Why Pistons Fans NEED to Continue Watching the NBA Playoffs

Why Pistons Fans NEED to Continue Watching the NBA Playoffs

Good. Finally got the mic. Testing one, two. Testing one, two. Hope y’all are watching these playoffs. Um, it’s your man 100 grand. Ross with the rock never stops. Um, back on my Piston [ __ ] Um, this playoff uh has been completely unexpected. completely unexpected. Um, there are so many things to learn, so many things that teach you what it means to win in the NBA and how hard it is. I don’t think some of y’all really realize how hard it is. Like, it’s hard, bro. It’s hard. Cleveland was by far the number one seed, best team in the NBA until Darius Garland went down. Soon as Garland went down, what happened? They lost game one. Evan Mobleyy’s down. DeAndre Hunter’s down. No shock there. All of a sudden now they’re down 02. That quick. That quick. Boston outright dominant. All of a sudden, Porzingis goes down. Messes up their whole rotation. Bad matchup against the Knicks. They’re down 01. Right. It happens real quick. Happens real quick. You get caught sleeping. You get caught distracted. You have the wrong injury at the wrong time. Next thing you know, your team is down, right? And I think that these are some of the things that we kind of learned uh within our first round match up against the New York Knicks, right? It doesn’t take much to tilt the scales. It doesn’t take much. It doesn’t take a miscommunication here, bad decision there, missed rebound there, and all of a sudden now you’re down one instead of up one. You’re down three instead of tied. Right? These are the little things that make all the difference in the world in the playoffs. And I think a lot of times we take it for granted, you know, like we just we just like certain guys, we like our team, you know, we don’t like them, and so we easily dismiss how important certain things are. So, I want to dive into what I’m seeing from these playoffs. There’s some really key elements that I want to point to, uh, because I think it’ll be important for us to move forward with when we think about the draft. We got a high second round pick. when we think about uh offseason uh in terms of free agency, our own free agents and potential extensions. And I got to talk to y’all about some of these contract ideas. Y’all be out here thinking they just handing out $30 million contracts like hot cakes, like uh like a pancake breakfast or something. Uh y’all be thinking Duran’s going to get 30 million. Ain’t no way in hell 30 uh uh Jaylen Duran gets 30 million. There’s no way. There’s no way anywhere close. Um, and I’m going to go into all that, but let me start off with one of the number one factors outside of injuries that’s going to impact winning in the playoffs. And this is what I need us to kind of get centered on. Everything that we do from this point forward, everything that the Detroit Pistons do from this point forward is about the playoffs. It’s about winning in the playoffs. It’s about building a contender. It’s not just about fun. It’s not just about let’s get wins, let’s be competitive, let’s not be bad, right? Taking steps. All that stuff went out the window and we won 45 games. Soon as we won 45 games, we stepped into a new window of opportunity, a new window of potential and outlook. We’re no longer in the developmental game, which means that we don’t want young talent that needs minutes to figure it out and it’s going to cost us possessions, right? As talented as Ron Holland is, and as much flashes as he’s shown throughout the season, how many minutes was he able to get throughout the playoffs? How many minutes was he able to get in the closeout games? Right? And this is the second factor when it comes to winning in the playoffs. Problem solvers. problem solvers. I want you guys to really understand what I what I mean by problem solvers. Dennis Schroeder was a problem solver for us in real time on the court. He knew what to do, when to do it. He knew how to get it done. He’s been there before. He understands the situation. He understands the moment. He understands what a quality shot is. He understands his game and everyone else’s. He knows who has it going. He knows who doesn’t. He knows who looks a little bit shaky and a little bit uncertain that they don’t want the ball. And he knows who looks like they’re ready and he’s going to make a decision in real time with the intensity of the playoffs, the physicality of the playoffs. He’s a problem solver. So, we think about who we want to bring in to surround this young core because if I’m honest with you, I think our young core is talented enough to beat anybody. The Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Oklahoma City Thunder, all of them across the board. We have a talented enough core between Kate Cunningham, Jaden Ivy, Assar Thompson, Jaylen Durren, Ron Holland, Isaiah Stewart. We have enough talent to compete with anybody, but now we have to uh uh solidify and insulate that talent with the right pieces. We need problem solvers. We need guys who understand the situation. I like Dennis Schroeder, but I don’t know if he’ll come back because, as I said before, I don’t think that there will be as significant of a role for him. He’s not going to be closing out games for us any longer with Jaden