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- [00:00]
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- [01:46]
Andrew
Welcome to the Saturday Slam and jam here on the Athletic NBA Daily. On today's show, we're talking to Sam Vesini about the NBA draft and then we will do some NBA draft trivia. With me as always, it's my good friend Alex Spears. Alex, what's up Andrew?
- [02:08]
Sam Vesini
Things are going great here guys.
- [02:11]
Andrew
So good, so good. We got Sam Bassini here to talk about the NBA drafts your draft guide dropped this week.
- [02:20]
Alex Spears
So early, Sam, beautiful record time.
- [02:23]
Sam Vesini
Yeah, I wanted to get it out earlier this year. That was the goal. I'm really excited to have. You know, I finished it in the month of May for the first time. Like all of the writing for the first time in history.
- [02:37]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [02:37]
Sam Vesini
And then, you know, everyone did a great job on the back end at the Athletics, so I'm eternally grateful to all of the teammates that we get to work with here.
- [02:46]
Andrew
It's awesome. If you haven't, if you haven't read it or started to read it, you should go do that today. It's very good. You mentioned in Your introduction that beyond Flag and Harper, you're a bit lower on this class of prospects compared to consensus. As a point of comparison, last year was widely considered one of the weaker draft classes. Where would some of your top prospects from last year's class rank in this current draft?
- [03:13]
Sam Vesini
Yeah, people have asked me that a decent amount. I've thought a lot about it. I think that, so I saw Reed and Castle like somewhere in the top. Like I had them as tier three guys for that group this year. That's like my four, my three through six guys. Where would I have them in that group? I think probably near the bottom, if I'm being honest. Like, it's hard because like I've kind of adjust, like the Reed thing. Like I've kind of adjusted. Right. Like, I really like Reed. I still think Reed's gonna be like a really effective NBA player, but I probably just wouldn't take a guy who's like six foot one and that small again. Yeah, in the top two. Right. Like, that's just kind of the reality of where I am on this stuff. You know, I really like Castle. I, I, you know, I was very high on him throughout the process last year. I still think Sorry is going to be super interesting, but like I've kind of adjusted some things not even based on sar, but just like based on what I care about in terms of basketball at this point. Like I, I think that probably near the bottom, I think they'd be like seven maybe. Yeah, probably seven. Something like that.
- [04:35]
Alex Spears
So also in the introduction you mentioned the effect of NIL having the effect it's having on the second round.
- [04:42]
Sam Vesini
Why have you being able to finish the draft guide early, by the way.
- [04:46]
Alex Spears
That helped so many guys backed out. Why had the effects of NIL hit this specific draft so hard?
- [04:55]
Sam Vesini
It's just the first year and it's the first year where the intersection of the portal and team and like donors frankly being willing to pay just exorbitant amounts of money to keep college basketball rosters together. Like the number of players making over $2 million in college basketball next year is going to be like pretty comical. And you know that's a number 30 overall pick, right. Is right around $2 million in terms of the rookie scale. So you look across the landscape, guys like to hard Pettiford, guys like, you know, Alex Condon, guys like even some of the internationals as well. The international class is really what got beaten down by this, in my opinion. There's a number of international players that are choosing to go the collegiate route. Much like Casperus Yakos, Jae Gord, Demon, guys like that. Because the international marketplace for young players, even at the highest levels, like, unless you're Luca, like, there's. You're just not making that kind of money. Like, you're nowhere near that level. Honestly, like, you're, you're making. You're lucky if you're making a hundred thousand dollars over in Europe at this point. And like that. That's like, not a common occurrence for a lot of these young guys. So given that and given the explosion of money in college basketball, we'll see how the house settlement adjusts this. I think that in many ways it likely will adjust some things. We'll see where it settles. We'll see if, you know, by the time this podcast goes out, if there hasn't been some sort of injunction or restraining order filed on that settlement or whatever, you know, legal proceedings will go. I guess you can't file an injunction on a settlement, but regardless. But like, I think that there's just going to be a lot to changes in the coming years. But for this year, it was kind of the Wild west, where, I mean, seriously, guys like, you guys not being engaged in the college space, like, in that kind of way, you would laugh hysterically at some of the players that are getting paid a million dollars next year in college basketball. Like, it's a. Like, some of this money is just genuinely like getting put on the Joker's like, like money pit and getting absolutely burned to a crisp with some of the guys getting a million dollars next year.
- [07:17]
Andrew
Well, not necessarily, like, maybe like the craziest person getting a million dollars. What's like, the craziest example of this that you could give us?
- [07:25]
Sam Vesini
Like, I think there are bench players in college basketball that will make a million dollars next year. Like, guys who will end up coming off the bench. We'll make them. Like, there, there are a few of them that I can think of. There's like, I'm definitely not saying the name, but, like, there's one player who's going to like, an SEC school that I can think of where I'm just like, I don't know if that kid could play in the acc. And the ACC was like a catastrophic league last year, and he's making a million dollars to play at the SEC next year, and he just has no chance athletically. I don't think.
- [07:59]
Andrew
Wow, that is bizarre.
- [08:02]
Alex Spears
That's so wild to be one of these rich guys and you just like, give millions of dollars to the NIL fund, but you have no idea how they're going to use it. Like if they're using it smart or not. Like, because it sounds like at least in some cases, like the, the schools are just giving money to whoever. So is this something that should normalize, like next in next year's class? Is this just kind of like a one year thing and then we'll get.
- [08:26]
Sam Vesini
Back to normal again? Like the house settlement just happened. So like we're all kind of waiting to see if that ends up being kind of a real thing. Yeah, that like, or like, you know, because theoretically they're all college. All colleges are supposed to be capped at, you know, paying $20 million for all sports, which like, I don't think there's a 20 million dollar college basketball roster this season. Like that's aggressive and I haven't heard anything like that number, but I've heard like 12 million for a roster. Like I've heard a little bit more than that even in a couple places. So like, you know guys, I don't know if you know this, but football makes a considerable amount more money than college basketball. So like, you know, these programs in the sec, right? Like, are they gonna have to find creative ways to cheat basically in order to pay kids what they want in order to stay at the standard? Or like, is it just going to be like college basketball powerhouses, like, you know, like Georgetown for instance, like could theoretically be like really well positioned by this to put like all of its money toward men's college basketball and be able to like outbid everybody. All of this just remains to be seen. The thing that I would tell people though is like if this financial paradigm continues where guys are getting 2 million, $3 million to go back to college, if that sticks, I think next year might be worse in the second round, to be honest with you, because there are still some like Covid year 5th year players in this class that are in this draft, right? Like, you know, like Max Shulga is a fifth year guy, C on James Elijah Martin, Janai Broome, Bryce Williams, Chaz Lanier, like all these guys got extra fifth years to play college basketball on top of the fact that there were like fourth year seniors. Like, you know, I'm trying to think like Hunter Salas is like a fourth year senior who played all four years in college and thus didn't get his covet year because he started in 20, 21, 22. Like what if it's just those guys left and we don't have the COVID guys is on top of that? Like there's A chance that it gets worse if the finances like it gets worse in the second round if the finances aren't or are similar, I guess, to what they are this year.
- [10:56]
Alex Spears
So how do you.
- [10:57]
Andrew
It'll make. Make it having it on a second day even more hilarious that you have. Like truly, like, truly.
- [11:05]
Sam Vesini
Like, hey, like it might create like the settlement might create a circumstance where somebody like to hod Pettiford feels like he's just gonna go pro. Like there's a chance that it's better next year. Depending on how the settlement like goes through and how this all looks. All of that remains to be seen. Like there's just so much up in the air right now in terms of what that looks like next year.
- [11:27]
Alex Spears
So do you anticipate seeing like more draft and stash picks or. Or teams willing to sell their second rounders more than normal?
- [11:36]
Sam Vesini
Okay, so I've got an even funnier scenario for you guys. Okay, so there are prospects this year going to college basketball who are theoretically auto eligible for this NBA draft. So like a couple names would be like, Tester Ritter is a perfect name for this, right? Like, I don't know if he's committed to Virginia or if he's heavily rumored to go to Virginia. I can't remember off the top of my head. But he's automatically eligible. He's like an ACB level starter, like Spanish league starter, really good basketball player, auto eligible for the draft this year. If he gets eligible for college basketball, we'll see, right? He's theoretically going to like, if he goes undrafted this year, he would be undrafted, would be going to college and then could theoretically be like signed off of a collegiate roster in the middle of next season if like injuries happen.
- [12:37]
Andrew
Okay.
- [12:39]
Sam Vesini
Or like, for instance, if somebody like wants to take a player like him who turns 22 as an international player this year at 55 and he still wants to go to college. Like you theoretically might have like a domestic draft and stash in college basketball.
- [12:56]
Andrew
You're get, you're getting Sam Presti so excited right now, dude.
- [13:00]
Sam Vesini
I know.
- [13:01]
Andrew
Like, he is getting so pumped about the idea of stashing someone at Gonzaga this year.
- [13:06]
Sam Vesini
There are so many people like thinking about that in college right now or in the NBA. Like it's a real thing. It's very funny. Like, it's genuinely a thing that like teams have reached out to the NBA. These players are in theory going to be eligible to be taken is my understanding as of right now, like, you know, we're 14 days away from the draft at the time of recording this, it's possible that further guidance comes in down the road and you see something that looks slightly different, right? Yeah. The. The NBA says like, you know what? Like, no, like you can't do this, you can't do that, you can't sign guys off of college program, whatever it is. Right. But as of right now, this is the Wild west and it is unclear where exactly all of this will settle. Guys.
- [13:58]
Andrew
Yeah, this is bizarre. Very bizarre. So you release a new mock draft on Thursday which had the Philadelphia 76ers making two trades to move down from three to six. Jake Fisher reported this week that the Sixers are meeting with both Vijay Edgecomb and Ace Bailey. Which teams below the Sixers do you think would be most motivated to make a trade up move for one of these two guys?
