Wizards Insider Talks What’s Next After NBA Lottery Disappointment

Wizards Insider Talks What’s Next After NBA Lottery Disappointment

talked to some people who were in the the other room. That reveal began with the Mavs getting the number one pick and apparently the entire room just laughed. Like all the executives representing respected teams just laughed cuz it was so ridiculous. Chase Hughes, course writer, reporter for Monumental Sports Network. Also was a contributor this year to uh the Wizards radio broadcast frequently here on the team 980. Chase, what’s up, buddy? How are you doing? Great, man. getting ready to uh go to Wrigley Field for the first time. So, I’m pretty excited about that. Nice. I have been to Wrigley once. Uh I we I was there for like a in Chicago. Chase joining us from Chicago, by the way. We’re the NBA draft combine right now. Yeah. At the combine uh and lottery was last night. Um I uh I went to Wrigley once. I was in in Chicago for a conference uh in school and like me and my buddy went had a great time. Got a Chicago dog, watched about six innings of baseball, then had to leave because we had to go catch our flight. But enjoy it. It’s really cool. It’s great. Yeah, I’m I’m looking forward to it, man. You know, it’s the cathedral of the games. It’s one of the best stadiums out there. No doubt about it. So, last night, Chase, where were you for the lottery? Were you in the in the room there uh in Chicago? Were you watching from your hotel? Like, take take us inside your view of last night’s uh stuff. Yeah. So, I was in the room that you were watching on the TV broadcast where they reveal the picks. There’s essentially two rooms. There’s one where the actual drawing happens uh in a back room where everyone’s requested. they have to hand over their cell phones, that sort of thing. And then there’s this big ballroom where they host the actual lottery that you watch on TV. And it’s a really sort of unique sports event to to be in because uh it’s obviously really important and everyone in that room, there’s a lot of people that have a lot riding on it. Um and there’s a lot of people in there, but there’s like no fan. So it’s there’s not like a ton of commotion. So, like crazy things happen, but everyone’s there like for work and no one’s going to like loudly exclaim or like react in like a crazy way. But this is the third lottery I’ve been to. And it was definitely the craziest one. The first one was insane because it’s Victor Wyama, but this one, the twist and turns, it wasn’t really what the happened to the Wizards that shocked everybody. It was the Sixers going three, the Spurs two, then of course the Mavs won. Once that happened, there was kind of a audible like gasp from a lot of people because it was just so ridiculous. A 1.8% chance of happening. So, the Wizards pop up at six. What was your reaction to that part of it? I mean, I was shocked. I mean, obviously, it’s a possibility. And what’s crazy about the new lottery format is it’s a fairly distinct possibility, right? When you look at their odds, the lowest they can fall is six. you know, they have they’re tied for the best odds for first, second, third, and fourth, but their most likely picks are fifth and sixth. So, you kind of I I think especially if you’re the Wizards front office, you got to go into it preparing for that scenario. And so, I I don’t think it caught them by surprise like it may have some fans because, you know, you got to have meetings, you got to work through scenarios, you got to be prepared, and you got to scout a lot of players and go through a lot of different uh situations. So, they feel pretty optimistic moving forward. Obviously, I’m sure they were fairly disappointed that they didn’t get first, second, or even third or fourth. Um, but they got sixth. And I think in hindsight, getting the 18th pick from the Memphis Grizzlies, uh, will loom extremely large because at least they have now two picks in the top 18, that gives them some optionality if they want to move up or, you know, even if they stay there, they’ll get two guys in the top 20, which is a a pretty valuable pair of assets. Chase Hughes with Course Wizards Insider from Monumental Sports Network. Chase, when you look at this draft, because I know you’re a guy who gets into the draft pretty early, you watch college hoops through, you know, this Wizards lens, the this NBA lens. Who are some of the guys that stand out to you as possible candidates for that sixth pick if they stick and pick? Yeah. So, I think the two pretty much guarantees in this draft are that Cooper Flag will go one and Dylan Harper will go two. And I think they’ve kind of solidified themselves as uh the best two prospects. After that, uh, there’s really a wide range of possibilities. I would expect that BJ Edgecom’s going to be gone. Uh, he’s a really good defensive guard from Baylor. And I I I’m pretty sure Trey Johnson of Texas, he’s a 6’6 guard that uh ESPN currently mocks the Wizards to select at six. I think he’s probably going to be gone. So, I think after that, you know, you know, maybe you’re looking at the possibility of Ace Bailey from Ruckers, who was Dylan Harper’s teammate. Maybe he could fall. He is a really good outside shooter. Um, a bouncy, athletic, uh, wing at about 6’8. Um, kind of similar to like a Brandon Miller who we saw come into the draft a couple years ago. Uh, Jeremiah Fears of Oklahoma. He’s about a 63 64 uh, point