Ivy and Kate Cunningham and Assara Thompson on the floor alto together. All three of those guys need to understand how to have the ball in their hands in those high leverage situations. And the reality is in this playoff series, only one guy got that experience and that was Kate Cunningham. So Ivy and Assar Thompson, they’ll be learning that that will be their learning curve next year in the playoffs. You’re not going to bring in somebody who’s going to take those valuable minutes away from your core guys who need to learn. So then who do you bring in? I like somebody like and and this is somebody that they may even have to just trade for, but I think would be more than available. You got guys like Kyle Anderson. Kyle Anderson is a 69 forward. Extremely versatile. Extremely versatile. great facilitator, great team defender and on ball defender, has improved his three-point jump shot and also shows a lot of skill when it comes to being able to pass the ball, handle the ball, bring the ball up the court, initiate offense. He’s kind of the jack of all trades, master of none, but allows you to play at a high level with whatever unit he’s in. Very similar to a Tobias Harris. He’s not going to wow you with stats. He’s not going to blow you away with uh great plays, dunking on everybody. Every once in a while he might, but that’s not the value he brings. The value he brings is by tying everyone together. So Kyle Anderson is a great pickup for us. When I start to think about the talent that’s on this team and I recognize how it’s going to continue to grow, these are the types of guys that I begin to focus in on. But let me go a little bit further. We also need shooters who are who are going to be better at getting their shot off. In other words, we need taller shooters. We need taller shooters. When you have teams that are going to be as athletic, as long, have as much size, intensity, and dedication to close out on the three-point line. Individuals who are going to be determined to take that away. You saw what it looked like in games 2, three, four, and five when Muel Bridges was like, “Yeah, we’re going to take away all that Malik Beasley catch and shoot, all that dribble hand off, getting that shot off easily.” Uh-uh. We’re going to take that away. You saw how hard it was for him as a 6’2 guard to get his shot off. When Ojanobi was the close out, when Josh Hart was the one guarding him, it was a lot harder when you have less size. So, when we think about shooting, we also have to think about what’s translatable to the NBA playoffs. We have to consider what that looks like for us. And a major factor means we need to get more size on the perimeter. We need guys who can get their shot off against a contest because they’re taller. Which is why I said Tim Hardway Jr.’s replacement is already on this team. And Lindy Waters, Lindy Waters at 66,667. 66 without shoes can get his three-point shot off against a defender who’s closing out who’s 6’5, 66, 67 in a way where somebody like Malik Beasley at 6’2 and a half is going to struggle to. Tim Hardway Jr. at 6’4 is going to struggle to, right? He’s also a high IQ player, right? And these are individuals we need to think about as well because you need high IQ players. I pointed to before in my previous point about problem solvers. You also need individuals who are um versatile in their skill set. In other words, they can’t just be a one trick pony. Can’t just be an an individual who only does one thing. They got to be somebody who can do multiple things. And that’s on the defensive end too. Malik Beasley could not guard. He could not he could not guard couldn’t guard Jaylen Brunson at 62 and a half. Definitely couldn’t guard Josh Hart and keep him off the glass. Definitely couldn’t guard Muel Bridges coming off of uh screens and dribble handoffs and uh cutting to the basket and out in transition, right? He definitely can’t guard an Aaron Neith. He definitely can’t guard a Tyresese Hallebert. Right? These are things that we have to think about as we start looking at free agency. Who are we actually going to focus in on? Who are we going to be locked in on to bring on to support this young core moving into the playoffs? I said I like Lindy Waters. I like guys with size. Jabari Walker from Portland. Delano Banton who’s 610 uh plays point guard. Um Portland Toronto, right? He’s been on winning teams. These are the types of guys that we need to start focusing on. Some of the other things that we need to be thinking about is when we begin to look at our matchups, and this is kind of where I want to center this video on. When we look at these playoffs, it is showing you at the semi-finals to the conference finals to the NBA finals. These are the teams you have to beat. A lot of different teams can get into the first round of the playoffs, but aren’t really necessarily a playoff team, right? You are good enough to get in better than most, but you’re not one of the few who are actually thinking about potentially winning a championship. at the semi-finals and above, you are considered in your championship window because you’re a good matchup series from being in the conference finals and things breaking your way to being in the NBA finals. If you’re in the semi-finals of the playoffs, you are in your championship