- [14:25]
Sam Vesini
I. I think Charlotte is the very obvious answer here.
- [14:28]
Andrew
Okay.
- [14:28]
Sam Vesini
Just to move up a spot, right? Like, I'm not saying I would be. Look, the Philly could do whatever it wants, right? Like, if it really determines that VJ Edgam is just like the best player on its board and they want to confirm that they end up with vj, I totally get that. I will say Vijay Edgecombe makes an immense amount of sense for this Charlotte build right now. Like, he's the perfect player to put in between LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller because he's really defensively oriented. And frankly, like, they just need a dude who's like wildly competitive and is like kind of a culture setter, kind of a tone setter. Like that dude, like came into Baylor and everybody spoke so incredibly highly of the way that he came in and was like a leader from the jump, you know, as a freshman coming in with, you know, Baylor had Jeremy Roach who was like a sixth year senior, and nor Chad o' Mear, who's a fifth year senior who'd been to the final Four. Like, Vijay came in and was like, no, like, we got to do things this way. We got to do things the right way. Like, he. He's like a real like force of, you know, like just a. Just a great personality and like really cares about this. You know what I mean? So just a really great kid and maybe he could come in and like blow the doors off the place in Philly. But I think that he makes a ton of sense for Charlotte. And if I'm Philly, I'm trying to accumulate assets because for me personally, like me, you know, on the outside, I have all of VJ Khan, Trey and Ace, you know, VJ Edgam, Conal Trey Johnson, Ace Bailey, all in the same group. Right. So if I could come away from this draft with one of those guys and pick up some additional assets, it makes a ton of sense to me, right? Like, if I could get off the Andre Drummond deal, it's a home. It's a huge win to me. If I could pick up, you know, an additional second rounder, if I could maybe get a first rounder in the future. Like Charlotte has that weird Miami pick that they got for the Terry Rozier deal. Like, you know, something like that just makes a ton of sense to me for Philly and for Charlotte. Like, you get the guy that just absolutely, to me, makes the most sense with your organization and your team build.
- [16:51]
Alex Spears
I think it was Koc who reported the idea that the Pelicans may be interested in Ace Bailey. What do you just think about them being interested if that were true? What do you think about them being interested in Ace?
- [17:03]
Sam Vesini
Yeah. So, like, people. Yeah, people I've been talking to have been speculating about that a lot. I don't. How do I say this? My. My read on this is that people are connecting dots on the kind of prospects that Joe Dumars and Troy Weaver tend to like. And Troy Weaver and Joe Dumars tend to like. Prospects like Ace Bailey in general, toolsy, you know, athletic kind of players that were, you know, Troy Weaver loves guys that were great, you know, on the AU scene in, like, high school basketball and stuff like that. If you go back through his draft history, I think anybody that's, like, reporting with certainty on what that organization likes and doesn't like right now is, you know, I don't want to say they're wrong because, you know, maybe there's a source there that I don't have and that a bunch of other people around the league that, you know, quite literally dozens of NBA people I've talked to don't have, but I think people are more trying to connect the dots with the Pelicans right now than anything. Look, I think I'd be surprised if Ace fell below New Orleans. But, like, nobody I've talked to has been able to, like, determine the exact extent to which they have interest in Ace. Right.
- [18:35]
Alex Spears
Okay.
- [18:36]
Sam Vesini
Like, are they willing to trade up and get him? Are they willing to, you know, move Herb Jones to get him to get up to number three? Because they have such a high grade on Ace Bailey? Like, do they, you know, do they like, you know, such a player so much? Right. That, you know, they're willing to do whatever it takes to Move to number four in order to get them. That's really what the important question is, in my opinion. Like, if Ace Bailey falls to seven, like, sure. You know what I mean? Yeah, it tracks that they would make that pick. Absolutely. But I. The biggest thing that, like, I wrote in this mock draft kind of came at the top. Right. Like, I think I talked to, like, I mean, I'll tell you the exact number. I think it was eight different people that work for NBA teams. And they all, like, said to me, oh, yeah, you know, it's really quiet right now. Like, it's actually hard to get information on the draft. And it's weird. Like, that doesn't happen two weeks out before the draft. Like, typically, it's not this quiet. And then I wrote that and published it, you know, today at the time that we're recording this. And then, like, three different other people I know for NBA teams reached out and were like, this is so true. Like, you know what I mean? Just being like, yeah, this is what's happening right now. We don't know why it's so quiet. So, I don't know. Like, anything I'm hearing right now, I'm just kind of taking with a grain of salt. Like, I truly, like, I don't mean this is, like, shots at anybody, because, like, maybe they do just have the information. Information that I don't. That, you know, all of the people I'm talking to in the NBA don't have. But, like, a lot of what I'm getting feels, like a bit more speculative in nature than me. Than what it. To me, at least than what it normally is.
- [20:20]
Andrew
Yeah. There was also the. The Michael Scotter report earlier today about the Sixers engaging for number two with San Antonio.
- [20:30]
Sam Vesini
That totally tracks for me, for what it's worth. Like, I mean, just think about again, though, like, this is, like, speculation to me, but, like, if you're Daryl, like, I've heard of Daryl Morey, you know, reaching out to some other teams already about stuff. Right. Like, it totally tracks. Like, this is Daryl Morey's mo. He wants to go find a star. And to me, at number three, I. I like all of those guys. I think all of, like, con canipple. Trey Johnson, Ace Bailey, Vijay Edgam, like, they're all going to make, like, $100 million in their NBA career. They're going to be, like, really good basketball players. I don't know that any of them are going to be stars, to be honest with you. And, like, if I was Philly, like, I don't know if I'd be evaluating them that way. So given that knowing what we know about Daryl Morey, it makes total sense. Of course they reached out to San Antonio. Like, why. Why wouldn't you reach out to San Antonio? You know what I mean? So, like, it makes total sense, but, like, I'm pretty skeptical that San Antonio would move that pick, to be honest, because. Especially right now. Because think about it, like, if let's. Giannis hasn't come available yet, you know, from all indications, like, they, you know, we'll have a meeting at some point and we'll see what that looks like. And, you know, maybe he asks out, maybe he wants to stay. We know literally nothing about Giannis right now, it feels like to me. But let's say that Giannis asks out and they decide to look at a trade. Number two overall pick this year is, like, probably the best asset on the board for Giannis.
- [22:06]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [22:07]
Sam Vesini
So, like, why would you move off that Right now would be my thing. Maybe you don't want Giannis. Maybe you've decided you want to do, like, a longer build. Right. But if you want to do a longer build, then Dylan Harper makes the most sense to me. So, yeah, just kind of looking. Trying to, like, parse through all the tea leaves is interesting. I see. Like, that's mean. Absolutely not taking a shot at Scotto. Like, I think that that's absolutely reportable, and I think that it's interesting that they did that. Yeah, it's just, you know, trying to figure out, you know, what that actually means in reality. I don't know. Like, I'm pretty skeptical San Antonio would make a move there.
- [22:47]
Alex Spears
So getting back to your mock, you have Philly going down to six, and then they take Concanipple, and he is number three on your personal big board in your draft guide. In that draft guide, you write about how you've adjusted your drafting philosophy over the years, elevating players that can shoot, pass and defend while having positional size. Do you feel like Khan is the best example of how your evaluation has changed? Like, would you have ever ranked a player like Khan this highly in previous draft cycles?
- [23:15]
Sam Vesini
I mean, look, like I ranked read 2 last year in cons big, so. And, like, it's triple pass shoot and everything. So, like, my answer to that is probably. I mean, look, it just depends on the year. Right? Like, I think the number three overall pick this year is probably a little bit less valuable than, like, the normal number three overall pick. Right. Like, if you go back to 20, 23, like, you know, Scoot Henderson, Brandon Miller, Amen Thompson. Like, I really like Cam Whitmore that year. Like, I had higher grades on those guys than I did on anybody in, you know, likely to be available at number three. So I think it just depends on the year. In Khan's case, like, what I love about him is just like his malleability as a player and like versatility. Like, you know, you guys obviously are very connected with the Oklahoma City Thunder and I mean, he's like the pristine, perfect Oklahoma City Thunder player in so many ways. He is a monster shooter. He's 6 foot 5 without shoes. He's an unbelievable processor of the game. He relocates incredibly well. He knows how to move off the ball. He can dribble, pass and shoot. He can play with the ball in his hands. He can play out of ball screens. He throws lobs at a high level. He reads the court at a super high level. Had a 2 to 1 assist to turnover ratio. And then defensively, you know, Andy's a 48, 41, 91 shooter as a freshman, which is freaking unheard of. And then, oh, by the way, like, people will be like, oh yeah. But he had Cooper there, go watch the ACC tournament where he won mvp, where Cooper was out. You know what I mean? So he's an awesome basketball player. And I think defensively he's like way underrated. I mean, he was actually like genuinely a good defender this year too. Now, do I think he's going to be more than like a neutral defender in the NBA? Probably not, because there are just real limitations that he brings to the table. He's not super disruptive and then the foot speed is like a real concern, but he knows exactly where he's supposed to be. He is super, super intelligent. He maps the court incredibly well on defense. He knows where he's supposed to scramble. And if he gets his chest in front of you, you just aren't going through him. Like, that's the reality. And on top of it, he's really good at kind of directing his guys. His like on ball, like, you know, at the point of attack, who he's defending. He's really good at directing those guys into help and like knowing exactly where his help is and being able to take those guys there. So, yeah, con is just like the guy that, you know, I. I totally believe in. But look, I've been really high on con since the preseason. Like I think I was the only person that had him in the lottery. Like when you do the way too early, you know, 2025 mock draft, like, the day after the. The draft and everything. Just because, you know, unbelievably productive. The AAU level. Just. He's an awesome basketball player. Take. Take bets on guys who know how to play basketball.
- [26:12]
Andrew
Yeah, I love him, too. I think he's gonna be. I think he's gonna be great. I. What level do you think he can be as, like. Like, a 1, 2, 3, like, in an offense? That was kind of like the question that I have.