guard. Um, athletic, can get into the paint, pretty decent outside shooter. Um, and Derek Queen is a name I think a lot of people should uh, pay attention to. Obviously, there’s a a lot of Maryland fans in the area that don’t need to be told who Derrick Queen is. We all saw what he did in the NCAA tournament, but it is kind of interesting when they get to six. You’re you’re firmly in his range, and Derrick Queen is arguably the best local prospect to come into the draft in quite some time. When you look at what Winger and Dawkins have done the last couple of years and the way that Will scouts and and that the characteristics he looks for on and off the court, we’ve we’ve heard the press conferences, the whole deal. Like what are some of the things that now that you between what you’ve heard and what you’ve seen that you are looking for if you are scouting this through a Wizards lens? When I say scouting it like us watching tape, us listening interviews, like us on the media side trying to project what they’re going to do. What are the things that you’re valuing more because of who’s actually going to make the pick compared to maybe how you would have looked at it in the past or if you’re looking at it generically? You know, that’s a great question because I remember soon after uh Will Dawkins took over. You know, him and Michael were saying a lot of things, but they couldn’t really show us what they liked in players. You know, you kind of had to see that play out over a couple years, but now we’ve seen it. And he said like, you know, at some point you’ll know what a Wizards player looks like. And I think that player, first of all, is someone who has positional size. By that I mean they’re, you know, about an inch or two taller than the average uh size, meaning height for their position. Uh they like guys with long wingspans. They like guys who um can defend. I think that’s a very important trait for them to draft the player. They got to be able to defend. Um and then they like guys who can make plays off the dribble. And when it comes to shooting, uh they they believe that they can teach shooting over time. And you know, taking sort of the the the long view as they have, you know, it does give you that luxury where you can bring in a guy who may not be a great shooter now, but if you have three years to work with him on it, you know, maybe he turns into a pretty decent shooter. And if they check off all those other boxes where, you know, they’re big and they’re athletic for their position, you know, it’s it’s a a very different story if one of those players develops an outside shot compared to a guy with average size and average athleticism. Chase Hughes, Wizards Insider, Monumental Sports Network with us. I asked Will about the shooting thing after the season and I believe you were there, Chase. Uh, so you you’ll remember this and for the audience that wasn’t there, I’ll remind them, but Will had a really interesting answer to the question, which was basically I think that we can take a an okay shooter and turn them into a good shooter, but if you got to be a good shooter if we’re going to turn you into a great shooter. Do you think they have that like great shooter currently on the team or is that something that if you think about the pieces of of putting together a roster that you think that guys whether it’s it’s Trey Johnson, whether it’s a guy like Khan Canipple, the Duke forward, uh who who’s those two are considered the best shooters in this draft, like the fact that they know they can teach guys how to shoot. Do you think that that can be almost overlooked at times where it’s like, okay, but we also know if we want one of the great ones, we’re going to have to draft someone who’s got that already in the bag and we can hopefully improve it. Yeah, I I remember when he said that, it stood out to me and um I would say that Bob Carrington and Keshan George would fit into the category of like good shooters who could become great shooters. Bal Kulabali and Alex Sar are probably the guys that they would hope that could become good shooters. you know, they they didn’t come in uh with sort of a high floor as shooters. They’re more about athleticism and defense, but that doesn’t mean they can’t turn into great shooters. It’s happened before. Um in terms of adding shooting to the roster, I do think it’s very important for them to start thinking in those terms. They had the least efficient offense in the league last year. Um they’re not a great three-point shooting team. They improved their three-point shooting volume, but their percentage still lacks. And there’s just a lack of spacing on the floor. And I think there are guys that would shoot much better if there was better spacing. Like I think Cory Kisspert could be an elite three-point shooter, but when he’s the only guy on the court that is like a a real threat from three-point range, then defenses can hone in on him and and lower that percentage. So, u Coniple, I I don’t think he’s going to be in play with the six pick. I’d be pretty surprised. Um, I I think if he falls to 18, that would make sense. But 100% Trey Johnson, if he falls to six, um, I would not be surprised at all if the Wizards got him because I think his upside on the offensive end is as high as pretty much anyone in this draft, maybe short of Dylan Harper because I think Dylan Harper is going to be a superstar scorer at the NBA level. Uh, Chase is with us here on the Hoffman