Ausar Thompson future position and Ivey/ Duren extension talks!

Ausar Thompson future position and Ivey/ Duren extension talks!

told y’all I was going to be back live today. I’m on the West Coast, so Pacific Standard Time, it’s still the morning. I said I would do it in the morning. It’s still the morning. All right. Even though if y’all on Eastern this afternoon, midday. My bad for y’all. But I still want to jump into these conversations. I said we’re going to talk about Assar Thompson’s future position. Can he play the four? because if he can that opens up things on this roster tremendously, tremendously. Um, and we’re also going to dive into some conversation around the Jayen Ivy Jaylen Duran contract extensions, which I think gets done even though it hasn’t been done yet, which I think also puts these Detroit Pistons off season in a bit of a bind, in a bit of a didn’t quite get everything that we wanted accomplished. But I’m going to dive into that in this video. If you enjoy it, smash the like button for me. It’s a little thing, but it’s a big thing. Really helps out with the channel. Hit subscribe and the bell for notifications. And I’m looking forward to diving into this conversation. Remember, this is an interactive live. So, put your thoughts, concerns, challenges, uh, wants, desires, all of it in the chat, and we’re going to chop it up about it today. Let me just start off with this. Um, positional versatility. What’s good, Frank Ny? What’s good, man? I told you I was gonna be live today. Um, positional versatility is huge. It is massive in the NBA when you have positional versatility because it allows your team the flexibility to present different lineups to take advantage of or to match up appropriately with the opposing team. Now, it may seem like a little thing, but it really is a big thing. Imagine being able to play Kate Cunningham at the one, two, three, or the four position. what matchups problems that that presents for the other team and the flexibility it affords this team to be able to have different types of lineups. The ability to switch almost everything defensively. The ability to cover the rim rebounding necessities while also defending on the perimeter and containing. The ability to play with versatility is absolutely at a premium in the NBA more than anything. More than anything, it is the two-way versatile player that has a maximum of value in the NBA. Just look at the extension that um Muel Bridges just signed. I think it was like what four years 150 million. Well, when you are 67 with a 72 wingspan, can defend one through three at a high level, and you’re an above average shooter and shot creator because you are above average in so many areas. Even if you’re not great in one particular area, you have tremendous value. You know, when you compare salaries and contracts, think about someone like uh Michael Porter Jr., right? Michael Porter Jr. is a shooter, dead eyee shooter, great range, uh great ability at 610 to elevate over the defense, shoot over the top, and his ability to do that has a lot of value, especially at his size. And the fact he’s doing so from the four position or the three position allows that team to space out while also take advantage of other teams in other areas on the other end. Whether it’s rebounding, whether it’s rim protection, switchability, all these different things. But if you looked at in the playoffs, there were times where Michael Porter Jr., I wouldn’t say he’s getting played off the court, but it’s to say that he’s getting exposed that he really can’t defend most positions, even the position that he’s probably best suited to defend, which is the four, not the three. And yet, he gets traded. and you’re bringing in someone like Cam Johnson who’s not 610, not the same level of athlete, probably not even the same level of score just terms of pure scoring, but because he could do so many other things, because he defends far better, because he operates more in a system, because he has more versatility, which is the point that I’m trying to make, he has more value. When I think about Assar Thompson and his positional versatility, not just on the defensive end, but also on the offensive end, it makes me excited. I get excited for his long-term potential, his future outlook that I’m looking at a player who I can confidently say might be able to play point guard, might be able to play small forward, might be able to play power forward. At times he was even experimented at center last year. I don’t think that it went over very well, but it was feasible. It was logical in short spurts moments that when Duran went out and they didn’t have Isaiah Stewart available, they put Assar Thompson at the five. Now, I’m not sure what the metrics showed and and the analytics showed about how those minutes went. But I’ll say the fact that you even thought you could speaks volumes. his rebounding ability, shot blocking, ability to rotate, be in position, his ability to talk defensively, right? Pick and rolls, calling out screens, making rotations, hedging, switching, along with his his physical stature, being strong enough to hold his own on the interior against front court players. That type of versatility for Assar Thompson is absolutely invaluable. It’s one of the few reasons why as they talk about contracts