Loading summary
eBay Advertiser
With 132 million users and an unrivaled selection of sports trading cards and memorabilia, eBay is the home of collectibles Premium Trading Card Singles Unreal Live Card Breaks Truly unique game used memorabilia. All the epic finds you need are right here on ebay. Collect with confidence by downloading the eBay app on the App Store or by going straight to eBay.com TheAthletic that's eBay.com TheAthletiC start building your collection today.
Xero Advertiser
Take control of the numbers and supercharge your small business with Xero that's X E R O. With our easy to use accounting software with automation and reporting features, you'll spend less time on manual tasks and more time understanding how your business is doing. 87% of surveyed US customers agree Xero helps improve financial visibility. Search Xero with an x or visit xero.comacast to start your 30 day free trial. Conditions apply.
Andrew Khan
As a small business owner, you don't have the luxury of clocking out early. Your business is on your mind 247 so when you're hiring, you need a partner that works just as hard as you do. That hiring partner is Linked in Jobs. When you clock out, LinkedIn clocks in. LinkedIn makes it easy to post your job for free, share it with your network, and get qualified candidates that can manage all in one place. I've been in a position where I need to hire many times and I never had the luxury of having LinkedIn jobs help me. As a user of LinkedIn jobs now I find it incredibly easy to find the most qualified candidates. Here's how LinkedIn jobs works. Number one post your job. LinkedIn's new feature can help you write job descriptions and then quickly get your job in front of the right people with deep candidate insights. You can post your job for free or you can pay to promote promoted jobs. Get three times more qualified applicants. Number two get qualified candidates. And at the end of the day, the most important thing to your small business is the quality of candidates. And with LinkedIn you can feel confident that you're getting the best. Based on LinkedIn data, 72% of small businesses using LinkedIn say that LinkedIn helps them find high quality candidates. And finally, share it with your network. You can let your network know that you're hiring. You can even add the hashtag hiringframe to your personal profile and and get two times more qualified candidates. Find out why more than two and a half million small businesses use LinkedIn for hiring today. Find your next great hire on LinkedIn post your job for free at LinkedIn.com athleticmba that's LinkedIn.com athleticmba to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. Welcome to the Saturday Slammin Jam here on the Athletic MBA Daily Daily. Presented by ebay. With me, as always, is my good friend Alex Spears. And on today's show, we're talking to Bryce Simon from the game theory podcast from the Pistons Pulse podcast. And we're going to talk about the upcoming rookie class, the 2026 draft class, and then we're gonna do some trivia. Bryce is already shaking his head.
Bryce Simon
No, we're not. Because I'm sure Al made it really special after what I tried to do to you guys unsuccessfully on the Pistons pulls. I'm just glad I'm here, quite honestly, because thank God I didn't ask to come on the podcast via a Blue Sky DM to Al because then I would have shown up a month later.
Andrew
Oh, come on. It's hard to know.
Andrew Khan
Getting called out on the pod.
Bryce Simon
Wow. Listen, guys, Al so big time, even though we've met in person, we've watched the young Hanson experience together in person at summer league that he doesn't even follow back on Blue sky and thus didn't see my dm, complimenting, complimenting one of these very Saturday Slammin Jams. And my feelings aren't hurt at all. Like I'm not a 30 year old, 38 year old crybaby about it. Like I'm gonna forget about it after this.
Andrew
No, no, hey, hey. You should go check your account. I think you might have just gotten a new follower.
Andrew Khan
Let me check out right now.
Bryce Simon
No notification because for some reason those don't show up on my phone. There two new. There it is.
Andrew Khan
Wow. It's official.
Bryce Simon
That makes it better.
Andrew Khan
Let's talk about the rookies before we talk about specific players. Everyone's talking about preseason basketball right now and how all the rookies are playing. On a scale of real basketball to fake basketball, how would you rank the following NBA preseason, NBA Summer League. NBA March for a tanking team. Oh.
Bryce Simon
Preseason March Summer league.
Andrew
Okay.
Andrew Khan
Oh, so, okay, so preseason.
Andrew
So we're watching real. Is what you're saying.
Andrew Khan
We're watching some real basketball.
Bryce Simon
No, no, no, no.
Andrew Khan
Actually not.
Andrew
Because think about as you as an evaluator because you're watching all these games.
Bryce Simon
Okay, so here, here's what I take. I watch for like the first half of the game. Like so I think when those guys are on the court, like I really feel like I can take something from it. Like, you can start to figure out how teams are going to play and all of that. I feel like a tanking March team is like they're. They're literally trying to lose and they're throwing out their summer league roster. And that is the second half of a lot of preseason games. I feel like I have a lot of notes. Like a preseason tank in March. I might end up with a half a page of notes on a team. I have three pages of notes from a game. The other that I watched the other day from the preseason. So, yeah, I mean, that probably sounds silly because it's still regular season, but those games, I feel like those games can really trick you. Those March games, those can really trick you if you don't realize the context of what some of those players are playing in. So.
Andrew
So Bryce, you've studied this incoming rookie class for years at this point, and there's always prospects that are difficult to evaluate, especially before knowing where they're going to land. Are there any prospects where you feel more or less confident in your evaluation now that you've seen what kind of context they're going to be playing in as rookies?
Bryce Simon
Okay, this will be a fun one and I'm sure you guys will have other questions. Ace Bailey, I think we thought that Ace Bailey, and when I say we, I mean me and Sam, maybe you guys as well. You guys, Joe, do this and talk to a lot of people. But I, we thought that Ace in Utah was a good context for him. And the reason for that is Will Hardy. Like, we just thought that he ran good stuff, he would use Ace in the right way. You have a primary option at least for Utah with Lowry, Markkanen, and so he wasn't going to have to go in there and be the guy. And I think evaluating Ace, you didn't want to throw him into that as a rookie. And we've seen that play out a little bit in the preseason where, listen, the shooting splits aren't going to stay the same all year, but I think it's proven that proven out that he's not going to be asked to put the ball in the deck a whole lot and self create. They're going to use him in fun, creative actions off the ball that create good looks for him. He can find success as a rookie doing that and then grow his game out from there. And I think that's good context for Ace Bailey.
Andrew
What do you, what do you think about. Cause like during the draft process, so much of the talk around him was can he be a primary Creator. And, and does he need to be a primary career to reach his ceiling? What do you think the ceiling is for this version of Ace? Because it still seems like it could be pretty high. Yeah, absolutely.
Bryce Simon
Like, I mean if you're the best off ball shot maker, my favorite term right now is advantage exploiter. And what that involves is knocking down shots, attacking closeouts and making good passing decisions. Right. So when we talk about guys playing off the. Yeah, it's cool if you can knock down threes, but the NBA defensive has gotten so complex, they'll just run you off the line, you know, like watching a guy like Duncan Robinson right now in Detroit. You know, even in the preseason we've seen multiple great passing reads from a guy like Duncan Robinson who nobody's going to talk about his passing because dudes are going to run him off the three point line. He has to be able to attack the paint, get on the baseline and make a weak side hammer pass or hit the the wing because the rotation has happened. So point being is if Ace can do those things as well, then yeah, it's okay to be a primarily off the ball scorer and player in the NBA. But he still has to be able to attack a closeout, tighten the handle, make good passing decisions. But can he be a 20 plus scorer, you know, playing in this type of role? Absolutely. Does Utah have to put like a primary on ball guy in that ecosystem with him? Eventually? Absolutely. That's better than Isaiah Collier. Absolutely. But it's okay if he doesn't end up being a primary on ball guy. Like that still can be a lot of value for a team.
Andrew Khan
Yeah. Were there, were there any guys like in the late first round or the second round that you're like, I nailed that evaluation.
Bryce Simon
Late first round, early second.
Andrew Khan
Like you feeling good about Nick Clifford?
Bryce Simon
No. So Nick was a name that I was going to say. I listen, I had Nick higher than where he went. So if he continues to play well, that will look good.
Andrew
What do you think about his ability? Because I'm thinking now like with Keegan Murray out.
Bryce Simon
Yeah.
Andrew
Like no one with any like at the Ford position could. Can he put. Do you think he'll be able to play up at all? Because they just have so many guards.
Bryce Simon
Yeah. You don't say like they should just sign another one. Right. Like why not? Yeah, they don't have, they don't, they don't have enough ball handling. So. Yeah, I think Nick has a little bit of that. I think he's a little smaller than what I think of him. At times, but I always thought of him. Let me pull the scouting report here. Yeah, I. So I labeled him a versatile two way wing and so like really, him playing as a forward, maybe, but he is an older player. I do feel like he has like a little bit of strength to him, so he might be able to do a little bit of that. But yeah, he's still like, like playing him at the four, I think maybe a little bit. Much of an ask for Nick still considering his measurements.
Andrew
What about any. Any prospects that you're kind of worried about their context now that you've seen them with the team?
