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Perfect Fits for Top NBA Draft Propsects · Small Ball with Kenny Beecham

0:04
SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to another episode of Small Ball with Kenny Beachum.
0:08
SPEAKER_00: It is officially, officially, officially the NBA offseason.
0:12
SPEAKER_00: Tomorrow on Tuesday, we have the NBA draft.
0:15
SPEAKER_00: And I'm going to show you a little bit of magic here.
0:18
SPEAKER_00: I'm filming this episode three days before that.
0:21
SPEAKER_00: Because I have to trip a trip to the NBA draft because I am lucky enough to be credentialed, and we're going to be in the moment when we say, oh, Caleb Wilson, welcome to the Bulls.
0:28
SPEAKER_00: Oh, Cam Boozer, welcome to whatever team ends up taking them.
0:32
SPEAKER_00: So this whole episode, I kind of want to go into some NBA draft, and then later we'll talk about content as a whole here at Enjoy Basketball and then also with the small ball show.
0:42
SPEAKER_00: Okay, y'all know me.
0:44
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to say this very early on because I know there's going to be new people watching this episode because it's the draft.
0:47
SPEAKER_00: And everything you're looking for right now, if you're on YouTube, is the NBA draft.
0:50
SPEAKER_00: You want to hear what people have to say about prospects.
0:53
SPEAKER_00: I am a guy that does not watch a ton of college basketball in real time.
0:58
SPEAKER_00: Just like everybody else in the world, I do watch the tourney because tourney time is a whole different monster.
1:03
SPEAKER_00: But outside of that, I didn't see myself uh loading up a UNC versus Duke game in December because hell, my main job is to talk about the NBA.
1:12
SPEAKER_00: So if those games are on at the same time, I'm prioritizing the league, even though, you know, two top prospects is in this game.
1:18
SPEAKER_00: But post-NBA Finals, shout out to New York Knicks, by the way.
1:21
SPEAKER_00: I wasn't able to put together an episode last week, unfortunately.
1:23
SPEAKER_00: So shout out to the Knicks for winning that championship, uh Team of Destiny, and legitimately a super fun run.
1:29
SPEAKER_00: But since game five of the NBA Finals, I had to dive in, y'all.
1:34
SPEAKER_00: I had to completely, completely dive into the NBA draft.
1:36
SPEAKER_00: Uh, I got some of my guys.
1:38
SPEAKER_00: Uh it's gonna be in today's episode.
1:40
SPEAKER_00: But also, I I want to go over, like, in my mind, the best fits for players.
1:46
SPEAKER_00: And we'll get to that once we get once we get there.
1:49
SPEAKER_00: Um, just really excited.
1:50
SPEAKER_00: I've mentioned many a times before, if I'm putting on my my lens from a Bulls fan, which is hard for me to take that damn lens off.
1:56
SPEAKER_00: This is one of the most important off seasons in the history of our organization with having picked number four, having picked number 15, new front office, all this cap space, how will it be used?
2:06
SPEAKER_00: Is there such thing as using it the wrong way?
2:08
SPEAKER_00: You know, this is a very important off-season.
2:09
SPEAKER_00: So I'm like kind of on a little cloud nine, and I'm a little bit afraid that Tuesday will come around because I've known nothing but uh being let down by my favorite team that Tuesday will come around and I'm gonna hate our draft.
2:21
SPEAKER_00: I don't know how.
2:21
SPEAKER_00: I don't know how I can hate our draft, but I feel like in my mind, the pessimistic Bulls fan of me is like they're gonna mess it up.
2:27
SPEAKER_00: Um, but I'm I'm really excited for this offseason.
2:29
SPEAKER_00: So, you know, with having two picks in different spots, you know, a top five pick and then a 15th pick, it gave me an opportunity to tap into a ton of prospects because this is not one of those years where everything is so uniform where you have, you know who won, two, three, four, five.
2:45
SPEAKER_00: So you know the order.
2:47
SPEAKER_00: This is one of those years where like the I have to be holder is gonna tell you the talent level, right?
2:51
SPEAKER_00: Picks five through 11 could be all up for grabs if you think about it, where a guy that you may have 11th on your board might go five.
2:58
SPEAKER_00: You know, a guy that you have really high as six might go 11.
3:02
SPEAKER_00: You never really know.
3:03
SPEAKER_00: So I've had to tap into a lot of people that are projected in the realm of 10 through 20, trying to find who my guys are.
3:09
SPEAKER_00: Now, I'm gonna tell you my guys, again, this is not through the lens of a Bulls fan, it's just overall throughout this draft.
3:14
SPEAKER_00: I also want to tell you the history of my guys.
3:17
SPEAKER_00: Um, it's a lot, it's it's a lot of misses.
3:20
SPEAKER_00: But we're lucky enough in the community where everything that I've ever said about basketball publicly has been archived.
3:26
SPEAKER_00: So my worst takes, my best takes, they they exist on the internet, damn it.
3:30
SPEAKER_00: And our guy clips a little while ago put together um a PowerPoint presentation talking about all of our guys before the draft and how many of them hit and miss.
3:39
SPEAKER_00: And I am getting to the point in my older age of nearly 30 where I can't read a screen without glasses anymore.
3:46
SPEAKER_00: Is that crazy?
3:47
SPEAKER_00: So, in order for me to read my notes on today's episode, I'm gonna put on these glasses.
3:51
SPEAKER_00: And I hope y'all don't make fun of me.
3:52
SPEAKER_00: Uh oh, I can already see the comments.
3:54
SPEAKER_00: Damn, dude.
3:55
SPEAKER_00: Can I just be a nerd in peace?
3:56
SPEAKER_00: So here are who my these are my guys over the last couple years.
4:00
SPEAKER_00: Are you ready?
4:01
SPEAKER_00: During the 2025 draft, my guys were Sedg a Coward and Sion James.
4:07
SPEAKER_00: Some would say, Kenny, you did a damn good job.
4:10
SPEAKER_00: Sion James was a second-round pick, but I loved his his overall year when he ended up transferring over to the bigger school.
4:17
SPEAKER_00: And I thought a lot of times I'm looking at it from this perspective.
4:20
SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm trying to hit a home run when I'm finding my guys, but I'm also trying to find guys, especially if we're talking second-rounders, that I have believed is going to be in the league for at least five years.
4:28
SPEAKER_00: If you didn't know, the average lifespan of an NBA player is four years.
4:32
SPEAKER_00: So I just wanted to try to find a guy I felt like was going to be able to stick.
4:34
SPEAKER_00: And I think Seion James is a guy that will stick.
4:36
SPEAKER_00: So if I had to pat myself on the back, 2025, so far, good returns.
4:42
SPEAKER_00: Cedric Howard was one of my top guys.
4:44
SPEAKER_00: I wanted him to end up being there for the Bulls.
4:46
SPEAKER_00: I think he has to take one pick before the Bulls.