- [26:26]
Sam Vesini
Probably a three. Like, I don't think he's going to be, like, a number one or a number two option on a great team. You know, if he's on a bad team, like, maybe he's number one or number two. But here's the thing. Like, I like him best on good teams. It's kind of the thing, like, yeah, I think that's where he is gonna thrive is when he gets to play on good teams. And I think that about Vijay Edgecombe, too, by the way. Like, that's why those guys are three and four for me. Like, those guys are going to be awesome on really good basketball teams because they defend. Like, you know, Vijay certainly defends. Khan, I think will be fine on defense. He won't be great on defense. And they just, you know, especially Khan. Like, Khan thinks the game at such a high level. Like, that's the kind of guy that you want on a winning basketball team. To me, like, look at. He's like a. You know, this is going to sound terrible. You know, like. Like, think about, like, Sam Merrill being able to step in for Cleveland this year and being as impactful as he was in the playoffs because he's a pretty good defender, even though he gets, you know, for being, you know, smaller and, like, a white dude and all that stuff. Right. Like, Samuel's pretty good defender, and he's, like, able to stay out there on the court. Khan's like, a way elevated version of that to me.
- [27:39]
Andrew
Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense. Shifting to Jeremiah Fears, he is going seventh to the Pelicans. In your mock, you describe him as one of the more polarizing prospects in this draft, with some viewing him as, like, a top five upside bet, while others view him someone who they consider outside the lottery. You have him at 18 on your big board, an area of the draft that you think is pretty flat. Who are some other prospects that are kind of like him that have this, like, wide range of draft outcomes?
- [28:14]
Sam Vesini
So you're asking for players in this class, right? Not like. Yes, compared to, like, past ones. Okay.
- [28:20]
Alex Spears
Yes.
- [28:20]
Sam Vesini
In this class, for what it's worth. Like, I don't know if Fears is like all that wide in terms of where he's going to be picked. Like, I think his range of outcomes in terms of what he will be in the NBA is very wide. But like, you know, if you ask him like where he's gonna get picked, I would say like probably in the top 10 somewhere.
- [28:40]
Andrew
Okay.
- [28:41]
Sam Vesini
I think Jaeger Demin is probably like the prime example of this. Like this could go really well for Jaeger where if he ever learns to shoot, which he just has never done, like at any level, if he would ever shoot it, then he's an awesome basketball player. Like me ranking him at 25 will look incredibly stupid if he ever shoots the ball in some respect because he, his feel for the game is fantastic. He is such a high level processor of the game. He's the best passer in the draft. Six foot eight, can really, really think it out there. He's just a sharp basketball player. But if he doesn't shoot it, then okay, how does he score? Not all that great of a finisher, you know, just doesn't get to the rim enough to really be a finisher. Didn't really display much of an in between game. How does he score the basketball? Good question. And then if he doesn't score the basketball, okay, so what is he then? Because he probably isn't going to be able to force help all that well, which means he won't be able to take advantage of the like, the truly genuinely, you know, special passing ability that he has. Not like a great defender. He's okay, but he's not a great defender. So what is the role in that case? So Demons, a tricky one I would say, you know, and look like I probably was a little bit lower on Josh Giddy coming out too. So, you know, maybe, maybe this is a blind spot for me on some level. But I thought Giddy had a way to score. Like Giddy could get to the rim way more effectively than Demon did.
- [30:21]
Andrew
Yeah, I was, I was gonna say like Giddy is at least a score on some level. You know, like the, the, the Demon thing is, is kind of a, is this. He's kind of a scary player. You have to have a plan for that guy.
- [30:33]
Sam Vesini
Yeah. Audio Tierro is one that I'm interested in. Like super athlete, like a serious, serious athlete. Really can't shoot. Like has never really displayed much of a shot to shoot it at this point. You know, almost all of his threes from a standstill teams would Leave him open basically, at Arkansas, like, you go back and you watch the Illinois game. Like Illinois's entire defensive strategy was to leave him open from three. The thing is he torched them. Like, he ended up with 27 points, but Illinois won. So, like, the strategy worked, right? So, you know, if he ever would learn to shoot, he'd be a real value because he's an awesome defender. He's a super athlete, can really get up in transition. Great cutter, like, you know, just does a lot of things that are really valuable on a basketball court. But, you know, if you can't shoot, it's just really, really hard. In the NBA right now. You know, Noah Essingay is probably the last one that I'll bring up here if this works. It probably looks, you know, I don't think he'll ever be quite as good as like Siakam is, but it might not look stylistically all that different in terms of what the role is. He has to get way stronger. He has to kind of continue to improve the skills. But great at drawing fouls. Has like this weird flexibility on his gathers and drives that he's able to utilize defensively. It's a real mixed bag. Like, there are possessions where he looks great, there are possessions where he just gets like totally blown by in space and gets out leveraged by smaller guards. And you just kind of wonder, you know, what's going on with it. Like you watch him versus like Noah Penda, like no appenda, like gives effort. He plays with bend. Like he's a real, you know, solid defender. Sn Gay, you know, has higher hips and it just. He's always like kind of standing upright. It feels like to me he's not quite as impactful on that end. And then he doesn't shoot it well. Not really a passer yet, but like athletically and in terms of like the way he produces. Yeah, it's in the German league. The German league is not very good. But there, there are some things he does that are really, really impressive.
- [32:50]
Alex Spears
So common Malwatch falls to nine in your mock to the Toronto Raptors. How does Malwatch as a prospect compared to other recent 7 foot lottery prospects who also had questionable offensive games? So I'm thinking like Donovan Clingan, Derek Lively, James Wiseman, like, how does he compare to those type of guys as prospects?
- [33:09]
Sam Vesini
I think he's better than Wiseman for ended up being for sure. The thing that everyone missed with Wiseman was the hands. Like his hands were abysmal. His hands have always been really bad I think Malu watch his hands also worry me. Not great with contested catches. Like, good. Like, if you're throwing him a lob, right. Like, he's really good at catching the lob and being able to finish. Or, like, can adjust in the air if he knows the lob is coming and can, like, adjust to where the ball is thrown. Right. But if it's like a dynamic, you know, it's funny. I was just talking to somebody on the phone about this. If it's like a dynamic, you know, motion where he's trying to defensively rebound and somebody's going up to try and get the ball and, like, he's getting wedged because he has a higher center of gravity and, like, he's getting, like, wedged out of there. I think he kind of struggles to, like, put all of it together with the hand eye coordination in the same way. I'm not sure he's great below his waist either, catching the ball at this point. The. The like. And then also the catching and, like, the footwork aspect of it. Do you sometimes need in the NBA, like, being able to pair those things together? That worries me a little bit in terms of comparing these guys that went in the lottery. I mean, like, I don't know. Clinging was probably a little bit better. Positionally. Malawatch is probably a little bit better of an athlete. I think I would rather have clinging for sure. I'd cling in, I think at four last year. You know, Malawatch's offensive game probably has better chance to be more complete than Clingans. You know, neither of them are all that vertical, but Molly Wash just has the length that Clingan doesn't necessarily have. Yeah, like, you know, who. Who else did you mention there? You mentioned Wiseman, Lively. Lively, I think, was way ahead. Yeah, Lively could really catch the ball and was more versatile in screen coverages than I think he got credit for. Like, people think of Malawatches like this switch defender sometimes, and there are possessions where he, like, switches and looks pretty good, but there are others where he gets kind of cooked. Like, Lively was, like, really twitchy athletically in a way that I don't think Malaw watch really is. Yeah, Like, I think Malawatch is, like a drop defender. I think that if he gets caught on an island against a guard because, like, he just gets strung out, right? Like, okay, like, he'll be able to, like, handle himself better than, you know, most bigs out there, but I don't think you're ever going to play him outside of a drop either. Necessarily.
- [35:59]
Alex Spears
Okay.
- [36:00]
Andrew
Yeah. And he, he's one of those guys that picked up basketball just recently. And I don't. I don't know what to do with those guys sometimes. Yeah, like, what's, like, the track record, like, in. At least in your mind, of guys that pick basketball up late and are trying to catch up? Because, like, some, a lot of these guys, I mean, you read your. You just read through the draft guide, there's so many guys that's like, oh, their parents played high level basketball, their parents played college. They at least played high level high school basketball. And you get this guy, and it's like somebody just came up to him, was like, hey, you're tall. You should play basketball. You know, is like kind of how he got into it.
- [36:40]
Sam Vesini
And so it's actually like, literally how he got into it. Like, he was tall and like, someone in his town in Uganda, where he was living at the time, was like, yeah, like, you should go, like, check this out.
- [36:51]
Andrew
And then you wrote that he had to, like, walk 40 minutes to get to a hoop. Which, I mean, it's a, It's a crazy story. I mean, like, a crazy success story for this guy. But we're talking about, like, being a successful NBA center is like, a whole nother thing.
- [37:07]
Sam Vesini
Yeah.
- [37:08]
Andrew
For him. And I just wonder, like, like, what do you think the odds are, like, guys that have done that, have had similar stories before that get to the league and then become like, something great. You know what I mean?