Bryce Simon
Another name real quick there. Like Sam and I just talked about. Jace Richardson has looked really good in Orlando. That. That was another, you know, again, like, who knows, you know, another guy, Ryan Renner, with the game I watched with Charlotte, like he just did all of the big guy things that Charlotte will need and it seems like he's going to get an opportunity there. I can't speak for every game he's played with Charlotte and if it's all looked the same, but just in general of. Of that game that he played, you know, just looking at his Numbers right now, 10 points and yeah, eight rebounds in 20 minutes. It's, you know, looks like in general he's performed kind of the way he did in that game. All right. Poor context. I mean, we talked about the Jeremiah Fears thing. Noah Essingay actually fits well there. I don't have one that stands out to me, I guess, yet. I will, I will say this, Trey Johnson. I'm interested to see if Washington will do more of what we talked about with Ace Bailey. I w. I watched a game, Sam watched a different game and we both came away with like, man, it would be nice if they would find easier attempts for him and not him not having to do things at such a high level of difficulty to score the basketball.
Andrew Khan
I.
Bryce Simon
They played Detroit tonight and I haven't watched that game, so I'm really fascinated to get another look at him to see if. If that context was different in this game against the Pistons.
Andrew
Yeah, that's a good one.
Andrew Khan
Yeah. So we've already seen the Mavs use Cooper flag in a lot of different ways. In their most recent game in the preseason against the Lakers, they started him at point guard. What do you think about point flag as an experiment based on his game as a prospect? How ready do you think he is for that kind of role?
Bryce Simon
I mean, I think that's a big ask of any rookie. I will say this. I did a Video breakdown over on the the Game Theory substack. And so if you guys want to go over there and subscribe, we recently started that Sam does like hour long video breakdowns on draft prospects and. And NBA players. I do 12 minute ones. I just do these single game breakdowns. I've done Cooper flag Dylan Harper. Who else did I do? I did somebody else as well. Some NBA draft guys, I guess. But one thing that impressed me. This is going to seem really silly, but he was getting picked up full court and was handling the pressure. And I know that sounds silly, but in an NBA where I think we're going to see more and of that from teams, you have to be able to do that because I've seen guys not handle that well. Guys get picked up full court and it's like 12 seconds left on the shot clock and they haven't even initiated offense or done anything aggressive. And Cooper was able to take that pressure, get the ball down the floor and then he actually attacked the paint and dumped it off for a finish. So I think Cooper looks really good. He scored in spurts in the games I've watched where I think there was one where he didn't score like the whole first quarter, I feel like. And then he scored 10 in a row. All of a sudden my bold prediction over on game theory was that Cooper. So here's some, some trivia. Al, before you make me look stupid, how many unanimous rookie of the years have there been in the NBA?
Andrew
I think it's really low. I'm going to guess like two. And I really want to say one.
Bryce Simon
Okay.
Andrew Khan
Yeah. Like three.
Bryce Simon
Six. There have been six. So the, the names are Ralph Sampson, David Robinson, Blake Griffin, Damian Lillard, Cat and Victor Womenyama. And what's crazy is there's a lot that are really close. Like one vote here, two votes there. Whatever. My prediction was that Cooper flag will be the seventh unanimous rookie of the year, but he will be the first to not lead the NBA rookies in points per game. All six of the guys I mentioned led their respective rookie class in points per game, most of them by a significant number. And my bold prediction was that Cooper will not do that. That ace will lead the rookie class in points per game, but Cooper will still win unanimous rookie of the year because of what we're talking about here, where he's going to have to take a huge workload offensively, probably have decent assist numbers, the defensive impact, and quite frankly, his team's going to win. I know Al isn't as high on them, but you know, maybe 40 games where the Jazz are likely to win between 15 and 20.
Andrew
Hey, as someone who spends a lot of time obsessing over my bold predictions, that's a pretty good one.
Bryce Simon
Thank you. I went. I went down quite the rabbit hole for that one and came out pretty pleased.
Andrew
Okay, so one player's context who has definitely changed since being drafted is Dylan Harper, who's likely going to see increased playing time in the early season with Darren Fox being out. What aspects of his game will you be watching closely in the early Going to see how they translate.
Bryce Simon
All right, so another shameless plug. I just dropped his video breakdown on the substack as well. So one thing I came away really impressed with guys was the defensive end of the floor. He I really liked some stuff he was doing there. He's obviously a bigger guy, like a bigger guard, and so that, that helps. And lots of times, you know, guards struggle and the rookies in general struggle on the defensive end. I came away really encouraged, like, really intrigued with what he was doing on that end of the floor. What I'm really interested to watch, like, he plays with real nuance. He doesn't get enough credit for the nuance he plays, you know, in ball screens and stuff like that. But I was a little concerned how much he wasn't using his right hand. So I highlighted a play where he comes off a ball screen, live dribble, whips a pass with his left hand to the weak side corner with his left hand, and multiple examples where he's going to his right and making similar decisions and passes, he's not doing it with his right hand. He's having to bring the ball to both hands and then throw it with his left. For some people, they may be like, well, what's the big deal? In an NBA where a split second, a half, a second matters, having to bring that second hand on the ball or give away to the defense, what you're doing with the ball matters. So that's something I'm really looking for with Dylan Harper on the offensive end is the use of his right hand. Does it end up being a big factor? Is it something he can improve on? But also like, how good can he be defensively? Because I again, I was, I was impressed. I was encouraged with how he looked.
Andrew Khan
So a couple of first rounders from last year that will eventually be making their career debuts after suffering injuries are Nicola Topic for the Thunder and Daron Holmes for the Nuggets. For fans that may have forgotten about these guys, games like, can you help Describe them.
Bryce Simon
I mean first is like is Topich okay?
Andrew Khan
You know, it's. He's okay, he's okay. He's going to be fine. He'll be back probably maybe like the third week of the season, maybe had a little testicular procedure done. That's all I know. And I've told people, you know what, sometimes you ask questions, sometimes you don't. And you know what? That one, I'm going to leave it alone. Just going to let it happen and he'll return. He'll return soon.
Bryce Simon
Yeah, that's. Yeah, yeah, that. That one was. You leave that one alone. So. Yeah, yeah. So I'll just read my, you know, scout on on topic from the 24 draft. True on ball guard that your primary initiator run the show, get the ball to scores around him, can break down the defense, uses eye manipulation and one of the best ball screen operators in the class. The questions for his offensive game are explosiveness. He does show signs of a second gear on his drives and then real questions about the jump shot. Defensively leave something to be desired on the ball. The hope would be as high feel for the game and his size translates to this end of the floor to produce a quality team defender. Obviously this is a guy that's very close to home for you, you know, in the limited minutes you've seen throughout his young career or does that kind of pan out. Are those the same questions and positives that you've seen so far?
Andrew Khan
Yeah, I mean he, he's definitely going to be an on ball guy.
Bryce Simon
Yeah.
Andrew Khan
And he. Which you know we've seen a guy like him in this OKC context before and Josh giddy and my curiosity is will he be able to do the things well that Josh really didn't that's like cut well off the ball like be able to move within the offense which I, I think he's displayed a little bit of that so far which is encouraging. But Josh became like a 3nd guard for them at times in the playoffs which is like exactly the two things that he's worst at. And I hope that topic can figure out different ways to mesh into this team. I think backup point guard is. Is going to be there for him to a degree. Although like AJ Mitchell I think is.
Bryce Simon
Going to take like guys this topic. So one, one of the episodes we did this off season was like surprise or potential quote unquote second draft trade candidates. I brought topage up be not because of topage but because of AJ And I don't know if like if that's a hot take or like what Thunder fans would feel about that. But it's truly more like I think AJ Mitchell is good at basketball and you know, I don't know what the value on Topic would be, but you know, are you better off getting him somewhere else, getting something in return and just leaning into, you know, A.J. mitchell and you know, maybe a little bit more on ball case and Wallace and you just have these guys there that I think it would be okay. So like, that's where I wonder where Topic's role ends up coming from. But obviously Presti liked him or he wouldn't have drafted him where he did.
Andrew Khan
Yeah, I think they want to see it play out is, is where they're at because he has a really high ceiling of like all these younger guys that they have on the team. He probably has like the highest ceiling of all of them. And if he somehow reaches that on a rookie scale deal, then like you're, you're in a really great spot because they're going to need young guys to take spots of some of these guys as, as they kind of continue to, to pay more of these players. But yeah, I think also, you know, we've seen them with a guy like Usman Jang where it's like, you know, it hasn't worked. Like it just flat out hasn't worked, but you're willing to kind of see it through.
Bryce Simon
Well, I mean, and I realized like topage was a lottery pick, this guy wasn't. But like they, they, they turn loose of Dylan Jones pretty fast, you know, and they really invested into Dylan Jones, you know, five second round picks. And so like to your point, like, this team is so talented and so deep that there aren't a ton of roster spots available. And so like, maybe it doesn't happen at the deadline, but could it happen next offseason when, you know, I don't know. Can't keep track of how many picks they have. But that Philly one all of a sudden might look really enticing again. I know you guys are always on Philly watch. So, you know, just in terms of opening roster spots and do you have to pick between AJ and, you know, and Topich and AJ. AJ's contract. Right. Like they're.
Andrew Khan
He just re upped.
Bryce Simon
He just re upped already. Right. So you have him on a really good. Yeah, really good contract here for a couple more years.
Andrew Khan
Yeah.
