2025 NBA Draft Reactions LIVE With J. Kyle Mann and Joe House | The Bill Simmons Podcast

2025 NBA Draft Reactions LIVE With J. Kyle Mann and Joe House | The Bill Simmons Podcast

we’re live Yeah Joe House is here I’m Bill Simmons We are uh live after pick 28 of the NBA draft I waited to see who the Celtics were going to take and they took a Yugo When we were growing up there was Yugos were a car that we made fun of and now the Celtics have a pick that doesn’t seem like he can shoot I didn’t do a lot of Yugo studying Anyway House um this was the Cooper flag draft This was the San Antonio took Dylan Harper and I really want to know how him and Dear Fox are going to coexist draft This was the I can’t wait to see what happens at three but I think it’s going to be VJ Edgecom draft and that’s what happened Um this was the where the hell is Ace Bailey going draft whereas where you came in your beloved Washington Wizards the former Bullets uh Ace Bailey seemed like he wanted to come either play for your team or Brooklyn where you’re getting a little you get a little ace in your pocket and then Utah Danny H who’s like Ace doesn’t want to play here He’s literally announced he doesn’t want to go to Utah and Danny H is like I’m Danny H I do whatever the hell I want He takes him and he grabs him from you Were you bummed godamn it Danny H I mean Bill Simmons I was preparing to come on I was going to pop a bubble There was there was two scenarios under which I was going to pop a bottle and pop a bubble I was going to do both one was Malawatch That was my preferred pick for Washington Yeah But over the course of today I got so many incoming messages from folks in the know and around the team And you know this Ace Bailey thing is legit It’s not a joke It really could be him arriving in Washington said “Wait a minute It’s not and often that Washington is on the receiving end of some you know whatever misjudgments or or or whatever was driving uh the potential for Ace Bailey to to drop a superstar by all regards in terms of this draft class Yes The way that everybody was sizing this thing up a top three selection by every single measure falling to six I got so excited And then Danny A did a Danny A thing He just did the smart thing And that was you set up the right way to evaluate it which was so often Washington is on the receiving end Dot dot dot And it’s the receiving end You get it rammed right in your rectum That’s what happened Oh no Yet again it wasn’t that far No I mean this is weird for this outcome because a lot of the chatter Ace was never a reality until the last 24 hours or so He became Come on You were Stop it I know how disappointed you are You were more than tanalyzed I was tantalized I like I said I was ready to pop a bubble I mean pop a bottle both of them Um right Uh uh up until the I mean I did have chills I will say sitting in the moment it’s like is this potentially a franchise altering moment for me yeah it’s likely No no of course not Well there were five five legit ESPN top 100 2024 recruiting class blue chippers in this draft plus Canipple who I think rose up and everybody loved him too Sure Um Ace was the wild card I read everything I sent you a long article that somebody wrote I think the New York Star Ledger had a feature I don’t know what to make He He’s combining like 40 things We’ve been following basketball for so long 40 red flags just strewn all over the place and yet he’s just so talented and this is you know that we’ve seen these guys over and over again It’s like the Michael Beasley syndrome where you you just like I know there’s red flags here but wow is this guy talented and he ends up going second in the draft Danny knowing Utah has all these draft picks all of these pieces and yet doesn’t have like the guy you have to take a swing at some point And he’s they take a swing I think the thing with Ace if you’re taking him at five worst case scenario he’s trade bait for a bigger trade right if you’re if you’re trying to get somebody awesome that’s a centerpiece kind of guy And that was why I thought I was really surprised Uh I mean we’ll go into some of the stuff Brooklyn did but you know if if Brooklyn I think is one of the teams that would have a chance for Giannis down the road I just want somebody who can be at number eight who can be in that Giannis trade and and not take the uh the project from BYU who most people had in the 14 to 20 range We’ll talk about them when Kyle Man gets here Um but I like that I really thought that was the right pick from Utah Take the asset worry about it later What’s he going to do not play in the NBA what’s he going to sit out it was also draft for need like they need that that dynamic uh playmaking They need you know that that backcourt help Uh and pairing him with Walter Clayton I mean Bobby Marks couldn’t contain He popped a bubble on TV ready to give uh Utah the you know the the lead position in best draft uh through you know the the the first 20 picks or so Um well that was nice that Clayton went 18 because normally the guy normally in the history of the draft that’s the guy who usually goes 33 34 and we’re like all right that’s stupid Caniple is the guy who goes like 15th because they they start talking themselves out of like his athleticism on defense It seems like people for the most part are getting better at where these guys would go and then the Nets are like hold my beer and they start doing they start doing their stuff Well now I’m interested in you know part of the quiet you know things that Smart Utah does in the background is sign Will Hardy to an extension that goes through 2031 Uh and I want to see these kids with Will Hardy in this five out offense They got to sign a therapist for him now because Ace might be a handful Ace Ace has like his support team There’s like the agent who’s not certified to be an agent Anytime there’s a you have an agent who’s not actually certified to be the agent I get nervous Is that the guy who wanted wanted $100 to appear on television was it that dude it’s there’s there’s some stories allegations allegations have been made You know people can always change their support team as they get older and more established Um speaking of that very quick aside You know who changed his support team who you heard this Zion Williamson He did new agent Look up his new agent Yeah Did he hire a chef um I mean you know he can get he doesn’t need a chef They they have OMIC out there now Um I I we we got to save New Orleans for college I got to save talking about representation Well when you and I go to dinner and there’s some entree or some thing in the restaurant you have to try and sometimes it’ll be on the on the table with a bunch of different plates and you’re like I’m not going to touch that yet I’m saving it I’m going to have that The potato zaten they’re famous for I’m not going to have it yet I’m going to wait I’m going to eat all these other things That’s New Orleans today right new Orleans is the potato graten It’s the house specialty Don’t eat it yet It’s over here I have it on the side of the table Then we’ll get a big spoonful of it later Um but uh the Utah Yeah Danny getting Ace Bailey with the fifth pick when it seemed like they had thrown their season away right they’re in this tankfest comes down to the last day and then they drop all the way to five Your team drops all the way to six and you guys still got blue chip players like Trey Johnson I don’t know what he is ultimately I was saying to Russell on Sunday he’s like the greatest version ever of like those Eddie House sharpshooter type guys He’s way better than that obviously but you know I’m not sure he’ll be finishing around the rim that much for you And I I don’t know I don’t know where it goes but I do think he’s one of those you’re texting your friends like “Oh my god Trey’s getting hot Trey has eight threes in the second quarter.” He’s one of those guys I hope that’s true I hope that’s true I mean Washington finished almost 25 points behind Oklahoma City in net rating which really seems almost imposs almost almost impossible 25 points Yes Washington was negative 12 point something and Oklahoma City was positive 12 point Damn near 25 points behind And congratulations bottom bottom four in in by almost all defensive metrics and bottom two in almost all offensive metrics So you take the best available uh and Washington you know just barereft of any kind of threat on offense from uh both both both the two ball and and the three ball So Trey welcome The ability to and CJ Mal welcome How long is it going to be here why are you laughing at least a year He’ll be here a year Professional scorer I like him And he’s going to come in and be a good mentor to these kids I mean it’s it’s the the reason that I was bummed that Valentunis got got traded He was a good mentor to the kids Uh CJ you know leader of the union guy He he’ll be a very good mentor Yeah leader of the union Great CBA they pulled off there with the He gave the league a hard cap Nobody has any free agency buddy Nice job Uh yeah you have Marcus Smart too I think it’s funny that they’re putting together the 2017 Celtics the team that broke your heart in Washington’s last playoff moment Kelly Olen and Marcus Smart Maybe we get Avery Bradley back You might you might have it Uh I like the Trey Johnson pick So I’m going to start in order in the top and I’ll really try to save New Orleans for when Kyle gets here but Dallas Cooper flag goes one They show the the war room There are some great war room videos today None better than Brooklyn celebrating over and over again after they took yet another point guard Just wild celebrations Um but they they show Nico Harrison He looks like he’s facetiming somebody and the