- [37:19]
Sam Vesini
I mean, look, like, Joel Embiid, you know, was not, you know, super new to basketball when he got there. And, you know, I think you can find other examples of, like, say, or send a. Or whatever, like, you know, where it didn't work. Right. I. I don't. I'd have to do a study on it. I totally get what you're saying. And, like, a lot of the time, I do probably tend to shy away from these guys a little bit just because there's something. If there's anything missing, like, I will tend to shy away from them. I think, like, in Malawatch's case, like, I do just worry that the hips are a little bit too high and that, like, even though he's already £250, like, he feels skinny even though he's, like, not. But it's because of the high hips. Like, that's why he feels skinny, is, like, he does feel like he can just get moved around a little bit too easily. Whereas, like, it's funny. So we got Joanne Baron J's measurements today, and A year ago, Johan Baron J measured at like 6, 9 or so without shoes, right? Today he measured 611 without shoes with a 7, 5 wingspan. So, like, when I ranked Baron J at like 18 or 19, wherever I had him, I was kind of going off of, oh, yeah, he'll probably be like, you know, 6, 9 to 6 10, like somewhere in that range. No, he has like a 9, 3 standing reach. Like, he is a massive human. I'm not joking, guys. Like, I might rank him. Like, I have to figure that out. Like, now that we have the real measurement because we're going to adjust the draft guide as the measurements come in for the athletic or for the European guys, I might rank him above Malawatch because, okay, he actually has like, real footwork and like, his hands are amazing. Like, he catches everything in his area and he has a bit of a lower center of gravity. Like his, his feet. Like, he just moves better than malu watch does. The thing about. And he's even younger in basketball is the reason I bring him up because I think he's been playing basketball like 46 months. Like, it's like, like under.
- [39:29]
Andrew
We're using months like a. Like a baby, you know?
- [39:32]
Sam Vesini
Yeah. No, seriously, like, it's like, it's. It's a short amount. It's a short window that he's been playing. So.
- [39:39]
Andrew
Wow.
- [39:39]
Sam Vesini
Like, you know, he. He was not expected to even really be able to play much this year for set of Vita when they signed him. And it was just like, oh, no. Like, you can play like you're. You're good to go. Like, you can play real minutes off the bench for us. So, you know, it's funny. Like, Mallow watch is like ahead of him right now for sure because he just has the positioning stuff down and like, Baron J looks like a baby deer out there. Like, still learning a lot of the time. But you can just see the. You can see the tools, man. Like, the way he recovers around the court. Like, there are times he'll just like fly off the screen and like fly into it and just be like, where the did this guy come from? Like, what. What happened here? How. How did he get here? Right? Like. Yeah, I mean, look, like everyone's gonna think differently about Baron J. It's gonna be what your willingness to deal with a project is at the end of the day. Like, your, your stomach for having to teach, like, really teach a guy like this. But like, everything on intel wise in France is like, unbelievable kid. Like, you know, real worker. Like, really wants it now. Like, He's a real like awesome human. So yeah, that's one that's kind of to the other side of your question a little bit where it's, to me it's mostly about like, what are your physical tools and do you have something you're missing and lacking? If you do, I'm like a little bit more worried. If you don't, then. Okay, like we might have a stew going. Like we might be able to like really, really kind of teach this kid like how to play. You know what I mean?
- [41:20]
Andrew
Yeah. Say his first name again.
- [41:21]
Sam Vesini
Johan.
- [41:23]
Andrew
Johan. Okay.
- [41:24]
Alex Spears
We actually had a question about guarantee a little bit later, but may as well ask it now because you had him at 13 in your mock draft to the Hawks, which I believe is the highest he's appeared in any of your mock so far. And we were going to ask is this more about a specific fit with Atlanta, who are at 13, or has his stock just been rising league wide?
- [41:41]
Sam Vesini
So like I've heard the name with Atlanta, you know, but look, I mean, again, Atlanta's looking at a bevy of options, you know what I mean? Like, it's not like they're locked in on Baron J or anything. Right? Yeah, I've heard him. Like, I think people be surprised. Like, I've heard him earlier than that. Really in some places too. So like, I'd be pretty stunned if he got past like 17, 18, to be honest with you. Like that. That would really surprise me at this point.
- [42:12]
Alex Spears
Was your mock where you placed him before you saw the measurements?
- [42:16]
Sam Vesini
Yeah, it was. Yeah.
- [42:18]
Alex Spears
Okay. Okay.
- [42:19]
Sam Vesini
Yeah. Because the mock came out at 6am we got measurements today at. When did, when did his agent text me? It was that I didn't give you the exact date. It was, it, was it like 3 o' clock Pacific time.
- [42:33]
Alex Spears
Have you talked to any teams like since the measurements, like, have any of them like fundamentally changed their opinion on this player?
- [42:39]
Sam Vesini
I have. I've been on the phone like with people all day. Like, I haven't even like gotten a chance to go like, oh, like, did you see this? You know what I mean?
- [42:48]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [42:49]
Sam Vesini
Like today was like an agent catch up day for me more than the team side. Because the last few days have been team side for the mock stuff.
- [42:59]
Andrew
Colin Murray Boyles goes to the rockets at 10. In your mock. In the draft guide, you mentioned how he is a polarizing prospect and how if you were an NBA team, your evaluation of CMB would could change dramatically depending on how you thought the coaching staff would use him. When you look across the League. Are there any teams forget where they are in the draft that you think would be particularly good for him?
- [43:28]
Sam Vesini
The Oklahoma City Thunder. Have you heard of them? Boys? Oh, interesting. Heard I've heard you heard of this group? Yeah. I mean, look, like, can you imagine adding another like, Swiss army knife multi positional defender to this group? Like, Mark would know exactly what to do with them.
- [43:45]
Andrew
Like, he'd be nice to have a guy that's like 6 7, 6, 8 as well to play that position.
- [43:49]
Sam Vesini
Yeah. Like, can you imagine him with like chat defensively? Like it.
- [43:53]
Alex Spears
Yeah, you know?
- [43:55]
Andrew
Yes, yes, I can.
- [43:58]
Sam Vesini
I don't think he gets the 15, for what it's worth, but, like, you know, okay, that's. That's one team where it really, I mean, God, like, I would love it if he goes to 15. That'd be amazing. Like, please let it happen, just for my own enjoyment. I think Houston, like, I think he may. Would really know how to use him, to be honest with you. Like, they, they, you know, they have a number of these guys already, but I just think he'd understand. Like, okay, how do we get the most out of like a defensively versatile guy? You know, trying to think, like, who else? I mean, San Antonio I've gone back and forth on just because like, my whole thing with San Antonio is like, with Victor, the whole experience is based on making centers guard him. Right. And like making defense, like, stressing defenses that way. Right. Well, if you have Murray Boyles out there, the center is just gonna be able to guard him. You know what I mean? Like, he can't shoot yet, so maybe he shoots at some point. I think SPO would really know how to use them. Like, I think that that would be amazing. I mean, Chicago, like, needs him. And I think that, you know, Billy Donovan's a good coach at the very least. Like, I think he'd figure it out. I'm trying to think of like an organization like, the teams that like, don't really need him, right, Are like. Like, I think Washington would use him well. Like, I think that just him next to Saar would be really good. But, you know, the teams that don't need him are the teams like Utah, right? Like, they need to go find other stuff. You know what I mean? Will Hardy would figure it out. But like, they have Walker Kessler, like, they, they would need to figure out so many different things in order to make him work. You know, trying to think through, like, other teams, like, like Orlando is like the last team that, like, I think, like, Jamal Mosley like might really enjoy having like a multi positional defender but like for the love of God, like, don't, don't you put that evil on us, Ricky Bobby. Like to say, like I, it's funny, like I put Jaegor Dem in there and like, I agree with all their fans. Their fans are like if, if they do this, like I'm like stopping being a Magic fan. I'm just like, honestly I don't blame you but like just look through your GM's history. Like he just loves these big, you know, skilled decision makers who you know, are, you know, very, you know, have a massive positional size and you know your guys like, you know, Franz Vogner like kind of fits this billing, right? Franz was way ahead of where Jagor is. But you know, you can just look back through his track record from Anthony Black to like Jet Howard, like kind of fits this bill as like a bigger dude. Like you just go through and it's just like, okay, all these guys are positional, size, skill in some way, shape or form, you know, processing like all that stuff and doesn't really care all that much about the athleticism. He'll just take them. So, so that tends to be more my thing on like mocks and stuff is especially like up until the week of the draft is just like these GMs like have a type. Yeah, like that's the thing. Like GMs you can, you can do like a little scout. Like I have a document where like I have a little scout for like the guys like the types of players that like GMs really like, like you, you can, you can definitely get a vibe.
- [47:33]
Alex Spears
You mocked Carter Bryant to the Blazers at 11 and evaluators seem confident in his 3 and D ability. But what about the rest of his game? Sam, going back to the idea of dribble pass, shoot players, how confident are you in Bryant's ability to dribble and pass?
- [47:49]
Sam Vesini
Not.
- [47:51]
Alex Spears
See, that's why I, I don't understand because I know, like, I know Andrew's really into him and I know a lot of people are really into him, but when I hear the three and D thing, I almost hear it as a negative because when people describe the rest of his game, it's like, well, what else can he do offensively also?
- [48:08]
Sam Vesini
So like here's the thing, like he's not incapable of dribbling. Like he can take like a couple dribbles and be okay.
- [48:15]
Alex Spears
Okay.
- [48:15]
Sam Vesini
When he was in high school, like he was like a mid range guy. Like he would like go create Shots in the mid range, right. And like take pull ups and stuff like that. Like he's not incapable of that. The passing vision, like I've never really seen that with him unfortunately. But he's an A. Here's the thing, like all the intel came back like super clean. Like really, really positive character. Like if I remember correctly, I think his mom is like a, like a child of deaf adults. So like he does all of these like he does like events in Southern California where like he's like trying to raise awareness for like the deaf community and things like that. He's just like a really, really good like well adjusted human being or like a good, like a good kid, I should say. Like I don't know how adjusted he is. I shouldn't say that. I'm not saying he is or he isn't. I just don't know that part of it. But just like a good kid from what I've been told. Um, in terms of the defense, I think he's an awesome defender. Like multi positional, 1 through 4, really, really high level in terms of like, can switch out onto guards, knows his rotations, constantly engaged, constantly aware. Just like an awesome basketball player. Really, really good on the defensive end. And then the shooting seems real too. The name I've been using for him is Marvin Williams. Like I know that's not sexy. Like I don't think Marvin Williams ever averaged like more than 12 points a game. But he started 800 games in his career. Yeah, like, you know, guy also like, it's funny that it lines up too where Carter Bryant like also didn't really start for Arizona this year. Marvin Williams didn't start for that North Carolina team back in the day. You know, it's just kind of what he feels like to me. Like he feels like a guy that's going to be super valuable like for the right team where he can be like the fifth best offensive player and like be like a real like top two defender on a team.