Bryce Simon
God, I love going to their spot track page because it's just full of red, which means club option for those who don't go who don't use spot track.
Andrew Khan
Yeah.
Andrew
And then what about Duron Holmes?
Bryce Simon
Yeah, so I thought Duron Holmes was really good at summer league. You know, it's been an interesting preseason for him where Denver has really leaned into playing what looks like is going to be their rotation. And this is like to your point where, like I think you can take away or I guess my point you can take away stuff from preseason because I believe that team has started like what we assume will be their starting lineup almost every game. I think it was outside of one, the Aaron Gordon maybe didn't play or start. And then the games I've watched, like it's been Tim Hardaway, Jr. Jonas Valanchunis, Bruce Brown. Like those guys are the guys that have gone in and played Peyton Watson and Duron Holmes hasn't got a whole lot of minutes in those games. So I'm interested to see where he's at in the rotation for the Nuggets. I thought he was a guy that you would pencil in into their 10 man rotation, into their too deep. I was a huge believer. I had him as a, you know, top 20 guy in that class. I thought he was good at summer league. I think he's shown that he can knock down three pointers. But maybe they're, you know, coming off the Achilles. Maybe they're just bringing him along slow. Maybe they're going to give Peyton Watson some of those other guys first crack. I still think eventually he plays, you know, an important part and role in their rotation this season.
Andrew
So from the incoming class, outside of the lottery prospects, who is a prospect or two from the summer's draft that you definitely want to watch once the season gets going, like you're just interested to see what it looks like.
Bryce Simon
All right, so you said outside the lottery. So even though I had Jaeger outside the lottery, I can't say him. You can.
Andrew
I guess you can.
Andrew Khan
No, no, no, no. Rules are rules.
Bryce Simon
Rules are rules. You know, I'll give you a name that I'm interested to see. I was watching them today play the Raptors. I'm ready to see what Boston does and if they lean into their young players. Obviously, like from the year before, Baylor Shireman, you know, a young guy in Jordan Walsh. But they drafted Hugo Gonzalez and I saw a lot of tweet in the social media, like really kind of. And I didn't get through that whole game, but I saw what people were talking about. He had like a sweet spin move and finish. He had a corner catch and shoot three. He's athletic. He plays with a ton of injury in. In that injury. God, please. I didn't mean to say that. Don't speak that into existence energy. And so I'm interested to see. I don't know if Boston will lean into that or not, guys. But I, I like he's a guy I'm interested. Like, okay, will they. And if they do, he's a guy that I want to see, you know, as a potential two way wing type of player. We mentioned Nick Clifford earlier, all the Brooklyn guys. So like that's where I'll get my Jaeger conversation. Like I just want to see how this plays out with all of these on ball guys. Drake Powell, like that whole situation. What is Cam Thomas gonna do? Like, how is he gonna play? What's Michael Porter Jr. Gonna do? That team is. Is going to be must watch for somebody like me who's really into seeing the dynamics of that play out and how they play and fit in young guys.
Andrew Khan
That might be the only time you're going to hear that in a preseason podcast. The Brooklyn Nets are must watch just for me.
Bryce Simon
I understand. They are not must. Must watch for most people, but they, they are must watch for me.
Andrew Khan
Listen, a little disappointed you didn't mix mentioned Brooks Barnheiser. All right. We've been trying to. We've been fishing for Barnheiser, you know, love, but just, just hasn't happened.
Bryce Simon
I mean, we can only talk about Oklahoma City players so much.
Andrew Khan
Oh, okay. All right. Whatever. All right. It's fine.
Bryce Simon
What?
Andrew
Andrew, I'd agree with you if I didn't watch him. Brick to just so wide open threes like no one within 20ft of him. And Jamal Crawford was so nice on the peacock broadcast. He's like, you know those shots when you're wide open, sometimes they're the hardest ones.
Bryce Simon
I'm like, jamal, no, that jumper is something. Here's the problem. Well, here's the problem. You guys have freaking 15 guys averaging seven and a half points. 16 guys averaging seven and a half points or more in the preseason. Is Chris Youngblood is the young guy I want to talk about because that is awesome too.
Andrew Khan
Yeah, okay.
Andrew
We could talk.
Andrew Khan
Okay.
Bryce Simon
We don't have to, but we'll save it.
Andrew Khan
We can save for down to dunk. We'll have you on down to dunk. We'll talk about it.
Bryce Simon
Yeah, I'll send Alex a DM and now he can respond and then I can come on. There he was a talk at summer league, like whenever I was talking to people, you know, Just, just walking around, whatever. Like Chris Youngblood, you know, had made a names for himself there. Listen. Yeah, Brooks Barn. That dude is jacked. Like, I'm like, yeah, he is, he is. But he got to figure out the jumper a little bit.
Andrew Khan
Yeah. So let's move to the 20, 26.
Bryce Simon
Hold on real quick.
Andrew Khan
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Bryce Simon
Young Hansen was outside the lottery, so of course.
Andrew Khan
Oh, there we go. Well, there we go. We're fishing for that too.
Bryce Simon
He is a guy that I am very much looking forward to seeing. Offensive skill level is real. Can he stay on the floor defensively? I don't know, but I think we're going to find out. Al.
Andrew
Oh, yeah, I'm thrilled. I can't wait. I mean, usually me going to Blazers games is more about like, who are the Blazers playing? Like, who am I going to get to see coming to town. Yeah, that's totally different now. Like, yes, I love Shane Sharp. He's my guy. But now it's like, oh, I want to see Young Hansen. I would go to every Blazers game if, if I could. So yeah, I'm very excited. I will be there.
Bryce Simon
Unfortunately, he's definitely behind my guy to money Kamara on my favorite players. And like, he honestly may still be behind Do Op Wreath got. You know who my favorite player in the NBA is right now? Trey Mann. Any guesses why Trey Mann would be my favorite player?
Andrew Khan
Right. Man, Tricky Trey Tray, man.
Bryce Simon
I mean, go ahead.
Andrew Khan
Is it the step. I mean, like his step back is just unbelievable.
Bryce Simon
He's trying to, he's, he's trying to bring back the baggy shorts.
Andrew Khan
Oh, sure.
Andrew
I was literally about to say, is it the way he wears his, his jersey? Because he wears it like AI, like he reminds me so much of AI the way he, the way he's, he's rocking it right now.
Bryce Simon
He wears, he wears his basketball uniform the way it was intended. And yeah, I, I just pray that other NBA players take notice of how good he looks. So I hope he has a huge year. I hope he's, I hope he's an all Star and it brings it back.
Andrew Khan
He's, he's a cool guy and he's, he's a very nice guy. He could bring, he could bring it back.
Bryce Simon
Hold on real quick. Also, Andrew, sorry, this is what happens whenever I get comfortable with the co host and then I just start talking.
Andrew Khan
This is great.
Bryce Simon
The Aaron Wiggins interview is my favorite thing ever.
Andrew Khan
Dude. Aaron Wiggins. If you have, if you haven't seen the Aaron Wiggins, any of the Aaron Wiggins interviews that I did. I, I did one interview, but I've made a bunch of clips of it. You can go to the down to dunk YouTube page and find them there. But Wigs is genuinely hilarious. I had heard for years that Aaron Wiggins is the funniest guy on the team. Like everybody tells me that I hadn't interviewed him before, like in a one on one setting. Like I've talked to him in like scrums and stuff like that, but never like a sit down and like let's, let's talk about random stuff, you know, and like we, I did that on media day with him and he was, he's cracking me up. I very rarely will like sit as like I'm editing video and like laugh to myself at like even if things are funny, like I would genuinely stop and just like just be dying laughing at Aaron Wiggins. He's. It's too good.
Bryce Simon
I, I probably like betrayed our friendship because you sent me the clip and then I brought it up on Game Theory that night and we just like laughed out loud and I was like, oh shoot. Like Andrew may not have, like that may not be public yet. You may, you may have posted it on Twitter. Maybe, maybe it was. But I, I just couldn't help myself. I was like, this is, this is amazing. I'm going to share this as much as I can.
Andrew Khan
Once you see the Aaron Wiggins videos, you have to, you have to tell somebody else about his favorite movie. You just have to do it.
Bryce Simon
He's my daughter's favorite player in the NBA.
Andrew Khan
Now you have a big spirit fan at your house.
Bryce Simon
Yeah, we do. Yeah.
Andrew Khan
Okay. Okay. That's awesome. Okay, now let's move on to the 2026 draft class.
Andrew
Okay.
Andrew Khan
We'd like to talk about the three players that are currently at the top of most big boards. Yep. But before doing that, as of October 2025, what are some of your big picture thoughts on this class as a whole? Like is it a deep class? Is it a stronger or weaker class at certain positions?
