Thunder clinch playoffs + Drafting tanking teams

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Athletic NBA Daily – "Thunder clinch playoffs + Drafting tanking teams"

Date: March 18, 2026
Hosts: Dave DuFour & Esfandiar Baraheni

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Overview

This episode breaks down the Oklahoma City Thunder clinching the first NBA playoff berth of the season, discussions about Anthony Edwards’ knee injury and its impact on the Timberwolves, and a fun, hope-filled draft of the NBA’s lottery teams: Who has the brightest future from the tanking squads? The conversation is brisk and insightful, focusing on big performances, playoff races, player development, and strategic rebuilding.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Thunder Clinch Playoffs with Big Win

• Thunder defeat Magic 113-108, improve to 54-15.

  • Shay Gilgeous-Alexander drops 40 points ("just very casually again" – Dave, 04:45).
  • Orlando Magic stayed competitive, with Paolo Banchero posting a strong 32-point night.
  • Thunder win 65+ games for a second consecutive season, paralleling only the 2010s Warriors and ‘90s Bulls.
    • "It's really hard to win 65-plus games two seasons in a row. And the Oklahoma City Thunder are going to do it." – Esperahenny, 05:05

• Thunder’s Depth & Resilience

  • Key rotation players (e.g., Jalen Williams, Alex Caruso, Isaiah Hartenstein) have missed significant time, yet team success remains.
    • "They probably could have won more if they were healthy." – Esperahenny, 06:20
    • "Credit to the depth that they've got...even in this game, they play 11 guys." – Dave, 06:57
  • Still, Dave tempers expectations: "It’s a stat that's better when they win it," referring to title contention (07:09).

Orlando Magic’s Emerging Core

• Jalen Suggs’ importance highlighted
  • Recognized as a catalyst for the team’s recent improvement, especially with defensive energy and secondary creation.
    • "We've talked about this for the last year and a half, how important Jalen Suggs is for the Magic. That's proving to be the case." – Esperahenny, 08:12

Anthony Edwards Out; Timberwolves & Suns Battle

• Anthony Edwards out 1-2 weeks with knee injury:

  • Julius Randle credited for stepping up as a consistent #2 option (32 pts, 7 rebs, 3 stls).
    • "Every single time they need him, I mean, he's been a great number two option." – Dave, 08:51
  • Dante DiVincenzo struggles ("caught him on the wrong night"), but Bones Hyland shines off the bench (22 pts).
    • "Catch Dante DiVincenzo on the wrong night, and he looks like he has no chance of playing on the floor." – Esperahenny, 10:05

• Timberwolves Outlook Without Edwards:

  • Relatively favorable remaining schedule; hosts expect Wolves to "survive this stretch."
  • Suns trending down, thin on depth, heavy reliance on Devin Booker.
    • "It feels like it's a lot of Devin Booker and a lot of reliance on him to basically be everything for them." – Esperahenny, 10:42

• Playoff Picture Context

  • Wolves & Nuggets maintain a three-game cushion over the Suns; less concern about slipping into the play-in.
  • Rockets/Lakers upcoming game deemed "make or break" for Houston’s playoff aspirations (11:58).
    • "The Rockets potentially are the six seed. They lose to the Lakers, [it’s tough]." – Dave, 11:58

"Drafting the Most Hopeful Tanking Teams" Segment

Begins at 14:55

• Premise: Hosts draft the lottery-bound NBA franchises, ranking them by how soon they could win a title—putting a positive spin on tanking.

Lottery Hope Draft Selections (w/ Rationale & Discussion)

Time references for notable picks and discussion.

1. Indiana Pacers (Esperahenny, 16:21)

   • "It's the Indiana Pacers. They could walk into next season and potentially win a title... they already have the nucleus and depth of a championship roster."
   • Only concern is the outcomes of the Zubac trade and draft pick positioning.

2. Utah Jazz (Dave, 18:46)

   • "They’re going to be fighting for a playoff spot next year in the West... Keonte George really has come around. Lowry Markkanen is an all star. Jaren Jackson Jr gets added to that mix."
   • High floor, enough young talent, and possible lotto additions.

3. Dallas Mavericks (Esperahenny, 20:59)

   • "Cooper Flagg is so good... Probably going to win rookie of the year here."
   • Question is whether Flagg can be a true #1, but lively and asset flexibility help.

