, like Keaton Wagler has all sorts of upside and is. He just has so many outs as a player because he's so polished. He's. He's really, really smart. From all the intel I've gotten, like, he's a really high level human being. He is an awesome shooter. Like there's. It's almost hard for me to imagine a way that he doesn't at least become like a really good NBA player. And I think there's like significant upside beyond that. Kingston Flemings is just like an absolute joke athletically. The explosiveness, the power, the speed with which he plays the downhill force. And then Caleb Wilson is as productive as anybody in the country right now. He's averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds. I mean, it's fairly laughable that he's on the Naismith defensive player of the Year watch list. Like, he's not a great defender right now and I don't know what those people are looking at, but he is somebody that is incredibly efficient around the rim. He dunks everything. There are some touch questions, but, like, you know, it's like a Pascal Siakam starter kit. And if he's a really, really good kid, from what I gather, like, really engaging, really smart. So you buy into all of what he brings to the table, other than just the developing skill level right now, and that's gonna have to come along. He's gonna have to continue to grow as a shooter, gonna have to grow as a playmaker more and more. But, you know, if you're telling me that I could maybe get a Pascal Siakam starter kit at like, 4, 5, or 6, where I think there's, like, a pretty reasonable chance that he can reach that kind of threshold, given that he's like 6, 9 with a 71 7, you know, 71ish wingspan, it could be a little bit longer, it could be a little bit shorter. There's just a lot to be excited about with this draft class. And, you know, you can even go beyond that and start talking about, you know, I'm, like, a little bit lower on Darius Acuff, but I know a lot of people are really excited about him. You can certainly talk about KOA Pete, who is one of the best players on the best team in the country. You can talk about Mikel Brown's upside, even though he has not had a great year this year. You can talk about Jaden Quaintance's incredible defensive upside. You can talk about Nate Amen. As a guy that has really started to figure things out over the course of his last five or six games. There's just a lot to be excited about in this draft class. And I do think that from a overall strength and depth perspective, this is going to go down as one of the, if not the best, draft of, like, this most recent decade.
- [06:36]
Andrew
So in your top 100, you have AJ Devance at number one. Do you still. You still feel. Do you still feel that way?
- [06:42]
Sam Fasini
I don't look. Okay, I. I have him. I wrote a thing today or yesterday, whenever this is going up. I think it came out on Wednesday or Thursday where I kind of talked about some of AJ's problems in Big 12 play so far where there just isn't enough variation on his drives. Like, we're not sitting here saying that he should change who he is, right? He's so good at getting downhill. He's so powerful and physical, and his ability to bend and play with explosiveness out of that bend and be flexible on his drives is really, really impressive. And really, really important, I think. And it makes him who he is, right? He gets to the foul line like nine times a game, ten times a game because of this. And that's an immensely incredible skill and incredibly important in terms of translation as well. But he's not a great shooter right now. He's not an awesome decision maker whenever he gets kind of bogged down in the lane. And on top of that, I think his handle is not particularly great right now. And the best example of that, I think came in both the Texas Tech and Arizona games. And we saw this actually in even Team USA stuff this summer, actually. But whenever teams play this like very gap heavy coverage where they'll like kind of dig in and try to stop his drives, he just kind of automatically picks up the ball and he's always trying to gather and get to the rim and play with his stride length and play with his explosiveness and everything like that. And again, I don't want to take that away from him. But the guys that win in the NBA is these big apex wing, you know, scorers and decision makers, right? You can look at Kawhi Leonard, you can look at Jayson Tatum, you can look at Jimmy Butler, whoever, right? Like they all play with a real degree of poise and they all play with a real degree of, okay, this first thing didn't work. I keep my handle alive, I put it between my legs and I stop and I try and figure out a different way to draw defenders and then I make a kick out. Or in quiet case, he just shoots over the top of everybody because he's like one of the two best shooters on planet Earth with Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry, right. So those skills are right now lacking from AJ And I think the player that it reminds me most of whenever I watch him is kind of Jalen Brown when he came out of Cal.
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Andrew
Yeah.
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Sam Fasini
And if you remember that Cal tape with Jalen Brown, he's playing next to Ivan Rabb. He was playing in a situation that is actually like way worse spaced than the situation that AJ is playing in right now, BYU, where he has multiple 43 point shooters next to him and Rob Wright and Richie Saunders. And he has a great ceiling big and everything like that. But it reminds me a lot of just like Jalen early in his career, like downhill, get to the rim at all costs and head down. Let's just try and get there. And I think AJ is actually like quite a similar athlete to Jalen, where they're both incredibly powerful and flexible and physical and like totally absorb and embrace contact and everything. And, like, Jalen Brown has turned out to be an all NBA guy who is a Finals MVP and everything like that. Like, I think that that's the player that I think of most right now when I watch AJ and that's in no way a slight to AJ it's just that, you know, I think that there's a long way to go. And I think that the best, most instructive example of how Jalen has grown and matured as a player over the course of his career and now developed into a number one option on a really good Boston Celtics team is he improved the handle. He improved the ability to play with poise and to counter what defenses present him. That's just what AJ has to do over the course of the next four or five years of his career. And I think that that ceiling is, like, very attainable for AJ And I think that he probably will reach that kind of ceiling, and he might even be better because he's bigger than Jalen Brown, honestly. But that's. That's the kind of developmental pathway that I think we're going down now. And it'll be incumbent upon AJ to keep growing and maturing, to hit that. To hit those developmental benchmarks. He needs to be a great NBA player. So.
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Andrew
So the guy that most people have pegged as the number one pick is Darren Peterson out of Kansas. Six. Five, guard.
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Sam Fasini
Two. I would have. Right now.
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Andrew
Yeah. Um, are there teams. Do you think that would go a different direction had they. If they get the number one pick? Is this. Is this dependent upon. Okay. Is there anything that come to mind?
- [11:33]
Sam Fasini
It's a real. Look, I'm not going to, you know, talk about specific teams just because, like, teams don't have their boards, like.
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Andrew
Yeah.
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Sam Fasini
Yet.
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Andrew
Just theoretically. Just theoretically. Are there, like. Are there teams like the Wizards come to mind? Like, is. Is there, like a. Is there. Is there a thing there where, hey, we've got guards here, or would that just be foolish to, like, pass on him? I guess is the question.
- [11:57]
Sam Fasini
So, like. So, like, you know, I think you can make a case that the Wizards were widely reported to have had interest in Ace Bailey this past NBA draft. And, you know, I think Ace. I think that AJ advance is, like, a way better prospect than Ace Bailey, to be clear. But, you know, big wing creator. You know, it's very possible that coming from that Oklahoma City tree, that they might just value the intersection of, like, size and shot creation and everything that AJ can bring. Now, like, I think Darren is just a lot more Polished and is a better shooter and makes better decisions as a passer. That's the thing that we haven't gotten to see with Darren yet this year, to be honest with you, Andrew. Like in high school, for his first like couple years in high school, Darren Peterson was like a gunner kind of similar a little bit to what we've seen at Kansas, honestly. And then in his last year at prolific Pratt, he really grew as a passer and like was hitting cross corner kick out reads, was hitting skip passes, was really good at playing within ball screens and understanding where his teammates were at all times. But it Kansas, I think probably because of the injuries as much as anything, we haven't gotten to see him get into that flow and rhythm quite as well. So that's what I'm most interested in watching with Darren the rest of the year. You know, between the like hamstring that turned into quad cramping that you know, led to, didn't lead to, but like was followed by an ankle injury. It's just been so stop starting with Darren that it's really, really hard to get him into rhythm. And yet you look up and even with all of those injuries that we've seen, Darren is averaging 22, 5 and 2, shooting 49, 42, 82 as a teenager. Right. Like, it's just crazy how good and how efficient and how Sharpie is. So look, I think that there are teams that will look at AJ's tools and we'll say, well there's a guy here who's 6, 9 and is a better athlete than Darren and if we can teach him some of the experienced based things that will come as he gets, you know, more game time and more reps. We think he has the highest upside, right? And I wouldn't blame anybody that has that opinion, to be honest.