Bryce Simon
Yeah. So I mean I think the first and most important thing is what you said is right now it is kind of a three player, you know, at the top. I don't want to say race, but like that's. It's a race for first number one pick between those three guys. I think some people probably still have the bance us, Darren Peterson. I probably is the consensus right now would be my guess, which may be a surprise to some people. And then obviously Cam Boozer, which is Carlos Boozer's. Son. One of that will be playing at Duke this year. And then it's really like there's some upside swings that will like, see how those guys look. We did a recent mock draft over on game theory and I felt really good for seven or eight picks. And then it's always filling out the lottery for me. I think that's where there's the biggest room to go and find players or for players to play themselves into. It's kind of the back end of the lottery in that mid first round because we took a lot of guys in that range where it's like, man, I kind of wish I was taking this guy in the 20s right now based on the information we have. And so I just really think until we see these guys play a few games in college, it's so hard to tell and really hash out. But I think for most people, these are the three names they want to get familiar with and then we'll see how the rest of the season plays out and what guys kind of surprise and who's, you know, who's taking their game to another level.
Andrew
Okay, so for each of the top three prospects, we'd like to get a general idea of their player archetype and maybe one or two of the skills that evaluators are going to be focused on this season as potential areas of improvement. So let's start with freshman Darren Peterson going to Kansas, who both you and Samvasini had as the number one prospect currently on your big boards. What archetype of player is he?
Bryce Simon
Yeah, I have him as an on ball creator, just like runs the show, but like a two way type of guy, like just does a little bit of everything, which isn't always what you get from like this guy. So some notes here. Great communicator on both ends of the floor. I love seeing that. I just love his mentality, guys. He's under control, he plays with pace, he's a good teammate, he defends. One thing I always like to highlight is like a lot of kids you'll see are like palms up, you know, like they throw a pass, their teammate drops it or whatever and their palms up, you know, Darren Peterson is a hand up type of player. Like he puts his hand up and takes accountability whenever a mistake happens or whatever. And I know people don't always like coach speak or whatever, but he makes winning plays on both ends of the court. So yeah, I think that's who he is. He's like an on ball, lead your team type of player that does it. On both ends of the court.
Andrew
And what kind of size is he?
Bryce Simon
Yeah, like, so he's a bigger guard. I think that's what like Sam mentioned his measurables. Like it 6 4, 6 5, whatever it was. And that like he kind of was like he has, he has off ball guard measurables. And some people took that as Sam saying he was an off ball guard. That's not what the point he was trying to make was. He has off ball guard size and measurables.
Andrew
Okay.
Bryce Simon
And so like it's like, okay, well then you take that player and put him as a primary initiator and you feel like you're in, you know, a good situation. So.
Andrew
Okay, so. So in my head I'm thinking like is, is like Donovan Mitchell. Sure. Yeah. Okay. Yeah.
Bryce Simon
And then I don't know that he, I, I don't know that he's like that level of explosion, you know what I mean? But like, we'll see. So.
Andrew
And then does he have any major questions about his game that evaluators are going to be watching this season?
Bryce Simon
I mean I'm, for me, it's like just this type of player. It's always like how high level is the scoring. So like that's what I'll be watching for. Like again, I think he does all of the intangible things. He has good size, strength, body control, runs, ball screens, all of that. It's just like, okay, is this a guy that's like running your team but isn't your primary scoring option? Or is he, you know, is he that as well? You know what I mean? Like, is he a guy that runs your team and scores 18 points a game and you feel good about it because he defends and all of that? Or is this guy the type of score that, hey, he's going to come in, he's eventually going to be, you know, 25 a game along with the assists and, and all of that, you know, like the Donovan Mitchell. Right. Is he going to be that or is it a little bit more two way player, runs the show, you know, again, does all the little things. But we kind of need an off the ball guy that's going to put up 25 a night for us to go win at the highest level. That's what I will be watching.
Andrew Khan
All right, next up, Cam Boozer, who will play at Duke this season. What's, what's Cam's archetype?
Bryce Simon
Yeah, face up forward for me. Love his versatility. He can face up, can go off the dribble, post up, catch and shoot attack, closeouts, ball screen, off the ball cuts, just does a little bit of everything. I love the follow through on his jumper. He's going to be, you know, very impactful on the, on the offensive boards. He understands positioning like all of those little nuance aspects of the game. You would expect a player whose dad played in the NBA for as many years as his dad did to know the big questions with Cam is like the athleticism, like he is a kind of below the rim finisher and, and not like this just super explosive athlete. And so like what are the limitations there in terms of a ceiling? Like how I always say number one, number two, number three option, does it limit those things or is he just so skilled, so good with footwork and positioning and body control and using angles that it doesn't end up mattering? And where does that put him on the defensive end? Right, like as a forward, is he going to be able to chase guys around those type of things? I do think he can be impactful as like a low man, you know, rotation defender and all of that. But I would say that's probably what people are looking for is you know, where is the athleticism and does that put a cap on his potential?
Andrew Khan
Yeah.
Andrew
And finally AJ Debanza, who's going to be at BYU this season. Now of the three names mentioned so far, he does seem to have the, the widest variance when it comes to opinions on his game. What is his player archetype and what is the hold up for a lot of people when it comes to.
Bryce Simon
I mean the funny thing is, you know, for people who aren't, and I'm not into the grassroots as much as some people but like I knew who AJ Debanta was like when he was like 15, like he was, he was one of those guys that like people were talking about. I mean it's been a little bit, I don't know how recent but the Banta was widely regarded was going to be the number one pick in like this draft. Right. Like he was going to be coming in and that's changed I think partially because of his doing and some questions. But he's, he's massive for a wing height, length, physicality, insane athleticism. I think he has some on and off the ball potential. So to me the idea behind AJ DeBance says like your true two way wing, like your prototypical NBA long athletic wing that can go get his own shot but can also play off the ball and then ideally is going to defend on the other end as well. That's been a little bit hit and miss, but the tools and the flashes are absolutely there for him to be that on the defensive end.
Andrew
And what's his context going to look like at byu?
Bryce Simon
Yeah, it'll be interesting. Like they run a lot of really good stuff. We saw Jaeger run the show there for them last season and then they, you know, they play, you know they're going to shoot a lot of threes and you have this off ball. But so I'm interested to see how much they use him as an on the ball guy or if they use him exclusively off the ball because they also have another guy named Richie Saunders who's probably a name to know for potential first round, maybe second round. That's a real good off the ball floor, spacer, shooter, all of that. So I think they'll run good stuff at byu, so it'd be interesting to see how their stuff message meshes with the way AJ wants to play. And I'm really fascinated to see how much on the ball stuff he may or may not get there.
Andrew Khan
All right, it's your least favorite part. But first we're going to take a quick break and then we're going to do some trivia.
eBay Advertiser
You saw that play when your all star sized up the defender jab, step twice, then step back and drained one at the buzzer. That's not just hall worthy, that's wall worthy and you can own a piece of it. When you shop the unrivaled selection of trading cards and memorabilia on ebay, the home of collectibles since 1995 squad up with 132 million users around the world to find that rookie patch auto you can't find anywhere else. Premium trading card singles and sealed boxes Unreal Live Card Breaks Truly unique game used memorabilia. All the epic finds you need are right here on eBay. Plus with eBay authenticity guarantee for trading cards, you know what you buy is the real deal. Collect with confidence by downloading the ebay app on the App Store or by going straight to eBay.com TheAthletic that's right, your collecting journey tips off right here, right now@ebay.com theathletic come through and collect with us today.
Andrew Khan
As a small business owner, you don't have the luxury of clocking out early. Your business is on your mind 24 7. So when you're hiring, you need a partner that works just as hard as you do. That hiring partner is linked in jobs. When you clock out, LinkedIn clocks in. LinkedIn makes it easy to Post your job for free, share it with your network and get qualified candidates that can manage all in one place. I've been in a position where I need to hire many times and I never had the luxury of having LinkedIn jobs help me. As a user of LinkedIn jobs now I find it incredibly easy to find the most qualified candidates. Here's how LinkedIn Jobs works. Number one, post your job. LinkedIn's new feature can help you write job descriptions and then quickly get your job in front of the right people. With deep candidate insights, you can post your job for free or you can pay to promote promoted jobs. You get three times more qualified applicants. Number two, get qualified candidates. And at the end of the day, the most important thing to your small business is is the quality of candidates. And with LinkedIn you can feel confident that you're getting the best. Based on LinkedIn data, 72% of small businesses using LinkedIn say that LinkedIn helps them find high quality candidates. And finally, share it with your network. You can let your network know that you're hiring. You can even add the hashtag hiring frame to your personal profile and get two times more qualified candidates. Find out why more than two and a half million small businesses use LinkedIn for hiring today. Find your next great hire on LinkedIn. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com athleticmba that's LinkedIn.com athleticmba to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply.
Xero Advertiser
Take control of the numbers and supercharge your small business with Xero. That's X E R O with our easy to use accounting software. With automation and reporting features, you'll spend less time on manual tasks and more time understanding how your business is doing. 87% of surveyed US customers agree Xero helps improve financial visibility. Search Xero with an x or visit xero.comacast to start your 30 day free trial. Conditions apply.
Andrew
All right, it's time to play Andrew versus the Beat, Beat, Beat Beat, our weekly trivia show where Andrew goes head to head against the NBA B writer or in this case, Bryce Simon from the Game Theory podcast at Motor City Hoops. Now, Bryce, you've played this before. I've come up with eight questions. And these are all questions about the incoming rookie class. All the guys are about to see for the very first time make their very first NBA points. All the questions will be about them. Eight questions. Some are easy. And I will say one of them. I say very easy, easy, very easy. Whoever, whoever gets it, you're in for a treat. You're in for an absolute treat.