window. Period. So these are the teams that we have to look at to say what does it look like to build for these teams. The reason why this is also really important because we got two teams that are in our division. Two teams that are in our division who are in the semi-finals. The Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers playing right now headtohead. These two teams right now are going at it. And you see this whole Styles makes fights. You see the Indiana Pacers moving the ball around, getting up and down in transition, playing with pace, pushing the pace. Are we observing how they push the pace? Because these are things that I think about all the time when I’m doing these videos. I’m not thinking about how do we beat Miami, you know, how do we match up against Charlotte? I don’t I I don’t care about those teams. I don’t care. I don’t care. who I care about are teams like the Pacers, are teams like the Knicks and the Celtics, are teams that I know we’re going to have to see to break into a championship window. I told you guys in two years, two years we’re going to be in our window. We might I think we’ll get back to the six seed next season. It’ll be a fight. It’ll be a fight to get back to the six seed next season for the Pistons. Philadelphia will be back and healthy. Um, even if they don’t have Embiid, I guarantee they’re going to make sure they have a center. They’re going to guar they’re going to make sure Paul George and Tyrese Maxi and Jordan McCain, um, Quinton Grimes might even be back and they’ll have the veterans and all the like. They’ll be back. Miami will be a year better. Orlando will be better. It’s going to be a fight again. We won’t be catching people off guard. What’s good, man? Watching Cavs Pacers gives me a good look at who the Pistons should play or model their offense, defensive mindset for deeper playoff runs. Pacers look like the better team. They’re also the healthier team. They are also the healthier team. Add Evan Mobley and Darius Garland and DeAndre Hunter to those Cavs. It’s a very different series. Very different. Remember, they won by one yesterday. Last night, they won by one. No Mobly, no Garland, no Hunter. Health matters more than almost anything else. And I’ve said this before, healthy teams win. Injured teams don’t. It’s It’s almost that simple. It’s almost that simple. But these are things to consider when we’re looking at this series because some of these guys that we’re seeing in this series, uh, are the types of guys that we need to be targeting. You look at a shooter and I want to compare shooters on these two teams versus on our team. On our team, our shooters were Malik Beasley and Tim Hardway Jr. and Lindy Waters less. So, we depended upon Tim Hardway Jr. in crucial minutes and Malik Beasley. Here’s the thing. Tim Hardway Jr. is 6’4 and a half. Malik Beasley is 6’2. Uh Malik Beas is about 190 pounds, 195 pounds. Tomorrow Jr. is about 200 lb. When we look at the shooters for the Indiana Pacers, you have Aaron Nesmith, 67 220, about a 38 inch vertical. Go check his draft measurements. About a 610 wingspan, right? That’s their shooter. That’s their designated shooter on that team. You look at the Cleveland Cavaliers, their shooter, main shooter, not Sam Merrill. He’s kind of there as happen stance. He’s kind of a plugin guy because Garland’s out. Um, and they want to continue to bring uh, what’s his name off the bench? Um, Ty Jerome off the bench who’s 6’6. But their main shooter is Max Struce who’s 6’5, 225 pounds. He can guard the entire wing position, shooting guards at the two, small forwards, and even some power forwards because he’s physical. He can put the ball on the floor. He can create his own shot. He makes good decisions. When we think about what we want to add to a starting lineup or a bench role for the playoffs, these are the types of guys we have to target. Guys who in the playoffs, even if their shot is not going, they know how to move off the ball. They know how to get out in transition, make quality winning plays. They’re able to rebound. They can defend at a high level with versatility. Right? They can finish inside. They can finish inside. These are things that we have to consider. Can you do more than just shoot when they run you off the line? When your shots off, what else can you do for me? Right? The these are this is what we’re seeing throughout the playoffs. You look at uh uh Minnesota and Golden State Warriors, the guys that they bring in off the bench, they’re bringing in guys that are athletic, can finish, can defend, will rebound, create havoc, turnovers, scoring opportunities, all outside of just shooting. So, this is what our free agency needs to look like. Yes, we need shooting. And what else can you do for me? Because in the playoffs, what is my mantra that I say all the time? Everyone’s shot efficiency goes down. Everyone’s across the board. The best shooters, Stephen Curry’s three-point shooting goes down in the playoffs. Buddy Heel scorching right now. his shooting percentage goes down in the playoffs. So we so we can’t have a guy that we’re looking at who just shoots threes because in the playoffs what’s going to happen? Say it with me, class. Their percentage is going to go down. So what else can you do for me? What else can you do for me? Another reason why we need to watch the Cavs Pacers series because they’re in our division. We’re going to see them at least four times a year for the foreseeable future, which means we’re going to play them more than any other teams. And that’s not even to include if we see them in the inseason tournament, which we saw Indiana, right? These are things that we’re going to have to consider. We’re thinking about the future outlook of this team. These are the teams you got to prepare for. Look at the size of the Cleveland Cavaliers, especially when they’re healthy. 