4. Washington Wizards (Dave, 24:09)

   • "Getting Trae Young and Anthony Davis isn't about winning a title. It's about getting more assets." – Dave, 24:26
   • Young/Johnson pairing promising; potential for asset-building.

5. New Orleans Pelicans (Esperahenny, 25:30)

   • "I feel like this is a comfortable spot to take the Pelicans."
   • High variance based on health and trade possibilities, especially for Zion.

6. Chicago Bulls (Dave, 26:51)

   • "Giddey is high floor player, low ceiling... They should be a playoff or play-in team this year."
   • Decent chance for a reset, but ceiling is in question.

7. Memphis Grizzlies (Esperahenny, 26:54)

   • Noted for great drafting; outlook tied to Ja Morant’s trade value and Cedric Coward’s all-star potential.
     • "They draft incredibly well. They still have Ja who I imagine they're going to trade this summer… Cedric Coward… has the potential to be an all NBA player." – Esperahenny, 27:00

8. Milwaukee Bucks (Dave, 28:01 discussion)

   • Despite Giannis, questionable decision-making and lack of asset recovery hurt their hope meter.
   • "Feels kind of like he [Giannis] did this time [last season, possibly leaving]." – Dave, 28:43

9. Sacramento Kings (Esperahenny, 29:08)

   • Chosen over Nets for full complement of future draft picks and potential to "tank into oblivion."
   • Kings may finally move on from veterans this offseason.

10. Brooklyn Nets (implied last pick)

    • Asset situation muddled by prior trades; hope sits at the bottom.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Thunder’s historic run:

  • "I think that’s worthwhile to mention while it’s happening. We don’t know if they’re going to win the championship. We don’t know if they’re a dynasty, yada, yada, yada. But just to mention it now, you know, kind of give them their flowers while they’re blooming." – Esperahenny, 05:05

• On drafting optimism amid tanking:

  • "We’re turning on the hope meter for these teams. Now we gotta handicap this because I think that there’s a pretty obvious, you know, first choice." – Dave, 15:34

• Grizzlies praise:

  • "Even without—I mean, if they’re top five, top seven a couple years, they’re going to get good players… it’s a smart front office that drafts very, very, very well." – Dave, 27:37

• On the perpetual hope/disappointment of the Pelicans:

  • "Are they in the mix with their playing team or are they better than that?...so the high level talent is the issue. Because Zion is sort of an unfulfilled promise." – Dave, 23:09/23:31

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Segment Timestamps

• [02:49] — Show Opening / Hosts Banter
• [03:56] — Thunder clinch first playoff spot: Magic vs Thunder analysis, SGA shines
• [08:51] — Orlando Magic progress, and Timberwolves beat Suns, Anthony Edwards injury fallout
• [11:58] — Playoff race notes: Rockets-Lakers impact, playoff team ceilings
• [14:55] — "Drafting the Hope" Segment: Best positioned tanking teams
• [16:21–30:50] — Team-by-team draft order, rationale, and rebuilding strategies
• [30:53] — Wrap-up & listener feedback prompt

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Tone & Style

• Conversational, quick-paced, and full of winking self-awareness.
• Hosts balance granular analysis (rotations, player development, injury impact) with broad optimism and some gentle ribbing of teams’ historical blunders.
• Franchise futures are dissected thoughtfully but with playful optimism ("let’s look at them with bright, optimistic eyes" – Dave, 15:22).

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Summary Takeaway

The Thunder are making history, SGA is solidifying his MVP case, and the NBA’s tanking class is more interesting than ever with some real hope on the horizon for several once-downtrodden teams. The lottery team draft provides both analysis and levity, giving hope-starved fanbases something to dream about as March tanking season gets into full swing.

Transcript

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[Dave Dufour]

Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily presented by Amazon prime for March 18, 2026. I'm Dave Defora here with Esperahenny. Coming up the Thunder clinch playoff berth. Anthony Edwards gonna miss a week and sni draft lottery teams by who has the most hope. Good morning everybody. What is up ass? Did you catch the baseball game last night?

[Esperahenny]

Yes. Feliz daddies to my Venezuelans, man. Shout out to y'. All, enjoy yourselves. Great time to be Venezuelan Day.

[Dave Dufour]

S is a huge baseball fan as of last year.

[Esperahenny]

As of 25 minutes ago. Yes. No, I'm kidding. I'm kidding. Shout out to my Blue Jays. We'll be back. Redemption. As you know.

[Dave Dufour]

World Baseball Classic. Man, what a fun format for baseball.

[Esperahenny]

It's so good.