and extensions, which we’re going to get to a little bit later in this live, uh that you know the one player they don’t bring up in trade talks is Assar Thompson and Cade Cunningham. two of the hardest to replace talents on this team. I’ll say that again. They are two of the most hardest I don’t even know if that’s grammatically correct, but the harder to replace talents on this team. It’s hard to find a guy at 67 68, 7 plus foot wingspan, physicality, athleticism, skill across the board within the NBA. It’s extremely hard to find somebody with those metrics, with those abilities, with that skill set. He is absolutely invaluable to this team. The question that we have is can he be the future at the four? Can he be our future power forward for this team? That’s a question I want to pose to y’all in the chat. Feel free to put in your thoughts. I think Assar Dev Oh, Dev, I ain’t seen you in a minute, bro. I ain’t seen you in a minute. I think Assar can play the four. may be slightly undersized, but his athleticism should make up for it. I do too. I do too. My concern is this. Is he a spot four or is he a full-time four? I think as or if he continues to grow as a Jason Tatum did, right? came in 67, 6’8, and then over the years we recognized he was growing still closer to 69, potentially 610. But more than anything, he also filled out physically mass-wise, now 230, 235, maybe even close to 240 pounds. He’s almost was a permanent fixture at the power forward position. He started at power forward with Jaylen Brown at the three, Drew Holiday and Derek White at the guard positions. That’s what you were able to do with Tatum. And yet we saw when we played the Celtics, what did Assara Thompson do to Jason Tatum? He made his life absolutely miserable. Yeah, if Assar is growing, like I said, he should be fine at the four. But in year three, year four, going into year three, right? That’s where he’s headed into year three. Jason Tatum didn’t start at the four probably until I want to say like year six, seven. All right. Like, like it took him a while to physically. Now, I know Assar Thompson is starting off a little bit more physically developed than Jason Tatum was. But it’s just to give us a timeline of moving in that direction. A player that I really have him Assar Thompson compared to in terms of just athleticism and versatility on the defensive end and maybe even some offensive dynamics as well. Uh are two guys, two guys. Both of them kind of freak athletes, but Andre Iguadala and Shawn the Matrix Marion. Shawn Marion. Shawn Marion we all know uh played for the Phoenix Suns at his height. Won a championship in Dallas against the Miami Heat. So when they shut down the Heles, um Shawn Marion was a huge part of that. Uh one of the best defenders, versatile players we’ve ever seen in the NBA. Shawn Marion. Exactly. Played between the three and the four. Um he also played next to Amari Stadomar and Robin Lopez. If you remember those those lineups, that was the starting lineup. Robin Lopez at center. Um Amari Stmar at the power forward, Shawn Marion at the three, Joe Johnson, and later on Raja Bell. They should have kept Joe. They would have won a championship if they I always believe that they would have won a championship had they not been cheap. Robert Sarva had not been cheap and they had kept and resigned Joe Johnson. All that to say I I digress. I digress. I don’t really care about Phoenix in that way. But it’s to say Shawn Marian did not start at the four despite their closing lineup many times being Amari Startar at the five and Shawn Marian at the four. Why? Cuz Shawn Marion was a monster on the glass. A monster. I used to pick him up in uh draft fantasy leagues all the time at the beginning because I think his career kind of was coming to a close as fantasy basketball was becoming a big thing, you know, and in my younger days like what else do I have to do with my time, right? Uh you have time to waste. Um no kids, right? All I to say is Shawn Mary could produce 10 to 12 or 14 rebounds along with two or three, I should say, four to five stocks per game, steals and blocks combined. But I think one of the things that really differentiates Assar Thompson from even the Shawn Marian comparison is his offensive talent. He’s a legit point forward, I believe. Like I think he’s a legit point forward. I think he legitimately can run your offense. Maybe you don’t want him doing that full time, but it doesn’t look bad. Maybe he doesn’t have the pop, but he knows what he’s doing. And that that means something. That is no small feat that he knows what he’s doing. He understands the balance of running an offensive scheme against a defense, reading the defense, understanding who you’re playing with, and anticipating what your teammates are going to do to be able to set them up to be able to be successful and score within the offense while also being able to score and get downhill or create your own shot when it presents itself. That is a really hard balance. Sometimes I think we minimize how hard these positions are to play, especially in the NBA. In the NBA, you cannot be a onetrick pony in the NBA. It just doesn’t work. It just doesn’t work. Those guys are into the bench. Like just for reference, Tim Hardway Jr. got signed by the Denver Nuggets. He’s likely a third string