611 Evan Mobley. Sorry, 7 foot Evan Mobley. 6’11 Jared Allen. 69 DeAndre Hunter. They have considerable size in their front court. Considerable. Even guys like Isaac uh Aoro off the bench 66 wing 65 Max truce 225 pounds. We’re gonna have to match their physicality, their length, their athleticism, which is why I think a lot of us have been saying we have to upgrade the power forward position. We need more size there. But I also think that we need problem solvers and Tobias Harris is a problem solver for us. Which is why I like someone like Kyle Anderson. Kyle Anderson is a veteran. We can trade for him, bring him in, maybe ship out a shooter like Tim Hardway Jr. to Miami, and now we have a Kyle Anderson who we can bring in in the playoffs in a pinch. So, I also said, “Hey, if Marcus uh sorry, if Marcus Smart is available and Marcus Sasser is not proven to like take that lead guard off the bench position for us, let’s go get us a problem-solving playoff veteran guard reserve like a Marcus Smart. He’s physical. He plays defense. He’s going to rebound. Moves without the ball. He’s versatile. He can facilitate, initiate offense, plays with a high IQ. can insulate this young core. This is why we need to be watching. This is why we need to be watching. Some of these guys in the playoffs are going to be free agents. Jonathan Kaminga, Ty Jerome, these guys are going to be free agents. I want to say uh Buddy Heield as well. Just look right here. Uh we got Steven Adams is going to be a free agent, right? These are guys that we have to take a look at and say like, shoot, would they be a good fit with us? Would they be a good fit with us? Sam Merrill is going to be a free agent, right? Javvante Green, veteran, is going to be a free agent. These guys are unrestricted. They’re going to be unrestricted free agents that we have to consider. You slide over to the Denver Nuggets. I mean, they’re smart. They’ve locked up most of that roster. But guys, yeah, guys like DeAndre Jordan who could be a great a great veteran reserve big to teach our young bigs what it looks like to win in the playoffs. Golden State Warriors, they got a whole bunch of free agents. Gary Payton the second, what would he look like coming off the bench for us? All right, these are things that we need to consider. And I’m going to keep going through some through through some of these because it’s also going to be for us to look at. I know a lot of people have wanted us to go after uh Nas Reed um who has a player option along with Julius Randall. Somebody suggested Julius Randall. I don’t like his leadership. He’s not a problem solver. He’s a talent, not a problem solver. And there’s a big difference. There’s a big difference. Um problem solvers are heady players, leaders, uh play with a lot of integrity to the moment. They make the right decisions. they play the right way. Julius Randle needs those types of guys around him. But you also have Nas Reed. And if I got to be honest, if they’re choosing between Nas Reed and Julius Randle, they probably choose Nas Reed who’s younger, a better shooter. Well, probably just as good of a shooter and score, but chemistry wise is already proven to work better. So, I hope you guys are watching the playoffs. This doesn’t need to be a long video. Not all my lives need to be a long video. Um, yeah. KK Crusader Tyrese Hallebertton is also looking like Reggie Miller in the playoffs. Heroic. Hell yes he is. Um, who would have knew the Pacers were legit contenders? Pistons should target the Pacers next season. Yes. Yes. He’s someone who has risen to the occasion. He’s someone who is building confidence. And I keep telling y’all, confidence is everything in the playoffs. And to gain confidence in the playoffs, you have to find success. him hitting a gamewinner to clench the season series or the playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks is a huge confidence booster. Huge. Andrew Nimhard has hit big shots in the playoffs last season against the Knicks. Uh hit gamewinners as a rookie against the Lakers, right? Pascal Seakum has been to the NBA finals. He was lightweight. Could have been our finals. Uh could have been the Toronto Raptors finals MVP. He’s confident, multiple time allNBA all-star. These are guys who rise to the occasion in the playoffs. This is why Tobias Harris is so important. He’s been a playoff starter for most of his career. Philadelphia, the Clippers. He’s a guy that could be relied upon. So, he’s learned valuable lessons. That’s why I like a Marcus Smart and a Kyle Anderson. guys who are winners, who play the right way, who play both sides of the ball with a lot of skill, who make people better around them, right? But let’s look at the Pacers. Pacers, I’m