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Andrew
What about, what about for Cam, what about for Cam Boozer though?
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Sam Fasini
Yeah, like, and I think there are teams that like I just look, you know, I look at the Memphis Grizzlies for example, right? And Memphis has Jaron Jackson right now they have Zach Edie, like you might look at it and be like the last thing that they need is another front court player. They've Cedric Coward who's going to be a three, right? Like, but this team, like if you look at their draft, draft history, they take the dudes that are just wildly productive in college, right? And it's really worked out for them. Like they are probably the best team at drafting in the league outside of maybe Oklahoma City. You can look at, you know, the Guys that they've drilled, they drilled the John Moran and Jaren Jackson picks. Then, you know, you look past through their history. They hit Santia at the end of the first round. They drilled Desmond Bain at the end of the first round. They hit Brandon Clark before his injuries, was a really great pick in the 20s, and Cam Spencer is a fantastic pick at like 51 overall. And Jalen Wells is at 39 overall and he's a great pick. And Vince Williams even at 46 is a plus pick there. And they evaluated Cedric Coward really well. And yeah, you can just keep going down the list. They find these guys all the time and they tend to take the guys who are just wildly productive in college, you know what I mean? So I don't know this, like, I don't know who they would have at number one, but I just look at their drafts history and I go, you know what if Memphis got the number one overall pick, I bet Cam Boozers in play, right?
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Andrew
Yeah, that's fun. I mean it makes it, it makes like this process and especially what happens at the lottery, like really important.
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Sam Fasini
Yeah.
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Andrew
To where all of these guys go. Is there anybody you think that can sneak into the top three?
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Sam Fasini
No.
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Andrew
Okay. Like that's close. Okay.
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Sam Fasini
Yeah. Look, if Indiana got the third overall pick, the. Oh, here's the only way is if like Darren Peterson's medicals don't come back clean.
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Andrew
Okay, Right.
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Sam Fasini
Or if somebody's medicals don't come back clean. Sure, that would be the way. But I mean, like, I just don't. Teams do silly things all the time. They overthink this stuff all the time. Cam Boozer I think would be the one that was at risk of being overthought just because he is, you know, going to come in probably at like 6, 8 without shoes and doesn't have the traditional athleticism or whatever. But I mean he's gonna win national player of the year in like a walkover as a t. As a teenager. And he's averaging 24, 10 and 4, shooting 58, 37, 76 and is dominating like high level opponents, like completely just obliterating them. Yeah. So I don't know. I think that anybody who would pass him up is kind of overthinking things by half. But that's just me.
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Andrew
Yeah, he's a very complete opponent offensive player defensively. What do you, what do you think about him as a prospect?
- [17:48]
Sam Fasini
Look, right now at this specific point, I think he's a better defender than Caleb Wilson. I think that he's really good positionally I think he knows exactly where he's supposed to be at all times. I think that he rotates well. I think that he communicates super well on the backside. Like, I remember being at Hoop Summit practices and he was the one that you could hear like he was like yelling out coverages. So I think that it's probably he's never going to be like an all defense guy, right? You can look at Caleb Wilson and say, okay, when he gets more experience, there's powerful athleticism there. There are real tools there. You can see that world. He's such a good athlete to where and he plays so hard to where. If you just weaponize that motor more on the defensive end, you could be so excited by what you see from Caleb Wilson on the defensive end. But right now he ball watches a ton. He's a step slow, like, you know, just consistently stands up a little bit too high in his defensive stance and gets driven a little bit more consistently than what you'd like to see on the perimeter. The tools are there for him to be a great defender and given his motor, given like everything I understand about the kid, like he's probably going to be a good defender at some point, but we're not there yet. And you know, Boozer is a bit more of a finished product there. Like, I think Boozer will probably be able to step in and be a pretty good defender in the NBA positionally and like coaches aren't going to get mad at Cam Boozer defensively, right? Because he's always going to be in the right spots.
- [19:33]
Andrew
A player that's like super intriguing to me is Jaden Quaintance. We've only seen, sure, limited. We've seen just limited play from him this season. But what's, what's his upside as a guy who's just like, I think he's a lottery pick. But like, what does his upside look like at the NBA level?
- [19:52]
Sam Fasini
Highest upside defender in the class. I would say he is a monster on that end. He is. His timing is tremendous. His ability to cover ground is tremendous. He is so good in ball screen coverages, Andrew. Like the way that he can play at the level and then retreat. The way that he innately understands how to open his hips and force offensive players in one direction or another. The way that he's able to bait them into what he wants them to do by stunting at them by, you know, using little hand swipes and things like that. Like, he is so good at baiting offensive players into making the decisions that he wants them to make. Having said that, he's coming back from an ACL injury where he just had surgery on it in, like, March. And like, I was talking about this throughout the, like, transfer process, throughout, like, the off season, throughout the early portion of the season. I don't know why people expected him to be at 100% from the start of the year. I mean, I do know why. It's because, like, his dad was very public. Like, he's going to be ready for the start of the year because.
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Andrew
Oh, no.
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Sam Fasini
But no, it was. No, no, I'm not taking shots at the dad. The dad was smart to do that because you get, like, he was in a position where he was gonna have to hit the transfer portal. He was gonna have to get paid.
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Andrew
Oh, I see. I see what you're saying.
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Sam Fasini
You know what I mean?
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Andrew
Yeah, I see what you're saying. Yeah.
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Sam Fasini
And it's incumbent upon the team to do medicals and see what's going on.
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Andrew
Sure.
- [21:32]
Sam Fasini
Right. If you're gonna pay him, you know, significant dollars, I don't know the exact number that he's making. I have a ballpark in my mind, but, like, I don't know the exact number. And if you're paying him that much money, you got to know.
- [21:48]
Andrew
Yeah.
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Sam Fasini
It's what NBA teams do. Right. You got to treat this more like a professional situation. So, like, I think Quaint is a stud. I think he's going to be very good. Obviously, NBA teams will be exceptionally curious about the medicals. It's funny because the player he most reminds me of is Rob Williams when I watch him. And if you remember Rob Williams, like, all defensive team guy on his rookie scale. Deal. We all knew the medical history coming into the draft. We all knew medical history when he was with the Celtics. He obviously continues to struggle playing full games and full seasons because of that. Hopefully, Quaintance is just a torn ACL and guys come back from torn ACLs and it's okay. But undeniably, the medical is going to tell the tale of where Jaden Quaintance goes in the draft. That that will be the reason that he either goes 8th or he goes, you know, 25th or something like that. If the medical isn't great.
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Andrew
Yeah. A guy that I really like, he's an older player, and I know his athleticism is kind of holding him back a little bit. But Joshua Jefferson out of Iowa State, is there a chance that he's a lottery pick?
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Sam Fasini
Maybe. Like, not. Not impossible. Like, I always just say post lottery first for somebody like him.
- [23:15]
Andrew
Yeah.
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Sam Fasini
Because I don't think I've talked to a scout who's like, oh, yeah, I buy the shot. You know what I mean?
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Andrew
Sure.
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Sam Fasini
He's shooting like, you know, 42% from three or whatever. This year he's taking.
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Andrew
Right.
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Sam Fasini
Three of them per game. And before that, you know, he was a, you know, 30% three point shooter in his three previous years at St. Mary's in Iowa State. Right. So what I do love about Joshua Jefferson and there were teams that tried to like, get him to be in the draft last year and like, agree to like a, like, deal in the second round. Like, teams were like, oh, this is a guy.
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Andrew
I could see why.
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Sam Fasini
Yeah, his feel is.