[Dave Dufour]

Electric. Yeah. Again, you know it. It made me think about the World cup and how much fun that is. And if you guys get a chance to go to a World cup ever. It's a lot of fun. Even Euro basket, you know.

[Esperahenny]

Yeah. If we don't get priced out of World Cup.

[Dave Dufour]

Well, I mean like the Olympic tickets I'm sure are going to be crazy in 20, 28 out in LA. Yeah, it's going to be crazy. Let's go to the NBA. Look, another night, another Thunder win. They're now 54 and 15. They handled the Magic in Orlando. 113. 108 actually. S. I think we should tip our caps to the Orlando Magic. Yeah, that was a great game. Starters they really played well. They were in it for you know, basically the entire game. Paolo Van Caro had a nice night. 32 points. Kind of the. The sort of game that we've been talking about out of him since the All Star break. Yeah. Able to. Able to score other guys. Able to. To feed off of that. But the big story is the Thunder, they're the first team to clinch the playoffs. Shay go just Alexander 40 points. You know, I mean he just very

[Esperahenny]

casually again, I mean this is like.

[Dave Dufour]

It's like watching Michael Jordan right now.

[Esperahenny]

He basically brought that up. Dave. Oh, I'm glad you brought that up actually.

[Dave Dufour]

Oh, did we stumble on an organic bit?

[Esperahenny]

We did stumble on an organic bit. I'm glad that was. It's just poetic that you brought up Michael Jordan.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Perfect.

[Dave Dufour]

Okay, awesome.

[Esperahenny]

So look, The Thunder won 68 games last year. They are on pace to win 65 plus again the last time that a team did that in back to back seasons. Very obvious answer here. The Golden State warriors, they did that in back to. Actually they did that three seasons in a row between 2014 and 2017. The last time before that was Michael Jordan's Chicago bulls in the 90s. 95, 96 and 96, 97 season. Obviously the 72 win season but they won 60 the following year. My point is, it's really hard to win 65 plus games two seasons in a row. And the Oklahoma City Thunder are going to do it. That's all I'm saying. I think that's worthwhile to mention while it's happening. We don't know if they're going to win the championship. We don't know if they're a dynasty, yada, yada, yada. But just to mention it now, you know, kind of give them their flowers while they're blooming type of thing. The Oklahoma City Thunder are on their pace to win 65 games again this year.

[Dave Dufour]

Are they gonna. Are they gonna hold off the spurs for the one seed?

[Esperahenny]

I think they will.

[Dave Dufour]

I think they will see him drop a whole lot.

[Esperahenny]

The other aspect to this whole thing is that Jalen Williams has barely played this year for them. He's played like 30 games for them. Alex Caruso has. Mitch missed a bunch of games. Isaiah Hartenstein has missed a bunch of games for them. It feels like they probably could have won more given if they were healthy, you know, and. And the other aspect to that Is they won 68 games last year and they weren't healthy. So I just. I know that's a factor here, health. But again, just tipping your cap to the Oklahoma City Thunder for winning 65 plus games, I mean, it's a credit

[Dave Dufour]

to the depth that they've got. I mean, you know, even in this game, what are they played? They play 11 guys.

[Esperahenny]

Yeah.

[Dave Dufour]

You know, I mean, you know, I

[Esperahenny]

thought you would be more impressed by that stat. 65 plus games.

[Dave Dufour]

I mean, listen, it is twice in 30 years. It's hard to do, but it's the, the issue is the hindsight. You know, those are title teams. And I think that this is, this is. Feels like a title team. Yeah, they haven't won it yet. I think this, that would be a stat that's better, like when they win it, right? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that being said, again, 54 and 15, they've been the front runner all year. Shay is just. I mean, he continues to add to the MVP resume because, I mean, it wasn't like they walked over the, the Magic in this game. I mean, and the Magic have been

[Esperahenny]

playing this one out.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah, I know. It's not that they beat the Nuggets like, like a couple weeks ago when we, when we put the stamp on it, but still, he just shows up in these big games every single time you need them. And including the other night when he had that rough shooting game and still, you know, he kind of hits all these big shots when they needed him and made plays. So crazy season from the Thunder. They continue to just add accolades. Yeah, I'm sure Andrew's pretty happy with the. With the way things worked out last night.

[Esperahenny]

Yeah.