Bryce Simon
Don't do this.
Andrew Khan
That's almost scarier. I don't like the really hard ones.
Bryce Simon
I don't like this. Just make them really hard. So then.
Andrew
No, no, actually, they're all easy. Okay, how this is going to work, Bryce, you're going to give me a number between 1 and 8. It'll correspond to a question. If you get it right, you'll get at least two points. You get it wrong, and you'll have his chance to a steal for one. And we'll go back and forth until all the questions have been asked and answered. So, Bryce, to start us off, what number would you like between 1 and 8? 3.
Bryce Simon
3.
Andrew
The answer. Five rookies have had a 20 point game so far in preseason. How many can you name? You could get five points here. Okay, five points.
Bryce Simon
Okay, so single games, single game, preseason.
Andrew
20 plus points. Have to be a rookie.
Bryce Simon
So I think Ace has done this.
Andrew
Ace has done it. He's done it twice. Okay, that's one point.
Bryce Simon
That is one point.
Andrew Khan
Who else?
Andrew
Or still available.
Bryce Simon
Who else has done this?
Andrew Khan
Let me.
Bryce Simon
Can I. I can pull up my list, right? Like.
Andrew
Sure, yeah. If you want to pull up, like the basketball reference draft page.
Bryce Simon
Yeah, I'll just pull up my big board and go through.
Andrew
As long as you're not cheating.
Bryce Simon
No, no.
Andrew
And we will know. We will know. And if we find out, you'll be banished.
Bryce Simon
Never again.
Andrew Khan
You'll be banished.
Andrew
You'll never appear on this show again.
Bryce Simon
You will unfollow me on Blue Sky.
Andrew
Yes. That will last less than an hour. Be following you.
Bryce Simon
I want to say vj but I don't like it.
Andrew
Okay.
Bryce Simon
Was that.
Andrew
What was that? Was that your answer? You said, I want to say something, but I don't like it. So I took that as. Don't want to say it. Do you want to say it?
Bryce Simon
I don't want to say it.
Andrew
Okay, there's five.
Bryce Simon
There's been five.
Andrew
Yeah, there's been five. You know what's. And this. I thought this was going to be a really annoying question to figure out because I went through every box score for every preseason game. Turns out no one scores 20 points in the preseason because they all play, like 20 minutes. So it was pretty quick.
Andrew Khan
Yeah, pretty quick.
Andrew
Now, Bryce, I just gave you the opportunity of a lifetime. 5 points available to you.
Bryce Simon
I have a question. Do I. Do I have a point?
Andrew Khan
What?
Andrew
Yeah, you have one point from.
Bryce Simon
And I get it no matter what.
Andrew
Yeah, you get it no matter what.
Bryce Simon
So I'm actually Going to go with this teammate, Walter Clayton Jr. That is.
Andrew
Correct for another point.
Andrew Khan
Whoo.
Andrew
Now, now. Most questions worth two points. Now it's. It's gravy time. How many more can you get?
Bryce Simon
So I actually haven't watched them play yet, but based off what people have said, okay. Did. Did Jace do this? Did Jace Richardson do this?
Andrew
Jace did not do this. But you still got two points. Andrew. You could steal three points.
Andrew Khan
I think.
Andrew
Fears did Jeremiah Fierce.
Bryce Simon
Did you refuse to say that answer?
Andrew Khan
Does. Does my guy Chris Youngblood count? Because I know he did it.
Andrew
He did it twice. Andrew.
Andrew Khan
Yep.
Andrew
And there's one more name. If you get it, you'll be a hero.
Andrew Khan
Oh, boy.
Andrew
People will talk about you.
Andrew Khan
People.
Andrew
Awful announcing. They'll do a post about you.
Andrew Khan
They will.
Andrew
Once you hear. Once you hear the name. Because it'll be like. Because it'll be so amazing. Can you get it?
Andrew Khan
I don't know if I have the name.
Andrew
There's no way. You got it. It's David Jones Garcia for the Spurs.
Andrew Khan
Yeah. I don't know. I did not know that.
Andrew
Okay, look at that. High scoring game after one question. It's two to two.
Andrew Khan
All right.
Andrew
That fun. All right, Andrew, board is yours.
Andrew Khan
Number one.
Andrew
Question number one. There were eight players drafted in the 2025 NBA Draft who only have three letters in their first name. As it appears on basketball reference.com, we're going to name all eight. So how this works, Andrew will give me a name, then Bryce will give me a name. We'll go back and forth. So these are players drafted in this most recent draft who only have three letters in their first name.
Bryce Simon
Hold on.
Andrew
What? What?
Bryce Simon
I just. You're have to re. Explain the rules because David Jones Garcia went undrafted in 2024.
Andrew
But he's. This is his first NBA.
Bryce Simon
Okay.
Andrew
Season.
Bryce Simon
Okay. Okay.
Andrew
He is a rookie. Right.
Bryce Simon
Okay.
Andrew
Right.
Bryce Simon
Am I messing up the years?
Andrew
I read some article about how he was a surprising. I mean, it doesn't matter. You guys didn't get it. So you didn't have to bring that.
Bryce Simon
But like right here.
Andrew Khan
June. June.
Bryce Simon
No, because you called me out. You got mad at me because of how I provided the context as the speed Makaylu three point shooting question. So he signed a two way contract with Philly in July of 2024.
Andrew
Okay. Well, I was going based on his basketball reference page where it said experience.
Bryce Simon
Rookie because he never played an NBA game in the 2425 season then.
Andrew
Although maybe he. Yeah. So. Okay, here's a question. If you play A preseason game as a rookie, and then you don't play the rest of that season, then you come back and play for your first year. Are you still a rookie?
Bryce Simon
I don't think he played preseason games, though.
Andrew
Okay, well, there we go.
Bryce Simon
Real GM doesn't have any preseason games for him, but he definitely played in the G League last year.
Andrew
All the Andrew versus the Beat Psychos are very thankful for you laying that out for them. So they want to make sure I get it right. Want to make sure everyone has all the info they need.
Bryce Simon
Okay, what's the new question?
Andrew
The new question is that there were. I can't believe that's what you were wasting your time with. Oh, I gotta figure out if David Jones. Garcia.
Andrew Khan
Garcia.
Andrew
Played in a preseason game last year or not.
Bryce Simon
Well, the problem is I've. I can't answer any of the other stuff, right? So I have to show my knowledge of, like, hey, I know that.
Andrew
I know how to Google.
Bryce Simon
No, I know that David Jones Garcia wasn't in the 2025 draft.
Andrew
All right, the new question that me and Andrew have been talking about for a few minutes. There are eight players drafted in this most recent draft who only have three letters in their first name. As it appears on basketball reference.com, we're going to name all eight. So Andrew's going to give me name, then Bryce will give me name. We'll go back and forth until one of you stumbles.
Andrew Khan
Andrew Khan.
Andrew
Khan. Knipple. Correct. Bryce.
Bryce Simon
Trey.
Andrew
Trey Johnson. Correct. Andrew. Ace. Ace Bailey. That's why I said as it appears.
Bryce Simon
On Basketball Reference, because that's not his first name.
Andrew
Correct.
Bryce Simon
Okay.
Andrew
Bryce.
Bryce Simon
Asa.
Andrew
Asa. New wall.
Andrew Khan
Correct.
Andrew
Andrew.
Andrew Khan
What about. No. Noah Essingay.
Andrew
Noah Essingay. That is correct. Three names remain.
Bryce Simon
Speaking of the Brooklyn Nets.
Andrew
Ben. Ben is correct. Could you remind me how to say his last name?
Bryce Simon
Seraph.
Andrew
Seraph. Okay, so there are two names remaining. Andrew. They were drafted in this last year's draft.
Bryce Simon
I have one more name, by the way, so if you take it, that's a threat.
Andrew
That's a threat.
Andrew Khan
Golly, I don't know if I have enough. I don't know if I have another one.
Andrew
Are you tapping out?
Andrew Khan
I'm trying to spell things in my head. Okay, hold on.
Andrew
What are you spelling names?
Andrew Khan
Names, man, I don't know. I don't. I don't.
Andrew
I don't have Danny. Danny Wolf. D. N. I.
Andrew Khan
Just going through all.
Bryce Simon
The names you said drafted, right? Not just first round. Right. Because my name's Drift.
Andrew Khan
Okay.
Bryce Simon
Okay.
Andrew Khan
Yeah, yeah. I don't unless, like VJ's real first name is only three letters. That I don't know.
Andrew
Nope.
Andrew Khan
All right.
Andrew
Okay, Bryce, what was the other name you had?
Bryce Simon
Max.
Andrew
Yeah, Max Shulga Shulk. The last one was Cam Jones.
Andrew Khan
Oh, K A. Yep.
Andrew
All right, so Bryce steals the point. It's now three to two brace. You have control the board.
Bryce Simon
Two.