going to be honest, the Pacers are due for a major shift because there’s a consolidation trade that people have been talking about for a while. And what a consolidation trade means is that you have too many good players and their contracts are coming up and you’re going to have to pay them all. They’re not going to overpay and pay a bunch of guys who are getting minimal minutes, which means they’re going to have to consolidate their talent. They’re going to have to do trades where they have two good guys go out for one good guy coming back. Two or three good guys coming going out for maybe one really good player coming back. Looking at their contract situation, Miles Turner is an unrestricted free agent. A lot of teams are going to want him. He’s been looking great this season at only 29 years old. A whole slew of experience, 6’1, shot blocker. He averaged, what did he average this season? In 30 minutes a game, he averaged 15 points, basically 16 points a game. Last season, he averaged 17. The season before that, 18. He’s due for a major bump in pay. gets you about seven rebounds, but more importantly gets you about two blocks a game on top of high level free throws and three-point shooting. Would he shoot from three this year? Almost 40% from three on five attempts. So, he’s another player that they’ll be looking to retain. But you also got to look at the other free agents. You got guys like Isaiah Jackson, only 23 years old, 69, extremely athletic front court player. You got Thomas Bryant. Eh, it’s kind of neither here nor there, but they got a bunch of guys who need playing time. Aaron Nith got extended for 11 million. And these are things that we got to consider. Also, contracts being doled out. This is something I actually wanted to get to. Also, that I mentioned at the beginning of the video. Some of y’all think that Jaylen Dur is going to get $30 million a year. What are y’all sniffing, bro? What are y’all? What are y’all smoking? I know. I know. This this this new pharmaceutical [ __ ] is crazy out there. It’s crazy. Hits harder than anything ever before. They made this into the new crack. I’ll be honest. It mess around. Get addicted to this legal marijuana. This ain’t the same stuff we was growing in backyards. And I’m from California. We had the best [ __ ] out there. Uh, and this pharmaceutical stuff, genetically modified, enhanced, I don’t do it. Some of y’all on that [ __ ] thinking Jaylen Dur is going to get 30 million a year. Let me tell you who’s not getting 30 million a year right now. Miles Turner is only getting 20, I’m sorry, 19.9 million a year. That’s what Miles Turner is getting now. That was from the last collective bargaining agreement. Under this new one that’s more restrictive, players are going to be getting less than what they would have gotten under the previous collective bargaining agreement. Miles Turner is only getting 20. Let’s let’s let’s look at some comparable big men. Let’s look at Rudy Goar, multiple time defensive player of the year. He’s on a descending contract that got extended. He’s getting 35. This is multiple time two, three time defensive player of the year. Allstar got extended for 35. Is that what Duran is? Let’s keep going. Ivaka Zubach, who I compare Jaylen Duran to, who he’s not as good as yet. He’s getting there. He’ll probably get there next season. Ivaka Zubach is getting paid. He just got extended 18 million. That is going to ascend to about 20.9. So 21 million over the course of the next three years. That’s what Zubach is getting. 20. 20. Let’s say you think that he’s better than Zubot. Let’s scroll around to who’s another comparable guy. Um, was I thinking of uh Well, let’s I mean, let’s look at Isaiah Hardinstein. He’s getting around Okay, he’s getting around 30. They had to overpay for him. So, maybe you’re looking at that as a comparable contract. There was somebody else I was looking at. Uh oh, Jared Allen. What’s he getting paid? He’s getting paid $20 million a year over the next two season. And then he gets a bump and he gets up to 28, 30, and 32 multiple time all-star. There’s no way Jaylen Durren is getting $30 million a year. So, let’s just relax on that. We do need to resign it. And I think he gets somewhere closer to 20, 18 to 20 million. 22 if you’re really want to just throw him a bone. That’s about what what he’s worth right now. How he what he’s played himself into. not just projecting his talent. 22 is projecting his talent where he’s going to get to by the end of the contract, he’ll probably be worth the uh 30, but that’s not where you’re going to start him, right? Because you have to actually show that consistently that that’s who you are. Now, let’s look at Jaden Ivy. He’s somebody that I thought would have gotten paid big time had he been healthy this year. I think he could have got up to a Darius Garland type of a contract if he made an all-star team getting paid around 35, but he didn’t. But he didn’t. So, let’s look at comparable contracts to I’m I’m going try to use chat GBT and see see what happens. See comparable comparable NBA contracts to Jaden Ivy’s statistical season. Let’s just take a look. Let’s see what Chad GPT comes up with. 15 points a game. Well, they’re looking All they’re looking at is uh 0304 stats. I look at the Oh, they’re going through