4:47
SPEAKER_00: We end up annoying Senge, and Norw Senge is going to end up being Giannis 2.0, so I'm not tripping.
4:51
SPEAKER_00: 2024.
4:53
SPEAKER_00: I don't know, maybe I'm getting good at this.
4:55
SPEAKER_00: My guys, again, all this is archived.
4:56
SPEAKER_00: So you're like, Kenny, I don't believe that.
4:58
SPEAKER_00: Damn it, I did a podcast every day for however many years.
5:01
SPEAKER_00: Stefan Castle and Donovan Klingan, I was just Yukonn out.
5:05
SPEAKER_00: How did I forget about Liam McNeely?
5:07
SPEAKER_00: How did I not have Leah McNeely on my list for 2025 if I had his teammates in 2024?
5:11
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
5:12
SPEAKER_00: But Stefan Castle, I just loved in my mind there was no world where he wouldn't be impactful just because of his defense.
5:17
SPEAKER_00: And if the offense continued to progress as it did from his high school years to his first year of college, where he was like the fourth offensive option, I felt like he was going to be a real NBA player.
5:26
SPEAKER_00: Here we are, he was a part of the NBA Finals.
5:27
SPEAKER_00: And though it didn't end perfectly for him, nobody can deny that his future is super, super great.
5:33
SPEAKER_00: And the Don McKingan, I just have an affinity for these big ass centers that defend well.
5:38
SPEAKER_00: Um rent protecting centers.
5:40
SPEAKER_00: Y'all know Rudy Gobert is one of my guys.
5:42
SPEAKER_00: He's always been one of my guys.
5:43
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes I look into a draft, I'm like, who is that defensive center that I can attach myself to?
5:49
SPEAKER_00: And it was Donovan Klingon.
5:50
SPEAKER_00: I like Donovan Klingon's game.
5:51
SPEAKER_00: I think he's got a lot to prove still.
5:53
SPEAKER_00: But I would say I did, I think I did a pretty good job there.
5:56
SPEAKER_00: 2023, my guys.
5:58
SPEAKER_00: Jarrels Walker was my my first guy.
6:01
SPEAKER_00: Jarrett's season was interesting in 2025, 2026.
6:04
SPEAKER_00: So interesting that I don't even I don't have a single memory.
6:05
SPEAKER_00: I'm taking the glasses off, even if I can't read.
6:07
SPEAKER_00: I don't like the glare.
6:08
SPEAKER_00: Uh I don't have a single memory of Jarrett Walker's season.
6:11
SPEAKER_00: Uh, because I just didn't watch a ton of the Pacers this year, and for good reason, they weren't really doing much.
6:16
SPEAKER_00: Um, but I know that he was maybe maybe underwhelming for Pacer fans, even though he did, from my understanding, have a better second half of the season.
6:23
SPEAKER_00: But the next guy, Casey Wallace.
6:24
SPEAKER_00: Boo, I love Kasen Wallace.
6:26
SPEAKER_00: And I guess there's kind of a mode here now that I'm seeing some of my guys, also with the big fella, it's like defensive-oriented guard.
6:32
SPEAKER_00: They're like offense, I'm not worried about right now.
6:35
SPEAKER_00: Kasen's already made an all-defensive team, already in wait three years of his career.
6:38
SPEAKER_00: I think Stephon Castle, Cedric Howard, these guys are good defensive and project to be good defensive players at this level.
6:44
SPEAKER_00: So Kasen Wallace was my favorite guy.
6:46
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes you're gonna get, I'm gonna get to some of these names.
6:48
SPEAKER_00: Some of them becoming my guys has to do with our interview process too.
6:52
SPEAKER_00: I'm not a goddamn GM, but I get an opportunity to meet so many players along their journey during the draft prospect.
6:57
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes you sit next to a guy and interview him and you say, Oh, that guy's gonna be successful in the NBA.
7:01
SPEAKER_00: And that's how I felt about Casey Wallace when he sat down to talk to us.
7:04
SPEAKER_00: So he became one of my guys because of that.
7:07
SPEAKER_00: Then things get pretty bad.
7:08
SPEAKER_00: Uh 2022, actually, not that bad.
7:12
SPEAKER_00: I had Tari Eason, I had Dyson Daniels, and Uzman Zhang, which Usman had a really okay year after he got traded to Milwaukee.
7:20
SPEAKER_00: So we'll see what that's about.
7:21
SPEAKER_00: Um actually, I got three good players there.
7:24
SPEAKER_00: 2021, Uzman Garuba.
7:27
SPEAKER_00: I was really big on Uzman Garuba.
7:29
SPEAKER_00: Uh I don't even know how to pronounce his name right anymore.
7:31
SPEAKER_00: That's how long it's been.
7:32
SPEAKER_00: But I saw him as like, this is how bad my scouting was then, and maybe how bad it is.
7:36
SPEAKER_00: Now, I looked at him and said, man, I'm seeing some.
7:42
SPEAKER_00: Not Sergi Blocka with this 17 blocks in a game type of performances.
7:46
SPEAKER_00: But I looked at him and said, hey, that guy was really good defensively.
7:50
SPEAKER_00: Can switch a little bit on perimeter, can protect the paint.
7:52
SPEAKER_00: Offensive game, a lot to be desired, but showed me at least a little bit.
7:55
SPEAKER_00: I was like, oh, it could be a little surgy.
7:56
SPEAKER_00: It was not surgy at all.
7:58
SPEAKER_00: Jalen Suggs, I really loved.
8:00
SPEAKER_00: Herb Jones, what a great hit for me.
8:02
SPEAKER_00: Um, even though the last year of Herb Jones, maybe not as good as two years ago, Herb Jones.
8:06
SPEAKER_00: And then Evan Mobley.
8:07
SPEAKER_00: Now, I'm only giving myself partial credit for Evan Mobley because again, a top three pick.
8:11
SPEAKER_00: I think a lot of people looked at Evan Mobley and said that's going to be a good NBA player.
8:14
SPEAKER_00: So I'm not giving myself a ton of credit there.
8:16
SPEAKER_00: Even Jalen Suggs, I guess I don't deserve a ton of credit.
8:19
SPEAKER_00: He was one of the top five picks in that year's draft.
8:20
SPEAKER_00: But regardless, I'm giving myself credit.
8:22
SPEAKER_00: 2020 was a hell of a year for me.
8:27
SPEAKER_00: If I had to say, I think 2021 is where I found my stride as a scout.
8:32
SPEAKER_00: Because 2020, my top guys, my guys, Killian Hayes, ouch.
8:38
SPEAKER_00: Robert Woodard was my sleeper, ouch.
8:41
SPEAKER_00: Jalen Smith, shout out to Jalen Smith, Bulls Legend, all of a sudden.
8:45
SPEAKER_00: But Tyrese Halliburton.