whole war room and he’s just grinning like a madman and you think like I know we’ve talked about this a million times but they trade Luca Donuch and it’s the worst craziest sports trade Uh at least in this decade it’s one of the craziest NBA trades ever And they end up with Anthony Davis and Max Christie in a 2029 first and Cooper flag And just fundamentally it’s a trade you would make I’m not saying it was their intention but the way it worked out like they showed all these Dallas fans going to watch the draft Like the Dallas fans are now sucked back in The Cooper flag buzz is nuts and it’s like all the stink from that trade is gone It’s incredible It’s an incredible turn of events So incredible that you had some suspicions about Not for me Not for It’s not all washed away for me You used the word sucked I could tell you right now Well I I I Well I won’t say what I really think Can’t tell We’re We’re live We’re live We’re live Save it for text Save it Save it for our text thread with Jacobe and Verno Yeah Um which which is which is 17 Um yeah Anyway so that so Dallas it all works out and they’re doing great Congratulations They’re in a conference where there’s some some stinko teams that just seem like they’re flailing right like Utah’s not going to be good next year Sacramento doesn’t know what the hell they are You know San Antonio by taking Harper and not kind of moving all in We’ll see with WBY but I don’t think they’re a guaranteed playoff team Phoenix who now has two centers We’ll talk about No they don’t They have more than two Well they have they still have Nick Richards For some reason they decided to acquire the Charlotte Hornets entire front court I mean like in in in less than than six months right charlotte’s just trying to get rid of their centers and Phoenix is like we’ll take them But there’s my point is the West which I think is deep at the top I I do think there’s some there’s some room on the bottom half maybe to maneuver around which might be nice for uh for the Maps We’ll see with Kyrie They sign Kyrie to a nice little extension They’re talking about getting a point guard like a Dennis Shruder Chris Paul stop gap guy until Kyrie can come back I heard uh Malcolm Brogden and D’Angelo Russell Those were the names that I that I saw hit the wire I liked your guy the guys that you said better than than either one of Brogden or or Russell D’Angelo Russell Like really i don’t know who wrote that We’re still going to do this No I saw it too I’m just like that’s that’s your stop gap Why not just get Chris Paul just tell him four months you can retire in February or we’ll buy you out You could be on whatever team you want Um I’ll tell you from the gambling odds perspective I like the idea of where San Antonio is headed next season more than I like the idea of where Dallas is headed next season You mean just for pure overunders for wins yeah And and and positioning for for division and all that kind of stuff I’m going to see Let me have San Antonio I’m going to see if there’s ways to bet on this Um I know that there are Conference odds San Antonio 17 to1 Dallas 20 to1 So your instincts were correct Do tell Interesting See I think San Antonio if they don’t do anything else it’s I think it’s gonna be a little clumsy with all the guards Could be It’s a lot of gu a lot of guards who can’t shoot It’s a team that’s going to take a little while to figure out what it is But they also might be a trade team in January February I’m more bullish on Dallas than you because I think Flag can be impactful immediately as a all-around guy I think he can play multiple positions guard people defend the rim I think there’s a Gaffford Anthony Davis flag front line where they just sort of are like watch this So that might actually be pretty interesting Name the their best shot creator Name their best creator Kyrie Irving who’s who’s working out every day and hoping to get his leg back to 100% By when i mean this is like the flag point forward I’m going to go ahead and and and and take a shot Like it’s the same enthusiasm I keep hearing for Stefon Diggs with the Patriots When is he gonna play football you know why are we talking about when I bring up your football team why don’t I bring up Terry McQueen holding up he’s got a guy a giant contract I mean he deserves it Do you know OKC is plus 130 to win the West next year that feels like a Mahomes MVP like layaway bet I I literally had this this conversation on East Coast bias with the guys this week the odds for them to win the title are plus 220 and it’s just that’s too far but I am gonna bet them at plus 130 because what if this is the best value on them that you’re going to get the entire season if they come out correlary yeah take homes MVP odds right now at 5 to1 it’s the best chance best odds you’re getting it’s possible well the funny thing is Houston’s five to one so Vegas got so excited about that Durant trade that I personally would not have Houston as the number to title team I agree I understand through the wars yet right i understand the market and I understand why they are where they are but I also want no part of betting on that Let’s see it Let me see a little bit No you go through and I think Minnesota who is 8 to1 probably has the second best odds Uh there are Cooper flag odds by the way for real they have will he record a triple double at any game in 2526 is minus 115 I think I would take that minus I’m not laying odds triple double is hard get one triple double are they going to make him point forward right away yeah we see that if they if that’s what they show us if he’s the creator if if he’s the playmaker they let him be the straw then hopefully those odds will will be there and we’ll we’ll jump on them in in in October All right we tangented So Dylan Harper goes second to San Antonio I still feel like there’s a Darren Fox I’m not I’m not buying I hope Darren Fox is renting I hope he’s renting like Tony Parker’s house I hope he didn’t buy a house in San Antonio Wow I just don’t I think Dylan Harper’s too good I I don’t we’ve already seen Darren Fox try to juggle ball handling stuff with another really good guard and his name was Tyrese Hallebertton who they traded after a season and a half I don’t see those two together He’s expiring this year Is that right well that but there was always people thought there was a wink wink that they were going to take care of him after But and maybe so but as as we sit here right now it’s it’s not in infeasible that he Well they should trade him to Brooklyn because Brooklyn took three point guards and Danny Wolf was a point center Maybe they’ll want the iron fox trying to collect them Um I’m fine with San Antonio saying we don’t know what we’re doing yet We’re going to give we’re going to just throw these dudes out and look at it But it was the right pick Um did you know when did you find out Ron Harper was his dad oh Um coming into the season Yeah Like we we knew ahead of time I felt like it was underplayed Like Ron Harper was a massive massive part of a couple MJ Bulls title teams He’s a like when when we were in college and he was initially on the Cavs and then got was in the Danny Ferry trade went to the Clippers and was just a really fun two guard um and had a really really good career And it’s just weird I I felt like they could have spent two minutes on that on the draft telecast instead of all the other dumb [ __ ] they did which we’ll talk about later I would have liked more of of him with his brother Ron Harper Jr I didn’t a lot of Harper stuff I I was in on any of the Harper subplots Yeah Um All right number three This is where the draft got interesting Although not really time that interesting to me because I predicted this a long time ago VJ Edgecom going to Philly Yeah Uh just a classic checked a lot of the Daryl boxes Um Maxi Edgecomb and McCain as a young upand cominging arrow pointing up back court It’s pretty nice My question to you is I thought that we might get some inkling of what direction Philadelphia might go in in terms of solving their identity crisis and we did We got nothing We got them making the smart value pick you know the the pure Daryl my pick They still have an identity crisis that they they need to solve for right i think they were open to every possible scenario with that pick and didn’t get an offer that they loved Didn’t didn’t see a reason to trade backwards to pick somebody Didn’t see a veteran any of that stuff I just think that it was what it was And then you take the best guy and I think that’s the guy he Charlotte’s taking him if he’s at four Utah’s taking him is if he’s at five So you got to take him I wonder there’s an identity thing which I think you’re alluding to with Philly where you’re on this weird Embiid timetable where I have no idea where he’s playing You’re trying to contend You have Paul George who’s in his mid30s now who’s at a weird point in his career You have some veterans and then you have this really young back court of guys other than Maxi who haven’t really been in big games yet or anything McCain was in high school one two three year two years ago three two and a half years ago And then you have lumbering Joel Embiid coming off eight surgeries walking it up playing not playing I just don’t know what that team is House And I know when we’re doing overunders that’s going to be one of the hardest ones to pick We don’t know how many games Embiid’s going to play Is does he change his name to if Joel Embiid stays healthy is that we’re officially at that point Does he have to do a name change well the the the question I have speaking of are we uh to this point will the mark will the books even offer a number for Philadelphia like a win total yeah it feels like you just