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Andrew
Yeah, the feel is. Yeah, the feel is great. And at his size, I'm like, yeah, I can see why this would work in the league.
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Sam Fasini
Even if he is like six, six and a half without shoes.
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Andrew
Yeah.
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Sam Fasini
And he seems to have long arms. He's strong, he's physical. He just out thinks you everywhere on the court. Totally. He is. His anticipation is incredible. He finds exactly where he's supposed to be every single time that he's on the court. The passing is unbelievable. He plays as like a point forward type, I guess we want to call it that at Iowa State. Next to Tamin Lipsey, like, he's a stud. Man, I love that kid so much. Like, ultimate. I want that guy on my team guy. And you know, we talked about like, the Grizzlies being the team that values these high field guys. Values these, you know, guys that are just really smart and super productive. Like, that's a, that's a Grizzlies guy if I've ever seen one in my life. Right. That's an Oklahoma City guy if I've ever seen one in my life.
- [25:09]
Andrew
Yep. Yeah, that's. That was my thought, too. Is like there are, there are things about him. It's like the age, the athleticism. Like, he's. I don't know if he's six, eight or not, but like, he like never dunks the ball. Like, it's just like. Yeah, there's just not like a lot that stands out about him in, in that way athletically. But everything else to me is like, I just, like, I just love that guy.
- [25:31]
Sam Fasini
Look, I don't know if Golden State's going to keep their pick. Maybe they move it for Giannis, like, who knows, right?
- [25:37]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [25:38]
Sam Fasini
But can you imagine him being like, under the Draymond green wing for like two years where, you know, he gets to learn and figure out the NBA game just by watching Draymond Green and then just, like, steps into, you know, being able to do something similar to that. Like, that'd be so fun in Golden State.
- [25:56]
Andrew
Yeah. Yeah. That might keep Steve Kerr coaching a couple more years to get Joshua Jefferson in a. In a Warriors uniform. He's. He's good. Another older guy, Yaxel Lindeborg. Yeah, Tell us about him and kind of what his potential is.
- [26:16]
Sam Fasini
Yeah, so, like, Yaks is a guy that was at UAB last year, was in the draft process, and came in at like 6, 8, 7, 4, wingspan, like 235 pounds, played well at the combine. Just had an immense amount of money on the table to go to Michigan. Right. So he decided to go back and go to Michigan, where he is the number one sort of option. They really spread it around on what is the top two team in the country, along with Arizona. And it's been like, okay. Recently, I would argue, like, they just spread it around so much and they don't need him every single night. But it's just kind of like Swiss army knife forward, you know what I mean? Like, king guard a little bit. Not like an amazing defender, but a good enough defender in the. By NBA standards. Can knock down a shot occasionally. Like, he's drilling 30 from 3 right now, but, you know, I think that he can shoot a little bit better than that, if you made me predict it rebounds the ball super well, can pass super well, you know, just always seems to put his nose in the right places and has, again, like, the requisite NBA size and athleticism. He's not, like, wildly fluid. He's not like a true wing necessarily. Like, he's a. A. He's more four than three. Right. But, you know, just another smart, instinctive player that just understands how to play. And will. I. I think he'll have a long NBA career because of it, at the very least as a bench player, if not as, you know, maybe a guy who could start some games. Just. Just not a great shot creator for himself is the thing.
- [27:58]
Andrew
Okay. Any, like, comp or, like, archetype you can think of?
- [28:02]
Sam Fasini
Yeah, that's a good one. Like, he's so long and, like, it's a little bit funky to try to come up with the name.
- [28:10]
Andrew
I know he's a. It's a weird player. I'm just trying to contextualize it for. For the listeners a little bit.
- [28:15]
Sam Fasini
Yeah, I. I don't know if I've got one, to be honest, because, like, yeah, he's just like a. Yeah, like Jeremy Sohan, like physically came to mind to me. Sure. Because of the length and because of like the size. Right. Like Jeremy's like six, eight, seven, three and a half wingspan or whatever. But Jeremy like moves differently and is like a little bit more fluid and has nowhere near the shot. Right.
- [28:42]
Andrew
Yeah.
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Sam Fasini
I don't like, like older Harrison Barnes, like after Harrison, like couldn't create shots anymore.
- [28:52]
Andrew
Yeah.
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Sam Fasini
Kind of thing.
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Andrew
Yeah.
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Sam Fasini
Like. Like something in that ballpark. Maybe. Like that guy's were the first round pick. Like Harrison is still. He's, you know, plugging away for. Still doing it.
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Andrew
He's still doing it. Yeah.
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Sam Fasini
Yeah. You know, averaging 11 a game, has started every game for San Antonio this year. Smart. Knows where he's supposed to be. Maybe something like that. But you know, it's. That guy to me is worth somewhere between like 12 and 22 or whatever on draft day.
- [29:25]
Andrew
Yeah. Who. Who's the player that you're higher on than consensus. It could be like a deep cut. It could be like a first round guy.
- [29:36]
Sam Fasini
Yeah. I mean, forever. It was Wagler, but I think people have caught up on Wagler, unfortunately.
- [29:41]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [29:46]
Sam Fasini
It's a good question. That's a very good question. I'm pretty intrigued by Amari Allen. I'm pretty intrigued by Morez Johnson. I'm starting to come around on Mateus Crevice at Arizona. Like, it's. It. The problem with this year's draft, from my perspective, it's not a problem for NBA teams, but like the problem with trying to find guys this year is a lot of them still have eligibility and if you're not a guaranteed first round pick, you should go back. Yeah. Just point blank. Right? Yeah, you should absolutely go back. So kind of trying to like sort through the idea of. Okay, like, I kind of like Christian Anderson. I think he's probably the best shooter in the draft class. Right. He's just tiny and can't really guard. But he's averaging like 20 and 7 and a half assists or whatever. And I think he probably sticks around the NBA for a minute. Right. But, you know, I don't know. It's hard to like spot the sleeper this year.
- [30:58]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [30:59]
Sam Fasini
Because the sleeper who like rises way up throughout the draft process. I don't know how much that's going to exist in the NIL era. Like, I don't know how many people. I mean, look, hey, maybe with the BD situation, like there is no NCAA draft deadline come. Come June. Right. Or come late May when typically have to come out. So, like we're in that ballpark right now. I think that if we are like I'm, you know, trying to figure out who the, the best guy is that I want to take. But yeah, yeah, I mean I, I feel like this year I'm focusing a lot more on the guys that I think are like in the draft and yeah, really, I, I know that Darius Acuff is going to be in this draft. Right. I feel pretty good now that Braden Buries is going to be in this draft based off of how he's played, you know, basically since his bad start at Arizona. You know, all the seniors like Joshua Jefferson Bennett start and you know, Yaks and those guys, like those guys will be in the draft. But it's a little bit hard for me to get excited about the way under the radar sleepers right now just because like I would recommend they all go back. Like I really like Matt Abel at NC State. Right. Hasn't really done anything yet in college basketball. Like it's had some double digit games but like I would never sit here and recommend that Matt Abel, who's averaging eight points a game leaves NC State this year.
- [32:35]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [32:35]
Sam Fasini
You know what I mean? Like yeah, 15 against Florida and look great doing it. But I don't know, like I, I love this fact that he's six six. I love that he can shoot. I love that he can handle the ball a little bit. I think he's like a really smart basketball player. But like that guy should just either stay at NC State or transfer somewhere. Right. Like don't, don't, don't like it too silly and try and work your way into being like the 25th pick when the downside is that maybe you're the 45th pick and you just passed up, you know, one and a half million dollars or $2 million to go to college in order to make 600 on a two way.
- [33:16]
Andrew
That's what I was going to say. When you're picked in the 40s, teams are like great, you're on a two way.
- [33:21]
Sam Fasini
Yeah.