8:48
SPEAKER_00: So like I think that those three misses beforehand, I make up for with my Halliburton pick, right?
8:54
SPEAKER_00: That's gotta be the case.
8:55
SPEAKER_00: I make up for my Halliburton pick.
8:57
SPEAKER_00: But um, I think 2020, 2021 was when I started to really dive into the film.
9:01
SPEAKER_00: Because 2020, if I'm looking at these picks, these are me uh like reading and listening to others' podcasts and reading articles about players and not really diving into the film.
9:09
SPEAKER_00: I didn't know much about Killian Hayes other than what I was being told, and I was sold a dream with Killian.
9:15
SPEAKER_00: Uh in 2019, Matisse Steible sequeled and buy Ethereus Garland.
9:22
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
9:23
SPEAKER_00: And in 2018, Mo Bamba and Shea Gilgest Alexander.
9:28
SPEAKER_00: You're like, Kenny, no way you had Shay.
9:30
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely, I had Shay.
9:31
SPEAKER_00: Go check the go check the tapes.
9:33
SPEAKER_00: Now, did I think that Shay was gonna be the goddamn two-time MVP?
9:36
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely not.
9:38
SPEAKER_00: But I did really like Shay.
9:39
SPEAKER_00: Um so those are my guys going into the draft.
9:43
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it shifts a little bit.
9:45
SPEAKER_00: We're like, I start to see them as summer league, and then I say, Oh, that's gonna be one of my guys, but those are my pre-draft guys.
9:51
SPEAKER_00: Um here are my draft guys this year.
9:54
SPEAKER_00: I got three.
9:56
SPEAKER_00: The first one is Caleb Wilson.
9:58
SPEAKER_00: Of course, can he?
9:59
SPEAKER_00: How can it not be Caleb Wilson?
10:00
SPEAKER_00: I do want to say I was a fan of Caleb Wilson's game before he was projected to go to the Bulls.
10:07
SPEAKER_00: Go watch the tape.
10:07
SPEAKER_00: I talked about him being my favorite prospect in the whole draft well before the lottery.
10:11
SPEAKER_00: I think when you add in that level of footwork, that level of competitive nature, that defensive upside, I just I really like the film, man.
10:20
SPEAKER_00: I really like the film, and then you watch interviews and you're like, oh, this kid understands it.
10:24
SPEAKER_00: He is a guy that will look at the three guys drafted ahead of him, and every time they match up, he wants their hair.
10:30
SPEAKER_00: I mean, think about their game when they played against Duke.
10:32
SPEAKER_00: Again, I wasn't watching live, but again, I've watched this tape, where like he knew that Cam Boozer was projected higher than him.
10:38
SPEAKER_00: He tried to go at Cam Boozer as much as he could.
10:40
SPEAKER_00: And I think that you did see some of the downsides to these guys, right?
10:42
SPEAKER_00: Where like Caleb looked pretty undersized as far as the weight department when he was matched up, when Booz was matched up against him, where a few drives where he's trying to get past Boozer, and we know Boozer's not to be the greatest offensive player, but Boozer was able to use his body to body Caleb up a few different times to knock him off of his initial drive.
10:59
SPEAKER_00: So, like every one of these guys in the draft, whether it be AJ DeBonza down to whoever's at pick number 60, are gonna have things to work on.
11:05
SPEAKER_00: That's just one of the things.
11:06
SPEAKER_00: I think Caleb has to get a tighter handle throughout his career, and I do think he probably has to, you know, let his level physicality go up a little bit, but like that is something we can work on here in Chicago.
11:15
SPEAKER_00: You know what I'm saying?
11:16
SPEAKER_00: So C dub really, really high on him, cannot wait to get that jersey here in Chicago.
11:21
SPEAKER_00: Uh my next guy is Dalen Swain.
11:24
SPEAKER_00: Dalen Swain had become one of my guys.
11:26
SPEAKER_00: Now, I'd watched him, again, not live, but watched the tape of him before he ended up at Texas, you know, where he's at Xavier.
11:35
SPEAKER_00: Um, and you know, he was a defensive type of guy, defensive stopper, going to it, defensive playmaker, just really, really great stuff at Xavier, where he averaged 11 points per game, but a steal in the half, five rebounds.
11:49
SPEAKER_00: He was pretty, pretty good there.
11:51
SPEAKER_00: And then he gets to Texas, you know, his his third year in college, and now he's looked at to be more of a score.
11:58
SPEAKER_00: He goes to an 11 to a 17 point per game score, and his defense falls off a little bit.
12:02
SPEAKER_00: But I think a lot of that had to do with him having an increased offensive role.
12:06
SPEAKER_00: This is, I don't use the word project, right?
12:08
SPEAKER_00: But he is not a phenomenal offensive player.
12:10
SPEAKER_00: He had a hitch in his jump shot, which I feel like has to be fixed.
12:13
SPEAKER_00: But when I watched him watch this tape, the level of aggression getting downhill, his open court offense, his playmaking defensively, even if the play-by-play stuff didn't work as well at Texas, but his playmaking defensively, I'm in on Dalen Swain.
12:28
SPEAKER_00: I don't know where he's going to go in the draft.
12:29
SPEAKER_00: I've seen him as high as like 13.
12:31
SPEAKER_00: I've seen him as low as 28.
12:33
SPEAKER_00: So he is a wide-range player that I'd be willing to take a bet on if I was a team in the 20s, I would say.
12:39
SPEAKER_00: Uh, because even though he's one of the older guys in the class, I think that he showed you a lot in his single season at Texas to make you feel like he is a guy that could have a long NBA career.
12:50
SPEAKER_00: My last guy is Rez Johnson.
12:53
SPEAKER_00: Whoo! Hey, listen, I like energy guys.
12:56
SPEAKER_00: I can't I can't lie.
12:57
SPEAKER_00: I like an energy guy, and you saw him be able to provide the energy on a national championship team.
13:02
SPEAKER_00: He is an Illinois boy.
13:03
SPEAKER_00: Uh I see right here, Riverdale.
13:05
SPEAKER_00: He went to Thornton.
13:06
SPEAKER_00: If you know Illinois, you know Thornton.
13:08
SPEAKER_00: And then I watched him in Illinois when he played there last year.
13:11
SPEAKER_00: Uh, because I was I was I was all in on the fight in the line I last season.
13:15
SPEAKER_00: You know, they had a couple, they had a couple of guys.
13:16
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, hey, this could this could be year, will Riley, Kaspar, Yakashonis, and he was coming off the bench, and I'm like, that guy, that guy looks like a player.
13:23
SPEAKER_00: I didn't think he was gonna be a guy that might end up in a lottery situation, but he gets over to Michigan, he starts every single game of the season.
13:30
SPEAKER_00: He is one of those big fellas that understands his strengths and his weaknesses, where offensively he's not trying to do too much.