- [50:08]
Andrew
Yeah. Just don't take him second overall.
- [50:11]
Sam Vesini
Does that help at all, Alex?
- [50:13]
Alex Spears
Yeah, it helps a little bit. It kind of sounds like a. Is it like a Tumani Kamara vibe? Like just in terms of his like role?
- [50:20]
Sam Vesini
Yeah, sort of. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, I dig that.
- [50:24]
Andrew
Okay, well now you got to be really excited, Al.
- [50:26]
Alex Spears
Yeah, I do like to money a lot.
- [50:28]
Andrew
Yeah. Oh come on, you're a Tumani guy. So knowing how the league values big long wings who can shoot, why wouldn't Cedric Coward go higher than 14? And where have you where you currently have him, you know, going to the spurs in your mock. And what are the major concerns with him?
- [50:51]
Sam Vesini
So, like, a couple of notes here. So Cedric Howard played six games this year. I think if Cedric Coward had played more than six games, we'd be talking about him, like, as a clear lottery guy. But I also say that as somebody, like, I had Cedric Cower, I think I was the only person that had in the top 35 coming into the year. Like, I. I really think Cedric Howard is super interesting. So where I realized that, like, he was a real dude was when I saw him in person and la, like, what, in April, I guess that was. And the question with him on tape has always been, how athletic is he? Is he able to, like, actually be like, a real defender in terms of switchability? Is he. Is he more of like a big. Because he's not super athletic. Is he more like a true wing? I think that he is like, a real true wing. He is definitely added explosiveness. The other thing is that, like, yeah, he's like, 21, 22. Might turn 22 later this year. I can't remember off the top of my head, but if you, like, see him in person, he just, like, looks kind of young in, like, terms of his frame. Like, he looks like one of those dudes where, like, the shoulders are really broad and, like, they're like, he looks like a dude that's going to fill out in a real way in terms of, like, adding strength. And I'll tell you, like, when I saw him in la, like, he was more explosive than when I'd seen him, you know, on tape previously. And, you know, I asked some people that saw him in Chicago that went to the Big Sky Tournament last year, not in 2025, but 2024. We've lost Andrew, by the way. Bye, Andrew. And they all said, like, he was way more explosive than what they, you know, remembered him being. So throw in the fact that he's, like, almost 6 foot 6 with a 72 wingspan and, you know, can really shoot the ball. Like, that's the other thing. The easiest way for me to explain it was when you look at him play on the court, everything just looks right in terms of, like, how he moves athletically, like, the kinetic chain of his body, like, and how it all, you know, works synchronously with its. Like, with all of the parts, right? Like, all of the parts move. When they're supposed to move, all of the parts, like, look. Look like they're in line, right? He's a. He's a really interesting player, man. He's like another like awesome kid. I think he was like, he might have been like his student, student body, like president or something like that. Like, you know, like I saw he.
- [53:35]
Alex Spears
Won an award for a Habitat for Humanity. Yeah, he's involved with that. Yeah. I totally get what you're saying though, about like his movements because like watching highlights of him, some of these like pull up mid range shots, he just looks so smooth.
- [53:51]
Sam Vesini
Yeah, it's in like very impressive looking. Yeah. And like when again, I think he's gonna get stronger too. And like the way that he plays like off of two feet constantly, like he's always on balance and if you watch him, like he's constantly trying to put his shoulder into guys and get to his step back. Right. Like when he gets stronger and when he gets more physical, like, I think that he has a chance to like move guys at some point. Like he might get up to like 225, 230, I think even. I think he's at 212 right now on me. Look at that. 213. Like, I think he's going to add real weight without losing much athletically and he's going to be able to. I think he has a chance to like move guys because he's another guy that has super long arms. This is the piece of it that I understand when people will bring up Jalen Williams with him, I think J Dub was a much, you know, looking back on it, like if you watch J Dub at Santa Clara versus Coward, it is very different. Like J Dub was much more capable on the ball than what Coward is, but he does have the same like low center of gravity despite having like a 7:2 wingspan that J Dub does. Right. Like, that's J Dub superpower is that he's just able to move guys because he out leverages them and then he has the super long arms to shoot over the top of them when he gets to his step back or to like be able to extend and finish at the front rim is particularly his greatness. Right. Like, so you know that, that like ability to have that strength and then also have the lower center of gravity mixed with the length. It's what makes you like a great defender. It's what makes you a, you know, real potential, you know, high level, efficient scorer. Right. So yeah, I mean, look it, it's a, it's a gamble. He played six games this year. You go back through his like track record when he was, you know, at Eastern Washington and they played good teams. It's mixed for sure. But yeah, I have no problem betting on that kid. And again, like, I've met him. Like he's awesome kid, like totally someone you can buy into.
- [55:57]
Alex Spears
So you have OKC taking Thomas Sorber at 15, and in the description you mentioned the idea of trying to find a young long term replacement for Hartenstein. As OKC's cap sheet starts to get more crowded. What aspects of Hartenstein's game do you think Sorber could best be able to replicate? And are there any other options in this draft who you think could be good candidates for that role as well?
- [56:18]
Sam Vesini
Yeah, the passing and the screening for me with Sorber, you know, he has a lot of that stuff in terms of being able to like see the court from the top end. He processes it super well. I thinks the game at an extreme, extremely high level. He's just extremely thundery. If he could shoot it, it would be like a no brainer to me. But yeah, just the way he thinks it is so thundery. You know, smaller, like, you know, 6 9, but has a 72 or 7 6. I'm sorry, 76 wingspan. I believe the standing reach was like right around like 93 if I remember correctly. So big enough, like we'll be able to make it work. Physical, strong. Yeah, just. Just very thundery in a lot of ways.
- [57:01]
Andrew
Okay, is there anybody else in that range that. I mean, just because we have you. Is there anybody else in that range that you like for okc?
- [57:12]
Sam Vesini
I'm glad we've turned this into a down to dunk episode. Listen, should we. Should we just talk about game three? Can we get that?
- [57:18]
Andrew
No, no, I don't want to do that.
- [57:20]
Alex Spears
Shut up.
- [57:20]
Andrew
I don't want to do that. Don't. All right, we can move on if you want one too.
- [57:26]
Sam Vesini
No, guys that I like that are thundery. I think Danny Wolf is thundery. Just like dribble pass, shoot process for sure. I think he moves better than what he gets credit for defensively. Like, he's like a. He was a capable collegiate switch defender. I don't know how capable he'll be in the NBA, but like, you know, we'll see what that looks like. But gerbil pass shoot bigs are, you know, they are what they are for the Thunder, right? I would say that, you know, one name that's like kind of off the radar that I really think fits the Thunder. And people are going to laugh at this, I think, because they just kind of have the wrong impression of the player. I think Liam McNeely really fits.
- [58:06]
Alex Spears
I knew you were about to say Liam McNeely.
- [58:09]
Sam Vesini
I knew that he really fits. Like he is big, he is hyper competitive. Like, like he is a, like real like locked in at all moments. Extreme professional as a teenager. Like fits all of that stuff. I know he shot 32% this year. He was dealing with an ankle injury and had to take so many pull up opportunities. Like Connecticut just didn't have any guards, you know what I mean? Like they had no chance to get him the ball off of the actions that they wanted to run. That made like Cam Spencer a draft pick and made Jordan Hawkins a draft pick. Right. I think that McNeely is somebody that, you know, when people look at the box score numbers, they wouldn't think is a Thunder guy, but he's like definitely a Thunder guy. I think whether, like I don't know if we'll take him at 15. I think if he was 20, if he was there at 24, I think they would take him. Like, I don't know, like that's not me speaking from having knowledge, but like if he was there at 24, it would surprise me if the Thunder didn't take him, I think.
- [59:22]
Andrew
Yeah. And he thinks the game at a high level. Like he could play for Mark.
- [59:26]
Sam Vesini
Yeah, that's it. Like thinks the game super competitive. Just, it's, it's an easy, it's an easy fit, I think.
- [59:33]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [59:35]
Sam Vesini
Trying to think if there's anybody else. I mean like, I'm sure there is. I mean like Cedric Coward, Carter Bryant, Colin Murray, Boyles, obviously like all those guys fit. That's probably your group, to be honest.
- [59:48]
Andrew
You released your draft guide this week and for each prospect you have a short bio section where you give readers some background information. What was your favorite tidbit that you found out about a player?
- [60:01]
Sam Vesini
See, like this is like one of those things where I just like, it's all blended in my head.
- [60:06]
Alex Spears
Oh, can I tell you mine?
- [60:08]
Sam Vesini
Yeah, please.
- [60:09]
Alex Spears
I'll give you some time to think. Mind is first of all, Con Knippel's dad also named Khan. So he's.
- [60:15]
Sam Vesini
That's the answer, actually.
- [60:17]
Alex Spears
And Khan has four younger brothers named Keger, Kinston, Cash and Kid.
- [60:23]
Sam Vesini
Yes.
- [60:23]
Alex Spears
Why? Why was this the first time I'd heard about this?
- [60:27]
Sam Vesini
Yeah, Keger's like good too. Keger's gonna be like a real high level recruit.
- [60:32]
Andrew
Keger?
- [60:33]
Sam Vesini
Yeah. I think Kinston, if I remember correctly, is also going to be like quite good. Look like the whole family. It's like the dad is Khan, like the mom is I think Chari is her name or Sherry. My God, why I'm like looking at it now. His uncle played in the NBA. His mom's like the all time leading scorer at either Milwaukee or Green Bay. Whatever it is. Whichever one of those schools that they went to in Wisconsin, like it's just like a hoops family. There has never been anything other than like hoops in that kid's life. He is, yeah, he, he's a, he's a dude. I'm a, I'm a con canipple guy trying to think of anything like fun. I don't know a lot of this. Put it this way, there are things that I don't put in the draft guide and thus will not answer. Like things that I just know that like I can't share.