each one. 0304. Oh, they’re giving me all of them. Okay. Woo. Chat GBT be going in. Let’s look at some of these comparable contracts. So, Jayen Ivy based on his trajectory, this is what this is what Chad GBT said. Jaden Ivy is still on a costcont controlled rookie deal, giving Detroit great value for a 15 point per game score uh you know uh career average. Based on his trajectory, he could land in the 15 to $25 million per range on his next contract depending upon growth and efficiency and playmaking. That’s what he’s looking like. 15 to 25 maximum. So where Jaden IV probably starts, it’s probably gonna be somewhere around 20 some somewhere between 20 and 22 million a year. It’s probably going to end at around 25 27 at best over the next five years. That’s what they probably try to lock in. Fiveyear extension maximount the amount of time you can keep them under contract. Probably has a player option in that fifth year to opt out. Definitely if the Pistons can lock up those two in free agency, that puts them in a wonderful position to pay Assar Thompson to pay Assar Thompson. Make no mistake about it, Assar Thompson at the end of next year is going to be worth somewhere around 30 million. when you saw what he did in the last game of the playoffs in that game six against the New York Knicks. When we saw what he did, that was special. That was special. That that that was that was that was a confirmation of everything I’ve been talking about. And it was all without a jump shot. Some of y’all so uh locked in on how important shooting is. And it is. It is important. I’m not I’m not going to act like it’s not. But Assara Thompson, Amen Thompson are showing you just how effective you can be in so many other areas of the game and how valuable it is. How you can be the best player on the court in a closeout playoff game without a jump shot. Without a jump shot, rim pressure, transition, defense on the ball, off the ball, weak side shot blocking, deflections, generating turnovers. facilitation, playmaking, shot creation, getting downhill, rim pressure, free throws, rebounding. These are all things. Defensive versatility, switchability, guarding four to five positions in a game, being able to contain on the perimeter and the interior, great help defense, digging down, getting deflections. All these things are extremely important. How did the Minnesota Timberwolves try to survive yesterday when they when they couldn’t shoot? Rebounding, defense, transition, right? There are so many other things that are important. And the Thompson twins do him in spades. Imagine when they get a jump shot. Assar Thompson is going to cost us. He’s gonna start probably at a higher salary scale on his extension than Jayen Ivy and Jayen Duran because next year, next summer he’ll be available for an extension. So, he’s got all next year if he gives us a consistent outlook of what he did in these playoffs in his best games getting to the free throw line six to eight to 10 times a game. Come on now. King of Judah, what’s good, my man? Piss game just came out. Piss of GM just came out saying he’s not looking into trading young players. He wants to build. So now it’s about testing free agency. I say we get Julius Rand. Man, I I just did I just did a spill on Julius Randle. Man, I want a problem solver for this team. I want a problem solver on this team. And I went into depth earlier in this video about what that is. It’s a high IQ player who plays the game the right way, who plays both ends, who’s a cerebral player who has who has skill for facilitating playmaking. Plays all different areas of the court. Doesn’t always need the ball because you know who’s going to need the ball? Cade, Ivy, Assar, Duran, Holland, Sasser. These guys need the ball in their hands to maximize their talent. So does Julius Randle. If he’s not scoring, he’s not really giving you much else. maybe some rebounding, plays physical, but most of his contribution, and he does so in an amazing way, is with the ball in his hands. Rim pressure, free throws, hitting threes, getting the other team in foul trouble, his physicality, the offensive glass, the ball is in his hands. We need some other guys who can do other things. That’s why I like Jabari Walker. I also mentioned Kyle Anderson trading for him. maybe assign a trade Tim Hardway Jr., send him to his daddy’s old team in Miami. Um, they can use another shooter off the bench. Go get Kyle Anderson who’s been getting unfairly bench splinters. We could use him in a major way off the bench. He would tie together Ron Holland, Bobby Clintman, to Smith or Isaiah Stewart. Marcus Sasser, he can run the point, facilitate. He’d be great for us. Yeah, that’s true. He’s useless with the ball. Um, but I don’t know who on free agent. Uh, that’s a four we can get outside of Bobby Portoris. But is Jabari a free agent? I said Jabari Walker, not Jabari Smith Jr. Jabari Smith Jr. be he’ll be a free agent next summer. He likely gets extended this summer. Uh, if he doesn’t get extended, expect a signing trade or a trade. Uh, but I I think Houston I did a video yesterday about how I think Houston moves him back into the starting lineup for Dylan Brooks. I think his size is necessary next to Alper and Shangon. And I think he as he has continued to improve his three-point shooting