13:36
SPEAKER_00: He's gonna get to the basket, he's gonna provide high-level energy, he's gonna compete defensively, he's gonna rebound well.
13:42
SPEAKER_00: And those are the type of guys that in my mind are going to stick in the NBA.
13:46
SPEAKER_00: And I haven't met um Johnson, but every prospect that I have talked to, like even if you watch numbers on the board, we had Kingston Fleming on, and Kingston was telling us Kingston Fleming's, um, he was telling us that he did a group workout with the Bulls, right?
13:59
SPEAKER_00: And he named him and five other prospects.
14:01
SPEAKER_00: I don't remember who everybody was there, but I do remember he saying uh Rez Johnson, Mores Johnson is a dog.
14:08
SPEAKER_00: And I've heard now three different prospects in this year's draft that will tell you that Morez Johnson is a dog.
14:14
SPEAKER_00: And now you like if the competitors around him, the people that are competing for draft spots are saying this, something has to be done there.
14:21
SPEAKER_00: Something has to be true about it.
14:23
SPEAKER_00: Uh, I guess you can't you can't take it at face-face value because I know Anthony Earls was really big on Cam Reddish.
14:28
SPEAKER_00: Cam Reddis killed me in high school.
14:30
SPEAKER_00: Um, but there's something about you know his peers telling you that guy is a dog, that you have to listen to it at least a little bit.
14:37
SPEAKER_00: And then I also have Braden Burries here.
14:39
SPEAKER_00: I think I'm a little bit colder on Brayden Burris than those other three guys.
14:42
SPEAKER_00: So maybe he's not one of my guys, but I do respect his game enough.
14:45
SPEAKER_00: Um so I I've really tried to find second, second round guys, but the problem is the guy and IL is ruining our draft.
14:53
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I said it.
14:54
SPEAKER_00: So many guys would have projected to go 32nd and 34th.
14:57
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, oh, I'm just gonna take$7 million in Stan College.
15:00
SPEAKER_00: I'm joking.
15:01
SPEAKER_00: Go get your bag, kids.
15:02
SPEAKER_00: Go get your bag.
15:02
SPEAKER_00: Um, but I do think the second round is a little bit lighter.
15:05
SPEAKER_00: Like some of the guys I do like in the second round, it's just it's just different.
15:09
SPEAKER_00: Like, even just from last year, like Sion James, I really was a fan of Sion James, even though I knew he was a second round pick.
15:14
SPEAKER_00: I don't really have any guy like that in this year's draft.
15:18
SPEAKER_00: Like, uh I don't know.
15:20
SPEAKER_00: Let me let me see, let me look at my notes again.
15:22
SPEAKER_00: Um but like in the second round, some some of the guys that I really like are like these some of the super older guys.
15:28
SPEAKER_00: It's like I think he could stick in the NBA, but it would just be it would be tough.
15:33
SPEAKER_00: Like, he I'm like Richie Saunders, who's coming off the injury, right?
15:39
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I don't got much, man.
15:42
SPEAKER_00: Bryce Thornton can score a little bit.
15:44
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm sorry.
15:45
SPEAKER_00: I don't have any second round my guys.
15:47
SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry.
15:48
SPEAKER_00: But now that we've talked about my guys, I kind of want to go through some of the projected top picks and tell you, in my mind, the perfect spots for them.
15:56
SPEAKER_00: Now, I'm not gonna look at AJ DeBonta and say, oh, his perfect spot is with the Denver Nuggets, because the Denver Nuggets don't have a world to get them.
16:03
SPEAKER_00: I I want to have perfect scenario with people that are at least in the realm of making it a possibility.
16:10
SPEAKER_00: You know what I'm saying?
16:11
SPEAKER_00: Right?
16:11
SPEAKER_00: I'm not saying that the Lakers should be looking at Darren Peterson as the perfect fit because even though it would be a good fit, there's no world for that to really happen.
16:20
SPEAKER_00: And I'm not going through the entire lot of just some of the guys that are on top of mine.
16:24
SPEAKER_00: Starting off with Cam Boozer.
16:25
SPEAKER_00: Right now, from what we know, Cam Boozer is projected to go number three to the Memphis Grizzlies.
16:31
SPEAKER_00: And I do really, really like that fit.
16:33
SPEAKER_00: Um, even not knowing exactly what's gonna happen with John Morant, I look at that core over there and say Zach Edy and Cam Boozer will be super fun to watch.
16:43
SPEAKER_00: Their playstyles, we need to get Zach Edy completely healthy, but Zach Edy was really impactful as a five-man over the last couple seasons.
16:49
SPEAKER_00: Him having a guy like Cam Boozer, who I will tell you of the top three guys, I think Cam is my favorite.
16:54
SPEAKER_00: That doesn't, I don't believe that Cam is gonna end up the best of him, Darren Peterson and AJ DeBonta, but I really do like Cam's game.
17:01
SPEAKER_00: You add that with Zach Edy, you add that with my guy from last year, Cedric Howard, and they do have another first-round pick.
17:09
SPEAKER_00: I really do like that fit.
17:11
SPEAKER_00: But part of me also really likes Utah's a fit.
17:14
SPEAKER_00: Now, you like Kenny, Utah's gonna have Larry Market and Cam Boozer, Jaron Jackson, and Walker Kessler.
17:19
SPEAKER_00: Maybe.
17:20
SPEAKER_00: I think I think that all of these teams, when you talk about the top-end talent at the top of the draft, even if you already feel like you have a direction and you have an identity, it's very rare that I feel like you should be drafted for fit as a top three pick.
17:36
SPEAKER_00: Right?
17:36
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you truly do believe Darren Peterson's the better prospect.
17:39
SPEAKER_00: And I again I would agree with that as well, even if even if I like Cam Boozer more.
17:43
SPEAKER_00: But if you are in the Utah Jazz's front office, you shouldn't give a damn about Walker Kessler or even Jaron, who you just traded for.
17:49
SPEAKER_00: If you believe that Cam Boozer is him and he is the guy, go draft him and figure out the rest later.
17:56
SPEAKER_00: And in this hypothetical way, I really do like Cam Boozer there, it's not just because his dad is on the scouting team.
18:01
SPEAKER_00: I think it has to do with him alone side Jaron Jackson.
18:04
SPEAKER_00: As much as I like him alone side Zach Edy, I really, really like him alone side Jaron Jackson.
18:09
SPEAKER_00: And again, this is contingent on like Walker Kessler not coming back because again, you truly do have a log jam over there, or maybe it's a sign and trade with Walker Kessler or whatever.
18:18
SPEAKER_00: Um, I do think this team is going to use and need more playmaking.
18:25
SPEAKER_00: And I've already said many times before, Keontae George is one of my guys as well.
18:29
SPEAKER_00: I really loved him this season and liked him before that as well.
18:32
SPEAKER_00: But he is him and Isaiah Cole, you're off the bench, they're gonna be overtaxed when it comes to playmaking with whatever units they run together.