play the under Whatever it is it could be 46 It could be 36 It could be 29 So what would you bet it at all right let me I’ll throw a couple overunders out So now we know who’s on their team Basically they they we’ll see if they can bring back Grimes and I don’t think they can bring back Yabiselli Um 42 and a half Would you go over or under under You have to bet it The problem is they’re in the East So you’d go under 42 and a half for the Sixers 42 and 40 I think I’d go under two It’s I mean it’s more like it’s a more likely scenario that Embiid has more injury problems and they decide to basically just go with the youth and you know but they they get the benefit of I would have bet it either way Charlotte Brooklyn and Washington still in the East none of whom did anything that’s to to push themselves into any kind of contending position by way of this draft Uh and I can’t imagine any of those three teams doing anything um in free agency to tilt uh you don’t think Brooklyn push themselves they they got seven ball handlers They think the league next year is going to have multiple basketballs They’re hoping they could play at Rucker That’s where they push themselves Kyle man is here We’ll take a break from the podcast to keep going on YouTube Kyle man we deliberately saved everything after pick three for you Um although we did talk about Ace Bailey going to Utah so quickly Um I would we were the thing we both said was like Danny A could give zero [ __ ] if somebody’s like yeah I don’t really want to play in Utah He’s going for the talent You must have loved the fit of Ace Bailey going to Utah Yeah I think it I think it makes sense I mean he’s he’s he’s somebody that if he embraces playing this has always been the thing for me if he embra em embraces life off ball in the short term he’s gonna make a lot of hay in that offense I think he makes a whole lot of sense so yeah I mean once he gets out there I mean I think that’s kind of everybody’s experience with Utah is you hear things and everything and like I was joking with Zach about like that place is changing I made a whole [ __ ] video about it about it is different than people think and you get out there and you hear weird things about the liquor laws it’s like it’s not that weird it’s like it’s a place that’s really changing and uh yeah I mean they needed shooting and the fact that they had access to him at that spot You get the you get the upside of the star stuff And I think Will Hardy’s going to be a great mentor for him I think Will Hardy’s gotten to the point where he’s earned that credibility where you just you think anybody’s going to be better with him because he’s such a good coach They told Ace like “Ace if you don’t think Salt Lake City is that much fun you got to watch the show on Hulu The Moms of Tik Tok whatever that show is Watch these ladies Watch the Mormon wives Give this like five hours Fun city.” Just for the record I did not watch that House you’re missing out Um Edgecomb to Philly That was the most likely pick It does put the team on two separate timets And my guess is like if McCain would be the greatest third guard possible right he’s probably severely overqualified as his career goes up and up to be a third guard But you could also you could do the Indiana thing play three guards together I like the flexibility gives them I just have no idea how they make sense with Embiid was the other topic we talked about Uh I get the sense that there is maybe more quiet sort of shifting of there are people who who have quiet confidence that McCain could legitimately have a chance to be as good or better than Maxi I know that might seem crazy So I wouldn’t be surprised if this if in the short term I agree with you on the the it makes at first when I was thinking about Edgecomb and those two guys I was just like that’s dissonant That kind of makes my head hurt I don’t see how that’s going to work Maybe they’re a little small but Edcom is 6’5 I think if you take the pressure off of him to be a highly productive handler in the short term you can get some of the benefit of some of the things that he adds like the spacing and the you just unleash this crazy athlete Or was it was it the Clippers that unleashed like Bledsoe with that team back in like 2010 and you every once in a while he just do something crazy I I think it’s going to be a low stakes role like that for him You evaluate how it plays out If McCain improves a whole lot maybe you shift once this immediate title conversation has kind of simmered a little bit and then you make a decision going forward and then Edgecom can be a big part of your thinking What did you just say immediate title conversation What title let me add a word Hypothetical Yeah Well I don’t even know if that does goes far enough It was the on paper piper on paper title It’s the title It’s the saber metric If you play a season on a computer I know what title the worst contract in the NBA title They have two of the top three They have two of the top three That’s a title Bradley Beal’s Sorry you’re not grabbing the number one spot As long as I’m here it’s name the whole the whole thing’s named for him Yeah we might have to do that with W next year is name it the the Bradley Beal Memorial worst contract draft because I think it’s the single worst one Kenipo goes to Charlotte at number four We could see this one coming for a while Uh perfect offensive fit We got to meet the five Canipple brothers I enjoyed that And uh as as much as I am excited to watch this team on offense there’s going to be some trouble on defense guys This is uh not going to go great I don’t know The only problem on def on on offense when you’re playing Charlotte is you have no idea who to hunt There’s just too many options It’s like paralyzing Kyle Where do we go to their advantage Yeah They just in the excitement they do they get indecisive and then Charlotte scores a bunch of points That’s that’s one philosophy right yeah I mean you and I were joking earlier about I mean hypothetically who would you have to have at the four and five spot to make this a defense that could keep its head above water i think you’d have Bill Russell you’d have to have Anthony Davis You’d have to have uh I don’t know man It’s that’s tough sledding There’s going to be a lot of uh Who’s playing center who plays center for Charlotte they’ve traded all of them Oh they’re all on Phoenix now I don’t know After Mark Williams Charlotte was just aggressively trying to trade for him and the Lakers backed out of his physical even though they needed a center and now Charlotte is again shopping him in June I would just be really nervous acquiring Mark Williams This team’s just like “Hey how about Mark Williams any interest you like him?” And somehow they ended up getting a first the I think they got the 29th pick and then uh a future first which wasn’t nearly as good as the one New Orleans gave up We’re not ready to talk about that yet We will talk about this first New Orleans pick though Jeremiah Fears at number seven Where did you have how how high Kyle how much higher did you have Trey Johnson than Jeremiah Fears just in your head mentally from a ceiling standpoint If Trey Johnson goes 20 floors how high were the how how many floors did the Jeremiah Fears building go uh I mean this is this was one that I was off consensus on I mean I had fears at 20 in our final big board Um but it’s a tricky conversation because on the one hand I do acknowledge and see how well to answer your question I mean I had trey it for Trey Johnson because I thought the simple like the simple propositions of him even if his star upsides don’t play out This is a dude that you’re just going to be able to throw like a freaking like you know pinball around offense and just make him run He if he if he that’s another guy If he dedicates himself to just being a marathon man in offense and just setting screens around it’ll work But Jeremiah Fears um he definitely is like arguably the most like electric like you know ball handler in this class Like he can get in the paint He’s very smooth He has a nice gate to his game But the data just says I had this written down here Um there are some sites that sort of compile uh statistics across all event types going back to like the earliest stuff that they’ve done And I was looking at fears and you know from sample to sample you can kind of argue this way or that and be like with Liam McNeely you be like I’ve seen him shoot the ball in the past I don’t trust this one With fears it’s been pretty consistent He overall on their database is 28.4% That goes back to 2021 I feel like that’s the type of shooter he is So if you’re going to trust that that guy’s going to be a loadbearing decision maker you’re just already kind of encountering problems And then you go ahead and combine that with the fact that he has a lot of defensive questions Granted he’s young He’s got a lot to learn The combination of those two things just make me really queasy So I had a hard time going seven there I had a hard time thinking of reaching for him there I He’s one of those guys that you’re like I like him but not at that spot And that’s kind of how I felt about him at seven That’s how I felt Joe House did the most homework on him because he was worried the Wizards were going to take him at six How worried that is that where you landed House um no No I I I wouldn’t even really countenance that that outcome Um I uh didn’t think he he’s he’s not very big and it doesn’t make sense for Washington to have a a not very big uh point guard 6’2 you know barely not even 180 How about 6’2 and not a good three-point shooter seems like a recipe for disaster Like I like who who are the dudes that the the smaller ball handling can’t