guard on that team. He was starting for us last year. The difference is the Denver Nuggets are contending for a championship. We were trying to get out of the basement of the NBA. When you’re trying to get out of the basement, Tim Hardway Jr. can maybe start for you. and you’re trying to win a championship. He’s your break in case of emergency Lindy Waters level player. That’s for reference. When it comes to being a one-trick pony, it’s not very effective. Positional size and versatility is a premium in the NBA. Assar Thompson, when I look at his talent on both ends of the court, offense and defense, his versatility, point forward, small forward, power forward, maybe even center if he has to switch on a guy right for a short moment, particular lineup. And then on defense, he can defend one through five. That premium to me makes him almost invaluable behind Cade Cunningham. He has the greatest value for me on this team. With all that said, I don’t think he starts for us at the power forward position for the foreseeable future. I just don’t. I can see by the end of the season, like let’s say everything goes well, right? Like everything works out how we could have hoped to the best fullest potential. Assara Thompson develops, Ron Holland develops, Cade, Ivy, Duran, everyone takes steps forward. Bobby Clement, Marcus Sasser, right? Isaiah Stewart is back healthy. Everything, knock on wood, no injuries, right? Everything happens wonderfully. I can see a world where closing lineups have Duran, Assar Thompson, Ron Holland, Kade, and Ivy. I can see that. Best case scenario. Do I think he’ll start at power forward? I think that would be more of a case of our situation. I can see this. Let me throw this out there. If Tobias Harris were to miss any time for any given stretch, right? Knock on wood, injuries happen. Let’s say he misses a week or two, three, four games. I can see Assar Thompson starting at the power forward position. I don’t think that’s a full-time gig yet for him, but I can see that being our first option and then slotting. I mean, knowing uh knowing JBstaff, I don’t want to roll my eyes because he doesn’t necessarily give guys chances when injuries happen, when those minutes open up. He doubles down. He doubles down on his veterans. That’s just what he does. Um, so he probably, especially early in the year, if somebody were to get injured, I wouldn’t be shocked if he doesn’t start Duncan Robinson over Ron Holland. But by the end of the year, by the end of the year, let’s say March, April, right, February, even I can see him sliding Osar Thompson at the four and then Ron Holland at the three. I can see it. I can see it. What do you all think? Let me see. Uh, let me see. The star is growing. up commented on that. Um, in the playoffs, Assar was playing in the dunker spot. That’s a good time. Yes. Yes, he was. He was at the dunker spot. Uh, playing power forward. He looked really good. Really good because of his ability to elevate so quickly. Allah Shawn Marian, right? Shawn Marion comparison. He was great in that role. Um, I also think in the playoffs he should have played more point forward to get Kade off the ball, especially especially in that starting lineup uh before Dennis Shruder came into the game. I also think that Assar Thompson does a great job as a roller, setting a screen at the top, rolling to the basket, even in the short role. He’s an excellent passer, can read the floor extremely well, and his quickness allows him to make really highlevel quick decisions. um in that short role type of a space. So I I I do think he has a lot of skill for the power forward, which is why we’ve seen him in that position. I just don’t think he’s physically ready for extended minutes at power forward. I don’t know if I want him going up against Evan Mobley just yet. And even though Evan Moley is not exactly physically imposing, I don’t necessarily know if I want him starting against a Evan Mobley Jared Allen front line or a let’s say um Giannis Antakmpo and Miles Turner front line. Uh even though I think he could check Miles Turner. I definitely do. But I don’t want him going up against Giannis to start a game. I think he’ll pick up fouls quickly. I don’t necessarily want to see him against, let’s say, LeBron. LeBron and DeAndre Aton, right? I I would love to see him on Luca. I think he could give Luca hell, especially now that he’s established as an elite defender and he gets the benefit of the doubt from the referees, but I don’t want him starting on LeBron who at 260 pounds could just put him in absolute jail um one or two dribbles and just back him all the way down. He’s not physically built yet for extended minutes at the four. So, those are great points, y’all. Let me see. Uh, let me see. I don’t care. I just want a SAR to get more more reps next season, man. No, Sports Times, bro. I completely agree. I completely agree. Um, and once again, y’all, we got 12 14 people in this chat. Smash the like button for me and put your thoughts down in the chat because this is an interactive live. I would say I have been desperate for Sar Thompson to be getting 25 to 30 consistent minutes a game. Honestly, I felt like had we gone to that earlier, our record would probably be even better. Um, I felt like there were games where he just was not getting the minutes. Uh, let