- [33:22]
Andrew
Welcome to the NBA. Yeah. I mean you wrote, you wrote a little bit about it, but can you just like dive in a little bit more on like how nil is just going to likely thin out the second round, if not the end of the first.
- [33:37]
Sam Fasini
Like there just isn't really a case for like these guys to leave anymore. Like I really like Ruben Chigniello at Florida. Reuben was at the G League combine last year. I think he came in at like 610 ish with a 78 wingspan and he plays super hard he's awesome on defense now. He can occasionally make like a foul line jumper. He's shooting 75 from the line or something like that. That kid is gonna make two plus million dollars to go back to Florida next year. Probably. I talked to the Florida staff about that. I'm just like, you know, knowing what the market is like, he'll probably make two plus million dollars to go back to Florida next year. He'd have to be the 20. He'd have to be locked in at like the 25th overall pick.
- [34:31]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [34:32]
Sam Fasini
For it to be like a good financial decision for him to leave if there's any uncertainty about his situation. So you know what I wrote about is just basically like, look, the market is pretty real right now. It is an issue where like even though there's this like nil go clearing house and there's supposed to be revenue sharing and things like that, like college basketball teams are expecting they're going to have just as big a budgets this year as they did last year, if not greater. And look at J.T. toppin at Texas Tech, right? Like I think about this with Christian Anderson, right? Like J.T. toppin got over 3 million to go back to Texas Tech last year, right? Yeah. Do you know what, like Asa Newell is the 20, 23rd overall pick is making right now.
- [35:24]
Andrew
It's not that much, is it?
- [35:26]
Sam Fasini
Like I feel pretty good about JT Toppin making more like Asa Newell is making 3.2. Like I'm pretty sure JT Toppin is making more than Asa Newell right now. 23rd overall or 22nd.
- [35:38]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [35:38]
Sam Fasini
That's wild, right?
- [35:39]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [35:40]
Sam Fasini
So you just look at what's out there, money wise. Like Chris, Like I look at Christian Andersen, right? Like in the past, a guy like Christian Anderson would absolutely just go pro. And he's having an amazing year. He's going to be first team all Big 12 and he might be a second team all American. And like this guy just leaves automatically. But like that, that oil money runs deep. Andrew, is there a chance he gets 4 million to go back to Texas Tech? Like, I don't know. Maybe.
- [36:20]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [36:21]
Sam Fasini
Wouldn't stun me at all. Just because that's the world we live in now where he would be probably the national player of the year favorite if he returned next year. And he's a monster. Like he's an unbelievable player. So yeah, I just kind of look at it and I'm like, okay. The point guard class particularly is the one I'm looking at though where it's, I don't know there, there are 10 or 11 guys right now that I think are lead ish guards. Lead to combo guards. It's Darren Peterson, Kingston Flemings, Keaton Wagler, Darius ACUFF, Mikel Brown, LeBaron file on Braden Buries, Christian Anderson, Bennett Sturts, Tyler Tanner. Then like you have all the second round guards. Braden Smith, Tamon Lipsey, Jaden Bradley, Milos Yuzan, you know, Bruce Thornton. Right. I mean that's like 17 lead guards. Andrew, what's like the least valuable position right now in the NBA? Like, think, think about how good you have to be to have value as a lead guard in the NBA. We just, we saw Trey Young get traded for Corey Kispert and CJ McCollum.
- [37:32]
Andrew
Like it's incredibly difficult.
- [37:35]
Sam Fasini
John Morant, like think about how much better, think about how much more talented John Morant and Trey Young are than all these guys. And I really like a lot of these guys. Like, I think Kingston Fleming's a stud. But like Trey Young and John Morant were both better prospects than them, I think.
- [37:51]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [37:53]
Sam Fasini
And those two just got traded for like nothing. Or, you know, John Morant might get traded for nothing. I don't know what John ran is going to get. I'm not breaking news here. It's. It's very complicated. So like if I'm Tyler Tanner at Vanderbilt, I'm worried that there's a chance that like, okay, even though I'm on the public boards, I'm like maybe let's call that an average of like 22nd or something like that come draft day. I'm really worried that, you know, somebody like Amari Allen at Alabama just because there's more positional flexibility there. I'm really worried that like Chris Cenac, Henry Vs are Matthias Krivis. Like these guys that have real positional size might push up over me on draft night just because not every team wants a small guard. There's just a more limited marketplace for these guys.
- [38:53]
Andrew
Sam, thanks so much for telling us about this draft class. When we come back, we're going to talk about the current rookie class. A crazy game between the the Mavericks and Hornets that just kind of highlights how great this class is. We'll talk about that right after this.
- [39:07]
Sam Fasini
Quick break.
- [39:14]
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- [40:04]
Sam Fasini
Right?
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- [40:18]
Sam Fasini
So we shouldn't get the parachute pants.
- [40:20]
Andrew
These are making a comeback, I think.
- [40:25]
Sam Fasini
Discover is accepted at 99 of places that take credit cards nationwide. Based on the February 2025 Nielsen report.
- [40:37]
Andrew
And we're back after that. Quick break, Sam. This current rookie class is super fun and highlighted by, gosh, a nearly 50 point performance by Cooper Flag. He scored 49 points against his. His. His other. His other brethren, his other opponent in Charlotte. Just a. Just a ridiculously fun class to watch, I think. But did you expect these guys to be this good out of the gate? I mean, Coop has been really good. Canipple has been really good. Did you expect those guys to be like this good right out of the gate?
- [41:26]
Sam Fasini
Yeah, I mean, I think we might have just had like the best American Caucasian off in the NBA and, you know, so long with this Cooper and con game. Like, Cooper goes for 49 on 20 of 29, Con goes for 34 and had like 30. It felt like at the end of the third quarter, it was ridiculous. Like these.
- [41:47]
Andrew
Can we even think of one that rivals it?
- [41:50]
Sam Fasini
Yeah, I don't know. Honestly, like, I've, I've been like, kind of thinking about it a little bit. Like, it was so fun. It was so, so fun to watch those two go. And they both went to Duke last year, which makes it like a little bit funny.
- [42:03]
Andrew
Yeah, it's great.
- [42:05]
Sam Fasini
They're both like super close. They're like, they're really, really close friends. So I'm sure that like you know, we're not like watching the end of the game afterward, but like, I'm sure that there's like some real like love being shared there between all of them.
- [42:18]
Andrew
Yeah, there has to be. Yeah.
- [42:20]
Sam Fasini
Did I think Cooper would be this good? Yes, is the answer.
- [42:23]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [42:24]
Sam Fasini
I thought Cooper was going to be incredible from day one in the NBA. I had no real concerns about him. Did I think Khan was going to be this good? I had con@3. Like, I really loved con coming in. Like Khan was like one of my guys that I really loved coming into the draft last year. Did I think he'd be this. I did not think that he would have basically the best rookie guard season since Mitch Richmond. Right.
- [42:53]
Andrew
It's, it's absurd.
- [42:56]
Sam Fasini
Like coming into tonight where Khan was completely ridiculous and went 10 of 16 and 8 for 12 from the three point line, like Khan was averaging 19 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, shooting 48, 42, 90. What are we doing?
- [43:14]
Andrew
What are we doing?
- [43:15]
Sam Fasini
It's.
- [43:16]
Andrew
He, he is, he's breaking basketball right now with, with the way he's playing for Charlotte. I mean I, I thought it was like it was a pick for Charlotte. I think everybody kind of thought that after it's like, oh, he'll be great. He'll be a guy that can kind of help glue this team together and he's a good, good enough passer. He's going to shoot it well. It's like, no, he's like, he's just the guy. Like, he's just going to be the guy for you. Like, I didn't see that coming right out of the gate. And he's clearly has like a long way to go too with his development. Like he's, he's going to be. I mean it'd be shocking if he was not their franchise player here in a few years.