Andrew
Where's number two? According to BetMGM betting sponsor, what is the over under for regular season points per game for Cooper Flag? Now you get to choose who answers first. You can make Andrew answer first, and then you go higher, lower, or you can answer first. Now, this is a little bit confusing because I am. It is an over under. And I also am asking you to go over and under, but I'm asking you to give me the. The number what they have given.
Bryce Simon
Okay.
Andrew
Yes. Okay.
Bryce Simon
The bet GM number on Cooper Flags rookie season points per game.
Andrew
Yes. And if you make.
Bryce Simon
If.
Andrew
If you make Andrew do it and he gets it exactly correct, he would get a bonus point. So just a little warning.
Bryce Simon
Okay. So I. I will. I will do it.
Andrew
Okay.
Bryce Simon
I don't know if they do this with points per games where they always make it a half. I don't. I guess they probably don't have to since it's points. 15 and a half.
Andrew
15.5. Andrew, is he over, under, higher, or lower than that?
Andrew Khan
I'll say lower.
Andrew
Lower. No, it's 16.9 points to.
Andrew Khan
Wow. I was thinking it'd be like 14.
Andrew
But really, when I was looking it up, I thought it'd be over 17.
Andrew Khan
Oh, really?
Andrew
Yeah, I think he's going to be like 17. 8 and 4. That's what I'm feeling.
Andrew Khan
That's sick.
Andrew
Thank you.
Andrew Khan
That's like. That's awesome.
Andrew
That's a. That's a sick prediction. All right, Andrew, you're now down five to two, but you control the board.
Andrew Khan
Number four.
Andrew
You're gonna hate this one. All right. When Cooper Flag was in 8th grade, he received his first Division 1 offer from this school in Rhode Island. The name of the school is the same as the last name of a lottery pick in the 2025 NBA draft. So Cooper flag in eighth grade got his first offer. D1 offer. And the name of the school is the same as the last name of a lottery Pick in the 2025 NBA drift. So I've at least. I've narrowed it down to 14 names. And I'll give you a hint. It's not Flag University. Flag University.
Andrew Khan
Oh, my gosh. This is terrible.
Bryce Simon
Malawak States.
Andrew Khan
Yeah, there's some that like. It's not Essingay college, is it?
Andrew
Honestly, you could probably narrow it down just by doing that. Yeah, some of them just probably aren't schools.
Andrew Khan
Yeah, there's several that are not schools. I have a couple ideas.
Andrew
Okay.
Andrew Khan
Oh boy. What about Queen?
Andrew
Queen. Now what do you think that was called? You think it was maybe a Queen? Queen's College?
Andrew Khan
Queens College? Queens Unit, Queen University. I don't know. I have no clue alone.
Andrew
Well, you don't. It's wrong.
Bryce Simon
Bryce, there is a Queen's college though, right?
Andrew
Yeah, I do. I think so. So at least that I think you said Rhode Island. Do they have a basketball team? Yeah, they do. Look at that. Queens College does have a men's basketball team. Again, not the right answer, but.
Bryce Simon
I actually have no. If this, if this school is in Rhode Island. I definitely did not know that. But Carter Bryant was drafted in the lottery, so I will go Bryant.
Andrew
And if this was Jeopardy. Before and after, the answer would be what is Carter Bryant University? The Bryant Bulldogs.
Andrew Khan
Wow.
Andrew
Bulldogs. Very nice. Very nice. All right, Bryce, board is yours.
Bryce Simon
Eight.
Andrew
Question number eight. I'm just trying to.
Andrew Khan
Murray Boyles was my other guess.
Bryce Simon
Do avoid the easy one is what I'm trying to do here.
Andrew
This is my strategy, you know, Fears University. That'd be cool.
Andrew Khan
That would be cool.
Andrew
Knipple College.
Andrew Khan
Knipple College.
Bryce Simon
That sounds the best.
Andrew
Casperus Yakachonas and Will Riley both went to the University of of Illinois and were taken with back to back picks in the 2025 NBA Draft. The last time two college teammates went back to back in the same draft was in the 2022 draft when these two Blue Devils did it. Who are they?
Bryce Simon
I'm rattling off people who got.
Andrew
Who weren't Blue Devils.
Bryce Simon
Yeah. Who got extensions recently, which isn't helping at all.
Andrew
Do you remember when I said there's one question that I think is so easy? It'll be a little treat for you? Is that this one?
Bryce Simon
That's this one, Yeah.
Andrew Khan
A little treat for you.
Andrew
Treat for you. Man. You know what treats I've been into lately?
Andrew Khan
What's that?
Andrew
The. The Keebler vanilla wafers.
Andrew Khan
The Keebler vanilla wafers.
Andrew
Yeah. They sell them as just a brick and 50 grams of sugar. They pack it in and they are so good.
Andrew Khan
50 grams of sugar. They better be good.
Andrew
I had actually had to stop eating them because I was eating like I would say two to three a week. Two to three weeks. So I had to stop that. But they're so good.
Andrew Khan
They're good.
Andrew
If anyone has a healthy wafer recipe, send it my way.
Bryce Simon
So I know Paula went in this draft and there was multiple other Blue Devils great. Mark Williams went in this draft, but I don't have. Those guys obviously didn't go back to back, so I don't have. I probably just helped Andrew. So this was stupid, but I don't have the other name.
Andrew
Okay, well, thanks for talking it out. And did it help Andrew?
Andrew Khan
Yeah. This is a tough one to get because the guy willingly walked away from the NBA. And it's Mark Williams and A.J. griffin.
Andrew
Yeah, Mark Williams, A.J. griffin, now Bryce. As I said, that was a little treat for you if you picked that one, but seems like you didn't like it. Andrew, you've pulled back within three and.
Andrew Khan
You have control the board number five.
Andrew
Wow. My friends just texted me. They said we're at a fancy dinner and they're sitting next to Tim Cook, the apple guy. Tim Apple.
Andrew Khan
Wow.
Andrew
Wow. Did you say number five?
Andrew Khan
I did.
Andrew
Okay. I love this question. Here we go. Ready for this next question? I'm going to read you a comp from NBA Draft.net and you have to tell me the 2025 lottery pick that goes with that comp. Okay. And in order to get the points, you have to get three in a row. Okay. So I'm going to start easy.
Andrew Khan
Okay.
Andrew
And then to harder. Okay. So the first one, the comp is Chris Middleton. Nick Young. So these are. These are lottery picks from this most recent draft.
Andrew Khan
Chris Middleton and Nick Young.
Andrew
Yeah.
Andrew Khan
You're gonna start easy. Thank you.
Bryce Simon
Can I guess?
Andrew Khan
No.
Andrew
Maybe.
Bryce Simon
What if he miss if he gets it wrong?
Andrew Khan
Chris Middleton and Nick Young.
Andrew
Yeah.
Andrew Khan
Is that Ace?
Andrew
No. All right. Bryce.
Bryce Simon
Trey.
Andrew
Trey Johnson. Okay, that's one out of three. Next one.
Andrew Khan
Young should have. Golly.
Andrew
Brad Miller and Zach Randolph.
Bryce Simon
Who's up?
Andrew
You. Oh, it's still you. You have to get three in a row.
Bryce Simon
So it's me now.
Andrew Khan
Yes, you. Yeah, I'm out. I'm doing so bad.
Bryce Simon
Okay, say it again.
Andrew
Brad Miller and Zach Randolph. Can you guys hear that dinging?
Andrew Khan
No.
Bryce Simon
Okay, it's one of two guys.
Andrew
My stupid friends texting me about Tim Cook. I'm, like, done. I don't care. I'm over it.
Bryce Simon
Colin Murray Boyles.
Andrew
No.
Andrew Khan
Can I guess that one?
Andrew
Yeah. Is Derek Queen. How about. So the. The third level was going to be Chris Mullen. Jared Dudley. Who do you think that is?
Andrew Khan
Chris Mullen. Jared Dudley.
Bryce Simon
Con.
Andrew
That is Con Knipple. There you go. Very nice. Okay, I Had a set too. You guys want to do it for fun? Just for fun?
Andrew Khan
Yeah.
Andrew
Okay, so the easy one. Josh Giddy. SFIMA High. Luke.
Andrew Khan
Jaegor.
Andrew
Yeah, Jaeger.
Bryce Simon
What?
Andrew
Just focus on the giddy part. I don't.
Andrew Khan
I don't know about the SP part.
Andrew
Don't worry about the SP part.
Andrew Khan
That's what tricked me about the Middleton one. I was like, chris Middleton. I don't even know who's like Chris Middleton. I just got stuck on that. I couldn't even hear Nick Young until after I had answered the wrong one.
Andrew
Okay, next one was Doc Rivers and Brandon Knight.
Andrew Khan
Doc Rivers and Brandon Knight.
Andrew
Doc Rivers. Brandon Knight.
Bryce Simon
Fears.
Andrew
That is correct.
Andrew Khan
Fears. Oh, that's a. That is a we. That is a weird one.
Andrew
Okay, and last one. Kelly Oubre. Kevin Knox.
Andrew Khan
Is that Ace?
Andrew
No.
Andrew Khan
Is that Essen guy?