me see. There’s a video from a channel named Shot Creation and there’s a 20inut video of Assar playmaking. Oh, that’s what’s up. Thank you for the uh reference. I will check that out. Uh, what he was able to do last year dealing with his circumstance. imagine with him in more refined ball handling. Oh, facts. I I I I am a huge proponent, huge proponent and believer that everything we see Amin Thompson doing, Assar Thompson can do. Everything we see Amen Thompson doing, Assar Thompson can do. Whether it was the facilitating, getting downhill, finishing at the rim. I don’t know how anyone sees what Ahmed Thompson did and the impact he was able to have and then saw Assar Thompson last year, like really watched him and said, “Oh, I didn’t see Assara Thompson do the same thing Amen was doing.” The major difference was just minutes and opportunity. And most of that was because of Assaar’s blood clots. Not because of ability, but because he was needing to get uh physically back in shape and get his conditioning, get his strength back up, right? And then he was needing to fine-tune his his skills, which he never really fully got to that space. But if you looked at the plays that he was making even in the playoffs, man, some of the some of the small spaces he was able to get into by simply being able to utilize his quickness, his ball handling, footwork, uh floor vision, timing, right, agility, balance, and squeeze in between uh potentially Carl Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson and finish it on the opposite side, right? the different spaces he was able to get into. It was just, man, it’s it’s it’s exciting to imagine what he looks like after an off seasonason, conditioning, refining his skills, his timing, uh his finishing technique, which I think was like the major tweaks that he was missing. not it’s not necessarily ability but consistency and maybe uh to be more premeditated to understand what he knew he could get to at any time and that kind of comes with feel and timing uh and in in and getting repetition, right? So, great points, y’all. Uh let me get to some of these other comments here. Yeah, Dev, yeah, I I agree. I see him filling in at the four uh with Holland at the three. I hear talks about Holland at the four. Uh what’s your thoughts on that? Like I said before, physically wise, I don’t think he’s ready. Physically wise, I think Assar Thompson, excuse me, Assar Thompson and Ron Holland are both what I would refer to as a I would say Assar Thompson is a forward. I would say Ron Holland is a wing. And the difference for me between a forward and a wing is your ability to play a guard position as well. And in this case, shooting guard. I don’t think Ron Holland ever is going to be a point forward or play point guard. I think he could bring it up, initiate offense a few times. I don’t ever see him as a point guard. Even at his best, I don’t think he’s going to be utilized to run point anyway. Even though he’s a pretty good decision maker and has pretty good vision, pretty unselfish things like that. Great qualities for a point guard. I just don’t think that’s that’s him. But I could see Ron Holland at shooting guard. I could see Ron Holland spacing out on the floor eventually in year four, five, six and on, taking four to five threes a game and knocking them down at an above average clip. I can completely foresee that completely. Which means he can legitimately play shooting guard on the floor. That means utilized as a shooting spacer within the flow of the offense. I don’t necessarily see that from Assar Thompson really ever. I don’t think that’s his natural way of playing even though he did play technically he played shooting guard alongside of his brother at overtime elite. um they were a one-two punch and he was actually a pretty effective shooter for stretches throughout most of his high school career and then overtime elite, but I don’t think that’s who he is. I think he’s more Scotty Pippen. He’s more Scotty Pippen. And so I consider him to be a forward and at times being able to play point forward. Ron Holland, I think he’s more of a wing player. He can play up and defend the four, but I don’t think he has that interior play, the post ups. I mean, I’ve seen him I’ve seen him with a little a little hop step while he’s posting up. So, he’ll get the guy, let’s say, on the block, turn over his left shoulder, and maybe do a little hop step and then little little jump hook, little a little push shot. I’ve seen him do that, and it looks pretty smooth, confident. I do think over time he improves his post footwork, his ability to score in the post. Allah Jaylen Brown, but I don’t ever see him as a player who starts on the interior, which is kind of one of the designating factors to differentiate between positions, right? The forward or the four position is generally someone who can play on the perimeter but is probably more comfortable starting on the interior. Kind of like a Kevin Love could shoot a lot of threes, pass on the perimeter, but he gets himself going playing on the interior. Assar Thompson, I think, gets himself going by finishing around the rim. Ron Holland gets himself going by attacking from the perimeter. So, I don’t necessarily see Ron Holland as someone who’s going to play the four. I think as a Jaylen Brown