hit threes guards that you could even think of at this point And if you’re going to be like that you have to be like a really great two-way player which I don’t think he is I you know he’s 18 He’s a project Who knows and when you read this stuff he’s definitely they made a point of saying this in the draft He’s one of those I’ll remember every guy that got taken ahead of me He’s one of those guys He played football and baseball all the way I think through high school Like he’s a great athlete Um what do you think but the shooting makes me really nervous though for if it was the 13th pick I get it But seventh in a draft that I think we all thought was pretty deep it’s it’s that’s a little scary Yeah I um he to be fair to him in that was 6’2 and a half barefooted He’ll be 6’4 functionally on the court um six okay five and a quarter wingspan Um but he just yeah he’s a good decision at maker at the when he sees like that first read when the defense is loaded to one side or another he’s not a hog he’ll get off the ball and he did lead a competent team in the toughest you know if you’re going to apologize for him he did lead a team to the tournament and had a good showing in a game against Yukon in the first round um as as a young player So but the guys that I kind of pulled that statistically flagged as similar to him were uh Keonte George um Hold Your Nose Killian Hayes um Jaylen Green and other his G his G-League sample was similar And then Jaden Ivy if you want to feel good if you want to say but you know Jay Ivy was different Those are not the same type of play Yeah So it’s just kind of I’m with you It’s I’m I’m I’m a little concerned about him being like a heavy heavy decision maker for me I once we got out of the top six which I thought was pretty established that was the tier and then I thought fears was was below I the guy I liked the most was Malawatch I just feel like he’s just not worried about him being in a a competent NBA center who might actually be a lot better than that and that was the guy house wanted at six if Ace Bailey didn’t drop there and he ends up falling all the way to 10 and Uh you know I and I’m writing down in my notes not to skip over Brooklyn and Toronto and 89 but I’m writing down in my notes These are my notes in as it’s happening Ishbia exclamation point He’s back Green Brooks and Malach for KD isn’t bad That was my next note Um oh wait they’re also trading for Mark Williams Why it all happened in like three minutes house I understand like “Oh wait What are you guys doing?” And they traded uh the 29th pick which they actually needed this year cuz it’s not like they have a shitload of depth and then a 29 first that is not uh not their own pick But uh I don’t I just don’t understand why you would have Mark Williams and Malawatch What’s the point of having both those guys house i I I don’t know I have no idea how that they are different I mean they’re both lob threats They’re both limited offensive players The scheme versatility is the one thing that you can kind of twist because for now Malawatch is a little heavier on drop coverage and you know Williams will give you a little bit more of that get out sit down switch a little bit and he’s a little older and he’ll be a little more ready in the short term because Milew watch is just so young you know I mean right so maybe he doesn’t play for two years so that might be the thinking that’d be great Deon Booker will be 30 by that point makes sense we got years to learn right yeah he’s fine he’s not going anywhere he’s committed to the team Um we had a weird thing with that pick where they just can’t get this right And I thought of a great suggestion when cuz Houston trades that pick to Phoenix in the Durant trade We all know that’s the trade They have to do the draft and then have Houston pick him because the trade can’t be official until July 6th house Why can’t they just say Houston has traded the number 10 pick to Phoenix for future considerations phoenix is now on the clock at 10 And just say way afterwards here’s what the trade is Instead of doing this [ __ ] charade with the Houston hat and and then you’re watching the draft and it’s like Brooklyn’s picking but it’s actually Memphis and now no it’s Memphis pick No this is Portland’s pick But like what are they doing how is this where we landed with the NBA draft one of our favorite nights well I want to go backwards one step which is to complain in this direction Why is the draft tonight what possible explanation after the season ends on Sunday night it Why isn’t it at a minimum Thursday at a minimum I don’t know like as as we go into the weekend as folks you know have have discharged their weekly obligations and are ready to focus on the sporting world I got scared there for a second Discharge Yeah I know Uh but that we’re turn a nur massage our first neuro massage show No no don’t even Ready for a draft party Ready for a draft party on a Thursday night Let us catch our breath I’m exhausted I mean I’m I’m not just I expect I wanted to be drunk I told Simmons uh JKM that if we got either Ace Bailey or Malawatch that I was going to pop the bottle and be ready Uh but since that didn’t happen I’m honestly drunk on exhaustion because of you know going straight from the finals Sunday evening into Monday trying to process it But still trying to process the the Hallebertton injury Couldn’t even crack open a light logger for Trey Johnson He doesn’t What level of I agree That’s at least like a nice heavy alcohol high IPA That’s a high noon That’s a high noon at best That’s like a pineapple high noon How is he the best shooter you’ve had since you became the Wizards or is there a better one bradley Beal is a much better shooter Bradley could could shoot his ass off He he led the league in scoring is his is there were some early I’m not talking I’m not talking score I’m talking let me tell you something shooter go back and look at the comps for Bradley Beal early in his career he was on a Ray Allen arc I’m not kidding you’re right 2017 playoffs he was really good yeah you’re right you’re right early he didn’t get he didn’t get to the Ray Allen but I’m just saying like the comps were were there for the quality of of of shooter that this is before he racked up a body count of murder murdered Suns Vance That’s before he killed a fan base of a million uh million Phoenix Suns lovers Um okay The eighth and ninth pick So the draft’s going great Every It’s going chalk basically I didn’t really have a problem with any pick and I’m like “Whoa this is going to be a pretty boring podcast tonight Nobody’s going to do anything stupid.” And then the dumb teams just come flying in It’s like they arrived late It was like “Wait what’s that i hear a horn Is that Oh somebody’s pulling the parking lot Oh it’s the dumb teams Hey it’s Brooklyn Hey New Orleans We’re here Sean Marks is like “Oh hold on Hold on Hold driving in a Yugo.” It’s definitely a trick horn of some kind Yeah And they take the BYU kid number eight who I thought was more likely he fell into the 20s Um I Kyle like try to make the case here why you would take him at eight I’ll say the positives Um okay He is probably the most talented ball screen reader like reader of reads He he and creative passer manipulation wise Like he can see he can see the first help defender he can see the second the tertiary whatever it is He can manipulate those things really really really well Can make any pass with either hand And he’s big Um I mean I think he’s the most creative passer in this draft Um he’s a smart kid I interviewed him on our show I was very impressed with how aware he was of his challenges which are um he has a high center of gravity He’s very skinny Um at this point he is not a threat to hit dribble play He back rimmed a huge percentage of his of his threes Um I don’t know if that’s some kind of mechanical thing that they can figure out I’m not a shot doctor I know they work with a really smart shot doctor We’ll see Uh but then I guess the other thing is he wasn’t great in the paint either and he’s going to get attacked defensively People are going to play through his chest Um but I mean the Nets are So hold on So you’re saying can’t really shoot He’s going to get attacked defensively and also not really that good in the paint That’s and too skinny He is skinny I don’t know how much stronger Sounds sounds like a win But look here’s the thing the the comps and JKMU did the write up for the Ringer draft The these these comps belong in the top 10 of of a draft of a draft Sean Livingston and Josh Giddy Those are those are like those are competent basketball players Shades of those guys Well it’s the biggest bubble is Sean Livingston It’s true Yeah Yeah I mean Denny Abdia was drafted by Washington You put Denny in this mix Denny was a top 10 pick Bite your tongue on Sean Livingston Pre-injjury Sean Shan Livingston was awesome It’s more late stage like reform point guard I can’t be the primary guy Okay Can I give you my comp i didn’t release my player comps but mine was Yaruslav Corv the Clippers 2012 first rounder Had to watch him for a couple years And see you guys didn’t remember who it was Number 12 pick in the draft Yeah It’s like oh he does all It’s like what does he do I didn’t like the pick at all May Listen I’m happy to be wrong I’m happy to I’m sure if he’s awesome this quip will get cut out and be like “Oh you got one wrong.” I just I number eight I just No It’s a pure no It was high I mean it’s an interesting theme I wrote about this in our grades that we put up that the Nets clearly were following a theme of rolling the dice on creators I don’t think they expected Wol to be there where he was but they took Saraf who has a similar profile you know a