- [61:30]
Alex Spears
We, we need a uncensored draft guide.
- [61:33]
Andrew
Come on. Yeah, we'll put. You could pay a little extra for the uncensored version.
- [61:39]
Sam Vesini
That's it. We'll do the uncensored. That'll be like, you know, when I'm 45 and I decide like to go independent in whatever the AI mind content creation spaces that we live in.
- [61:56]
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- [62:33]
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- [63:35]
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- [64:19]
Alex Spears
All right, Sam. Those are all of our draft questions exactly at an hour. Shout out to us is now time to play Andrew versus the beat. Played this thousand times. Now, I was going to do NBA draft questions, but this.
- [64:34]
Sam Vesini
And I've won one of the times.
- [64:36]
Alex Spears
That's right.
- [64:36]
Sam Vesini
You should win one of the times.
- [64:38]
Alex Spears
But this might be the last week I had a chance to do NBA Finals trivia. If it keeps going the way it's going. So instead of NBA draft, these are going to be all questions about the NBA Finals in some way.
- [64:51]
Sam Vesini
This is gonna be a bloodbath.
- [64:53]
Alex Spears
We'll see. We'll see. So eight questions. Samuel, give me a number between one and eight correspond to a question. If you get it right, you'll get at least two points. You get it wrong, Andrew will have a chance to steal for one. And we'll go back and forth until all the questions have been asked and answered. So start us off, Sam, with a number between one and eight.
- [65:09]
Sam Vesini
Seven.
- [65:11]
Alex Spears
Question number seven. There's been a lot of talk about how different these Pacers look compared to your traditional championship teams. With Pascal Siakam being the team's leading scorer at only 20.2 points per game in the regular season. Since 2000, there have been three NBA champions who did not have a 20 point per game score on their roster. How many can you name? You get one point. I would per correct answer.
- [65:38]
Sam Vesini
Yeah, I guess 04 pistons is my first answer correct. Okay. I mean, won't be the Lakers teams in the 2000s. This. What year do I have? I have to get the year, don't I?
- [65:56]
Alex Spears
Yeah, unfortunately.
- [65:57]
Sam Vesini
Like if I say like the players that were on the team with the.
- [66:01]
Alex Spears
Team, it's not gonna work.
- [66:02]
Sam Vesini
No, not gonna be good enough, man. Because I have one. But you just have to get a year.
- [66:09]
Alex Spears
You know the team name in the full roster, but you just don't have the.
- [66:12]
Sam Vesini
Is it the 08? Is it the 08 Celtics?
- [66:15]
Alex Spears
Yes, Sam.
- [66:16]
Sam Vesini
There we go. I wasn't sure if it was 07 or 08.
- [66:19]
Alex Spears
Nice. Can you get the final one.
- [66:22]
Sam Vesini
Okay.
- [66:23]
Alex Spears
Clean.
- [66:23]
Sam Vesini
Sweet.
- [66:24]
Alex Spears
This would be a great start.
- [66:25]
Sam Vesini
What. What year is that? Is it the 06 mavs? I can't remember the year.
- [66:32]
Alex Spears
Well, the Mavs didn't win in 06.
- [66:35]
Sam Vesini
Yeah, that's the thing. I can't remember when they won with Dirk and Asia and 2011. John Marion. 11. Yeah. Oh, the 06 Mavs, I think, might be the team that lost in the. Is that the We Believe Warriors? Jesus. That might be real bad guess. 11 maps was my guess anyway, and I think that's probably wrong as it.
- [66:53]
Alex Spears
Is, and that is incorrect. Andrew, what was your guess?
- [66:57]
Andrew
Is it the 14 spurs?
- [66:59]
Alex Spears
It's the 14 spurs.
- [67:01]
Sam Vesini
Yeah, that's right.
- [67:03]
Alex Spears
Spurs. You guys got all of them, though. That's pretty good. That's. Hey, that's pretty good.
- [67:09]
Andrew
That's pretty good.
- [67:10]
Sam Vesini
We did okay.
- [67:11]
Alex Spears
Board is yours.
- [67:13]
Andrew
Number one.
- [67:15]
Alex Spears
In the first three rounds of the playoffs, the Oklahoma City Thunder averaged almost 24 points off of turnovers per game through three games of the Finals. How many points off turnovers are the Thunder averaging per game? Now, Andrew, you get to choose who answers first.
- [67:30]
Advertiser
Do you?
- [67:30]
Alex Spears
You can make Sam answer first and then you go higher, lower. Or you can answer first and Sam will go higher and lower. However, whoever guesses they get exactly correct, they would get a bonus point. So this is through three Finals games, average points off turnovers for the Thunder against the Pacers, as a point of reference, they had almost 24 per game in the first three rounds.
- [67:56]
Andrew
Yeah, that's an unhelpful point of reference. Nine.
- [68:05]
Alex Spears
All right, Andrew's going nine. Sam, would you like to go higher or lower?
- [68:09]
Sam Vesini
I will say over there.
- [68:13]
Alex Spears
That is correct. It was 13.
- [68:16]
Sam Vesini
You know what the scary thing is? If you would have made me put a number on, I would have said 13.
- [68:21]
Alex Spears
Oh, Andrew.
- [68:24]
Andrew
I'm glad I said it then.
- [68:26]
Sam Vesini
I'm locked in, Andrew.
- [68:28]
Alex Spears
Okay, Sam, you're now up three to one, and you have control of the board.
- [68:31]
Sam Vesini
This is. This is gonna end poorly. I'm totally aware of it. Just to be clear. Okay, number. Number four.
- [68:39]
Alex Spears
Number four. Which active player has the most career points in the NBA Finals while never making an All Star game?
- [68:50]
Sam Vesini
Oh, this is a disgusting question, Alex.
- [68:53]
Alex Spears
No, it's not. It's a beautiful question.
- [68:56]
Sam Vesini
No, it really is like. It's. It's quite good.
- [69:01]
Andrew
So probably the average of the most points will not make with never making an All Star team.
- [69:05]
Alex Spears
Just total career points in NBA Finals games. Oh, making an All Star game. Yeah.
- [69:13]
Andrew
Oh, okay.
- [69:14]
Alex Spears
Toto.
- [69:16]
Andrew
Toto.
- [69:17]
Sam Vesini
Toto I mean, there's. Is it Jamal Murray?
- [69:23]
Alex Spears
Jamal Murray. That is incorrect, Andrew.
- [69:27]
Sam Vesini
Like, I was just trying to think, like, okay, crazy high score.
- [69:31]
Alex Spears
Yeah.
- [69:31]
Sam Vesini
That. You know, the problem is that series didn't go long enough. I don't think, like, he probably scored, you know, 160 points in that series or whatever. But, like.
- [69:47]
Andrew
I was gonna say Danny Green.
- [69:48]
Sam Vesini
I'm missing an obvious one.
- [69:50]
Andrew
I was gonna say Danny Green, but.
- [69:52]
Alex Spears
Like, is he active?
- [69:55]
Andrew
Oh, it's. Oh, it's active. I'm sorry. I didn't hear that part. I don't have an answer yet.
- [70:00]
Alex Spears
Andrew. Do you know his. Do you know his name was Icy Hot?
- [70:06]
Andrew
Icy Hot. No. Oh, man. Active player that never made an All Star team.
- [70:17]
Alex Spears
Andrew. Any names?
- [70:19]
Andrew
It's not like, Derek White or something. I don't know who it is.
- [70:23]
Alex Spears
Derek White. No, that's wrong. Correct answer. Any last guesses? Throw it out. It is Tristan Thompson.
- [70:35]
Sam Vesini
Yeah, good answer.
- [70:36]
Alex Spears
Thompson makes sense. Played in three playoff games this year. He is still active.
- [70:43]
Andrew
Wow.
- [70:43]
Sam Vesini
He's definitely active.
- [70:45]
Alex Spears
Yeah. Not only that, he ranks 13th among all active players. And everyone above him is, you know, like, hall of Famer.
- [70:52]
Sam Vesini
Yeah.
- [70:53]
Alex Spears
Is 32. He had 107 points in that Finals.
- [70:58]
Sam Vesini
Yeah. Because. Yeah. Again, that series just.
- [71:00]
Andrew
Wow.
- [71:01]
Alex Spears
Yeah. I think second would have been. Second is Jay Crowder with 137. Okay, question number two. There are eight NBA teams that no longer exist that won a championship once upon a time, and we're going to name them all. So how this works. Andrew will give me name, then Sam will give me name. We'll go back and forth. So here's the deal. Some of these teams.
- [71:27]
Sam Vesini
So wait, say. Say this again.
- [71:29]
Alex Spears
So these are NBA teams that no longer exist. There may be a team in that city now, but the combination of city and team name does not exist anymore, if that makes sense. So eight NBA teams that no longer exist that have won a championship once upon a time. Andrew, what's your first guess?
- [71:51]
Andrew
Seattle supersonics.
- [71:53]
Alex Spears
There it is.
- [71:56]
Sam Vesini
Am I up?
- [71:57]
Alex Spears
Yeah.
- [71:58]
Sam Vesini
Minneapolis Lakers.
- [72:00]
Alex Spears
Correct. Back to Andrew.
- [72:07]
Andrew
Baltimore Bullets.
- [72:09]
Alex Spears
The Baltimore Bullets. Yes. Okay.
- [72:12]
Andrew
Like, I know that's a team. Did they win the title? I don't have any clue if they actually did.
- [72:18]
Sam Vesini
The Washington Bullets.
- [72:20]
Alex Spears
Yes. The Washington Bullets as well. Andrew, man, they really should change the name. I mean, I know. I get it. Bullets. But that's a long history of champions, all those Bullets titles.
- [72:41]
Andrew
What about the Philadelphia. Philadelphia Warriors?