every year. Um, getting back to that volume three-point shooter that we saw in Auburn. Uh, I think Jabari Smith Jr. who’s only 21 years old. Only 21 years old. Let me see. Look at his uh stats here. As a rookie, he shot 30% from three on five attempts. Last year, he shot 36% on five attempts. This year, he shot 35% on five attempts. I think he’s due for a jump. He’ll be in a contract year. I think he’s due for a jump in his statistic. I think he gets even stronger physically, which means his defense is going to improve that much more. He’s already a phenomenal uh on ball and help defender, rim protector. Um he does a lot for them. I’ll probably start following them more closely next year. How do I feel about Jeremy Grant in Portland? He’s an upgrade over Harris, but that contract might bite. I don’t think the contract bites as much, especially if we can trade someone like Simony Feio uh and maybe do a signing trade with Tim Hardway Junior’s contract. Um, he is a really good talent. 29 million, 32, 34, 36 million over the next few seasons. That’s not a bad contract for his production. Um, that’s not a bad contract at all. The problem is does he concede at 31 years old to Cade Ivy Assar and Duran? That’s the role that we need next to them. A guy who’s not trying to uh to tell them to get behind them, but telling those guys, “I’m here to support you.” I don’t think that that’s who Jeremy Grant is. Jeremy Grant, and rightfully so, is an excellent talent, NBA starter, much like a Tobias Harris, but he’s still in his prime. And if anything, he wants to go someplace he can compete for a championship. He wants to be in the playoffs. He wants to show what he can do. He got paid. Now, it’s about his legacy. 31 years old. He’s not going to play second fiddle to Ivy Cade and Assar, who I actually like, and I did point out before, Jabari Walker. I point uh I posted a video on X of his highlights. Check it out. 69 forward. He’s still young, only 22 years old. Um could play small forward, power forward, and some center. Uh let me see what he shot from three. He shot 38.9% on low volume, only about one to two attempts, but he didn’t get a lot of minutes. So, I think with a minutes increase, he was only at 12 and a half minutes. If he got more minutes, he probably shoot at least two to three threes a game, but he shot close to 40%. He also rebounds at a high rate. Um, he gets you about, last year he got them about seven rebounds a game when he got 20 plus minutes. That’s a great rebounding rate. Almost gives you a steel block in a game. That’s the type of guy that I want. 69 comes in a very heady player, makes good decisions, plays with a nice bounce athletically to his game. Um, he’s somebody who who could be in a dog fight with you. He could be in a dog fight with you. He could be in a playoff game with you and battle it out. That’s the type of dude I would want to see in Detroit. He’s a Detroit guy. He’s a Detroit Pistons culture guy. I also like Marcus Smart. I think Marcus Smart would be a great addition. Um, you look at his contract. Look at Marcus Smart who’s playing in Washington right now. Even though Washington might want to keep them around and mentor the young guys, Washington still has Sadique Bay as a veteran, Corey Kisspert, um Rashawn Holmes, Malcolm Brogden, Chris Middleton who’s 33. I wouldn’t mind Chris Middleton coming back to Detroit either. He’s got a whole summer to get his body right. I think he’d be excellent in Detroit. He would be excellent, excellent in Detroit. Chris Middleton would be great in Detroit next year. You plug him in at that forward, that swing position between uh Ron Holland, Marcus Smart, Middleton can handle more than handle a lot of ball handling responsibilities, getting us in the flow of our offense, come off the bench as our sixman, he would be monstrous for us. He would be a monster for us. A monster 68 veteran forward. his versatility. Oh my god, he would be great for us. Yes, he’s getting paid 33 million next season. Yes. Yes. King of Judah, what’s good, man? One more before you go. Appreciate it. Is it me or did Assar lose his speed this season like he wasn’t as explosive? No, he didn’t lose his speed. Um, he did slow down. He watches Ricky Highlights at 4 a.m. I be doing stuff like that, too. I’ve been doing stuff like that, too. I think he got fatigued. I think that he was trying to acclimate to then getting more minutes. I think he was trying to slow himself down so he can preserve himself, so he can play with more pace, meaning that he knows where to exert himself, when to exert himself, not just exerting himself the whole time. That’s how he played as a rookie. He was just flying around, but he couldn’t give you more than 20 minutes because he would be burnt out. He would be exhausted. Then he didn’t get consistent minutes with Monty Williams. Then this season, he came in after having blood clots, right? So he was also getting burnt out really fast. He also plays at a high motor, like extremely high motor, like that Shawn Marian type, which means that he needs time to not only get his legs on the room in terms of conditioning, he also needs to understand where to best exert himself because sometimes he’s running around, guys aren’t even looking for him. I said many times, Kate Cunningham has