big but he’s a little different He’s a different side of the coin there where he’s very I I put this in in the grades also He’s he’s one of the main guys in the in this class that fall under one of my favorite distinctions which is he has some [ __ ] to him Um he’s he’s just an aggressive player Um that might make give him a better chance to succeed than Jagor I don’t know I doubt it I I just think if you shift Jaor to an off because 46% of his touches were were pick and rolls this past year That is insanely high He had a huge demand on him to create for BYU And I think if you put him with other creators and he’s shooting off the catch a little more roaming in the seams of an offense with that passing ability there are paths for for it to work I think Yeah But it’s an identity team They took three guards because we didn’t talk about the French kid at number 19 but they took three guards plus Danny Wolf who everybody’s like he’s a point center He needs the ball to to he needs the ball to thrive So it’s like cool You took a bunch of guys who need the ball to have any sort of success at all Sounds like he did a I just I don’t get the Nets and I don’t get the Shawn Marks thing at all and I think he’s probably a nice guy but he’s kept that job for a long time and I just don’t I don’t get it I don’t see it I don’t understand why you would want five first round picks in the same draft We see teams do this all that how many house we’re [ __ ] old now How many times have we’ve seen a team put too many young guys together and then a year later they’re like “Hey last year we had too many young guys We got to get some vets It was so stupid to have all those young guys Oh I mean I’m living through it right now We we drafted three uh in the in the 2024 You went got Marcus Smart and Chris Middleton You got some adults to be near them Okay All right Well and and crucially um bit a dude to Jordan Pool Wished I wished the best of luck to Jordan Pool Uh who actually had a fine season last year You like Jordan P Don’t you dislike well I think the guy in college was pretending he doesn’t like the girl at the party that he keeps leaving with You like Jordan Pool i intensely disliked him when he arrived and and you ended up liking him He he found they found a role for him He found a role for himself but we’re not here to talk about the Washington I didn’t like what the Nets did at all Uh Toronto took Colin Murray Boils leading Kendrick Perkins I didn’t know which telecast to watch It was like do I take this samurai sword and jam it into my temple or do I take this chainsaw and saw my leg off i just I just I couldn’t figure it out Um Perk they took Colin Murray Boils and Perk said they have the pieces in their top six team in the East and at that point I started looking for a third ESPN channel but there were only two covering the draft There wasn’t a third one at least one that I couldn’t find Um but I didn’t mind that pick And then Malawatch at 10 And then we had a trade And then the draft started getting really weird Cedric Coward Memphis moves up with Portland Malikica calls him Colin Coward which was exciting I thought Colin Coward got drafted for a second They basically traded the 16 and Orlando’s 28 first to move up five spots Kyle I didn’t like this guy This was one of my guys that I was kind of out on Well okay because I feel like I had the zag I like I have to I can’t go through the draft and just like every guy there’s this one I just didn’t get But now Memphis traded up to get him and now I’m just going to assume I’m wrong because Memphis is usually right with these guys and that with these these dudes they find they just have too high of a success rate So I’m going to take the loss He hasn’t even played an NBA game left And I I think I’m wrong Don’t uh don’t give up that easily Dig in a little bit at least No I’m not digging in Memphis has the way better track record They like something I don’t see it but they see something What don’t you What are you worried about i mean can we just go itemize line by line here what do you What’s your concern the So first of all he’s Well starts out what was he where did he go freshman year i’m trying I’m blanking I’m trying to remember Wamut Yeah And kind of worked his way up right and peaked this year I just didn’t feel like the athleticism was there in a way that would translate to the NBA Even though in college it looked fine Um the stuff that like those type of guys who succeed I still feel like that you have to be at a certain really high level athletically to do all that stuff And he was like you could even see in college it felt like he was pushing it So I don’t know I might be wrong Maybe Memphis sees some things that I didn’t see What did you see uh the positivity that I would mix in is that I I think his frame which is like 65 and a half you know we’ve said this over and over again because it’s so damn impressive 72 wingspan huge hands Um he’s built like a like he’s built he’s got a just capital T frame He’s got enormous shoulders But I think that can lead people to think that he is in some he’s some kind of nuclear incendiary fly around pogo stick kind of athlete when really he’s more of a he is a good athlete You know I think he had like a 38 inch vert Um but he has more like punish you with with physicality in his game Uh he he’s not as much of a he he’s I wouldn’t worry about that because I think he’s going to be a lot more of a punish you with technique and physique type player because if you watch the way he developed um he’s not like an on like he’s not an off the dribble creator quite yet but he’s a pretty decent passer but he would just punish dudes Um there was some back to the basket like put the shoulder into the guy I don’t know if that works in the same way in the pros I don’t think it works full-time but I think you’re just kind of looking for creases and and wrinkles in your game that you can exploit in different situations I think he has a lot of them I mean he was a catch and shoot player Um I have this my ledger here Uh he shot we’ll just say a gigantic amount of catch and shoot threes across he was getting ready to ramp up and take a ton during this past year before he got hurt but he shot about 40% catch and shoot So if he punishes mismatches don’t put a smaller guard on him He’s got a great mid-range game He’s long and athletic uh around the rim Um I don’t know I I like him I think he’s going to be great with Jaylen Wells there in that offense I want to take all those things and put them on Trey Johnson Then I would be so psyched with with that those attributes on Trey Johnson at the sixth pick That’s I mean the the combination first of all will lame amazing Pino But going from from from there uh to to to him landing in Memphis Yeah you know what I’m saying BS Um it it shows that he’s going to be competent on both ends because they don’t they don’t typically draft you know Um yeah they have Memphis has a type Yep And and he’s their type and that threepoint shooting plus the physicality that’s that’s the recipe for for a top 10 guy So where you see him you know going 11 here that’s why he gets the nice B+ grade from JKM I won’t say what Joe House’s type was back in the day pre-marriage but Joe House had a type too He was much like Memphis Um a lot of Joe House dating and drinking This is what he brings to the table I don’t want to late night We’re alive late night I’m admitting defeat I think how about this i think Cedric Coward’s going to be great on Memphis I don’t want to take the loss on this Uh this next pick the Bull The Bulls took the 18-year-old Say his name I’m going to mess it up I’m not even going to attempt it It rhymes with deni A sing is what I’ve heard people Okay I was cracking up Denuay fever 18 I was like dumping on him right before he got picked saying he Oh my Forcella was killing him He said he quit on his uh on his Euro team But uh Chicago it’s a weird one They This is the kind of draft pick like Sam Prey is allowed to do It’s like we’re we’re taking this kid He’s 18 He’s a million years away from being anything He’s two years away from being two years away and I’m gonna be here as the GM still when this happens I can’t say the Chicago Bulls GM has been like crushing it So by the time even if this pick hits I don’t even know if he’ll be the GM at that point But uh I thought this was really weird because we officially hit the point in this draft when I couldn’t believe nobody had taken Derek Queen It just felt like okay he shouldn’t have fallen out of the top 11 top Like he’s not going to go 12 now We’re going to fall to 13 Hold that thought on Derek Queen but I just like I I just would have taken Derek Queen if I’m Chicago I kind of like their team Like that like they have Vousvich on an expiring They don’t really have any other big guy centers Like he’s this gifted offensive player that kind of fits in with the weird offense they have I think they need somebody like him I just would have taken him What did you think about that pick Kyle well speaking to what you’re talking about there when you think of like an OKC I mean I think you you’re kind of implying that an OKC’s been great at this with their success They’ve been able to slow roll these guys in a way that makes sense right it’s sort of like um this comes to mind just because my son is doing it right now like swimming lessons There are a lot of ways to approach this It’s like you could take it slow and get an instructor and you know move at their pace or you can just be one of those people just like throws your kid in the pool and says “Fucking figure it out buddy.” Uh and that’s kind of what I feel like is going to happen here U but he’s he’s somebody that I I had a hard time grading