- [72:46]
Alex Spears
Yes, the Philadelphia warriors is correct. You guys are doing great. Okay, Sam, there are three names left. These teams do not exist.
- [72:58]
Sam Vesini
Oh, man, you're gonna make me name if I get the city and it does not exist in the NBA anymore. Cincinnati.
- [73:08]
Alex Spears
What's. You have to tell me the name of the team.
- [73:11]
Sam Vesini
Oh, my God, this is terrible.
- [73:15]
Andrew
Cincinnati.
- [73:17]
Sam Vesini
Oh, I don't think I know it.
- [73:23]
Alex Spears
What would you call a basketball team in Cincinnati? You just take a guess.
- [73:33]
Sam Vesini
Oh, the. Since I'm like trying to think back, like, is it like the Cincinnati Warriors?
- [73:41]
Alex Spears
No, it's not. Andrew, have any more guesses? You've got the point.
- [73:47]
Andrew
I'm all out. I'm all out.
- [73:49]
Alex Spears
So actually it wasn't even Cincinnati. I don't know why I led you down.
- [73:53]
Sam Vesini
It's very funny that you did that, though.
- [73:55]
Andrew
You're like, I can't believe you didn't know it.
- [73:58]
Sam Vesini
Am I like Oscar Robertson?
- [74:01]
Alex Spears
Cincinnati Royals. And yeah, it's the Rochester Royals is who won the championship. The Rochester Syracuse Nationals. Would you have gotten that? And the St. Louis Hawks.
- [74:16]
Andrew
Oh, yeah.
- [74:20]
Sam Vesini
For what it's worth, my next guess was going to be the New Orleans Jazz. Just because that was the only full name I think of at the time. But yeah.
- [74:28]
Alex Spears
Okay, we have a tie game. Four questions remaining, three to three. Sam, you have control of the board.
- [74:34]
Sam Vesini
Number eight.
- [74:36]
Alex Spears
Question number eight. We are in the age of parody. Regardless of who wins the finals, we will have our seventh consecutive unique champion. There are three players who have won multiple titles over the last seven seasons. Who are they? And you get one point per correct answer. So really, we're just talking about the last six titles. There have been three players who have won multiple titles over that six year span.
- [75:04]
Sam Vesini
Can Tavius Caldwell Pope is one?
- [75:07]
Alex Spears
Yes for one point.
- [75:09]
Sam Vesini
Okay. Is Matthew Della Vadova one of them?
- [75:16]
Alex Spears
No.
- [75:18]
Sam Vesini
Okay.
- [75:19]
Alex Spears
That's an interesting answer though.
- [75:21]
Andrew
Who.
- [75:21]
Alex Spears
Who else did he.
- [75:22]
Sam Vesini
I was thinking Cavs. And was he on the Bucks team?
- [75:27]
Alex Spears
Oh, well, well, well. I only went back to 2019 because of the last six years. So that Cavs title was in 16.
- [75:37]
Sam Vesini
Yeah, that's too. Yeah. Okay, fair enough. Andrew, was he on the Bucks team? Even? I don't even. I was thinking the Cavs counted, but I don't even know if he was on the Bucks team.
- [75:46]
Alex Spears
He was on the 19 bucks.
- [75:49]
Sam Vesini
Yeah. I was thinking Bucks and Cavs. That's not bad. I feel okay. I got a guy that had won two titles for different teams. I feel okay about that answer.
- [75:59]
Alex Spears
Well, I mean, he didn't because he's.
- [76:03]
Sam Vesini
Not in that range.
- [76:04]
Alex Spears
Well, no, because the 19 bucks didn't win. It was a 2002 bucks.
- [76:09]
Sam Vesini
I was thinking he was on the 22 bucks. Was he not on the 22 bucks?
- [76:13]
Alex Spears
No, in 22, he did not play. He was in another pro league, and then he briefly came back at that point.
- [76:20]
Sam Vesini
Yeah.
- [76:20]
Alex Spears
And now he's lost forever.
- [76:22]
Sam Vesini
Hey, he was in. He's here in Melbourne this year. Melbourne United.
- [76:26]
Alex Spears
Oh, is he really?
- [76:27]
Sam Vesini
Shout out Deli. Yeah.
- [76:28]
Andrew
Oh, nice.
- [76:29]
Alex Spears
Shout out. Andrew. Do you know the other two names?
- [76:34]
Andrew
I know Drew Holiday.
- [76:36]
Sam Vesini
Oh, I'm an idiot. I'm an idiot. That's an easy one.
- [76:43]
Andrew
The other one.
- [76:45]
Alex Spears
The other one third guy. And while we're waiting, no matter who wins this year, we'll add another. A couple more names to this. It'll either be Alex.
- [76:54]
Sam Vesini
Yes, we will.
- [76:56]
Alex Spears
Or it'll be Siakam. And Thomas Bryant.
- [77:02]
Andrew
Thomas Bryant. Oh, he was on, like, Denver, wasn't he?
- [77:08]
Sam Vesini
No limit tb, baby.
- [77:12]
Andrew
Man, I don't know that I know the other one.
- [77:20]
Alex Spears
Okay, it. It. I'm gonna reveal the answer right now, Andrew.
- [77:23]
Andrew
Okay. Yeah, I don't know it.
- [77:25]
Alex Spears
Well, you should have known it because it was a guy you talked about earlier. Icy Hot himself. Danny Green was on the Raptors and the bubble Lakers.
- [77:32]
Sam Vesini
Yeah. Yeah, I was sure. I felt like the bubble Lakers had another one. The two I was spending a lot of my time on there was trying to remember, like, who it was on that team. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [77:47]
Alex Spears
For a long time, guys, for this. Okay, Andrew, Tie game, three questions left, four to four.
- [77:54]
Andrew
Dion was on the. That bubbles like bubble lakers team. Number three.
- [77:59]
Alex Spears
Number three. There are seven players who have taken at least 10 shots in an NBA Finals game and missed all of them. Can you name one?
- [78:10]
Andrew
What?
- [78:11]
Alex Spears
Yeah. I don't know why I came up with this question, because I was. I actually came up with a lot of these questions last week, and I was looking at it today. I was like, why did I even think to. It's not like that happened in game one or two. So I don't know why I was thinking about this, but. Yeah, a guy going at least 0 for 10 in an NBA Finals game. There's seven. And I will give a hint all time. Yeah, I will give a hint because this is super hard. One of them happened in the last three years.
- [78:41]
Andrew
In the last three years.
- [78:43]
Alex Spears
Yeah.
- [78:44]
Andrew
A champion.
- [78:46]
Alex Spears
Just a guy in a Finals game.
- [78:49]
Andrew
In the Finals.
- [78:50]
Alex Spears
In the Finals. Yeah.
- [78:52]
Andrew
So now I got to think about.
- [78:53]
Sam Vesini
A lot of different teams by the last three years. Are you including the Bucks title or are you just including Nuggets, Celtics this year?
- [79:05]
Alex Spears
Celtics, Nuggets, Warriors, Celtics, Nuggets, and Warriors?
- [79:12]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [79:13]
Sam Vesini
Oh, yeah. The Bucks want the warriors one after the bucks. That's right.
- [79:19]
Alex Spears
21 bucks.
- [79:21]
Andrew
I don't. I don't know how to even approach this.
- [79:26]
Alex Spears
Okay.
- [79:32]
Andrew
Cody Zeller, seller.
- [79:34]
Sam Vesini
Great answer.
- [79:35]
Alex Spears
The big handsome. No, it's not Cody Zeller. Sam, you have any guesses? I feel like I could keep giving you guys hints, and you will just never. Okay, I'll give you another hit that I don't think is going to help you at all. I think there three hall of Famers. Does that do anything for you?
- [80:00]
Sam Vesini
Sure. Let's go with Jerry West.
- [80:03]
Alex Spears
Jerry West. Definitely a Hall of Famer. Actually, four hall of Famers. Wow. No, that's wrong. The name within the last three years was Max Strus.
- [80:15]
Andrew
Oh, really?
- [80:16]
Sam Vesini
For what it's worth, before you said the hall of Famers thing, I was gonna say J. R Smith. It just.
- [80:23]
Alex Spears
That does sound like a JR Thing to do. Know Dennis Johnson, Chick Riser. Ray Allen. Ray Allen did it.
- [80:31]
Andrew
Ray Allen.
- [80:32]
Alex Spears
Guy Rogers.
- [80:33]
Sam Vesini
What the is wrong with you, Andrew? You didn't get Chick.
- [80:36]
Alex Spears
Yeah. You didn't get Chicken.
- [80:37]
Andrew
Forgot about Chick.
- [80:38]
Alex Spears
You didn't get Dick Schultz and Harry Gallatin.
- [80:43]
Sam Vesini
The majority Dick, dude. Come on.
- [80:46]
Andrew
Chicken Dick and Gallaton.
- [80:49]
Alex Spears
Harry Galton, nicknamed the Horse and Farmer.
- [80:54]
Sam Vesini
Wow.
- [80:55]
Alex Spears
Horse and Farmer.
- [80:56]
Sam Vesini
Yeah. Unacceptable. Weird. Andrew.
- [81:00]
Alex Spears
Okay, two questions left. Sam, you have an impossible question. No, it's not.
- [81:05]
Andrew
Number six, Eric Gallatin.
- [81:08]
Alex Spears
Mark Dagnall played rookie A.J. mitchell in game one of the finals because he was feeling himself. There are only three.
- [81:16]
Sam Vesini
Yes, he did.
- [81:18]
Alex Spears
There are only three active players who played more than 50 minutes in the NBA Finals during their rookie season. How many can you name? One point.
- [81:29]
Sam Vesini
Is Tyler Hero one of them?
- [81:31]
Alex Spears
Tyler Hero is one of them for one point.
- [81:33]
Sam Vesini
Okay. I think he was in his second year.
- [81:37]
Alex Spears
Okay.