[Dave Dufour]

Because if Orlando wins the game and

[Esperahenny]

Andrew, then it's a different conversation. I will say, though, to your point earlier, the Magic been playing some pretty good basketball. And, you know, Wendell Carter Jr. Had a great game tonight. I thought Jalen Suggs, truthfully, Jalen Suggs, over the last little bit has looked a lot more like Jalen Suggs when it comes to his ball handling. What he provides at the point of attack, obviously defensively, but just as a secondary creator, or maybe tertiary creator next to Desmond Bain and Paolo Banchero. It's so important for them. I mean, we've talked about this for the last year and a half, how important Jalen Suggs is for the Magic. That's proving to be the case.

[Dave Dufour]

Again, their turnaround really coincided with him getting right and. And I just think having. Having his energy out there matters for them quite a bit. Even when he's not on the ball. I just think the way that he plays, especially on defensive end, it kind of gets those guys going. We got news. Anthony Edwards is going to be out one to two weeks with the knee injury, and it was poor timing because the Timberwolves play the Suns last night. The Suns were only two games back of the Wolves, but pretty good showing. Look, Julius Randle continues to impress this year every single time they need him. I mean, he's been a great number two option. I. I know that everyone wants Jaden McDaniels to be this number two guy, but it's been Julius Randle all year. 32 points, seven rebounds. Had. Had three steals, not as much. You know, the. The playmaking from him has not been a concern. It's not the issue. It's that these guys are not hitting shots, actually, because you, you know, you look and you say, wow, he's. He's got the ball a lot. Where are the assists? But when you watch them, you realize, I mean, like, Dante DiVincenzo had a. Had a rough shooting game.

[Esperahenny]

Yeah. No, he did. Yeah.

[Dave Dufour]

Oh, I mean. Oh, of six. I mean, like, this is like, maybe I'm being too nice.

[Esperahenny]

Man, oh, man, it's crazy. You catch Dante DiVincenzo on the wrong night, and he looks like he has no chance of playing on the floor. But they got a lot from Bones Holland. You know, he poured in 22 points off the bench for. I think overall, like, they have enough to sustain. It's crazy to say because it's Anthony Edwards and they obviously are much, much better with. Right with Ant in the lineup, but I do think they'll survive this stretch and they've. They've provided themselves a decent enough cushion. They're now three games ahead of the Suns, and the Suns are not looking great right now, truthfully.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah.

[Esperahenny]

You know, that loss to the Raptors, lost the Celtics and now lost the Timberwolves. I know the schedule got harder for them, but you can feel the difference of not having Dylan Brooks on there. You can feel the difference of not having Mark Williams in there. It feels like it's a lot of Devin Booker and a lot of reliance on him to basically be everything for them. I mean, I mean, he scored 34 points tonight. He's doing what he can, but it, it's going to be tough for them to climb into that top six spot, truthfully.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah. If. If Anthony Edwards does miss. Let's say. Let's say he misses 10 days, that would. That would put him out for four games. So he'd miss Utah, Portland at Boston and then a game against the Rockets. So, you know, you split those two and those. You probably feel okay about it. I mean, they are in that race with the Nuggets. You know, they're both, both of those teams three games up on the sun. So I feel like probably giving themselves enough cushion where they're not worried about falling in the play and just. And it's funny one game, but, you know, there's just not a lot of time left. And the Rockets, man, I mean, you know, we're gonna, we're gonna have Will Guillory on the show tomorrow after they play the Lakers. Again. This is a huge game for, for the Rockets. I mean, the Rockets potentially are the six seed. They lose the Lakers.

[Esperahenny]

Yeah. Make a break for them. Right. This is, you know, it's kind of gotten to the point. We were talking about this beforehand, but it's gotten to the point where we know what these teams are. Right. Like, the information is there. We might be able to get some different development from some teams that aren't going to make the playoffs. You know, Modest Bou Zealous is playing great basketball.

[Dave Dufour]

Shout out to the Chicago Bulls Dunk the other night was.

[Esperahenny]

Yeah, he's great. But for the most part, for all of these playoff teams, we kind of know who they are. It's about the results now. Can you stay in the playoff Hunt, can you get into the right seating? Can you get the matchup that you like? And at this point, it's just like, hey, take care of business. That's why Minnesota beating the Suns tonight, very, very important for them and their chances of staying in the top six.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah. All right, guys, stick around. After the break, we're going to draft the lottery teams that we think have the first chance to win a title. Prime. One day delivery is fast. How fast are we talking? We're talking game night delivered by tomorrow

[Esperahenny]

night fast so we can win fast.