that one just because I’m like mock board’s always informed grades and I’m like I’ve been skeptical of a sing you know i I feel like he’s an energy big who is sort of wearing a uh I’m I’m a big unrefined wing mask and I’m like I don’t really know that he’s ever going to be efficient enough to justify being that type of player I would be a lot I would feel a lot better if he were like I’m dedicated to Of course Then you’d flip it and I’d say “Oh we can’t shoot.” So it’s kind of a it’s kind of a catch 22 but um I don’t know man That That was one that I I’m with you I didn’t really understand I would have I would probably reach for queen there That was a look how smart we are This 12th pick who might might not make it How Queen is a DMV guy So the only thing and and we’ll get to Queen soon enough that I guess I could see if I’m looking at it trying to be um glass half full for Chicago if they are going to be a rim running team right if Bales and Giddy and Giddy is is playmaking and this kid Yeah and this kid’s just singularly go get to the rim get to the rim get to the rim Then there’s a kind of logic to it Okay I’ll accept that he fits in with their uh identity I just don’t like the pick Um so I did like Derek Queen going to New Orleans in a trade at number 13 Then we found out what the trade was This was when I lost my mind I think I blacked out I’m so glad the NBA can still give us these New Orleans trades up 10 spots so they could take Derek Queen and they give up their unprotected 2026 first round pick swap that they have with Milwaukee where they have the favorable whatever the better pick is they keep They send that to Atlanta who had to be deliriously happy like we only have to move down 10 spots and we get an unprotected This was one of the five dumbest trades of this decade I I was speechless I just can’t believe it And who is it it’s our guy Joe Dumars who was so bad in the first half of the 2010s He I got so much column mileage from him He finally got bounced from the Pistons never got another job and then moved into the NBA and everybody in the NBA loved him and he’s a great guy by all accounts And enough time passed that everybody forgot how bad of a GM he was down in the and now he just traded away their unprotected 2026 pick house They’re in the West What the [ __ ] does he think’s going to happen next year the Is he thinking they’re going to be a five seed what is he doing the hilarious thing and this is what what um we get to to relish coming going forward is they’re he they they’re doing some kind of their version of 3D chess here because I think Zion is moving on I think the point of Zion leaving CIA going over to Bill Duffy There’s a trade demand coming Derrick Queen is fits a specific need plays a specific role for them Um and they were just like “This is this is our plan We have a plan We’re gonna acquire him and we can’t you know let let the possibility uh they go that that we don’t get him for for this for this role.” Okay So you’re saying they’re trading their best player which will inevitably make next year’s team worse and they’re not going to have a pick after they trade that player That makes sense to you in a perceptively better draft from from what we understand I would you would anticipate that any kind of Zion trade would include picks i mean is that so your only defense of that trade is the hypothetical that Zion might get traded which by the way would also then make them worse and they wouldn’t have their pick I said it’s their version of 3D chess It doesn’t make any sense It’s it’s it’s just the Dumar’s world This is one of those that Adam Silver like you could have talked me into him vetoing like they vetoed the Chris Paul trade That’s how bad that trade was Kyle would Atlanta have done that trade if it was a top four protected pick i’m going to say yes Top four protected Atlanta’s like we’re still doing it Top seven protected I think they do that probably Probably uh unprotected They I can’t even imagine They’re showing all these war rooms They should have shown the Hawks war room as guys are taking their shirts off and doing this and [ __ ] popping champagne on each other It was it was probably like the follow to Magic City on the bus Yeah Yeah It was like the mushroom scene and this is the end where they’re just like going nuts and um I can’t even imagine how deliriously happy they were and I really like where Atlanta was sitting before tonight and now they have this New Orleans pick They have a $25 million trade exception They added Porzingis Jaylen Johnson’s coming back They got Tyson Daniels and Trey Young and Risa Shay and Aongu House It’s It’s time to look at the conference odds Don’t think that I haven’t already but Oh you already did You You cheated on me Of course What the hell House um they’re not in the top six 33 to1 to win the East Yes that’s a ticket that’s in my portfolio I might be doing that later FanDuel sports book Yes sir 33 to1 What if they get Demar Rosen with that trade exception all they have to do is make it to the Eastern Conference F They don’t have to win for that ticket to have value You have an amazing team with that 33 to1 sitting in your pocket That team that’s I still can’t imagine one stop that they make and like Dyson Daniels is incredible I can’t name one other player I mean J Johnson’s plays both ways for sure as well but uh no Johnson and Daniels as their two defenders and then they’ll they’ll be able to do some other stuff We we were texting a lot about Derek Queen during the season because he bring he brings some things to the table that I love There’s some defensive stuff with him that is about as bad as it gets and it’s going to be he’s going to be one of those guys where I I I do think it’s a he’s a ceiling basement guy but there’s some really good offensive stuff The problem is some of the ways you would use him on offense are very similar to how like you would use say Oion Williamson who’s also on the team No idea how they those two guys would play together Makes no sense at all No they don’t They they are they have mirroring uh issues for sure But he’s he’s he you’re right I mean he’s got a lot of things that you like I mean the connectivity of his passing I was saying on our on the draft show that in that 18 feet to the rim area uh he he roasts other bigs with his foot speed with his balance He can contort Uh he just does some things that are odd for a player of his body type He’s not super explosive but you mentioned the defensive stuff I think a lot of that’s controllable for him I mean if you’re banking on him ever being if you’re banking on him being your rim protector then you you should just have to take a breathalyzer before you even are qualified to to to run a team because I I that was so obvious He doesn’t have the size to be a rim protector He’s more of a help defender And the big thing for him too is he has great hands He does have mobile hips even though he’s not super fast Um and he’s a great defensive rebounder Uh it’s it’s more of a playtoplay Is he going to mature to the point where he starts taking that personally because people have just said this about him relentlessly And I know this stuff’s gotten back to him about uh on the defensive glass or just on the glass period It’s like “Oh where’s my man oh he just ran by me because I didn’t touch him and he got an easy basket.” That happened over and over again And just consistency of effort because um he can be I think at least a neutral defender It’s just it’s going to be up to him whether or not he takes that personally and cuts out the taking plays off and stuff like that He triggers a lot of my boxes because I like the creativity on offense is really special I don’t like the work ethic part and the taking plays off and the defensive liability part Sam Vassini said something on Russell’s pod about how he’s just been playing against men for the last couple years as a big guy and just is seasoned with and that he thought he was actually a pretty good bet to be able to play faster than you think Um I to me it’s amazing the Hawks fleeced them two summers in a row Two different front offices The Dejante Murray trade was was a fleecing and then this happens that is house They might have the championship belt now of biggest mess of a team I think this is it I think giving away next year’s first round pick and making it unprotected I think they grabbed the belt Wow I think Sacramento was like “We we just got it back What What do you mean we just And they just took it back.” Like without blinking I I It’s very Not to mention they’re putting Jeremiah Fears and Jordan Pool together Oh boy I thought that the Wizards traded Jere Pool away so that Fears would fit better And then when they picked Fears I was like “Oh I’m way off with my logic with this.” I thought that’s what they were doing House and Trey Murphy has got to be like why am I here what is this team that That’s exactly right This This is the most confounding team I I I was trying to come up with I mean even Charlotte feels like it has a point It feels like it has a direction Phoenix is like in this conversation Got to keep Phoenix you know they’re still I guess Phoenix does that Phoenix So I thought Sacramento took it back from Phoenix but you’re right Phoenix still has it Sacramento made a good pick tonight I when we get to it when they did Sacramento maybe Sacramento is riding the ship a little bit but I mean Sacramento turning Fox and Hallebertton into Zack Lavine Like that’s like an oldtimer Um not to mention the Sabonis extension all that stuff But yeah you’re right I think so Phoenix probably had it and then New Orleans just took it and New Orleans has had this belt I mean they’re they’re basically like the Russell