in spot moments, maybe in switches, right? Which is why I like a closing lineup of Duran, Assara Thompson, Ron Holland, Kade Cunningham, and Jaden Ivy, even Isaiah Stewart instead of Duran because of that switchability. The switchability to be able to defend on the perimeter and the interior, right? Frank Niti. Yeah. Uh the league is in trouble when Ron ready to start fulltime future first second team all defense. We’ll see man. We’ll see. It’s it’s hard to get multiple players first second team all defense. Like you think about OKC Luins Dort and Alex Caruso, right? It’s kind of the rare examples of getting two guys in there, but both could certainly be deserving. Though I would say Ron Holland to me is more of a really good defender because of his effort and intentionality, not as much skill, if that makes sense. So if you ever listen to like Dyson Daniels just had um yeah, they can do it. I do I do believe I do believe this team is headed towards at full health, right? at full health over the coming years as they step into the championship window. Not next season, but the following season. I think this is a top 10 defense. Hands down. I think they could become a top 10 defense, if not top five. They probably need to get another couple of highle defenders on the bench from the perimeter. But I can see that. I can see that because when you look at like a Oklahoma City Thunder who they have coming off the bench, Kase Wallace, Alex Caruso, right? Kenrich Williams or um Jaylen Williams, big Jaylen Williams, like these guys are defensive stalwarts. They are guys who have high level skill on defense, anticipation, scout and report analysis, um being able to kind of uh spam different sets and different actions, whether it’s pick and roll. you ever listen to, like I was mentioning before, Dyson Daniels, um he had a video and he would talk about how he kind of spams pick and rolls, how he pushes up in certain moments, gets into his man’s hip, uh begins to have active hands in certain moments to try to get deflections, reading passing angles and what guys are prone to do in certain positions like like how he thinks the game defensively, I think, is the biggest difference between someone who can play really good defense and someone who is a great defender. That’s the difference between the Alex Carusos, Tyson Daniels, Herb Jones, uh even Amen Thompson, Isaiah Stewart, they’re thinking defense. Other guys, I would say like Ron Holland, Kate Cunningham give great effort on defense, right? As an OKC fan, it’s funny how JDub and Jay Will uh used to be bad defenders, then they just became good defenders midway through last season. Um, I’ll say true, JDub is a really good defender, partially because of just the culture of that team and the buyin. Also, how he got his playing time to begin with was his ability to play on both ends. that’s how he was able to get into that starting lineup alongside SGA and Luin’s Dort. Um, and so he’s had to kind of hang his hat on that. And I would say the difference between somebody like Alex Caruso, Alex Caruso from day one came in as a highle defender known as an athletic defender on the perimeter. Um, and just he just kind of locked in on that. I think Assar Thompson similarly has locked in on that as an Alex Caruso has. Yeah, he probably did more things offensively before getting to the NBA, but once here he recognized, oh, defense is where I’m going to make my money. That’s where he makes his money. And his ability to do things on the offensive end, facilitating playmaking, getting downhill, offensive rebounds, dunker spot, knocking down the occasional Jay. um in the post, right? Doing these other auxiliary things on offense added to what he does on defense just catapults him. Just absolutely catapults him in terms of value on this team. But speaking of value, speaking of value, let’s transition a bit um halfway through this live to Jayen Ivy and Jaylen Dur and their contract situation. Look, let me just be clear about this. Um, I said from the beginning, from the beginning, while we were still in the season, I said for this off seasonason to be a slam dunk, an Agrade for Treasure Langden, he needed to get these extensions done now. And if huge if he could get them done for under 50 million total, whether it’s 26, 24, 28, 22, 30, 20, however you need to do it, between Duran and Ivy, whoever gets what, what have you, that would be a slam dunk for the Detroit Pistons. their salary cap outlook, long-term um flexibility, uh having quality contracts, high quality contracts on this team. It doesn’t look like that is going to happen. Does that mean that they don’t get extended? No. What it means is that they likely do get extended because retaining the asset is the most important thing. The most important thing is retaining the asset. And I will dare say this. Even if Jaylen Duran, Jaden Ivy get extended, let’s say for 30 to 35 million, each of them. In two years, they will be worth it. I 100% believe that in two years, you will look at them and go, “Oh, that’s a $35 million player. In three years, I can see both of them becoming all star. So, on the back end of the deal, they will be probably worth more than what they’re getting paid, which is probably why they’re holding out. Joseph, what’s good, man? Do you think Trejan would ever