[Dave Dufour]

Cards fast.

[Pablo Torre]

Puzzles, fast.

[Dave Dufour]

Team games that you're doing a day fast. Doesn't matter what the game is. We will dominate fast. We're talking game over. You win fast. Fast. One day delivery for the win. It's on.

[Esperahenny]

Prime.

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[Dave Dufour]

Okay. We thought we'd play a little fun game. We. We were thinking about March Madness and maybe we'd set up a bracket. But I don't know college basketball at all. I. I just know vcu. Hey, come on. You got Unc.

[Esperahenny]

I like it.

[Dave Dufour]

Let's get a win. You know, I might be the only

[Esperahenny]

other VCU fan you know sitting across from you. I've. I've family that's gone to vcu.

[Dave Dufour]

Okay. Well. Yeah. All right. Shout out to the Rams.

[Esperahenny]

That's right. All right.

[Dave Dufour]

I thought we could. Let's look at the lot teams and let's. Instead of trashing them for tanking, let's just look at them with bright future, optimistic eyes.

[Esperahenny]

That's right. And.

[Dave Dufour]

And, you know, we like to do a little draft around here. So we. I thought we could draft the lottery teams by order in which we think they can win a title. So it's like we're. We're turning on the hope meter for these teams. Now we gotta handicap this because I think that there's a pretty obvious, you know, first choice.

[Esperahenny]

By the way, just to clarify the plan, the. The second half of the plan also. Are we counting that? No, we're not.

[Dave Dufour]

No, I'm saying just the teams that are already in the lottery.

[Esperahenny]

So the bottom five teams in each conference.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah, yeah.

[Esperahenny]

Okay.

[Dave Dufour]

The bottom. The 10 teams that are actively trying to lose.

[Esperahenny]

Yes.

[Dave Dufour]

Okay.

[Esperahenny]

I agree. Yeah, I agree.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah. I think, look, the. The obvious number 1s. I guess I'll let you go first. I mean, you know, we're just going to talk about them, but sure. Yeah. Such an obvious number one.

[Esperahenny]

Yeah, it's very obvious. It's the Indiana Pacers. They could walk into next season and potentially win a title, and that's just by virtue of Tyrese Halliburton coming back a full season of the Vita Zubots and that connection. And they already have the nucleus and depth of a championship roster. The intriguing thing is that trade with Zubots, they might get a top four pick. They. They might lose out on their pick. That might bolster their chances of winning a championship, but.

[Dave Dufour]

Okay, but that gamble, though, I don't know, man. Like, where would you rank Evita Zubac as far as centers in the Eastern Conference?

[Esperahenny]

Oh, man, that's a great question. Probably top five, maybe higher. Like, the only other center I can think of is Jalen Duran at this point. Carl Anthony Towns, a healthy Joel Embiid.

[Dave Dufour]

I guess that's the tricky one, right? Bam.

[Esperahenny]

Out of Bio. Do you take Bam over Zubots?

[Dave Dufour]

I would. I think probably, yeah.

[Esperahenny]

So it's like four or five, you

[Dave Dufour]

know, I think it depends on, you know, how the pick and roll stuff looks when they get out there next year. But, yeah, I mean, I, I still. I think they have a. There's questions about, you know, what's Halliburton gonna look like? And I think that hopefully he looks like Jayson Tatum does. Yeah. And if that's the case.

[Esperahenny]

There's also. There's also a mental thing with the Pacers because when you lose a season like you have this year, and for what it's worth, like, they are getting healthier. Like, you know, Niecemith is playing and like hard is back and like, they. They playing Zubots is also playing basketball games for them. You know, I wonder if there's a mental calibration of we have to get back to winning. How does that look like for the Pacers? That's, That's a. A next year question, but just something to think of. And this is, by the way, B, far and away the number one pick in this draft that we're doing the pace right.

[Dave Dufour]

Way far and away because, like, number two to me, there's a. There's a golf. Huge golf.

[Esperahenny]

Yeah, I agree. Yeah.

[Dave Dufour]

More. But this is more like they could make the playoffs.

[Esperahenny]

The draft starts here. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Dave Dufour]

And it's tricky because, you know, there are teams with, with really good players that maybe I just, I just don't believe in. And there's teams that have players that we just haven't seen in a while.

[Esperahenny]

So who are you?

[Dave Dufour]

I think I would go with the Utah Jazz. Wow.