Celtics with this belt They’ve had it nine different times over the course of uh since the mid70s You have to remember how close the Pelicans were though to to turning the corner They’ve been close a couple Yeah it was like for 5 seconds Yeah but but they had a playing game against LeBron and then that and then the moment was over They they were on a pace for over 50 wins just I would hope so They got 40 first round picks for Anthony Davis I I I I get it I’m just saying they were they won the lottery The problem I have with uh with Derek with with with my with my guy this a DMV thing M yeah it’s just a it’s it’s this um maturity is is still under development and you can eyeball you can use your own eyeballs and look at his body type and reach a conclusion that maybe he hasn’t maximized all that’s available to him to turn himself into the kind of beast that that he might be in terms of a physical specimen Well but the good news is he’s going to New Orleans where this is the point There’s so much healthy food there and clean living Well we just they just lived through a guy who had a maturity issue and maybe an issue where maximize Yeah So and the Derek is not 18 years old This is like it would be one thing to say yeah he’s pudgy He’s 18 or he’s 19 or whatever He’s pushing up He’s closer to 21 than he is to to to 18 So So you don’t think he’s on the vers climber at five in the morning like LeBron here’s the thing He can do that It’s there They have versa climbers They can get one down to New Orleans and he could become the beast that we’re talking about He can make that commitment You know he can get that challenge on the defensive end and become that guy I hope he does He was uh it was great to have Maryland uh viable for for a for a basketball season um here most recently and it makes some noise in the tournament Um I want the kid to to succeed It feels like it’s up to the kid Joe Dumar was so bad in Detroit that I once wrote in a column that I wanted to sell Joe Dumar’s cap space cologne you only have to spray it once and then you can’t get away from the smell for three to five years Remember when he was handing out all those terrible contracts everyone forgets how bad Joe Dumar was Uh 11 years right yeah Unfortunately he has he has uh Sean Marks and some others I feel like we’re we’re almost like atrocious GM Summit territory Oh you’re going to fire We’re getting close Yeah we we’re we almost have enough teams again House is giddy Yeah I’m trying to think of all the teams We got VC we got we gotia we have New Orleans You got a lot of character voices to ride to as well I think this is prime for Yeah I feel like Chicago could be in the running Chicago Jerry Rintof never pay the luxury tax I will say I will say on Queen one thing he one apologetic thing I would say is that he considering where he was like a couple years ago he has made progress So I I I hope he continues that and keeps By the way I like the value at 13 Oh yeah that pick was top 10 That pick was top 10 protected I would have liked the trade but it’s unprotected in a draft that everybody is saying is awesome It’s insane There’s no counterargument That is an insane thing to do to do that Um so then of course the smart teams come up San Antonio and OKC at 14 and 15 It’s like all right here we go San Antonio is going to take Carter Bryant He’s supposed to go like in the 910 range He’ll go 14 Nice pick They just hang out as everybody else [ __ ] up OKC they take Sorber from Georgetown Cool He won’t play for a year They’ll let Hartinstein go All of a sudden he’ll be playing 20 minutes a game Know how that’s going to go Did you let you w you watch him at Georgetown House decent amount He’s big He moves fine Um arms are up Yep Exactly An arms up guy Decent footwork He’ll play for them Yeah And then Portland takes Vascillo’s guy Yang Hansen That’s guy Yeah Versilla loved him at the combine That was his guy Okay And he was our first guy from the stands And then uh just a couple more really quick Utah taking Are we not going to acknowledge that they massively reached France and Yang i mean did they massively reach or was it the steal of the draft it’s all of the hotel right i may live to be the 10 foot two Chinese guy who can throw back door cuts and doesn’t speak English I loved it Did he Did he work out against the chair no he was in the he went to the NBA combine and played everybody and and and really impressed everybody and actually increased his stock Who knows we’re at the point of the draft where it’s dumped But um Yakashunis who’s just dropping now pissed about this and I’m watching going like I I’m rooting for the Celtics maybe to trade up because they he was one of my favorite guys and I I know he can’t go by anybody but as a pick and roll using the pick and roll and I just that guy’s an NBA player and you think the Nets are going to take him because they took Jaor and it’s like well might as well take that guy too and maybe he’ll go one for two but they take Trayori I don’t like the French guys in this draft I think we’d had a nice little French run and now we’re due for one of those like off years for French guys and then Miami as usual classic just like Danny Granger Karan Butler Tyler Hera like you just go on through all the glow just it it just always happens for them and it happens again and Yakashun is false to them and I tweeted that I thought Shawn Mark should be arrested and which I still kind of feel Um it’s just bother like you he shouldn’t get that guy at 20 How did they do it Kyle it’s honestly I I don’t have the intel on that yet but I mean it is crazy that he fell I mean I think our final ranking was seven Um just because he’s somebody that I think seven he’s a very smart player He’s very young Uh he’s got great size He’s got a frame He’s going to be big and strong I don’t I don’t think that he doesn’t he played a lot of on a lot on ball at Illinois and it got a little yaky sacks at times cuz he had a wrist injury and people started blitzing him and he was on not like not a super physical team So you just you started to see him get a little wasteful But I think when you compress him and scale him down which I think is what’s going to happen he’s not going to scale up I think if you put him in that supportive role he shoots it pretty decently well off the catch And then uh he’s one of those guys that I always say are just like a comma in a sentence on offense It’s just like he’s he’s not a stopper he’s not a period He’s just like here’s here’s a comma that we keep moving Like we’re going towards getting a basket And I think that he’s he’s just going to be a nice bolstering secondary creator for them Yeah it’s a great pick He’s a Daryl my model guy I figured out Daryl Mury’s motto in like the early 2010s and he’s a model guy He just put he fills the box score He’ll play for Miami He’ll play 23 minutes a game next year and he’ll get like 12 points five assists five rebounds one steal Like he just he’s just going to be good It it really is annoying to me and they’re going to sign Kaminga or do some sort of sign and trade with him And guess what he’ll be good for them too And then all of a sudden we’ll be like “Jesus Christ we’re back with the Heat We thought we killed them We thought they were dead We thought we cut their head off house They’re back.” I took a look at their odds for the Eastern Conference Oh no Just because we’re we’re sleeping Don’t sleep It’s an insane number in view of Well they don’t have a lot of talent They don’t that they don’t at the moment but Wow 50 to1 Just that’s what that’s all that’s what I’m saying right it’s Miami Somehow they keep showing up in the Eastern Conference Finals once every three years over the last you know 12 years or so I was wondering if uh because they have Duncan Robinson he makes 19 million next year but you can wave it and only pay nine And I was wondering if there was some sort of Celtics Anthony Simons Robinson coming back and then they waved the thing and that enables them to create more cash and then they could pay Horford and Cornet But I feel like that Robinson contract is tradable and they could actually get somebody for him from a team that needs to cut money I have my eye on it Um that really made me mad Kyle give me your favorite pick in the last 15 Oh honestly it probably is Clifford Um honest like um yes he’s I I like the fit with Jace Richardson in in Orlando as well Um he’s he was lower on my board because of the issues the the size issues and things like that but in that So Clifford went to Sacramento who lost the championship belt and made a good pick I had a Clifford stat that I really liked Hold on I pulled this up because I was charting out He’s a guy who was in college Some of these guys it’s a newer phenomenon but they stay they are staying they’re getting the opportunity to stay around and make money and get better And then it’s that same concept again of scaling down Um this is a dude who I always just kind of keep an eye out on guys who see a huge uptick in responsibility and keep the the the boat steady Not only did he do that pick and roll reps from his first senior year to his second senior year uh he had 48 in the first year and 139 in the following year and he upped his efficiency from 0.56 to 1.086 So huge uptick and he like vastly improved his efficiency which says to me that um this is a guy who can he he just has a skill building skill and and he’s somebody that shoots the ball really well He added a little bit of postgame He’s not going to be used to the extent that he was at Colorado State on some good teams but he’s going to be a very capable catch and shoot spacer for them I love that pick I think it’s going to work I didn’t allow myself to root for