show from Chicago where he was at the NBA combine, head to Wrigley Field in a little bit. We’re we’re talking basketball and then he can go enjoy some baseball. Uh being around today, Chase, like the the morning after, if you will, this shocking NBA draft lottery, the way it played out, what was the buzz in the building today? Like I’m sure the talk was was about the Mavs and the fact that they won it, but like is there is there do you think a real push for lottery reform? Is everyone just like, “Man, that was weird. Do it again next year.” Like what what was the vibe today around the NBA combine in Chicago? It’s mostly shock uh about the what happened with the Dallas Mavericks. You know, I’ve talked to some people who were in the the other room I was speaking of, you know, where you have to be sequestered and uh that is presented very differently. Um it’s no frrills. They start with the number one pick and they go down. So that uh that reveal began with the Mavs getting the number one pick and apparently the entire room just laughed. Like all the executives representing respected teams just laughed because it was so ridiculous. Right. So everyone’s been talking about that. the Jason Tatum injury. Um, as far as lottery reform goes, I I think there’s a lot of people around the league that if the if the lottery were reformed, they might want it to go further in the direction of not rewarding teams to just bottom out and try to be as bad as possible. Like I think people around the league, you know, I remember last year like the Atlanta Hawks, they got the number one pick. I think they moved up from like 11th or 12th or something, right? It was I think I think it was 10th uh for for last year. Yeah. And then uh Dallas was what 13 this year? Yeah. Yeah. So they were 10th last year and I I a friend of mine who’s in the Hawks front office said that like there were a couple executives that came up to him and they were like you know we’re glad you won it. You know like we we want to see the teams that are competitive and are trying to be rewarded. So I think that’s kind of the mindset. You know obviously there’s a lot of people in the league that are competitive and kind of think in those terms. So I don’t think there’s too many fans of of tanking. It’s sort of don’t hate the player, hate the game. Yeah, I and this is what I’ve spent part of the show talking about, Chase, is like then if that’s what they want, I feel like they should go further. And I have no problem with that. If you just want to either flatten the odds or if you want to invert the odds and be like you fine. You want to you want to have that chance at the number one pick, try your best to make the playoffs like and see what happens. But there’s there’s second and and thirdand, you know, consequences of that in terms of what it does to rosters, uh, flexibility wise, the power it gives free agents, uh, you know, all all those kinds of things that would have to or second and third order consequences that would have to be talked through and considered. And honestly, that sounds like a great topic for a radio show. Maybe I should do that. Um, but given the current system, like that that’s not how it’s set up. And I I get the sense that uh there are more fans out there that think that the the the NBA is rigged than there are than there is a tanking problem and like that’s a that’s a much more significant problem. Do you think that’s something that the league also is starting to feel or take seriously based off the reaction to what happened yesterday? Well, the the fan reaction first of all that I’ve seen and and sort of experienced has been a little mixed. I have seen a lot of people say like, “Oh, well, what are you supposed to do if you’re a bad team? how are you supposed to be good? So, I think there are some fans who wish that um you know, maybe the lottery tilted back towards what it used to be where if you are the worst team, you get a much higher chance of getting the number one pick. Um but you know, as far as it being rigged, you know, that that that second room that we keep speaking of, right, uh the NBA does this thing where they like will willingly allow like pretty much as many media members as they can get in there. It’s usually about like 10 to 12 people. They want that thing covered. like the Athletic, ESPN, the Washington Post, they were all back there and they want as much transparency as they can offer so that those people can report back to the fans and, you know, quote unquote prove that it isn’t rigged. So, unless the league is, you know, slipping one past uh that many media members plus, you know, 14 executives representing the various teams and I think they have like Ernstston Young who’s supposed to be like certifying everything. You know, I I don’t know that that would be tough to do. So, there’s a lot of people that who have been in that room that I know, that I trust, who insist that it’s not uh that it’s not rigged because they’ve they’ve seen it firsthand. So, you know, you can never rule anything out these days, but I I I don’t think there’s any funny business going on. No. And so, that’s the thing, right, Chase is like I also am an adult who realizes that it’s ridiculous the the idea that this would be rigged. like the amount of people that have to be involved and the amount of people that it would uh not benefit that would have to be complicit or that you’d have to fool. Like it’s it’s obviously