[Esperahenny]

Yeah, the Utah Jazz. I mean, they're.

[Dave Dufour]

They're going to be fighting for a playoff spot next year in the West, I think. Yeah, they're definitely going to be in the 7, 8 race at a minimum. You know, they. They have Keonte George, who has really come around. I think that you probably liked him before I did. Lowry Markkanen is an all star.

[Esperahenny]

Very good all star. Yeah.

[Dave Dufour]

Jaren Jackson Jr gets added to that mix. And I just think that they've. They've got enough guys on that team. Bryce Sensibaugh.

[Esperahenny]

Yeah. You know, Ace Bailey, too, who gets

[Dave Dufour]

a chance to just be young and come up. I, I think where there's lower expectations and he's been pretty good. I don't know. I just, I like, I like that team.

[Esperahenny]

I think. I think Utah has probably the best floor remaining for sure of all of these teams. Right. Because I agree with you, they're probably going to be in the playoff hunt next year. Who knows how that looks in the Western Conference. But when you have Jaren Jackson Jr. When you have Larry Markkanen, when you have Keonte George who's like, blossoming into an all star. Absolutely. They will be in that conversation. And oh, by the way, like, we'll see what they do with Walker Kessler in terms of his restricted free agency, because that's A really important thing for them too. They can also add to this group, by the way with another lottery pick. That's why they are losing so badly right now. They are hoping that AJ Divasa, Kyle

[Dave Dufour]

Powski, you know, I mean, look, they

[Esperahenny]

need to do what they do and I know you hate this, but they got to do it so that they can get Boozer or DebonSA or Peterson or one of these guys. And really, who's the best fit of the.

[Dave Dufour]

Of the top guys for them? I mean, it fit doesn't matter. Right. Because guys is Cam Boozer. I. I guess from what I'm gather.

[Esperahenny]

The thing is they have bigs though, you know, and Cam. Cam is technically a big. It'd be tough to see or envision how those. Those, you know, marketing. I don't know. That is true. That is fair. I probably would say AJ to Bonsa, by the way.

[Dave Dufour]

So that interesting.

[Esperahenny]

He fits.

[Dave Dufour]

You know he goes to byu, right?

[Esperahenny]

He does go to byu. I imagine that's the. The case. Okay.

[Dave Dufour]

All right, who you got?

[Esperahenny]

I'm going to take the Dallas Mavericks.

[Dave Dufour]

That was my debate. Right. Was Utah or Dallas. And seriously like the. The trick there is I love Cooper Flag is so good.

[Esperahenny]

Exactly.

[Dave Dufour]

Derek Lively, you know, if he comes back and is healthy is good and then they've got some assets to move. So I see it. Yeah.

[Esperahenny]

I mean you. You just made my case for me. But absolutely, Cooper Flag is. Is probably going to win rookie of the year here depending on how you feel about Con Cannipple's case. I personally think Khan has a great case. Yeah. But he's in that Cate very clearly like an all star candidate very, very soon. To your point, Derek Lively. The only question is like this is their only draft pick for a little bit, you know, so they have to nail this pick because this will be the other guy they pair alongside Cooper Flag. So that's the only hesitancy that I have in this thing. But when you have Cooper, I feel like you have a pretty good baseline. So I'm going to.

[Dave Dufour]

Is he a number one? See, I'm not sold on him as the number one guy on a title team for sure. Right. I mean, I know I'm saying this about a rookie.

[Esperahenny]

It's very early.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah, it is early, but as of yet, like, he just doesn't see. He like Kevin Durant. I think his rookie year look like it.

[Esperahenny]

Right. The thing is like he's been so scoring. His scoring has looked better over the last couple of months too. And I think that's worth something here. Like, the, the rate at which he's learning and figuring out how to attack different defenses is actually pretty impressive.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah. And so it's going to be about that and the creation. Right. Like, yeah, what does it all look like? And again, he's a rookie, so, you know.

[Esperahenny]

Yeah. And. And the Mavericks are letting him just try whatever. Yeah. At this point, which is good.

[Dave Dufour]

So Jason Kidd's done a good job. I mean, we've seen it before. All right. This is tricky, man. And part of this is because, you know, I look at a team like the Pelicans, and it just feels like they're cursed, you know?

[Esperahenny]

Sure.

[Dave Dufour]

But. But they also, They've. They've been better than their record. Right.

[Esperahenny]

They're also playing their way out of ridicule. Dejante Murray has been back and they've been playing better basketball.