Bryce Simon
I was gonna say Essen.
Andrew Khan
Gay. Oh, Carter.
Andrew
Yes. Carter Bryant.
Bryce Simon
That's.
Andrew Khan
Oh, yeah, that's.
Andrew
You don't like that?
Andrew Khan
No.
Bryce Simon
Carter Bryant is good on defense.
Andrew
You don't like the Kevin Knox comp. Okay, well, I don't.
Andrew Khan
I don't like that.
Andrew
I'll just like that at all. Spent a lot of years on NBA Draft.net when I was too. I did love the comps.
Andrew Khan
God, love the comps.
Bryce Simon
Listen, I. I don't like to clown comps because they are truly hard and I don't like to give comps at all unless that like one literally just like hits. And so when you're forced to do it for a hundred players, I understand how hard it is, but sometimes I do laugh at comps. I'm like, that doesn't even make sense.
Andrew
So neither. You got. Guys got the point for that. That's okay. Don't worry about it. Not a big deal. All right, so Bryce, you have control the board, six or seven? Six. Seven. Oh, you know about that?
Andrew Khan
Probably.
Andrew
Oh, my Teach middle school.
Bryce Simon
I was going to say I do it this way just to piss the kids off. I'm like, if I say it and like make fun of it, maybe it'll become uncool and they'll stop doing.
Andrew Khan
Doing it. My friend, who's also a middle school teacher made a shirt that says 76 and it has George Washington on it.
Andrew
That's such a dad thing to do. I bet the kids love that play.
Andrew Khan
The shirts are selling like hotcakes. I'll tell you. Really like hotcakes. They really are.
Bryce Simon
I will absolutely tell my students about this tomorrow, though. Actually, we don't have school tomorrow.
Andrew
Now, if he had done 76 and put AI on it now. That's cool. No, I'd buy that.
Andrew Khan
It's not too late. It's not too late.
Bryce Simon
7.
Andrew
7. Which 2025 first rounder has recorded the highest dunk score so far in the preseason? Good luck.
Andrew Khan
Good luck.
Bryce Simon
I don't even understand what this stat is.
Andrew Khan
No one does.
Andrew
What do you not understand? We are simply quantifying how. I wouldn't even say good. Just how dunk. A dunk is.
Andrew Khan
Yeah, I was gonna say.
Andrew
And we're doing a great job at it.
Andrew Khan
Yeah, that's. That's a good. That's a good way to qualify it.
Bryce Simon
Vj.
Andrew
Wrong. Andrew.
Andrew Khan
That's a great one. That's a. That's a great guess.
Andrew
Actually, it wasn't.
Andrew Khan
How is it not a great guess?
Andrew
Because it's not. It was wrong. And furthermore, if I. If I go to. Because I've been looking at all the preseason dunks.
Andrew Khan
Yeah.
Andrew
By the way, if you want a little look behind the curtain, some of these you can't see. And the one that I'm talking about, you can't even see it. They don't even show it because it was against one of the Chinese teams, CBA teams. Anywho, you said vj. I'm scrolling, I'm scrolling, I'm scrolling. Nothing. I see two Luke Cornet dunks before getting to vj.
Bryce Simon
Luke Cornett, a rookie.
Andrew
I know. I'm just saying in general.
Bryce Simon
Well, in general, VJ is widely regarded as one of the best athletes in the 2025 draft.
Andrew
Not according to the dunk score.
Bryce Simon
I mean, contrary to what Mr. Adam Silver says, I don't think this is a highlight league. And so I'm not really paying attention to.
Andrew
Well, I've gone through all three pages of dunk scores. The lowest is a 14.5 from Mason Plumlee.
Bryce Simon
What's the scale?
Andrew
0 to 1. Actually, it does go above 100.
Andrew Khan
It goes over 100, doesn't it?
Andrew
Yeah.
Bryce Simon
Oh, my God.
Andrew
There's no scale.
Andrew Khan
We could.
Bryce Simon
We have got.
Andrew Khan
I have Carter, Bryant.
Andrew
Oh, that is correct.
Andrew Khan
Yes.
Andrew
Okay, now this sets up, and I think you're going to get it. If you get this next question right, we will have to go to overtime, which is awful for me because it was so hard to come up with eight questions about guys who have not played a minute in the NBA. It was miserable to do. Okay, here we go. Which 2025 draft drafty leads all NBA players as of Thursday morning in total minutes played in the preseason? Just tied up. Andrew, this is someone who is Drafted in this last year's draft. He leads not just rookies, all NBA players as of Thursday morning. So not taking in Thursday night games. Minutes played in the preseason.
Andrew Khan
You said you think that I'm going to get it. Is this Brooksie? Is this Brooksie Barnheiser?
Andrew
Oh, this is Brooksie Budweiser. That's right.
Andrew Khan
I feel like I have watched so much Brooks Barnheiser at this point. Yeah.
Andrew
In fact, like, three of the top eight are Barnheiser, Young Blood, and Leon. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Bryce Simon
Why do they lead? Why are.
Andrew Khan
It's because they're not, they're not playing. They're, they're not playing anybody else.
Andrew
Yeah, they're not playing anyone.
Bryce Simon
Usman is second in the league.
Andrew Khan
We've seen a lot of us as well, which also means you don't see that much of him.
Andrew
Not a lot of us. Yeah, not a lot of us.
Bryce Simon
This is hilarious, because then, like, all of a sudden, Devin Booker is 14th. Sprinkle in a bunch, all these random names. Amazing.
Andrew
All right, so now I have to come up with a question on the spot. If you've ever wondered if I had these prepared ahead of time.
Bryce Simon
I don't go to the basketball reference nicknames and then use chat GPT to get the fake one. That's what I did.
Andrew Khan
Remember?
Andrew
Yeah. I think that was the only question I got right.
Bryce Simon
You were so mad. Alex hated me so much.
Andrew
I was on, I was on with Andrew Bryce's podcast.
Andrew Khan
Yeah.
Andrew
And he did trivia for us. He did a great job.
Bryce Simon
And stop.
Andrew
The only question I got right was the fake nickname. I did spot the fake fake nickname.
Bryce Simon
I flubbed it so bad. I, I ruined the first question. I said Jeremy Grant's name before I asked the question, and Jeremy Grant was the answer. I was like, oh, my gosh, I was so excited. I, I, I had those questions prepared for, like, legitimately a month because I had asked, I had asked you guys on a month ahead of time. And I was like, oh, this is a great idea. Pistons, Thunder. You know, players that have played for both organizations. And then it gets confusing because of the Thunder organizational history. And I, I screwed it all up.
Andrew
All right, I have a question.
Andrew Khan
Okay.
Andrew
4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.
Andrew Khan
Okay.
Andrew
We're going to name the top 10 pistons from last season in honor of Motor City Hoops from last season in total assists. Okay. Nope, I take that back. Total steals. Total steals. Okay. Sorry, I was looking at the wrong column. Total steals. So top 10 players from last year's Pistons team.
Andrew Khan
Oh, my.
Andrew
Total Steel. So, Bryce, I'll let you go first.
Bryce Simon
Assar.
Andrew
That is correct.
Andrew Khan
My first guess.
Andrew
And he was number one.
Andrew Khan
Cade.
Andrew
Kate. Number four.
Bryce Simon
Tobias.
Andrew Khan
Tobias.
Bryce Simon
Very active hands.
Andrew
Number two.
Bryce Simon
Although I will say a lot of what you would think are stills get calculated as blocks.
Andrew
But still interesting. Andrew.
Andrew Khan
Ron Holland.
Andrew
Ron Holland. He is number six, Bryce.
Bryce Simon
So this one's funny because I was just talking about this the other day in terms of his stocks per, like, hundred possessions and per 36. Paul Reed.
Andrew Khan
B ball Paul.
Andrew
Number seven.
Andrew Khan
Oh, B ball Paul.
Bryce Simon
You know, when B ball Paul is on the floor, that is what I will tell people.
Andrew
Okay, Andrew, it's your. Your pick. Number three. Number five still available.
Andrew Khan
What about Malik Beasley?
Andrew
Malik Beasley, number three.
Bryce Simon
82 games played. I would hope Jalen Dern is on this list.
Andrew
Jalen Dern was number five, so you also gotten seven of the 10, so. And all that's left is eight, nine, 10. And this is where it's going to be decided.
Andrew Khan
Oh, no, Andrew. Golly. What about Tim Hardaway?
Andrew
Tim Hardaway Jr. Is number eight.
Bryce Simon
Yeah. Played a ton of minutes.
Andrew
All right, Bryce. Only number nine and 10 left.
Bryce Simon
So there's a name that I want to say, but he blocks more shots than he necessarily gets steals. But he didn't play a lot of minutes either. So if we're doing totals, this probably isn't good when I'm leaning away from the mic. My bad. So as much as I love him, I'll stay away for now.
Andrew
I just realized you're wearing a Motor City hoops T shirt. You have. You have merch shout out.
Bryce Simon
Well, that's the old one because that's still the podcast, which no longer exists for four. Four years. So that tells you how old this shirt is. I'll go Sasser.