him to fall to the Celtics because I knew it wasn’t realistic It was like Yakushunis but uh it was like in the back of my head as we went to the 20s and some of the teams did some stupid stuff I was like could that and then it was just not going to happen Um I like that one as well Um Danny Wolf House did you crunch any Danny Wolf tape getting ready for the draft or not really this was somebody who became uh who became a a cult figure of this draft Jay Kyle recommended that I get uh into some some Danny Um I I didn’t do it I can assure you that that a guy that I did not have on my radar or pay any attention to was Riley I I certainly didn’t spend any time to Will Riley uh as a as a potential guy that was gonna You ended up with him at 21 I know I’m I I I’m aware Um but the uh I I I honestly don’t think that’s a terrible pick again um by by the the Nets I I actually think um for 610 250 the the the plays Who cares yeah they wouldn’t turn in the way 20 I don’t think it’s a that bad of a pick I I’m uh I’m glass half half empty on him I just don’t see it cuz I can’t see the comp Like when we get into the 20s I need you to have one elite skill That’s even why like Newell going to um the Hawks New can’t shoot but he tries really hard and we’ve seen versions of him succeed these 6’8 long my whole life depends on this quarter The coach put me in for five minutes I’m just going to lose my mind I’ve seen that work right and sometimes it doesn’t work Like Jordan Walsh on the Celtics it doesn’t work There’s guys where it doesn’t work But there’s a prototype for him And I sold Walsh to you so I regret that I’m still pulling I’m crossing my fingers that that one’s going to come through because he can’t he takes a thousand corner threes a day and they they’re still not going in So I guess the Danny Wolf thing if you’re going to say that’s going to work that would be okay It’s it’s a tall he’s little Lori Markinish Markinish with the ball and he he’s got he can run send him some picks and he can be a mismatch but I just I don’t I don’t see how on a winning team that is somebody who could be out there He’s a role player on a winning team I mean right Could he be like the ninth tenth man maybe i don’t know Is there anybody that didn’t get drafted that you were shocked by Kyle oh geez In the because I really like the St Joe’s kid and he didn’t get drafted Yeah that was I’m I’m under consensus on him Uh just because I don’t totally trust the shooting to translate Um he had a pretty good year this past year with prior years that didn’t that that I thought more reflected on who who he is as a shooter He kind of he shoots on the way down in a way that’s re and a really flat ball that I just worry about it going in And then you combine that with the fact that um he is very yakidy sacks a attacking closeouts like the dribble is high Um I don’t trust in that you know is going to win I’m not going to lose sleep Yeah I just I don’t have to give the full report but I I’m not big on him All right So house how will you remember this draft um so close once again for the Washington team I will say my favorite pick of all not even no joke um was Walter Clayton Jr going to Utah at that 18 pick because I think the combination of Ace Bailey and Walter Clayton Jr I might let me ask if I could have permission to do this Um I’m not going to pay attention to my team this this upcoming season other than to check in sometimes to see how some of the rotations with the kids work out Um they’re not going to win at all Utah might be on a different trajectory They might actually try a little bit this upcoming season because those two um kids they acquired are so dynamic Am I permitted to to like have a Western Conference team that I pay attention to kind of invest in it’s No no no I only have one team It’s these No but I mean your le your league pass I’m asking Yeah my league pass Yeah Do I have permission for that utah Listen both Russell and I jumped on the Portland situation last year It was fun Yeah It’s like having an affair They were good too Just you’re just in a hotel in a CD hotel room You’re in a motel six with a West Coast League What did What did What did camera do to you it’s a West Coast League Pass team We league pass affair Camera and Scoop It was fun And then now they have Drew Holiday Now they have some veteran leadership Uh I don’t know what I mean Utah has so many guys I can’t figure out what that team is Like they they’re going to have Ace Bailey and Marin and Ston and Clarkson and Keonte Jordan You go through it’s like all these dudes want to take some shots and have the ball and you know try to asset asset asset It’s all these assets that they’re collecting but for what for Zion Williamson like what like what what’s the endgame i don’t I don’t think they know either but I think they’re just collecting assets Uh I think my favorite thing was Danny H taking Ace Bailey and just just showing everybody that guess what it’s called the draft You don’t get to decide where to go If you don’t like it go back in college right and that’s it Uh what was your favorite thing Kyle my favorite pick Your favorite anything from this draft um I enjoy that there was somebody close enough to one of the broadcast cameras to very audibly yell rigged as the night started I thought that was pretty funny Um I wish it had been me Ace Ace was it might have been House right uh Ace and I’m not laughing at this but I mean he looked like he wanted to cry when when they were talking to him like a normally you saw him earlier in the broadcast and he’s uh he’s laughing and cutting up and a funny kid and then he’s very obvious somber shift to him and I you kept waiting for maybe the other the other shoe to drop on that but um yeah the best one ever for that was Steve Francis That was when we peaked I don’t remember that broadcast It was I was at that draft that was in Washington the Van Vancouver took him and he was so upset and he walked up on the stage and he did the handshake and then at one point he just like looked up like just completely devastated and then I think he he never played a game for them I think he forced a trade out of there like he was that and then they did the interview and he was just could not have been less happy about it Well Steph made the made a face when the Warriors took him People forget about that He wanted to go to the Knicks Steph made a like he looked down in grimace cuz he did not want to go to Golden State Not quite on that level of drama but yeah House did anything in this draft change from a gambling standpoint any decisions you’re going to make when you’re bored this summer now that we don’t have basketball and we don’t have football for two more months not really I mean we just went through a couple of the ones where there’s sort of interesting futures where you might want to just have a ticket So Atlanta 33 to1 and then the Thunder plus 130 I guess the last thing I’ll say is I was worried all day that there was going to be like a blockbuster mega Celtics trade and all the people that cover the draft and you follow on Twitter People do this every year It’s like when uh when there’s like some sort of big weather event coming and all the weather people on the TV are like “Don’t leave your house This is going to be one of the worst hurricanes we’ve ever and then it turns out it’s fine We do this with the NBA draft every year It’s like it’s gonna be crazy So many trades Oh my god buckle up It’s going to be And it never is And I did feel like uh I did I did feel deep down that that’s how it was going to play out But I was worried with the Celtics that there was going to be some Jaylen Brown trade out of nowhere Um there was enough smoke coming from different corners that I w I was on guard Like I didn’t do a p I didn’t do like a long power walk to the house I stayed around the house I just didn’t know what was going to happen I was on call It’s like a doctor You had to be tethered Yeah I just kind of walked around my living room as my dog my dog stared at me Yeah I don’t think they’re doing anything Uh so I don’t know I don’t know if we’re getting another mega trade unless you’re right about Zion the Zion Jazz thing You really put something in my mind spinning with that one I mean of course taking going for Zion and and and adding an unhappy ace I don’t think that works So I I don’t I don’t know that one end Zion with ace Yeah we’ll see what happens All right we’re going to wrap it up here unless uh House you have any last thoughts i do not No Okay House seems you seem tired You seem emotionally spent I told you I’m I’m drunk on exhaustion because the NBA just won’t stop Let me have a break NBA Enjoy yourself a little House Your team is making good picks I think Trey Johnson’s a good pick You seem designed in a way that I You should be happy I like it too I like where the Wizards are Okay You haven’t messed up in like two years It put that on a banner Put Put that hang that over my shoulder The Wizards haven’t messed up in two years It’s been Listen if I told you two years ago two years from now the Wizards will not have messed up for two years you would have taken that Sure There’s a scoreboard in the arena that says this many days since we screwed up And yeah they should have like a scoreboard like a thing on the clock 867 days since our last stupid move Yeah New Orleans would be zero days Um all right K man great to see you House great to see you Thanks to Gah and as well Thanks to everybody who’s on our YouTube stream I’m going to be back Sunday with uh Rillo Enjoy the rest of the week everybody

Join Bill Simmons, J. Kyle Mann and Joe House LIVE for their reactions to the 2025 NBA Draft.

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