[Dave Dufour]

So they're healthy next year, right?

[Esperahenny]

Yeah.

[Dave Dufour]

I'm going to do the thing that everybody does with the Pelicans, and you do this presumed health, even though no one's ever healthy there. Right. If they're healthy next year, are they in the mix with their playing team or are they better than that?

[Esperahenny]

I think they're a playing team. They're probably. Yeah, I don't. I don't think they could be any better than that.

[Dave Dufour]

But, like, so the high level talent is the issue.

[Esperahenny]

Right.

[Dave Dufour]

Like, where's, you know, because Zion is sort of an unfulfilled promise. Right. It's not like.

[Esperahenny]

I do wonder, though, like, do you think they could. Because Zion's been relatively healthy this season, do you think they could maybe use that to trade him this summer? Like, just be like, hey, he played 60 games.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

I don't know.

[Dave Dufour]

I mean, what, what is that going to get you, you know?

[Esperahenny]

I don't know. Yeah, you're right.

[Dave Dufour]

I don't know what the value is gonna.

[Esperahenny]

Look, that's the weird thing about the Pelicans. It's like we can go and look at their roster and say, Trey Murphy has value. Herb Jones has value. All these guys, Dejante Murray will have value. What will they do with that is the question.

[Dave Dufour]

But is that you can't even pick them.

[Esperahenny]

Are you picking the Belgians?

[Dave Dufour]

No.

[Esperahenny]

Okay.

[Dave Dufour]

I was just saying, like, I look at them and I just say, man, they have all these good players, but I, I just don't believe in them. I'm gonna go with the Wizards. Okay. I, I think that they. I, I see the vision. Getting Trey Young and Anthony Davis isn't about winning A title. It's about getting more assets.

[Esperahenny]

It's a very Utah Jazzy type pick in the sense that the floor is there.

[Dave Dufour]

That's right. And also. But also getting more assets for those guys, which I think is. Is the play. But they have, they have good talent. They're just missing the high end guy. They, they. They don't have the number one guy. I like Sar. I like Trey Johnson.

[Esperahenny]

I mean, I like all the young guys.

[Dave Dufour]

Trey Young and Trey Johnson have already kind of shown me that that's going to work offensively. And you can see where Anthony Davis and Saar will work. Sar can stretch the floor. So, I mean, they're not going to win a title next year. I don't even think, you know, necessarily be that good. But I see the vision and I just, maybe I believe in the path they're taking.

[Esperahenny]

I think the Wizards are going to be a playoff team next year.

[Dave Dufour]

I mean, it's the east not to. Not to go to the old cliche.

[Esperahenny]

I think they'll get a pick. You know, whatever that pick is. Trey and AD will play. Trey at the very least will play.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah.

[Esperahenny]

And that will give them a cushion to, especially in the Eastern Conference, at least be in the play.

[Dave Dufour]

That's fun. That's fun.

[Esperahenny]

I could see it. Anyways, I agree with you. That's cool. I'm going to take the Pelicans. I feel like this is a comfortable spot to take the Pelicans.

[Dave Dufour]

That was my debate was those two teams. It was just. I mean, the Pels is again, the talents there. The, the.

[Esperahenny]

The other team I debated here, and I'm. I'm curious if this is going to be your pick is the Chicago Bulls. No.

[Dave Dufour]

It's hard. It's so hard. I mean, you know, look, I'm not as the Bulls, but man, I just. Yeah, I lived through it. I think, look, I think you're probably right. Get. I mean, giddy is high floor player, low ceiling. I mean, they should be a playoff or play in team this year. Right. If they hadn't maybe played around so much to, to force themselves out at this point.

[Esperahenny]

Do we. Do we draft the team that has less talent but a higher chance of winning the lottery now, kind of what we're looking at.

[Dave Dufour]

Right? Like the Kings. Yeah, but okay, the Kings get the number one pick and they're messing it up. Right. Like, I just,

[Esperahenny]

I mean, you're not wrong. You're not wrong. They've done it before with, you know, Shout out my guy, Marvin Bagley.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah, I, I Just don't. I don't believe in them, you know, to, to make the right choice there. So. No, I, I think it's just maybe. I don't know.

[Esperahenny]

Okay, so you're picking the Bulls?

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah, I think the Bulls, yeah. Okay.

[Esperahenny]

All right, I'm going to go ahead and take the Memphis Grizzlies here. I feel like it's the right pick to.