Andrew
Marcus Sasser is number nine. Andrew, to send us into double overtime, you have to tell me who was 10th in total steals for the 2425 Detroit Pistons.
Bryce Simon
Here's what's fun is Ivy only played 30 games. Stu played a bunch of games, but not many minutes. Schroeder was there post all star break. Like, there's just so many options left.
Andrew Khan
I have, like, two guys. I'm trying to decide between one of them. I feel like you described. And I was going to go for him, but then you acted like he didn't get many steals.
Andrew
You can. You can speak freely now.
Bryce Simon
Yeah, let's talk. Let's talk. Let's talk it out.
Andrew Khan
So now I'm afraid so. I'm trying to like Isaiah Beef Stewart.
Bryce Simon
Yeah.
Andrew Khan
Which is. Which is the guy that I think you're hinting at.
Bryce Simon
It's killing me not to say his name.
Andrew Khan
There's one other guy that I know played a lot for the Pistons last year that I would also guess. But although he's, like, not known as, like, a Steelsman either.
Andrew
Interesting.
Bryce Simon
Lindy Waters. That's what you're talking about?
Andrew Khan
Lindy guy. Lindy's awesome. Well, it's. Fontechio is the other guy that I'm. That I'm.
Bryce Simon
I will say this. He did not shoot the ball very well last year, but he was. He. He. A lot of my notes would be like Fontechio. Actually pretty good defensively tonight. Fontechio holding up okay defensively tonight. And he did play a lot. I think people forget because he kind of got benched in the playoffs, but he did play a lot in the regular season.
Andrew Khan
Yeah, he played a lot for them. Well, you just convinced me. I'll say Fontechio.
Andrew
Folks, we are going to a double overtime because it was Fontechio. Damn it. All right.
Bryce Simon
Just do assist now.
Andrew
No, I'm. I gave your team some shine.
Bryce Simon
Oh, you.
Andrew
You got first dip. So now we're going to do a thunder themed question.
Bryce Simon
Okay.
Andrew
For Andrew. And we are going to do the top 10 in. I'm sorting to see, like, who's. What's the funnest one to do. Okay. We're going to do the top 10 in blocks for the Thunder. Andrew, you're gonna start.
Andrew Khan
That is fun. That is fun.
Andrew
Shay SGA was number one. 77 blocks, Rex.
Bryce Simon
I mean, even with the games, I'll go heart first. I heart.
Andrew
I heart. Number three. 62.
Andrew Khan
Chat chat.
Andrew
Number two. 71. Dub dub. Number four. 46.
Andrew Khan
Queso.
Andrew
Queso. Number six. 35.
Bryce Simon
Caruso.
Andrew
Caruso. Number seven with 30.
Andrew Khan
Dort.
Andrew
Dort. Number five with 39.
Andrew Khan
Okay.
Andrew
You guys have gotten seven again. And the remaining ones are eight, nine, and ten. Back to where we were. All right, here we go, Bryce.
Bryce Simon
So I know this guy is known for taking charges, so this may not go well, but Jay will.
Andrew
He also missed a lot of games last year. Only played 47, but he is number eight.
Andrew Khan
Wow.
Andrew
With 29. All right, Andrew, just nine and 10 left.
Andrew Khan
This is like.
Andrew
This could be for all the marbles.
Andrew Khan
Like a grab bag of players because it could be anybody because it's probably like hardly any blocks at all. Could be the ooze man.
Bryce Simon
Poku.
Andrew Khan
I will say wigs, just because he played a lot last year.
Andrew
Aaron Wiggins is number 10 which means it comes down to whether Bryce can name the player on the Thunder last season who was ninth in total blocks.
Bryce Simon
So there's like only two names I can really think of. And one is just like one's a big and one's not. So I'll go Kenrich.
Andrew
The correct answer is Brandon Carlson.
Bryce Simon
There's no way really even play.
Andrew
Yeah. 21 blocks last season.
Andrew Khan
Wow. Shout out to Brandon Carlson. Wow.
Andrew
He played 246 minutes blocks machine.
Andrew Khan
Wow.
Bryce Simon
I, I, I went over. Now he led the team in blocks per 36.
Andrew Khan
Good for Brandon Carlson. Wow.
Andrew
He's getting preseason as well.
Andrew Khan
Yeah. On a two way.
Andrew
Wow. What a thrilling, thrilling victory. Andrew finally got back on the winning side of the ledger.
Bryce Simon
Oh, God, yes. Everybody of these I've listened to recently. He's gotten blown out.
Andrew
Yeah, he just needed a little good luck in the form of Bryce Simon.
Bryce Simon
And so I come on here, think I have a good performance by going into double overtime. And it's actually embarrassing. Like, it's like I just, I broke the losing streak and it came down.
Andrew
To can you name the really obscure player from the other person's favorite team?
Andrew Khan
And hey, and you gave me a little assist there with the fontechio.
Bryce Simon
Oh my gosh. Double overtime.
Andrew
L. Go.
Bryce Simon
I hate this game so much.
Andrew Khan
Go. Go listen to the Game Theory podcast. Go subscribe to the Game Theory substack as well to get some great content there. And also listen to the Pistons Pulse podcast. Bryce, thank you so much for coming on.
Bryce Simon
Thanks, guys. Always have a lot of fun. I appreciate you.
Andrew Khan
All right, we will be back every single week now because the NBA season starts next week. So we'll be back next Saturday and every Saturday for the rest of the season. You're stuck with us. So appreciate you guys listening and subscribing and we will talk to you guys again next Saturday.
Derek Clason
Hi, I'm Derek Clason, host of the Athletic Football Show. Today I want to talk to you about Boost Mobile offering reliable nationwide coverage backed by a 30 day money back guarantee. Love your service or get your money back, no questions asked. Boost Mobile offers the same nationwide coverage, network speed and service consumers are used to, but at more affordable prices. Why would you pay more if you don't have to? Boost Mobile also understands that change can be scarce, scary, which is why they allow you to try their service risk free for 30 days. And if you're not happy, you can get your money back. So start saving on wireless today with Boost Mobile's unlimited plans Starting at just $25 a month, visit your nearest Boost Mobile store or find us online@boostmobile.com After 30GB, customers may experience slower speeds. Customers will pay $25 a month as long as they remain active on the Boost Unlimited plan. Customers who cancel within 30G days of activation will have Boost service fees refunded, activation fees if applicable, and phone payments will not be refunded. The Boost Mobile network, together with their roaming partners, covers 98% of the US population. 5G speeds are not available in all areas Morning Zoe.
Bryce Simon
Got donuts.
Xero Advertiser
Jeff Bridges why are you still living above our garage?
Bryce Simon
Well, I dig the mattress and I want to be in a T Mobile commercial like you teach me.
Xero Advertiser
Soldana oh no, I'm not really prepared. I couldn't possibly at t mobile get the new iPhone 17 Pro on them. It's designed to be the most powerful iPhone yet and has the ultimate Pro camera system.
Bryce Simon
Wow, impressive. Let me try. T Mobile is the best place to get iPhone 17 Pro because they've got the best network.
Andrew Khan
Nice.
Xero Advertiser
Jeffrey, you heard them.
Bryce Simon
T Mobile is the best place to.
Andrew
Get the new iPhone 17 Pro on.
Bryce Simon
Us with eligibility will trade it in any condition. So what are we having for lunch?
Xero Advertiser
Dude, my work here is done.
Andrew
The 24 month bill credit is on.
Bryce Simon
Experience beyond for world qualified customers plus.
Andrew
Tax and 35 device connection charge Credit send and balance due if you pay off earlier Cancel Finance agreement. IPhone 17 Pro 256 gigs $1,099.99 and.
Bryce Simon
New line minimum 100 plus a month.
Andrew
Plan with auto pay plus taxes and fees required Best mobile network in the US based on analysis by Ooklab Speed Test Intelligence Data 1H 2025 Visit T mobile.com Change isn't coming. It's already here. Commerce is going digital and tax complexity is multiplying. Tax rules evolve, rates shift, data floods in. Vertex connects it all. A global tax compliance platform powered by tax ready data and intelligent systems. Smarter Tech Continuous tax compliance built in confidence. Learn more@vertexinc.com.
Episode: Rookie Preview + 2026 NBA Draft Introduction
Date: October 18, 2025
Hosts: Andrew Schlecht & Alex Spears
Guest: Bryce Simon (Game Theory Podcast, Pistons Pulse)
This episode features a lively discussion on the incoming NBA rookie class and a preview of the top prospects for the 2026 NBA Draft. Andrew and Alex are joined by Bryce Simon, known for his deep-dive scouting reports and draft analysis. The trio covers rookie expectations, contextual evaluations post-draft, deep cut second-rounders, and bold predictions — all capped with a dynamic trivia showdown.
Ace Bailey (Utah Jazz)
Late First / Second Rounder Shoutouts
Prospects in Poor Fit
Cooper Flagg (Dallas Mavericks)
Dylan Harper (Sacramento)
For more in-depth draft coverage and expert scouting breakdowns, catch more from Bryce on Game Theory and Pistons Pulse podcasts.
All ad reads and sponsor segments have been omitted from this summary.