- [81:38]
Sam Vesini
And I'm gonna be annoyed. Is Caruso one of them?
- [81:42]
Andrew
No.
- [81:44]
Sam Vesini
Yeah, I think he was in his second year with the Lakers.
- [81:49]
Alex Spears
Yeah, he. He was in his third season. His rookie season was 18. Andrew.
- [81:57]
Sam Vesini
He played not many minutes before that. Oh, okay.
- [82:02]
Alex Spears
Andrew. Andrew.
- [82:04]
Andrew
Derek Lively.
- [82:05]
Alex Spears
Derek Lively is one.
- [82:08]
Sam Vesini
I think that's a great answer.
- [82:09]
Alex Spears
Can you get the other name?
- [82:10]
Sam Vesini
Yeah. Yeah. That's gross.
- [82:12]
Andrew
And what's. What's the qualifier again?
- [82:14]
Alex Spears
Just 50 minutes in the NBA Finals as a rookie. Active player.
- [82:20]
Andrew
Okay. There's a couple guys I don't know if they played.
- [82:26]
Alex Spears
Okay.
- [82:27]
Andrew
This many.
- [82:27]
Sam Vesini
For some reason, I was only going through champions in my head after Hero. I don't know why my ADHD adult brain decided to focus on that, but it did.
- [82:41]
Alex Spears
Any other guesses Andrew.
- [82:46]
Andrew
Kaminga.
- [82:48]
Alex Spears
Jonathan Kuminga. No, I think Moses Moody actually played more minutes in that. That finals. It's Christian Brown, of course.
- [82:57]
Andrew
Oh, der dang Christian Brown.
- [83:02]
Alex Spears
Now this is great because not only do we have a tie game going to the final question, but also I feel like the final question is impossible and neither of you are going to get it. Which means I need to start coming up with a backup question. But maybe you'll get it. Okay, so here we go. Andrew, are you ready? You get first dibs on it. Which who question is who was the first NBA franchise to put T shirts in every seat for a playoff game? Now, before you answer, I got this information from a 2011 article in Time. And this is a quote from Chris Granger, who is the NBA executive VP of team marketing and business operations. So I have to trust him that he is giving me the correct information. So is the first NBA franchise to put T shirts in every seat for a playoff game.
- [83:58]
Andrew
This goes to me first.
- [84:00]
Alex Spears
That's right.
- [84:02]
Andrew
Miami.
- [84:02]
Alex Spears
One in 30 shot.
- [84:03]
Andrew
Miami.
- [84:04]
Alex Spears
Miami. No.
- [84:06]
Andrew
All right.
- [84:06]
Alex Spears
That is the obvious answer. That's what I remember.
- [84:10]
Andrew
I'm glad at least checks out with somebody.
- [84:13]
Sam Vesini
Yeah, I was gonna say we'll go with the team that Chick played for. Of chicken dick fan. No, let's go with the We Believe Warriors.
- [84:23]
Alex Spears
The We Believe Warriors. Also incorrect. Would you believe you have to go all the way back to the early 2000s. It was the Sacramento Kings, pioneers in the field. Okay, so I was right. You all did not get that. So you are tied. Which means we're going into overtime.
- [84:45]
Andrew
Overtime.
- [84:47]
Alex Spears
This might be the longest edition of Andrew versus the Beat ever. We just crossed the 30 minute mark.
- [84:53]
Andrew
We did.
- [84:54]
Sam Vesini
You guys excited battle of ineptitude here.
- [84:59]
Alex Spears
Okay, so you remember the question I had about like most points in the finals? Among active players, it was Tristan Thompson.
- [85:07]
Andrew
Yeah, sure, Right.
- [85:08]
Alex Spears
Okay, we're gonna do a version of that question. But among active players, most threes. Most three pointers made in the NBA Finals. Okay.
- [85:20]
Andrew
Okay, so I'll let never an all.
- [85:22]
Sam Vesini
Star or just point blank.
- [85:25]
Alex Spears
Just point blank. So this should be okay, easy, you know, I mean, you'll know a lot of the names. Okay, so we will start with Sam.
- [85:33]
Sam Vesini
Stephen Curry.
- [85:34]
Alex Spears
Great guess. 152. Number one, Andrew.
- [85:39]
Andrew
Yeah, this is just the Finals, just finals games. LeBron James.
- [85:45]
Alex Spears
LeBron James. Number three on the list, back to Sam.
- [85:49]
Sam Vesini
Klay Thompson.
- [85:50]
Alex Spears
Klay Thompson. Number two on the list, back to Andrew.
- [85:54]
Andrew
Kevin Durant.
- [85:55]
Alex Spears
Kevin Durant. Number four, Andrew. One, two, three, four.
- [86:00]
Sam Vesini
Look at us.
- [86:00]
Alex Spears
Andrew this is a confidence booster question. Okay, Sam.
- [86:04]
Sam Vesini
Kyrie.
- [86:06]
Alex Spears
Kyrie.
- [86:06]
Sam Vesini
Number five.
- [86:09]
Alex Spears
Wow. Andrew, back to you. Five names remain.
- [86:15]
Andrew
Kawhi.
- [86:17]
Alex Spears
Kawhi. Number seven. So we did skip. Number six. Number seven. So four names remaining. Back to Sam.
- [86:25]
Sam Vesini
Kevin Love.
- [86:27]
Alex Spears
Kevin Love. Number eight. Number eight. So we have six, nine, and ten left. Back to Andrew.
- [86:36]
Andrew
Tatum.
- [86:38]
Alex Spears
Tatum. Number nine. Two names remain. Number six and number ten. It all comes down to this.
- [86:47]
Sam Vesini
That's a really good answer.
- [86:49]
Alex Spears
Sam, can you get one of the final names?
- [86:55]
Sam Vesini
Okay, now I'm gonna have to, like, really stop and think here.
- [87:00]
Alex Spears
Draymond Green, he is number six, which sets up four. Actually, not even the win. You guys would just tie again. But Andrew, number 10.
- [87:12]
Andrew
That was my players. That was my answer.
- [87:15]
Sam Vesini
Yeah.
- [87:15]
Alex Spears
Okay. Well, you got to think of one more name to push this to a double overtime. First time in. In Andrew versus the Beat history. If we go to a double ot.
- [87:27]
Andrew
Okay, what about Derek White?
- [87:36]
Alex Spears
So I did kind of give a hint at the very beginning. I said active players, just someone who played at least an NBA game this season. Derek white is number 11, which means that Sam wins the week. Number 10 is a guy who played nine games this season for the Sacramento Kings.
- [87:59]
Sam Vesini
Jay Crowder.
- [88:00]
Alex Spears
J. Crowder, who I mentioned earlier for points.
- [88:06]
Sam Vesini
Yeah. I mean, my whole strategy there was literally just running through those warriors cat series.
- [88:10]
Alex Spears
You didn't notice Sam, what a win. Six to five. Wow. That was a. That was a big one, man.
- [88:19]
Sam Vesini
That was a good one.
- [88:20]
Andrew
That is. That's painful. That is.
- [88:22]
Sam Vesini
That's probably the deepest we've ever gone into the bag there. That was pretty good.
- [88:27]
Alex Spears
Andrew. Andrew, would you compare the pain of that loss? Do you think it was more like a game one loss or more like a game three loss?
- [88:37]
Andrew
I would say it's a game that's a. That's a game three loss. Like, I could see it coming for a little while, you know, but it still hurts.
- [88:44]
Alex Spears
Hey.
- [88:44]
Andrew
Yeah, I just got outplayed.
- [88:46]
Alex Spears
Yeah.
- [88:46]
Sam Vesini
Just got outplayed. Yeah. Whenever you lose by. I think it was like 18 in the last 42 minutes of the game, like OKC did. That was.
- [88:54]
Andrew
Yeah.
- [88:54]
Sam Vesini
Something.
- [88:55]
Andrew
I think I was out coached by Sam's brain at the end of this one is what happened. Please go read the draft guide. It is one of the most impressive things that I look at and read every year. So please go read the draft guide at the Athletic. Subscribe to the athletics that you can get the draft guide today. Anything else? Obviously, Game Theory podcast. I was texting with Bryce earlier today. Just. Just a wonderful Guy. Just a really good friend and a wonderful guy. So shout out to Bryce and everything you guys do at Game Theory. Anything else that you want to share before we go?
- [89:36]
Sam Vesini
Yeah, I mean, I'm just sorry that my brain, brain is so irrevocably broken by basketball at this point. That's just where we're at, unfortunately point.
- [89:45]
Alex Spears
I wanted to point out the Game Theory. Not just doing like post game final stuff, draft stuff. Also doing the off season previews. Yeah, yeah, those are great. Yeah, I've been listening to them.
- [89:57]
Andrew
Yeah, me too. They're a nice palette cleanser.
- [89:59]
Sam Vesini
We've got like 10 of them left. You know, I probably get, you know, know only 30% of the CBA minutia. Right. But you know, we're closing in. We might get to 50 by the end. You know what I mean? No, we appreciate everybody that comes in and listens to those. Thank you all for listening. If you do closing in on like 50, 000 subscribers there. So we're super appreciative of everyone who's, you know, come and hung out with Bryce and I for the finals and for the offseason, presets, you stuff and you know, really excited to kind of continue on with this draft cycle and continue on. Hopefully you guys might be done with the draft guide by the time the draft comes around. We'll see though. That might be a big ask.
- [90:42]
Andrew
No, everybody, everybody should dive in today. You've got, you've got time. You've got time. Dive into it. Sam, thank you so much for coming on. We will be back next week. Who knows, but maybe the NBA Finals. I mean, I guess the NBA Finals will be over by next week. Al.
- [90:59]
Sam Vesini
Sure.
- [90:59]
Andrew
So, so we will, we'll probably have more draft topics, maybe free agency stuff, maybe a Kevin Durant trade to talk about. Who knows? Hope you guys have a great weekend. Enjoy the basketball. We'll talk to you guys again next Saturday.
- [91:23]
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