[Dave Dufour]

Do they draft so well.

[Esperahenny]

They draft incredibly well. They still have Jaw who I imagine they're going to trade this summer and they're going to find someone. I love Cedric Coward. I think he's an awesome player. I think he's going to be an all Star. He has the potential to eventually be an all NBA player with the way

[Dave Dufour]

Zach Eaty is going to be a per minute hall of Famer Zach Eady,

[Esperahenny]

if he ever gets healthy. Well, it's crazy that Zach. We're saying that because Zach Eady was so healthy in college, one of the big things that you could point to in drafting that guy was, oh, he never gets hurt. You know, this is. And now it's just injury after injury after injury. Injury.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah, it doesn't take a lot of those. Yeah, but I'm with you. I. Again, it's a smart front office that drafts very, very, very well. And so even without, I mean, if they're top five, top seven a couple years, I mean, they're going to get good players. They've already.

[Esperahenny]

Isn't it funny that we haven't drafted the team that has Giannis and Kumpo yet? Yeah, I mean, but they've kind of

[Dave Dufour]

messed this whole thing up. Did they not. I mean, they didn't bottom out enough to give themselves the best lottery odds. Yeah, they didn't. I mean, and they didn't get their, their picks back.

[Esperahenny]

Right.

[Dave Dufour]

Like, they didn't make the deal with Atlanta to kind of recapture their future to tank again. Yeah, I just, you know, and they still have a. A decision to make that I'm not convinced they're gonna make this summer.

[Esperahenny]

But logically, them having Giannis makes them

[Dave Dufour]

closer to feel like they have Giannis does it. By the way, Giannis missing a week.

[Esperahenny]

Right. He has potentially played his last game as a Milwaukee buck for the 500th time.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah, I would actually. Yeah, I. It feels. Feels kind of like he did this time.

[Esperahenny]

Right.

[Dave Dufour]

So, yeah, I. Again, they're. They're kind of like the Bulls, only the Bulls are further down the road

[Esperahenny]

in the process of understanding what they are type of thing. Yeah, yeah, I get what you're saying the Bucks.

[Dave Dufour]

I just, I don't know, not very hopeful, but.

[Esperahenny]

So I guess the King. Well, okay. We're the only two teams.

[Dave Dufour]

Kings or Nets?

[Esperahenny]

That's an incredible question. That's an incredible question. I'm going to take the Kings because they have all their picks, the Net, the Nets, in the future. I am. From what I remember, some of their picks are kind of weird because they've done a bunch of trades and it's the Suns and the Rockets that have, you know, they've got some of their picks back, but not all of their picks. The Kings have all of their picks. They can tank into oblivion for years to come, and that gives you a little bit more of a cushion than the Nats do.

[Dave Dufour]

And it does feel like this might be the summer that the Kings finally do unload the veterans.

[Esperahenny]

They probably tried to do that at the deadline and just, I mean, of course.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah, yeah. But, you know, like, they're not going to bring Russell Westbrook back. Shout out to Russ. Fifth all time. Awesome assists. You know, guys racking up stats out there. DeMar DeRozan had a 40 point game the other night. Yeah. So I think the least amount of hope right now, is it Milwaukee?

[Esperahenny]

It's either Milwaukee or Brooklyn. No, I can't, I can't in my right mind say that Milwaukee has less hope than Brooklyn because what if, what if tomorrow the Bucks trade Giannis for Dylan Harper? Not tomorrow, literally. I mean, in the summer, they trade.

[Dave Dufour]

I mean, what if, what if tomorrow Giannis says, okay, I'm definitely staying, and they, they win the lottery.

[Esperahenny]

That's possible, too, right? So I, I, I'd rather take the

[Dave Dufour]

Bucks if I want to win the Bucks.

[Esperahenny]

Higher.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah. If the Bucks win the lottery, I, I would say yes, they move up.

[Esperahenny]

They might go as high as second behind the Pacers if they win the lottery. Well, no, they can't win the lottery. They'd have to be second in the lottery because they get the swap.

[Dave Dufour]

But still.

[Esperahenny]

Yeah, not bad. Anyway, let us know, Let us know, guys.

[Dave Dufour]

Let us know how we did that. You know, again, it's, it's, it's tough to talk about these tanking teams, and we're in the tank season of March, so I thought, hey, why not? Let's, let's see who's got the most hope. All right, that's going to do it for the show Brass Barahenny. I'm Dave Dufour and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.

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