18:38
SPEAKER_00: I know Darren is a combo and has Schultz and playmaking chops, you know, and maybe didn't have the greatest talent around him for him to showcase a six assists per game type of guy.
18:48
SPEAKER_00: But like Keontae, Larry Marketing, Jaron Jackson Jr., Ace Bailey, these guys are gonna need plus playmakers.
18:55
SPEAKER_00: And while Cam Boozer is not Rajan Rondo, he is a he's gonna, I think he's walking into the league as a super plus playmaker, especially for his position.
19:02
SPEAKER_00: So I'm like, I just I don't know.
19:04
SPEAKER_00: I just like it, I like it.
19:05
SPEAKER_00: I like how the spacing could help him too with having Larry Market and and having Jaron Jackson Jr.
19:10
SPEAKER_00: to allow him to play some of his best brand of basketball, which is him being a bully.
19:15
SPEAKER_00: And I just think that he his passing is his I don't use our superpower, but his thing that can make him more valuable to a team like the Utah Jazz.
19:23
SPEAKER_00: So I'm having Camboo's and number two is the pet perfect fit, even though if number three is great.
19:29
SPEAKER_00: Next, Darius A.
19:31
SPEAKER_00: Cuff's Sacramento Kings.
19:32
SPEAKER_00: I don't know a better fit in the entire draft.
19:34
SPEAKER_00: And the reason I'm saying that, and it seems like Darius A.
19:37
SPEAKER_00: Cuff, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, not Darius A.
19:38
SPEAKER_00: Cuff, um, yeah, Darius Acuff, sorry.
19:40
SPEAKER_00: Darius A.
19:40
SPEAKER_00: Cuff and his camp, they really are interested in him getting to Sacramento by all accounts.
19:45
SPEAKER_00: That is their dream scenario.
19:46
SPEAKER_00: And it makes a lot of sense.
19:49
SPEAKER_00: If you are the Utah Jazz, maybe this is stupid to say because maybe this is something they were doing with Georges Papayanis, Jimmer for Dead, Ben Ben Mathrin, uh um, not Ben Mathrin, Ben McLamore, all of these other Nick Stowskes.
20:04
SPEAKER_00: They were trying to take swings and not hitting home runs and actually striking out.
20:08
SPEAKER_00: But he is the type of player that Sacramento should be able to take a swing on because I think his upside as an offensive engine is like no other guy in this draft.
20:18
SPEAKER_00: Now, he also has a a bottomed out floor that makes you a little bit scared to take him as higher than like six or seven.
20:27
SPEAKER_00: But if you are Sacramento, this is the type of guy you want to take the swing on.
20:32
SPEAKER_00: Especially if the all the accounts of him wanting to be a part of this team genuinely is true.
20:39
SPEAKER_00: How many times have you seen a person try to make their way to Sacramento?
20:43
SPEAKER_00: The fans deserve a super high upside type of guy.
20:48
SPEAKER_00: They're in a position right now where this is, I guess you want to say year one of what they're trying to put together because even though they still do have DeMar and Zach Levine and Sabonis and Keegan Murray, we all recognize that this team is trying to hit that reset button.
21:00
SPEAKER_00: This would be a really good start to the reset.
21:03
SPEAKER_00: He is a a dog right now.
21:05
SPEAKER_00: If there's any downside, is obviously the defensive side with him being undersized and him not giving a ton of effort on that side of the ball last season.
21:12
SPEAKER_00: And the fact that in high school he wasn't a great three-point shooter, but he miraculous miraculously came into the scene at Arkansas, shot 44%.
21:19
SPEAKER_00: Where does he really lie?
21:20
SPEAKER_00: Is he truly a 40% three-point shooter?
21:22
SPEAKER_00: Is he more closer to 36, 37?
21:24
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
21:26
SPEAKER_00: But they deserve a guy that can come in and kind of change some things, right?
21:33
SPEAKER_00: It would feel weird when being in a locker room with like one of the top 20 scores of all time, total point-wise, DeMarta Rosen, and another guy that's making$50 million and Zach Levine, and another guy making another$40 million and Sabonis would be like, Hey, this is me, this is this is mine.
21:46
SPEAKER_00: But they would have to recognize the direction that this team uh is going down.
21:51
SPEAKER_00: And I don't know if he even lasts to number seven, right?
21:54
SPEAKER_00: I've seen him as high as six.
21:56
SPEAKER_00: Uh I don't know if he's going number five to the Clippers.
21:59
unknown: But
22:00
SPEAKER_00: That is the type of guy I really want in my organization, specifically if I'm the Sacramento Kings.
22:04
SPEAKER_00: Think about how ridiculously rabid that fan base is.
22:08
SPEAKER_00: They have been just wanting a guy to come in there and be the best player to suit up for us since C Web.
22:18
SPEAKER_00: And it could be Darius Acuff, y'all.
22:20
SPEAKER_00: It could be Darius Acuff.
22:22
SPEAKER_00: Another perfect fit for me, and I don't know if he's gonna go this high, but again, we were talking about fit-wise.
22:28
SPEAKER_00: A Daymar to the Atlanta Hawks.
22:30
SPEAKER_00: Now, I didn't realize until I was listening to The Pod Father the other day, him and him and uh legs, that Daymar only played 23 minutes a game last season in Michigan.
22:40
SPEAKER_00: But again, I watched that Michigan film.
22:42
SPEAKER_00: It was I was watching Mo Johnson um and then uh and then also watching uh Yaxo and then watching the name, are you watching all three?
22:51
SPEAKER_00: His impact as a five-man is undeniable.
22:54
SPEAKER_00: And I guess the question is, can you feel like you can upscale him to play 28 to 30 minutes a game?
22:59
SPEAKER_00: And if the answer to that is no, maybe you shouldn't draft him as high as eight.
23:02
SPEAKER_00: But with his playmaking on that roster, and look, look, the Atlanta Hawks were a really good second half of the season story.
23:08
SPEAKER_00: Um, so much so that some people even picked them to beat the beat the Knicks in the first round.
23:12
SPEAKER_00: That's how much of a high they were riding.
23:14
SPEAKER_00: And they still were really, really small.
23:16
SPEAKER_00: And Yekka Khan would turn himself to a really plus three-point shooter, which we all appreciate, but they could just use some rim protection and they could just use some size.
23:25
SPEAKER_00: One of the things I loved the most about what they did last season was when they did uh put Rishay to the bench, they did open up some rebounding opportunities and rebounded the ball better defensively and offensively, I guess, with Rishay on the bench.
23:37
SPEAKER_00: Not saying that this is Rishay's fault, but a day Mara comes in and he can shure up some of those rebounded problems.
23:42
SPEAKER_00: He can shure up that rim protection problem.