make a radical pivot like trading Ivy Duran for a stretch four like Lori and then moving Ron Holland to start at the three sorry to the two? Uh let me just say this. I don’t think he does that anytime soon. I would not trade a 22-y old piece for a 28-year-old piece. That’s just not smart management of assets. It just isn’t. I I don’t I don’t foresee it that way. I don’t know if Lori Markin is that talented either to go after. And considering that guys like Michael Porter Jr. amongst other players are going to be unrestricted free agents over the next couple of years and I don’t think anywhere near the same value that they currently have. I think you can get other guys just as talented as Lori, uh, just as effective as Lori Markin for far less and just sign them outright in free agency. So, not to mention who’s coming into the draft. And I have to do, if I’m honest with you, I need to do a draft video for the 2026 draft for next year’s draft. Yo, it’s on this year’s draft. I’m going to be 100% honest with you, and I’ve said this many times before. Cooper Flag reclassified because of how weak the 2025 draft was. He was the number one pick because of how weak this draft is. Had he stayed in the class of 2026, he might have been top five, top six. By the end of the year, it could extend to eight. And when I say that, I mean seven other players with just as much talent, potential, productiveness, and outlook as Cooper Flag. Go take a look. Hoople just dropped the 2026 draft uh you know, mock. Take a look at how many 68 69 610 wings are at the top of the draft for next year. Whether it’s Bran, I think he’s Arizona State. Uh, North Carolina’s got one. Uh, of course you got AJ Deansa, Duke. Uh, they’ve got a couple, you’ve got Peterson, Kansas. Crazy, crazy. I digress. All that’s to say is the talent coming into the NBA, it is going to shift a lot of other players out of primary roles, which means that we could potentially get someone of Lori Marketing’s talent and Aaron Gordon level talent, um, John Collins level talent for much cheaper than what they’re currently contractwise on for their current teams. So, I don’t think we need to make any type of drastic move in the short term, nor should you. When you have 22-y old talents, Jaylen Duran, Jayen Ivy, there’s absolutely no reason to trade these guys at this stage in their development. It would be uh one of those things that doesn’t age well, if that makes sense. It would not age well. It becomes one of those moves that everyone looks back and goes like, “Come on, you didn’t see that coming. You didn’t see Jayden Ivy was going to become an all-star. Jaylen Duran was become going to become an all-star and is six years younger than this other guy you picked up, Lori Markinet, John Collins, right? You didn’t see the difference of value. He’s already in your system, right? Part of the culture, you know, bring in a guy who’s not known as a defender. Lori Mark, right? like Michael Porter Jr. like what the these are the things that we have to consider we need to consider. So no I don’t think Tjan Langden makes a move like that uh uh allin win now. I think he goes through even next season next season and says what does this team now look like moving into a championship window. I do think he improves the bench. I do think he improves around the perimeter. um brings in guys similar how he did with Duncan Robinson and Caris Severt uh to bring in some versatility, positional size, uh prepare the team for a deep playoff run, things of that nature. Flexible short-term contract, even if it’s a little bit larger, but I don’t think that he makes that type of a move. No. We got 12 people in the chat. Please smash the like button for me. It’s a small thing, but it’s a big thing. Helps out with the channel. truly appreciate y’all. King of Judah, what’s good, my man? What’s good? What’s good? Said it before, Assar is who I’m looking forward to the most outside of Ivy. I feel like we don’t really know what we got with Assar just yet. If he can master that ball handling, he opens up the flow. Completely, man. Completely agree. Completely agree. Oh, and Sandro, Sandro, what’s up, man? What’s good? What’s good? It’s good to see you, man. You too, Ka. It’s good to see you as well. You know, I Assara Thompson is one of the most exciting talents because he has the ability. I’ll put it this way. Imagine if Assar Thompson did not have the blood clots and he came in this past season starting from day one playing like his brother Amen Thompson from day one. Right. Assar Assar was pencled in as the starter from last year before the blood clots along with Ivy and Kade. That’s where he would have been had he started off this season on this roster in the starting lineup with Kaden Ivy. I think we hit 50 wins. I think this is a 50 win season. Considering the impact that he had on Jaylen Dur and the rest of this team defensively. Considering the impact that he’s had in being able to take Cade off the ball, his impact on the rebounding transition offense and defense, our ability to cover in space, his positional versatility. This is a 50 win team last season had he started from day one. 100%. 