not, but that doesn’t stop fans from thinking it. And I think I think that’s kind of what the league has to eventually wrestle with is kind of this style versus substance thing. and and the fact that there’s a huge huge huge portion of fans that think it’s rigged or feel like it’s rigged because it’s not as direct as the NFL draft or uh other other drafts that we’re familiar with. That’s where I kind of wonder if the league eventually is like, “Okay, we got to do we got to do something different.” And it does feel like that has intensified since they changed the lottery odds a couple of years ago, at least to me. I don’t know if you felt that as well. Well, I do wonder, you know, because I have seen a lot of that um sentiment from, you know, media members and fans like, uh, this proves that it’s rigged. Maybe the league will go further to prove that it isn’t. It probably doesn’t help their cause that, uh, LeBron James of all people recently uh, voiced his opinion on it and said that, you know, there’s no way it was a coincidence that he went to Cleveland and that Derrick Rose went to Chicago. So, it is an effort by the league to try to prove to everyone that it’s fair and square. Um, maybe they’ll have to to uh take it a little bit further. You know, it’s not televised back there. I don’t know if it would be the um the best television event. Um, but, you know, maybe they could uh record it and have it live to tape and show it to people afterwards. Uh, I personally would find a room full of people laughing that the Mavs got the number one pick pretty entertaining. I mean, I would too. I think you could also just like make that the show. Like you don’t have to you could have the the thing come out and be like, “Oh, the lottery combination is whatever.” Like it ba basically uh Chase, it’d be the best televised bingo that’s ever existed, right? Well, I you know, as I’m sitting there too last night, uh I’m thinking like, man, you know, at some point the league’s going to monetize this. Like, they’re not selling tickets to fans, right? I’m at the combine right now. There’s no fans here who have bought tickets. the NFL figured out a way to monetize the combine, right? I’m sure the NFL, if there was a lottery, would find a way to monetize it and I’m sure the NBA will at some point because that’s just the direction that things head. Uh it’s just kind of I wonder how they would do it because it’s like it’s again it’s really fast, you know? You’re you’re just reading 14 results like and then you have a commercial break in between and it still only lasts like 15 minutes. Totally. Yeah. State Farm pays for it. So good good for State Farm. Good for them for monetizing that way. All right, last thing for you, Chase. I’ll give you a choice. I can give you my favorite thing that I’ve thought of in terms of lottery reform, my favorite idea. Or if you have a go-to if you’re like, “No, I actually have an idea. I can fix the NBA draft lottery.” I’m open to hearing your idea. I do have an idea. Thank you for asking me so I can explain it. So, I would expand the lottery to include the lower seeds in the playoffs and I would wait the odds to incentivize teams to get those final spots in the playoffs. Um, and then after that, you know, maybe randomize it or flatten the odds entirely, but basically flip it on its head and incentivize teams to try try to make the postseason. And then once you do, it’s easier to level up from there because why do teams tank, right? Why do fans want their teams to tank? It’s because the quote unquote middle ground of the NBA, the um purgatory of the NBA is like a huge problem in a lot of people’s eyes. Well, this solves that. Um you know, you can go from good to great. Right now, it’s really hard to do that. It’s like the hardest thing to do in building a team in the NBA and and across a lot of sports, of course, like once you have to pay your young players. Well, this would prevent that. And like what’s the worst thing that could happen if like the eight seed gets even like a Victor Wmanyamba? It’s not like they’re going to win the next like seven championships. they’re just going to have an opportunity to go from good to great and it will incentivize winning over losing. I I agree with that. I also think the that like a reverse pyramid kind of thing where like the worst place you can be is the eighth worst team. So you’re incentivized to either go up or down, but that at least prevents teams from getting caught like just stuck forever at the bottom. Um, so I like I think that in in all in all, if the point is to incentivize winning though, you’re on to it because you have to incentivize winning. And what else incentivizes winning other than what you just said? Uh, Chase Hughes with us from Chicago. Uh, thank you so much for your time, sir. Enjoy Wrigley Field and we’ll talk to you closer to the NBA draft. Absolutely, man. Thanks for having me. Hey, this is Da and you’re listening to the Hoffman Show on the Team 980 and the Odyssey.

Chase Hughes joins the show to talk about what the Wizards can do with the 6th pick in the NBA Draft, after a disappointing NBA Draft Lottery dropped them as far as they could go. With Cooper Flagg, and likely Dylan Harper, not available – who does Hughes like best amongst the rest of the prospects? Will Tre Johnson even be available to pick? Chase checks in from the NBA Combine in Chicago with more.

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