- [43:53]
Sam Fasini
I mean, I, I think he's kind of. Look, I don't know that I'd go as far as to say like he's their best player over Lamelo or whatever already. Like when Lamello going. I mean he's just.
- [44:04]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [44:05]
Sam Fasini
Unbelievable on some level. Right. But he's probably their most consistent player. I would argue on a night tonight basis.
- [44:13]
Andrew
He's 20 years old.
- [44:15]
Sam Fasini
Yeah. Like, yeah, like I always thought that people like, you know, like literally in the draft guide, like I thought that he got way unfairly pigeonholed. Is like just a shooter. He can dribble, pass, shoot, make decisions and like he guards. I think that's what people also missed on him is yes, he's not all that fast, but he is very physical and competitive on defense. Like, he has no fear of guys. And like, guys don't really try to attack him. Yeah. Like, I thought that he was like a real. Like there's this idea in NBA circles of like guys that have a false ceiling. Right. People think of them as limited in some way or another and it's just like, nope. They're really good at basketball, Andrew. Like, yeah. And they just keep getting better and better and better from the day that they hit the NBA. And I really thought he was like one of those kind of false ceiling guys that had a chance to like maybe crack an all star game at some point. I think I would be. I think even I probably underrated his ceiling based off of what we've seen. And I loved him. I think I was higher on him than anybody coming in. Yeah, I adored him.
- [45:32]
Andrew
Yeah, he's. He's been great. One of my other favorite players in the class, BJ Edgecomb.
- [45:39]
Sam Fasini
Yeah.
- [45:39]
Andrew
Who's had a, a great start. It's one of my, my oldest son is a huge fan of him. Like the, he. He watched like his first two games in Philly and he was like, I need a BJ Edgecom jersey. I need one for Christmas. That's what he got for Christmas. And then he got it signed whenever BJ came through.
- [45:57]
Sam Fasini
That's awesome.
- [45:58]
Andrew
Okay.
- [45:58]
Sam Fasini
See.
- [46:00]
Andrew
He, he looks like a star. Like, you just watch him play and you're like, okay, I've. I've seen players like this before. I've seen guards like this before that have this kind of athleticism that have like this ability to score. I mean, the, the shooting, the fact that he's putting up almost six threes a game in the league and shooting at a. I think he's almost 37%, very encouraging. But we, we've seen guys like this that have kind of come out the gate and been able to score and defend and has the crazy motor that we all knew that he had. But like, he, he looks like a star in the making, in my opinion.
- [46:38]
Sam Fasini
Yeah. I think that what's going to determine his star ceiling is can he continue to take a leap as a pull up shooter, which is something like he's never totally had. Even going back to like high school, it's always been more of like catch and drive, playing ball, screens, drive all the way to the rim and catch and shoot. Like he's always been able to catch and shoot. That's never really been a concern. You know, already he's shooting 37 from three. Right. It's just roller coastery a little bit with him in a way that's not with Con and Cooper. Right. Like, you know, he's in the midst of an eight game swing where, yeah, he's averaging like 12 points, five rebounds, three assists and shooting 43. 31, you know, 72. Right. And before that, this year he had like this, like literally right before that he had this amazing, you know, 15 game swing where he had 18 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and shot 44. 40, 82. Right.
- [47:44]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [47:44]
Sam Fasini
And right before that, it was like a bit of a down run and then, you know, he had the great run to start the season. So it's. It's just a little roller coaster with VJ in a way that it's not with the other two right now. But the Flashes are amazing. Like when you see him get out in the open court, when you see him play with a lot of the different guys that, you know, the 76ers have, like, Joel, like, certainly Tyrese, like, you can see the backboard of the future there is just as athletic as any backcourt I can remember. Like between Tyrese's speed and Vijay's explosiveness and like VJ is like tough on defense and Tyrese is just so capable of like blowing by anybody in the NBA. Like, man, I love those guys. It's a real building block. And having Joel around now to, you know, be what Joel has been previously somehow on offense at least little bit different. Just as far as like, you know, he's much, much more perimeter oriented than what he was previously. You know, slipping screens and trying to find different areas. But he's so skilled. He has so much touch. Like, man, Joel still being as special as he is is just totally crazy to me. Continues to draw thousands at a crazy, like, rate.
- [49:13]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [49:14]
Sam Fasini
Having him to be like the son that you can orbit around is vj and having Tyrese's, you know, another guy that you can orbit around. It's just going to make his life so much easier as he continues to adjust and grow into his roles in the NBA.
- [49:31]
Andrew
A guy that I saw play, I've seen him play many times in person this year that I'm just like, man, this is kind of unfair that he's on this team. Is Dylan Harper on the spurs and he's coming off the bench for the most part and is in a smaller role than a lot of these other guys are just because of the situation that he's in. But, man, I don't. I don't recall seeing a first year guard that. I think he's only 19 still that can defend at the level that he does. I mean he, I mean he made case of Wallace look like he should never dribble ever. Like he just shouldn't dribble, which is just not the case. He's, he's a monster defensively, offensively, things. His is up and down too. I mean he, he's had stretches where he shot the ball well, but largely has not shot it well his rookie season. But if you just watch him for five minutes on the court, you're like, I, I don't know that I care. Just because like this guy is impacting winning already at his age, just because of what he can do as a facilitator. Like you can see he's got, just got great rhythm to his game and then the defense is there. I mean he's, he's impressive.
- [50:54]
Sam Fasini
He just consistently gets to the rim, right? Like in a way that the best guards are able to consistently get to the rim.
- [51:00]
Andrew
Totally. Yeah.
- [51:02]
Sam Fasini
We'll see if he's able to, you know, actualize that in a real way as his NBA career continues. Because he's gonna have to keep guys off balance with the shooting. If that's gonna be the way that he like elevates himself into being a star level player. It's gonna have to be that he's able to make a pull up jumper, that he's able to make a catch and shoot jumper right now, even frankly, given that he's playing next to de' Aaron Fox and Steph Castle, both of whom also like to handle the ball. Right. So I love the defense, I love the ability to play in transition. I love the ability to get rim like touches and paint touches and everything. You know, like you said, it's just a role where he is not asked to do as much as some of these other rookies because San Antonio is really good and you know, we'll see what ends up coming of it. I will say that like in number, like the counting stats in general, like have dropped every month, right? Like he went from averaging 14 in October to now he's averaging like 8.6 in January right now. And it does feel like to me that his role is like a little bit uncertain as they continue to like try and tinker with what's going on with integrating de' Aaron Fox more into the offense here. And like we're still trying to figure out what Dylan Harper will be in San Antonio. I think what the role is going to be and how he's going to be able to like, be utilized. But the. Again, the flashes are real. Like, I think the flashes are very serious for Dylan.
- [52:46]
Andrew
Yeah. Yeah. I just. As I've. And I've seen him probably at his best when he's played against okc. Yeah, I've set courtside a couple times for both those. For a couple of those games and I. He was just wildly impressive to me. Another player that, that I think has been more impressive than I thought he would be is Jaeger Diomen for the Nets. What have you thought of him during the season?
- [53:19]
Sam Fasini
I'm like, still trying to wrap my head around what it is.
- [53:21]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [53:22]
Sam Fasini
Because he's clearly like a valuable player and is like an awesome shooter and can pass right like that. He makes good decisions. He makes the right passing reads. He moves the ball quickly. Like the ball doesn't stick with him. He just really can't do anything inside the arc right now.
- [53:40]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [53:41]
Sam Fasini
And you could make a case that that's due to strength. You could make a case that that's due to like a lack of explosiveness. Like I've seen people bring up, Denny is like maybe a guy that he could aspire to be just, you know, big, you know, size, coming over from Europe and everything can handle it all. I think he doesn't have that level of like, power and explosiveness and I don't think he has like the frame that Denny did, being able to come in and like put on weight and be like powerful and physical in the way that he has. But like, you know, this is, this is a valuable player at the end of the day. And you know, like a concerning factor to me is like, he's made more threes than like he's attempted two pointers this year.