23:44
SPEAKER_00: And I'm just imagining him, you know, dribble handoffs and passing the ball very well, even if it is a little bit tougher to be a plus dribble handoff player if you don't really have a 15-foot shot, a push shot or something, you know, like uh Isaiah Hartenstein becomes dangerous on one of them type of things.
24:02
SPEAKER_00: Um but they morrow to an eight makes some sense to me.
24:05
SPEAKER_00: I think it is the perfect fit given the teams that could be drafting around this range for him.
24:09
SPEAKER_00: And if it's not there, then I'm looking around and saying, hmm, number 12 would be a number a perfect fit to him going to the Oklahoma City Thunder, as they have to make some decisions about the second eight brand with Ludor with Isaiah Hartenstein.
24:22
SPEAKER_00: If you can say, hey, we're gonna replace Isaiah Hartenstein with a 7-3 guy who may not be ready to be as impactful as Isaiah Hartenstein is, but like ready to play, like this is a perfect spot for him if you believe that he won't be able to play 28 to 30 minutes a game.
24:37
SPEAKER_00: Because if he goes to OKC, he really would be asked to play 23 minutes, just like he was asked in college.
24:42
SPEAKER_00: So I really like that fit as well, along with some of the other older guys.
24:45
SPEAKER_00: Like OKC is in a position now where they can kind of take an easier guy, you know, like a guy that you feel pretty good about early, and then that second pick, you could take a swing, you could take a, I don't even know who will be available at that range, but a day Mara, eight or twelve, makes a lot of sense to me.
25:02
SPEAKER_00: Then I get to our guy, Braden Burries, and the Dallas Mavericks at nine.
25:08
SPEAKER_00: I don't know, man.
25:09
SPEAKER_00: I I watched the tape on Braden Burries, and you know, I think defensively he was really solid.
25:13
SPEAKER_00: He never really was asked to guard the 1A guy on the opposing team.
25:17
SPEAKER_00: But as a help defender, even though he did get lost every once in a while, I think him playing alongside a guy like Cooper Flag is gonna unleash all the defensive upside we could see with Braden Burries.
25:26
SPEAKER_00: And I do think it is interesting that the guy just didn't really miss.
25:30
SPEAKER_00: He he just he just didn't really miss in college.
25:32
SPEAKER_00: Um, and for a while the Bulls were projected to go number nine before we jumped up, and that was a guy I was really looking forward to seeing there on the draft board, and he could still go number nine.
25:42
SPEAKER_00: Um, because uh it always depended on who's on the board, but like having Cooper Flag, Braden Burries, hopefully a healthy, healthy Derek Lively year.
25:51
SPEAKER_00: I don't know really what to expect from Derrick Lively.
25:53
SPEAKER_00: Um, and then if Kyrie Irving's gonna stick around in the team, that is that is interesting.
25:57
SPEAKER_00: Forget about Kyrie, but that young core that they're building would be pretty interesting to me.
26:01
SPEAKER_00: I don't really know what the best comp is for Braden Burries.
26:04
SPEAKER_00: I've seen things as crazy as Derrick White because of the I mean, I guess Derrick White missed a lot this year, but like a plus three-point shooter with also defensive upside.
26:13
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if I can get there just yet because I think Derek White just impacts the game so much further than like hit shots play defense, hit shots play defense.
26:21
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if Braden Burries is that or maybe he will be that one day, but I really, really do like that fit.
26:27
SPEAKER_00: Then I've I've been trying to find what the perfect fit will be for the Warriors.
26:31
SPEAKER_00: If you ask Brandon Pajimski, the best fit would be uh Yaksu Lindenboard because uh he he wants somebody that could come in and impact winning right now, and I think Yaxu could be a true rotational player very early on in his career, 24 years old coming into it.
26:46
SPEAKER_00: Uh and the Warriors would be interesting there, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Warriors traded out of 11, if I'm being honest with you.
26:52
SPEAKER_00: I've been trying to find the perfect place for Keaton Waggler.
26:55
SPEAKER_00: It's a little it's a little tough to find.
26:57
SPEAKER_00: Um maybe of all the options, Brooklyn.
27:02
SPEAKER_00: But also, I don't know, I don't know if the Clippers are a perfect fit, but again, the Clippers shouldn't be caring about fit, honestly.
27:06
SPEAKER_00: If the Clippers think that Acuff is their guy, even though they have Darius Garland, draft A Cuff.
27:11
SPEAKER_00: I don't understand, especially in the Clippers' perspective, right?
27:16
SPEAKER_00: We're not gonna be a championship team.
27:18
SPEAKER_00: We already closed the Duron Net when we made the James Harden trade.
27:20
SPEAKER_00: We closed the Durant when Paul George left.
27:22
SPEAKER_00: We're not gonna be a championship level team.
27:24
SPEAKER_00: We love Darius Garland.
27:26
SPEAKER_00: We really do love Darius Garland, but Darius Garland is not good enough to make me miss out on somebody I really love because they play the same position.
27:35
SPEAKER_00: If you believe that Michael Brown or Darius A.
27:38
SPEAKER_00: Cuff or Kingston Flemings or any of these young guards is your guy at five, you have to take him and worry about the rest later.
27:47
SPEAKER_00: Do you think that when it's back down to it and the Clippers are trying to compete for championships, that Garland's still gonna be on the team?
27:57
SPEAKER_00: Maybe not.
27:58
SPEAKER_00: So let's go get our guy.
27:59
SPEAKER_00: Again, I don't know who that guy is.
28:00
SPEAKER_00: I haven't actually read any intel about what the Clippers are thinking with picking up a five other than them maybe being a running to take on Jalen Brown if that trade were to happen with Giannis and everything.
28:11
SPEAKER_00: Speaking of that, I do have my notifications off.
28:13
SPEAKER_00: Every once in a while, I gotta every once in a while you gotta check the notice and make sure Shams ain't broke nothing crazy, and uh, he ain't breaking nothing right now.
28:19
SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, the Clippers are just in one of those positions where like it is unfortunate that you don't end up one of the top four guys, but five was the max you could get with that Zubots pick, and now you got it, and I think you gotta go hit a home run.
28:31
SPEAKER_00: And if you think it's Keaton Walker, cool.
28:33
SPEAKER_00: If you think it's Darius Acuff, cool.
28:34
SPEAKER_00: If you think it's Mike Kell Brown, cool.
28:35
SPEAKER_00: Mike, Mike Kale is an interesting prospect for me too, because you watch that tape and you see the range is ridiculous.
28:43
SPEAKER_00: You think you see some of the shot making is crazy, even if the efficiency wasn't as good as you may have wanted it to be as a freshman, but whatever.
28:50
SPEAKER_00: The shot making and the range is two things that pop off like boom, that's amazing.
28:54
SPEAKER_00: And then you're like, okay, let's see if this dribble drive look like.
28:57
SPEAKER_00: And there are times where he looks phenomenal on the drive, right?