100%. Which is probably another reason to forecast them as probably north of 50 wins for this upcoming season. But I said I would wait until after training camp for that conversation. Sandra was good. Uh Rock, how you doing late? Uh but here what’s the one thing um you want Assar to improve on this season? I think his three-point shooting uh becoming actually more reliable would be amazing. You know what? I actually think I don’t even think it’s the shooting. I think it’s his timing. I think it’s his timing. Uh that would be one of the biggest steps to not fine-tuning to streamlining his productivity to become consistent. Assar Thompson improving his timing would streamline his ability to be more consistent. In other words, you know those games where you see Assara Thompson get to the rim consistently and he’s finishing and it looks great. Maybe he gets 12 points by the end of the game, 14 points, but then the very next game, he doesn’t attempt the same shots. He does not attempt the same shots from one game to the next to the next to the next. That’s timing. That’s an understanding of your ability to apply yourself consistently in different situations. Your ability to have the ability to foresee what shot opportunities you will have from game to game. Knowing when to move to the dunker spot and to duck in, when to cut off ball from the weak side wing, when to attack straight line drives, just how close that defender needs to be to him to know this is the moment to explode to the rim. out in transition, which he probably did the best job of in transition, but in the half court, when is it my time to come get the ball, tell Kade, get off the ball, run the point some, facilitate, right? That internal timing and flow really. It’s uh it’s a chemistry thing, continuity, but it starts internally. I know what I’m looking for, and then I figure out how to fit it into this. I don’t think Assar Thompson knows who he is yet in the NBA if I’m honest. I think he’s still scratching the surface of who he can be in the NBA. And so as a result, he doesn’t know who he really is from game to game. I don’t know if the coaching staff knew who Assara Thompson could be from game to game. similar. If you recall last summer, one of the major points that I made around Jaden Ivy was that JB Bigger Staff and the coaching staff needed to create a shot profile or what I call a shot package. These are the shots we’re looking for you to take. take it in abundance with a bright green light and maybe the rest a yellow light here and there, you know, if need be. Creating the warden. I like that. uh creating a shot package that says these these are the plays we’re looking for you to make within the framework of our offense allowed would allow and did allow Jayden Ivy to become so much more efficient. His three-point efficiency skyrocketed. his turnovers were able to lower. Um, his ability to be an effective part of our offense elevated all by simplifying our expectation for him. No longer was he expected to be a point guard like he was as a rookie. No longer was he trying to figure out, am I the scoring guard off the bench? Am I the starting off guard um next to Cade? uh having that ambiguity I think led to a lot of those turnovers and the inconsistent play and then in year three when it got simplified all of a sudden you saw his efficiency skyrocket. I think if we do something similar with Assar Thompson, say this is what we are looking for within our offensive flow, even defensive flow, which he could do so much on defense. It’s kind of like let him just keep rocking out. Though, I think you want to get more specific, especially as you reach into the playoffs and things like that. But I’ll say this, I think that Assar Thompson, if you take these things he already does, excluding shooting, right? Every once in a while I knock down a corner three, top of the key three. I’m not mad at it, right? I’m not mad. Take one to three a game. I’m okay. You knock down the first one, take two more, right? You miss the first one. Eh, maybe take one more if you miss the first one early in the game. You know, I want to see one for two, one for three, 0 for one, 0 for two, one for two, one for three, two for three type of three-point shooting splits. But what I really want to see is Assar Thompson knowing exactly what’s expected of him on offense. If and when he does, I think he skyrockets. I think he absolutely begins to skyrocket. I could see him averaging 14 to 16 points a game with that mindset being locked in. Transition, it’s all me. Finish in transition. Get four to six points every game in transition. Ripping primary ball handlers, getting in passing lanes, runouts from deflections, steals, and rebounds. Okay, get another two to four points straight line drives attacking your man in the half court offense. Okay, get another two to four points from that dunker spot or ducking in from the strong side off a pick and roll action or Cade creating or playing that high low with Jaylen Duran. maybe another two to four points from being the the the role man in a pick and roll situation, right? In the short roll, floater, quick turn, ball fake, dunk, right? Layup. Um offensive rebounds, another two to four points. Then there’s weak side uh cuts uh coming in from the weak side wing, right? timing when Jaden Ivy, Cade Cunningham attack from the opposite wing, draw the attention of the defense, and you duck in behind them from the opposite wing. Right? That’s another