- [54:31]
Andrew
Such a goofy stat.
- [54:32]
Sam Fasini
98 to 97 or something like that right now. It's. It's a weird, funky player and I think he's better than what I thought he would be as well. I agree with you. Largely because he has developed into being like a real shooter and it's a credit to him that he has really worked on the jumper and has become like a monster shooter. Because that was always my biggest question. It was like, okay, he's long been a 33 point shooter. I don't really know that anything else is going to translate what, what is this? Right. If he doesn't shoot it. And the good news is he's shooting it. Like he's really worked on that part of his game and has become like A serious shooter, and that allows him to be able to be on an NBA court and be effective. Shooting is the great equalizer for these young guys. And I hope that he's able to continue to get stronger and continue to improve his ability to get into the paint, because right now, that's what's lacking is the ability to even, like, maintain it. Like, I feel like he struggles a lot of the time to even, like, maintain an advantage that he creates when he'll, like, pump fake. Right. Like, he'll use the threat of his shot, which is great, to try, and then get into the paint. And it just feels like guys are able to like, kind of rotate too quickly and even, like, recover from behind and get back in front of him a little bit too easily because he's not explosive and powerful. Right. And, like, can't hold anybody on his hip right now. It's. It's an interesting player. He's definitely an NBA player. He's definitely good.
- [56:14]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [56:16]
Sam Fasini
I don't know what the upside is yet. I think he's a wing. Like, he was billed as a point guard coming in. I don't think he's point guard. Like, I think he's a wing, but there's a lot of stuff there that's, like, really exciting and really good. And I think the Nets, like, I don't know if I would take him at 8 or. I think they took him at 8.
- [56:33]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [56:34]
Sam Fasini
Like. Like, I think I would.
- [56:35]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [56:36]
Sam Fasini
I don't know if I'd rather have Murray Boyles or him. Like, it's a question. Like, I really like what I've seen from Colin. I like what I've seen from, like, some of these other guys, but, you know, I would definitely have Jaeger as a lottery pick right now.
- [56:48]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [56:49]
Sam Fasini
And that's a. That's a win for Brooklyn, I think.
- [56:53]
Andrew
Yeah. Cowards. Another one that sticks out as a guy that probably should have gone higher, who's looked really good. Derek Queen as well. Even though Derek carries. There's a lot of baggage that comes with even saying the name Derek Queen. And that is not even his fault at all. It's just the. The fault of the. The management there. And that the fact that they are the. The worst team in the Western Conferences. Even more complicated.
- [57:18]
Sam Fasini
The fit with Zion has been pretty poor, unfortunately.
- [57:21]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [57:21]
Sam Fasini
Which we all expected. And it feels like they're not going to move Zion at the deadline.
- [57:27]
Andrew
Right.
- [57:27]
Sam Fasini
You know, they've been pretty clear about that. Will Guillory wrote on the site, I think, yesterday that they're just not trading Zion. Yeah. I don't really get the. I don't know how you make those two guys work. And then Fears, I mean, is just all over the place. When I watch him, like, it. It's just clear he's, like, not ready for the NBA yet physically. Like, he has no. I really respect the fact that he has no fear. And I think to be a small guard.
- [57:54]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [57:55]
Sam Fasini
You have to have that, like, you know, what is. What is the old, like, Bill Simmons terminology about, like, these, you know, guards that just take these, like, terrible shots all the time and.
- [58:08]
Andrew
Yeah. What. What did he say?
- [58:10]
Sam Fasini
Yeah, something about, like, confidence, right?
- [58:13]
Andrew
Irrational confidence guys.
- [58:14]
Sam Fasini
Yeah, the irrational confidence guys. Like, I think to be a small guard in the NBA, you have to have irrational confidence. There's just. You can't survive.
- [58:23]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [58:23]
Sam Fasini
Like, even. Even T.J. mcConnell, like, that guy has, like, irrational confidence. Right? I wouldn't even say it's irrational in his, like, but he is, like, the most conf. Like, you have to be so confident to drive into the trees, get bumped, like, game after game after game and deal with that contact and like, everything like that. You got to believe in yourself beyond a shadow of a doubt to make it as a small guard in the NBA. And I like that Fears has that. He's just not ready yet. From, like, a decision making perspective, from a defensive perspective. Like, he is. His. His best reps look really good. It's everything else right now that's a problem for Fears.
- [59:05]
Andrew
Yeah, yeah. He tried to fight Lou Dort the other day. That shows you how irrationally confident he is.
- [59:10]
Sam Fasini
Yeah. You know what, though? Like, I'm not surprised by that, man. He. I mean, like, he. He tries. Like, he tries people all the time. Like, he has to talk so much. Oh, my gosh.
- [59:24]
Andrew
Yeah, He. He does. He does. I got a pretty up close and personal look at that, and he's. He's been kind of doing that all season.
- [59:33]
Sam Fasini
Totally.
- [59:34]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [59:36]
Sam Fasini
But again, like, if I was a Pelicans fan, I would be like, oh, no, this is what he has to do to be successful. Like, yeah, you have to be so irrationally confident at that size to be successful and, like, how skinny he is and everything. That, like, I would much rather have that than him, like, be a wallflower. You know what I mean?
- [59:59]
Andrew
Yeah, yeah, yeah. He could. He couldn't be playing the way that he is and be a wallflower. And, like, I think that would be. That would be pretty discouraging and.
- [60:09]
Sam Fasini
And look like he has to reign in the emotions, like, I'm not sitting here making this otherwise, like, there's a balance that has to be struck, but I. I think that you can moderate a little bit here, and it should be reasonably okay, I hope.
- [60:26]
Andrew
Yeah. Yeah, for sure. A couple more questions. What have you thought of Ace Bailey?
- [60:34]
Sam Fasini
Yeah, I've actually kind of liked the process a little bit. He had a rough one a couple games ago where, like, he had, like, 17 and just took a bunch of shots, but, like, you know, didn't do anything else. Like, I think he had, like, literally zero rebounds, zero assists, like, anything like that. Right. It was like a Ace Bailey, Rutgers game. Right. But I actually think that the process has looked better for him than what it did at Rutgers, and that was, like, by far the most important thing for me. Over the course of his last, like, nine or ten games, he's shown, like, a lot of fun flashes. Like, he's averaging 16, 5 and 2, shooting, 49, 35, and, like, never getting to the rim. So, like, free throws don't really matter here.
- [61:25]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [61:25]
Sam Fasini
But, like, I think that he's starting to see the court better than he did certainly early in the season. Like, you can see the growth from game one to game 48 or 45 or whatever game the Jazz are on right now. Like, I can see a tangible difference in the way that he's processing it from the start of the season to where we are now, and he still can't get to the rim, and he still, like, doesn't really do anything in the half court other than shoot it or make a quick passing ready or like, anything like that. But I think he's in a really good spot in Utah to learn the way that he has to play in order to be successful. And I'm hopeful that, you know, we're going to continue to see more and more of his upside. I think that, you know, he certainly looks like he's going to be a useful, valuable NBA player, is what I would say. I don't know what the upside is going to be, though.
- [62:30]
Andrew
Yeah, last one. What player has, like, surpassed your expectations? We talked about Khan. So, like, let's not. Let's not mention con. But, like, what other. What other players, like, have surpassed your expectation of, like, what you thought they would be as a pro, at least in year one?
- [62:46]
Sam Fasini
Yeah, good question. I mean, Jaeger is the answer there, like, for sure. Okay, we'll remove Jaeger from the conversation too. Huh? Trying to think what this answer is. I'll give you two that I think I was higher on Dylan Cardwell. Than like anybody in the public last year. And I still had him at like 58 probably or something like that. Like even though he averaged like five points and five rebounds at Auburn, I was like, that dude's awesome on defense and it's gonna work. Is a two way guy at least. I think that Kobe Sanders might be my answer for this though.