29:01
SPEAKER_00: Like, I think I think his finishing ended up being, I don't know what the number said, but ended up being underrated when it comes to the conversation about him.
29:08
SPEAKER_00: It's the lack of getting to the basket that is surprising for a guy, you know, six foot four, six foot five.
29:14
SPEAKER_00: But some of this finishing was crafty around the brim, you know, going up with the left, switching to the right, going up to the right, switching to the left, but he just didn't do it enough.
29:21
SPEAKER_00: And then I've seen comps of like Jordan Poole and and and D'Angelo Russell, and I'm like, golly, I feel I feel like it would do something a little better than that.
29:29
SPEAKER_00: Kingston Flemings, I don't have a perfect spot for Kingston, man.
29:33
SPEAKER_00: I don't.
29:34
SPEAKER_00: Um, I think he could be impactful from every place from six to I don't know.
29:41
SPEAKER_00: Six to ten.
29:42
SPEAKER_00: Once you get once you get to the Golden State Warriors, I just don't see that being a great fit.
29:46
SPEAKER_00: But like, yeah, if the Brooklyn Nets like him, I could see that being okay.
29:49
SPEAKER_00: Sacramento, again, I would rather them take ACOF, he's available.
29:52
SPEAKER_00: But if A Cov is not available, if ACOF is not available if you're the Kings, even hmm.
29:57
SPEAKER_00: This is a good this is a good conversation.
29:59
SPEAKER_00: If Akov gets taken six at Brooklyn, if you are the Kings, do you still go ceiling or do you go the best player available today?
30:11
SPEAKER_00: And the reason I ask that is that I think Michael Brown probably has a higher ceiling than Kingston Phoenix.
30:21
SPEAKER_00: But Kingston might be better today, and he might have a higher floor even though he is six foot one, six foot two.
30:33
SPEAKER_00: This is one of the reasons why, by the way, why I've never been able to be a true, true draft guy.
30:39
SPEAKER_00: It's just too many questions.
30:40
SPEAKER_00: You saw my track record, it's a lot of misses in there.
30:44
SPEAKER_00: Next, we're gonna have Natam.
30:47
SPEAKER_00: I've never seen somebody so polarizing from public perception to general manager perception.
30:55
SPEAKER_00: Where you've heard Nathan as high as six to Brooklyn, which I've watched the Nathan Mint film, I'm not super impressed with it.
31:03
SPEAKER_00: Um and then Brooklyn already took four first rounders last year, and a lot of those guys may be more projecty than impactful today.
31:11
SPEAKER_00: But if you go on to draft Twitter, Nathan Mint is like, I don't use the most hated, but the most yeah, hated prospect in this range.
31:22
SPEAKER_00: Where people look at it and say, hey, you're a 6'9 shot creator that didn't create shots and then you know what I'm saying?
31:28
SPEAKER_00: So I don't know what's gonna happen with Native Mint.
31:30
SPEAKER_00: You see him again as high as six.
31:31
SPEAKER_00: I've seen him as as low as 18 in some mocks.
31:34
SPEAKER_00: One of those guys that either is gonna make somebody look really, really great, or somebody that's gonna make you lose your job.
31:42
SPEAKER_00: I actually have not seen any film on the Lopez kid um that played in Australia last year, so I don't have any opinions about him whatsoever.
31:49
SPEAKER_00: But like, that's that's the draft, man.
31:52
SPEAKER_00: Some perfect fits for the draft.
31:53
SPEAKER_00: This is all open for interpretation.
31:55
SPEAKER_00: Like I said earlier, I'm not huge into college basketball, but the draft is where I really get to fall in love with a lot of these players.
32:03
SPEAKER_00: Um, I should, I should've, I should have.
32:06
SPEAKER_00: You know what?
32:06
SPEAKER_00: I'm not gonna add them to my guys, but a guy that I really, really, really like, y'all probably know what I'm about to say here, is is the Stanford point guard, Ibeka O'Corey.
32:18
SPEAKER_00: Oh no, man.
32:19
SPEAKER_00: He is speedy as hell, and I think he has a lot of boomer bust in him because of his size, but his his ability to process the game already at just you know one year at Stanford is is really great to me.
32:32
SPEAKER_00: And I don't know where he's gonna go.
32:34
SPEAKER_00: I've also seen him as high as 15 and as low as 28, but I think that some team is gonna get him, and I know that like the Raptors are really hoping to get him, and not Raptors front office, but fans.
32:45
SPEAKER_00: I've seen Raptors fans like, I hope he's there at 19.
32:47
SPEAKER_00: I've seen Timberwolves fans praying that he somehow is still on the board at 28, which you that would be super surprised to me.
32:53
SPEAKER_00: If like Ko-AP gets drafted before him, I would be surprised.
32:56
SPEAKER_00: If um the UNC big fella, Henry, I don't know how to pronounce his last name, is drafted above him, I'd be surprised.
33:03
SPEAKER_00: But it's it's a lot of interesting names.
33:05
SPEAKER_00: Even Jaden Quaint's who like, if it wasn't for the knee, I think we'd all be looking at Jaden Quaint as like a top 10 pick because of the defense, but the knee injury is scary.
33:14
SPEAKER_00: It's just straight up scary for a big fella to have a knee injury this earlier to his professional career because that's what college is at this point, professional playing.
33:22
SPEAKER_00: So that's the draft for me.
33:23
SPEAKER_00: Um, like I said, I got a flight to catch that I'm gonna end up at the draft, me and the guys, and we got some pretty interesting shoots planned.
33:30
SPEAKER_00: Um, if you saw what we did at game one of the NBA finals, we kind of took the pros and cons of that, you know, spur of the moment trip where we were down on the floor and we're trying to make it better this time around.
33:43
SPEAKER_00: Uh, and I think we got some pretty cool stuff planned.
33:45
SPEAKER_00: And we also have a live show every day in Brooklyn as well.
33:47
SPEAKER_00: I guess as you're watching this, tickets technically are still on sale, but you'll really be pushing up against the clock.
33:52
SPEAKER_00: Uh so yeah, full, full thing planned.
33:54
SPEAKER_00: Um, hoping to meet a lot of people there, a lot of people in front offices, hopefully, and a lot of the players that will hear their name called.
34:02
SPEAKER_00: And the draft is my favorite part of the NBA calendar.
34:06
SPEAKER_00: I love the draft more than I love the finals.
34:09
SPEAKER_00: I love the draft more than I love day one of free agency.
34:11
SPEAKER_00: I love the draft more than I love open tonight because we're about to see I'm gonna say 60.
34:17
SPEAKER_00: I don't think anybody had to sell their picks this year.
34:19
SPEAKER_00: You remember a few years ago, the Bulls lost a second round pick, and then like Huck Porti was the last pick in the draft, even though he was picked 58.
34:26
SPEAKER_00: I think it's truly all 60.