missed out so many times on getting the ball up the court to Assar Thompson and letting him get downhill while the defense is in transition and then getting the ball back. He’ll get the ball, he’ll look up, he’ll see Assar down the sideline and not get him the ball. That should be an automatic play, which needs to be an automatic play next season cuz he’s going to have Ivy and Assar running those sidelines. Soon as Duran, Harris, Cade gets the ball, anyone gets the ball, they need to be looking up the sidelines. Let’s get pressure and transition immediately because that’s when you look at teams like Minnesota, Houston, even OKC, younger teams, that’s an easy way for them to generate efficient offense by getting out in transition. That’s something that we have to take advantage of more next season. Great question. Great question. But hey y’all, I hope you guys are enjoying the playoffs. Hope you guys are watching. There’s so much we can learn from these playoffs. There’s so much we can recognize about how to build this team. what types of players are effective in these playoffs, what size, toughness looks like, versatility looks like. I mean, this is nothing but tough physical play. Tough. You got to be tough, bro. You’ve got to be tough. The physicality that is being is being allowed to return, yo, you can’t be soft. You got you have to be able to play smart under control with speed and skill executing all while dealing with this level of physicality. All while dealing with this level of talent that you’re going up against and physicality. You can’t be complaining about not getting a call. You’ve got to be able to accept you may or may not get the call. You still got to finish. And if you don’t finish, you better get that rebound, offensive rebound, and put it back in. That’s why guys like Assara and Ivy are so important because their athleticism transcends a lot of the physicality. It allows you to get out in transition to get downhill, get to the rim before the defense can rotate and lay that hammer on you, to put that body on you. The speed you play with puts the defense in a position where they’re constantly trailing you. and then they’re having to rotate off of that and help. That type of speed in an offensive system allows you to be able to play at great uh not only pace but offensive efficiency because you’re constantly putting the defense in the trail where they’re having to help out. But hey, let me let me let me hop off. I was on this video was longer than I than I had anticipated. I hope you all enjoy it. Hope you’re watching the playoffs. Hope you’re learning from it. Let me know in the comments section what type of players you think that we should try to target in free agency trades. Um, even the draft. I’m going to do draft. I know I know I keep saying it. I’mma do draft content, especially after the Chicago pre-draft camp happens. It hasn’t happened yet. Invites are still just going on. Guys are still preparing. Workouts haven’t happened yet. So, I want to see guys who are fluctuating because there are guys, if you’re paying attention, who are moving into first round consideration who a week ago, a month ago, nobody was talking about, right? The young man from North Carolina. The young man from um uh from Colorado State who didn’t even play, I forget his name. Um but he only played like I want to say like six games before he got hurt. He looks like a solid first round pick. So there are guys who are in the first round who might get bumped to the beginning of the second round lands perfectly for us. Guys like Rashier Fleming, right? Because more guys are going to get bumped up, especially as workout. So I’m not going to do draft content just yet. I might start doing it as as the pre-draft camp starts and then um as free agency begins um and people start getting resigned or extended. We’re going to do a few videos in and then definitely more more more to the draft and summer league and stuff like that. But as always, it’s your man 100 Grand Ross with the rock never stops. I hope you enjoyed the video. Get it at me in the comment section. If you stay with me this long, I truly appreciate you. Smash the like button for me, please. It helps out the channel. gets this video in the algorithm when I’m doing the live so that it pops up on your channel if you want to catch it again. I do interactive lives, so if you put something in the comments, I’ll try to get to it. Um, if there’s not a lot of comments, we can definitely chop it up about it like I’ve already done. Uh, and if there are a lot of comments, um, what’s good, pisses fan? Um, call me at the end if you want to throw something you want me to comment on really quick. I’ll do it right now. Um, but uh if you want me to comment during general streams, if there’s a whole lot of comments and you want me to get to yours, just put in a super chat, you know, helps out the channel, helps me out. I always appreciate it and and we can chop it up. Other than other than that, uh, like I said, it’s your man 100 Grand Ross with the Rock Never Stops. Keep watching these playoffs. Keep learning. Let’s keep growing as a fan base so we can make sure our team is the best it can be because we going to be contenders in two years. Mark my words, two years. We’re knocking on the door and I’m out.