- [63:30]
Andrew
Yeah, yeah, he's been good.
- [63:32]
Sam Fasini
Yeah, I liked Kobe. I thought he was like a priority two way guy for sure. And I really wanted him if I was like running a team or anything. But like I just, I love these wings that generally can like dribble, pass, shoot and defend. I just wasn't sure that like he was going to be athletic enough to defend in the NBA and I wasn't sure if he was going to be a good enough shooter beyond the mid range because like he was really good from the mid range at Nevada, but was a lot more of that kind of guy as opposed to a like real, you know, three point catch and shoot guy. The way that he and like, you know, Kawhi has turned around the Clipper season. Let's be clear about this. But like, I think that a big reason why the Clippers have turned around their season is the influx of like energy and athleticism, 100% youth of Jordan Miller and Kobe Sanders. Yeah, like having those guys in for the older wings, his helped them immensely. Like Kobe makes quick decisions. He has been pretty solid on defense since he's been in the NBA so far. He does knock down shots here and there. Like he's hitting 39% from three. I think that having him around has been absolutely enormous for the Clippers and like they're gonna have to do whatever they can to convert him because he's running out of two way days, you know, look, the easiest answer here is just like cut Chris Paul. Right. But like him and Jordan Miller, like they're gonna have to convert those guys and if I'm them, I'm trying to convert Kobe Sanders to the most advantageous contract that I can. Yeah, I think that dude is definitely a rotation player from what I've seen.
- [65:25]
Andrew
Yeah, they, they should, they should do what the Thunder did with A.J. mitchell last year.
- [65:29]
Sam Fasini
Totally.
- [65:30]
Andrew
Like the, the Thunder, the Thunder played that so well. Where they basically got to convert him. Gave that, gave him basically like a fake second year so that he could then re up that summer. And now the Thunder have like one of the best value contracts in the NBA.
- [65:48]
Sam Fasini
Yeah. Kobe Sanders's agent is by the way.
- [65:53]
Andrew
No. Is it really?
- [65:55]
Sam Fasini
No. I Said, do you know who it is?
- [65:56]
Andrew
No, no.
- [65:57]
Sam Fasini
And I don't know no NBA legend Ramon Sessions.
- [66:01]
Andrew
Oh, let's go.
- [66:03]
Sam Fasini
Yeah.
- [66:03]
Andrew
Okay. Ramon Sessions. There's our trivia question of the day. Shout out to Alex. Yeah, yeah, no, I. Yeah, I agree. I think that he's been. He's been pivotal for the Clippers. Just to have some young guy that can play is totally just. Just huge for them. Go read Sam at the Athletic. Go listen to the Game Theory podcast. You can watch it on YouTube as well. Go subscribe on YouTube to their show. It's. It's very good. And it's. Listen, if you just love the NBA, you should listen to this show because that's what they're talking about all the time. But they also just dominate draft coverage, so go check that out. Sam's always writing about the draft for us at the Athletic, but he's also writes about trades and other trends going on around the league, and he's just the very best. And I'm so.
- [66:59]
Sam Fasini
All right. Andrew.
- [67:00]
Andrew
So lucky to work with.
- [67:01]
Sam Fasini
We gotta. We gotta stop this. We gotta, like, love. I need a prediction from you because there will not be another Slammin Jam before the deadline.
- [67:10]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [67:12]
Sam Fasini
Give me a Yanis prediction. Does he get traded? Oh, and to who?
- [67:19]
Andrew
I don't think he gets traded until the summer.
- [67:22]
Sam Fasini
Okay. For what it's worth, I think that that is more likely than any individual, like, team. Right. Is that he does not get moved.
- [67:38]
Andrew
Yeah. Yeah. It's. It's just really hard to come up with a trade that makes sense for both sides.
- [67:44]
Sam Fasini
Yeah.
- [67:45]
Andrew
I think especially before the draft, it's really hard. Or especially before the lottery, like, knowing where these potential picks could be. I think that some of the picks that could end up being, like, top three. I don't know if you're. If you're Atlanta, do you? I would probably be more tempted to take a pick in the top three than to make a trade, but maybe they feel otherwise. I don't know.
- [68:12]
Sam Fasini
I don't think Atlanta is just, like. I don't think they're ready for a Giannis deal. Like, I don't think they're good enough. Sure do that yet. And it's not on the age timeline. Like, I'm just not doing that if I'm Atlanta. Right.
- [68:23]
Andrew
Who. Okay, so who are the teams that you think should. Should trade for Giannis and also have, like, the real assets to actually pull it off?
- [68:33]
Sam Fasini
Okay, I will give you what I think is my favorite fake trade.
- [68:39]
Andrew
Okay.
- [68:40]
Sam Fasini
It's the Bucks. Get Julius Randall Nas, Reed, Johan, Baron J, and all of their picks back from the blazers. Right. So 28, 29, and 30. There are swaps.
- [68:55]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [68:56]
Sam Fasini
There are picks in there. Right.
- [68:57]
Andrew
Oh, okay. Yeah.
- [68:59]
Sam Fasini
So I. I think Baron J is really good. Like, it's kind of the thing. Like, I think that dude's really good.
- [69:05]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [69:06]
Sam Fasini
The Wolves get Giannis and Drew Holiday. The blazers get Jaden McDaniels and Mike Conley. So basically, the Blazers turn those picks into Jaden McDaniels. I think they might need something more than that.
- [69:28]
Andrew
I think they absolutely do, because those Bucks picks are valuable. Very valuable. And Jaden McDaniel is a very good player.
- [69:38]
Sam Fasini
Right.
- [69:38]
Andrew
A guy that, like, you should. That he can fit on any team. But the three first is a lot.
- [69:45]
Sam Fasini
The thing that I've been trying to figure out is. So, like, I'm just thinking through this. Jaden McDaniels, to me, is a better asset than OG Anunoby, Carl Anthony Towns, or Mikhail Bridges.
- [70:01]
Andrew
Okay.
- [70:02]
Sam Fasini
Because, like, I think OG is a better player in a vacuum than Jaden McDaniels. Right. But in the last year of their deal, they both expire at the same time. OG and Anobi scheduled to make $20 million a year more.
- [70:14]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [70:15]
Sam Fasini
Than Jaden McDaniels is. Right. So, like, I don't think they're that far off.
- [70:20]
Andrew
No. So, no, no, no.
- [70:22]
Sam Fasini
To me, that puts Minnesota in the driver's seat ahead of New York.
- [70:27]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [70:28]
Sam Fasini
I'd rather have McDaniels than any of those three guys. If I'm pointing. Yeah.
- [70:32]
Andrew
Yeah, I could see that.
- [70:34]
Sam Fasini
So, okay, can we find, like, a solution where they get something else back? Right. Is it, like, Terence Shan. Like, is Minnesota going to send them Terence Shannon or something for that? Like, I don't know if that's enough.
- [70:54]
Andrew
Yeah. It's not enough for me.
- [70:56]
Sam Fasini
The other, like, crazy idea I had was, could you do. And I don't even know if the Sixers would do this, to be honest with you. Could you do Paul George and Scoot Henderson? The three firsts from the Blazers and an additional first from Philly. That's unprotected. Giannis to the 76ers, VJ to the Blazers. So the Blazers turned Scoot in the picks into vj.
- [71:35]
Andrew
Okay.
- [71:35]
Sam Fasini
And then you have Tyrese Giannis and Joel. Plus you still have Quentin Grimes, Kelly Oubre, Jared McCain, all those guys. If you're Philly, that's a pretty sick team.
- [71:50]
Andrew
Yeah, I think. I think I'm. I would be in on that for. For VJ for the. For the Blazers. It's almost like a. You're cashing in these picks to get like a redo on the Scoot Henderson pick.