two to four points. Maybe it’s a post up against a small guard. Maybe you got Brunson on you again and you recognize that they’re trying to hide their primary guard on you and you see somebody like Kevin Porter, guys who you know are not strong defenders and are undized and far smaller than you physically. So you just post them up, you get another two to You see how this can add up quickly. His internal timing of recognition and execution, I think, is going to lead to his consistency and efficiency. when he knows what to expect, you’re going to see Assar Thompson begin to be far more consistent in showing up and producing those 16 point, eight rebound, three assists, two blocks, and a steel type of stat lines. I completely see that next season. Completely. That’s a great question. I hope that answers it somewhat. Um, yeah, I agree to this. this was a 50- win team had he been healthy all year. Um, why does he do that? Why is he inconsistent? Um, well, I mean, the blood clots, you know, it’s easy to put it all in that, but really it’s it’s a byproduct of blood of the blood clots and being out, not having the opportunity to sit down with a new coach who doesn’t know if he’s going to remember, when a player gets blood clots, most staffs, especially a new staff, is going to sit back and be like, I don’t even expect to see you next year. I don’t expect to see you at all. This is your life. Blood clots, understand is a life death situation. JB Bickerstaff admittedly had not schemed and planned to have Assar Thompson last year. He rolled him out there and just was like, “Do what you do. let’s just start seeing what you can do within this offense with these teammates. It was all experimental, which many times was probably why he wasn’t closing with them because he didn’t know what to expect and to anticipate. So, that was a major reason for his inconsistency last season. But, I think this year, just with that internal timing and knowing what to expect and what’s being asked of him on both ends, I think that’s where his major jump comes in. and he will average 14 to 16 points a game, especially by March, April, right? God willing, inshallah, no injuries, knock on wood, right? I think Assar Thompson averages 14 to 16 points a game next year. Six to eight rebounds, two to four assists, and a steal and a block a game at least. if not over a steel 1.5 1.8 to two steals 1.5 to two blocks because I can completely see Assar Thompson getting power forward minutes like I said sporadically maybe in case of injury but not starting at the power forward anytime soon. Let me see any other question. Uh, let me see. In the future, we talk about and rank all East and West teams before the season starts. I’ve done that a little bit. I will conclude. I will do that. Um, I’m going to do a recapping of the off seasonason right after uh preseason going into the start of the season. That’s where all the um finishing trades and stuff will will be done. Josh Giddy will be resigned or traded. Cam Thomas as well, Jonathan Kaminga. Um, that stuff should be weeded out by that point in time and then we’ll have a true kind of consensus of what these teams are looking like. Uh, and then we can go from there. Um, yeah. And then I’ll probably grade the teams. Let me see. Uh, Sports Times. Hopefully JB allows the young guys to work through things instead of leaning on vets. I kind of think that that’s his MO to lean on his vets and I understand that if you want to win, you lean on your vets. Ron Holland is in year two. Bobby Clintman kind of year one of being on the big squad. I don’t think that he’s going to push those guys in minutes. He’ll let them earn it. I think he’ll lean heavily on Isaiah Stewart, Duncan Robinson, Caris Levert throughout the first half of the season, especially to get those veterans acclimated to the system and chemistry with the guys knowing he’ll be leaning on them in the playoffs. Um, so I think Duncan Robinson and Caris have a far larger role, especially early on. Ron Holland, I think the big difference, I’ve said this before and I might even do a video about what to expect from Ron Holland next year. As good as he looked in summer league, I think he has the same role as he did last season. The major difference is he will average close to probably 12 to 15 minutes a game. Meaning he’s not getting DNPs anymore. He’s not kind of an afterthought anymore. He’s not sitting out for the entire second half or fourth quarter anymore. He’s playing consistently. He’s playing consistently. Um, one second here. Oh, shucks. Uh, kind of forgot I have to go. Oh, shoot. Lost track of time. I have to scadaddle. Um, totally lost track of time. This was hell of fun. Jaylen Durren, Jayen Ivy, they’re gonna get extended. It’s probably going to be north of 30 million and they’ll be worth it in two years. Um, Assara Thompson. Yeah, we can keep this conversation rolling. Let me know what you think after I post the video in the comments section. What you think of what we talked about today. Uh, what do you think their future roles look like? Uh, the roster formation. I think there’s a lot to be excited about with Ron Holland in that starting lineup as well. I’mma holl at y’all next time. Got to go. Totally lost track of time. Got some work stuff to get to. I’m get at y’all next time. Peace.