- [72:04]
Sam Fasini
Yeah, kind of. Yeah. And you know, Vijay's good and you know he's good.
- [72:09]
Andrew
You don't have to. You don't have to worry about it. Like, you know he's good. Yeah, I actually like that a lot. I don't know how Philly fans would feel about that. You're going to have an awesome team. You can go win the east now.
- [72:24]
Sam Fasini
I think you do win the east now. Like.
- [72:26]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [72:27]
Sam Fasini
Tyrese Giannis, Joel, Quentin Grimes. You know, even if you just have.
- [72:33]
Andrew
Tyrese, just, just having Tyrese and Giannis is enough. Even if like Joel can't play three rounds, you know, I think you have enough.
- [72:43]
Sam Fasini
The other sneaky thing is because Joel has been so perimeter oriented this year as a big man. Yeah, it's kind of a perfect fit for Giannis is like the downhill rim runner too.
- [72:54]
Andrew
Yeah, that might be my favorite one.
- [72:57]
Sam Fasini
I've heard other sneaky thing gets the Sixers under the tax. I don't know.
- [73:10]
Andrew
That's so funny. I don't know that they wanna. Would want to trade bj. I think like that is just. I think that would be really difficult.
- [73:19]
Sam Fasini
I think it would them to do. But if you're. If you're Portland, you probably do that, right?
- [73:25]
Andrew
Yeah, that would be. That would be the one. Because I. Because I like Jaden, but I just. I could not give up those kinds of picks.
- [73:33]
Sam Fasini
Yeah.
- [73:34]
Andrew
For a player like Jaden McDaniels who I don't think is going to usher in like a new era of Blazers basketball where I think BJ has a chance to do that.
- [73:42]
Sam Fasini
I think I agree with you. And then you have your core then in Portland is Vijay, Denny Tomani. Like. Like, yeah. That you still have extra picks because you have the extra pick that you got for the coward deal at the draft last year. Like. Yeah, I think that's a really fun core in a reason. Like a reasonable reason to move those picks is if you were getting vj.
- [74:10]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [74:11]
Sam Fasini
You.
- [74:11]
Andrew
That that's how you're gonna have to do it. Because I think that is. That that's what you want if you're the box is like we want to get those picks back because then it allows you to really rebuild and you.
- [74:22]
Sam Fasini
You get to say to your fans like were taking a flyer on scoot too. Like, oh yeah. The former top pick like hasn't played this year. Showed growth as a Second year point guard. Like, I think that's an easier. That's an easier sell to me. And, you know, Randall Reed, whatever. And then like, whatever the Knicks are.
- [74:44]
Andrew
Going to give you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because then you're. Then you're like somehow in the middle.
- [74:51]
Sam Fasini
Yeah.
- [74:51]
Andrew
And then you like, negate the, the value of your. The draft picks. Whereas if you just. If you're trading for Scoots, like, we're gonna clear the decks, we're gonna find out if this guy's any good next year.
- [75:02]
Sam Fasini
Right. And then like, you either keep Miles Turner as a spacing big to help him develop. Sure. Or, I mean, this is my favorite one. If you move Giannis now, the. The Celtics just give you like at least a pick and a swap, plus the expiring Simon Steel for Miles Turner. Right?
- [75:21]
Andrew
Yeah. You just immediately reunite Scoot and Simons in Milwaukee.
- [75:28]
Sam Fasini
Let's go for six weeks or whatever. Yeah, but like that.
- [75:33]
Andrew
Yeah, that.
- [75:34]
Sam Fasini
That to me is like the. That. That's the most fun one that I've thought of. But it would. It would require the 76ers to be willing to do Giannis. It would require Giannis to have some interest in going to Philly, which.
- [75:47]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [75:47]
Sam Fasini
I think Jake Fisher reported like that to me in like, I think Milwaukee fans might ask, well, why don't we just take Scoot instead of the picks? Or why don't we take VJ instead of the picks? Yeah, I understand that take and I think it's reasonable. I think I would prefer to diversify a little bit more.
- [76:12]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [76:13]
Sam Fasini
And get. Get more cracks at the apple quote, unquote. Yeah, I do understand that case. And I think it's a reasonable case that you just rather have vj and maybe they would. And maybe it's just like an easy, you know, two team deal. Maybe it's just like the.
- [76:31]
Andrew
I would rather have control over their own. I would rather they have their control of their own draft capital at that point, because then you can get multiple, you know, top five picks potentially.
- [76:42]
Sam Fasini
Well, well. And you then have vj and then you don't have control of your drafts from 27 until.
- [76:51]
Andrew
Oh, and you are. Yeah. And. And like now those. The values through the roof.
- [76:56]
Sam Fasini
Correct. And Portland is like not giving you those picks back unless you give them vj probably. Right. So.
- [77:04]
Andrew
Yeah. Yeah, you're gonna have to really. If. If the Blazers are smart, they're the team that has a lot of leverage in this situation.
- [77:14]
Sam Fasini
I think so too.
- [77:15]
Andrew
Where you can. You can squeeze a lot if they're like, hey, we can. We'll give you these picks, but it's got to be, like, surplus value back to us.
- [77:27]
Sam Fasini
Yeah, that's. That's my favorite Giannis trade that I've been able to come up with.
- [77:31]
Andrew
That's. That's the best one I've heard.
- [77:33]
Sam Fasini
I don't know that the Sixers are even all that interested. Like, I have no idea if they are, but that's my favorite one.
- [77:39]
Andrew
Yeah. Yeah. I. I don't know. Depends on. I mean, do you want to win the Eastern Conference?
- [77:46]
Sam Fasini
Yeah.
- [77:46]
Andrew
Because you could do it with that team.
- [77:48]
Sam Fasini
To answer my original question, I do think Giannis gets moved at the deadline.
- [77:53]
Andrew
Oh, you do? I like to hear that.
- [77:56]
Sam Fasini
It's just come so far now. Yeah. Like, it's just hard. Yeah, it's hard. I feel like it's hard to go back once you officially start listening to deals. Like, I think before, the Bucks had real plausible deniability to be like, this is all B.S. like, we're not. We're not listening to deals. Like, what are you talking about?
- [78:20]
Andrew
Right.
- [78:21]
Sam Fasini
But it seems pretty clear now that they're listening, at least. I mean, literally everybody is now reporting that they're listening night. And once it gets to that point, I think it's hard to put the genie back in the bottle, quote, unquote. If you had just continued to play this out, like, no, we're not seeing any offers. You know, I. I think that you could have done it that way, but I don't know. We'll see.
- [78:43]
Andrew
Yeah, I hope he does. I hope that they move him next Thursday because we are doing a live. We're doing a live show all day long for the trade deadline and would love for there to be a Giannis trade that happens, because I think it would open up a lot of other things where teams that thought they might have a chance to get him don't. And then it's like, well, plan B. Yeah, I really. I think it could open up and be, like, a really fun day for NBA fans if that happens. I've already promoted you, Sam, and you didn't want me to do it anymore, so I won't do it anymore. But seriously, go. Go follow all of Sam's stuff. I appreciate you guys listening. Again, send Alex some get well notes because he's gonna need them. Also, next Thursday, live on YouTube, we'll be in studio in Chicago all day long for the Athletic NBA Daily, our trade deadline extravaganza. It's going to be very fun, so please be sure to tune into that and we'll talk to you guys again next Saturday.
- [80:02]
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- [81:07]
Sam Fasini
Audible How'd they get so big without soul destroying complexity? On Founders Mentality to CEO Sessions we're.
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Commercial Announcer
Gonna find out who's number one is the customer.
- [81:15]
Andrew
Whose Walmart is it?
- [81:17]
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My Walmart?
- [81:17]
Sam Fasini
If you looked at Audible, it was kind of like growth, growth and then growth.
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- [81:25]
Sam Fasini
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