34:27
SPEAKER_00: We're about to see 60 names get called where kids are gonna see their dreams come true.
34:32
SPEAKER_00: These kids have have worked their butts off for their entire life to hear their name called.
34:37
SPEAKER_00: And then we're also gonna have hopefully another 10, another 20.
34:40
SPEAKER_00: They get opportunities at Summer League of guys that didn't get drafted that just have an opportunity to make a roster.
34:45
SPEAKER_00: So I love to see dreams get actualized, and I love to see what type of draft day trades we get, man.
34:51
SPEAKER_00: Remember, the Dare Queen trade was huge in real time when the Pelicans traded with the Atlanta Hawks, and that pick ends up being number eight.
35:00
SPEAKER_00: But in real time, we were like, oh my God, did they just give up a top five pick?
35:04
SPEAKER_00: And again, the Pelicans play well in the second half of the year, and the picks up being end up being eight.
35:08
SPEAKER_00: Uh, and I guess it's your analysis on whether or not you would rather have Dear Queen or pick number eight in this year's draft, it's up for your interpretation, but in their mind, they'd rather have Dear Queen.
35:18
SPEAKER_00: And I guess there's our rumors that they're trying to get also in the draft other places.
35:23
SPEAKER_00: So maybe you do see a Trey Murphy trade.
35:26
SPEAKER_00: Um, I'm trying to go my entire podcast without saying that Greek fella name because I feel like that's all we've been able to talk about over the last month and when it comes to off-season trades, because everything is held up because of Big Yan-Yan.
35:41
SPEAKER_00: Um, but maybe we do see that Giannis trade on Tuesday.
35:44
SPEAKER_00: Hell, maybe by the time this episode is out, Giannis has already been traded, which will be crazy.
35:49
SPEAKER_00: So I would open this up to y'all.
35:51
SPEAKER_00: Let me know who your favorite prospects are in this year's draft.
35:55
SPEAKER_00: Where are your historically, where are your biggest hits and misses?
35:58
SPEAKER_00: Because let's be real, we all gonna have misses.
36:00
SPEAKER_00: And if you telling me you ain't had no miss, damn it.
36:03
SPEAKER_00: Um give me your information, I'm gonna send it to the Bulls so you can be our draft expert.
36:06
SPEAKER_00: But everybody has had misses, even the guys that I respect the most in this realm have had big, big misses.
36:11
SPEAKER_00: That's what it is.
36:12
SPEAKER_00: Because at the end of the day, you you can't really account for how much these guys will adjust to the next level.
36:19
SPEAKER_00: And then the work ethic and the mental aspect of it all.
36:22
SPEAKER_00: You can watch all the tape in the world.
36:25
SPEAKER_00: But some players are just not gonna work as hard as a guy drafted seven spots after him.
36:29
SPEAKER_00: And that guy drafted seven spots after him is gonna end up looking like the better pick.
36:32
SPEAKER_00: So, you know, it's a lottery to figure out what pick you're gonna have, but it also is lottery adjacent to be like, oh, we hit a home run.
36:41
SPEAKER_00: You know, here's how I would expect the the lottery to go.
36:46
SPEAKER_00: Off the cup mock.
36:48
SPEAKER_00: Darren Peterson, number one.
36:50
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm buying the buzz that Darren Peterson has has made it a point that he wants to go to Washington and will dawk at the company.
36:57
SPEAKER_00: I love it.
36:58
SPEAKER_00: Pick two, I'm gonna go AJ DeBonta.
37:01
SPEAKER_00: Pick three, I will go Cam Boozer.
37:02
SPEAKER_00: Pick four, I'll go Caleb Wilson.
37:04
SPEAKER_00: Pick five.
37:07
SPEAKER_00: Pick five, I will go Keaton Waggler.
37:10
SPEAKER_00: Pick six, I'll go Michael Brown.
37:12
SPEAKER_00: Pick seven, I got you there, Darius.
37:14
SPEAKER_00: I got you to your spot.
37:15
SPEAKER_00: Pick eight, I will go Daymar.
37:17
SPEAKER_00: Pick nine, Braden Burries.
37:18
SPEAKER_00: Pick ten, Kingston's Kingston Flemings.
37:23
SPEAKER_00: Pick 11, Jaxel.
37:26
SPEAKER_00: Pick 12.
37:28
SPEAKER_00: Man, Mo John's end up in OKC.
37:31
SPEAKER_00: My goodness.
37:32
SPEAKER_00: My goodness.
37:35
SPEAKER_00: Pick 13 is the Heat.
37:38
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe Milwaukee.
37:40
SPEAKER_00: If it's Milwaukee, then they take Native Mint at 13.
37:44
SPEAKER_00: If it's the Heat, they take Steinbach.
37:47
SPEAKER_00: And then pick 14, I don't know.
37:49
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna go with the Lopez kid, even though I have not, like I said, I've not seen a single second of him.
37:54
unknown: Okay.
37:55
SPEAKER_00: That's the draft.
37:57
SPEAKER_00: I do want to take a couple minutes here to talk about this season at large.
38:01
SPEAKER_00: Um if you are a small ball with Kenny Beach and Watcher, you may also watch the other content that we produce here at Enjoy Basketball, whether it be numbers on the board, uh whether it be tee it up, whether it be the Enjoy Basketball YouTube channel, whether it be Wag Talk, we got a lot of independent properties here that we're really proud of.
38:18
SPEAKER_00: Um, this season was different than any other season on the content side that we've had.
38:24
SPEAKER_00: As y'all know, we were lucky enough to ink a partnership with NBC.
38:28
SPEAKER_00: Love that partnership.
38:29
SPEAKER_00: Shout out to the team over there, they've been so great to us.
38:32
SPEAKER_00: And with that, we had to adjust our schedule.
38:34
SPEAKER_00: If you if you have been a small ball viewer, you know that I have been doing one time a week on this show for quite some time.
38:40
SPEAKER_00: But on numbers on the board, we had gone from a two times a week show, which was Tuesdays and Saturdays, to two shows on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
38:51
SPEAKER_00: For seven months straight, we did five shows a week collectively, and then I had small ball, and then I also had a radio show.
38:57
SPEAKER_00: So I was doing seven shows a week.
39:00
SPEAKER_00: Seven shows a week, which the actual process of the shows, not hard at all.
39:06
SPEAKER_00: If you think of it, again, I turn, I do, I do my research, I make a run of show, and I turn on the camera and I yap about basketball.
39:12
SPEAKER_00: I am not complaining about the luxury that I have in this position.
39:16
SPEAKER_00: What I am talking about is how the content ended up overlapping, if that makes sense.
39:23
SPEAKER_00: Where I do believe there were times when it comes to numbers, or hell, even here on small ball, where even though we put together a run of show and we know we're gonna talk about and so on, we come into the office and we don't produce the best possible show.
39:36
SPEAKER_00: And I think part of that is the volume of everything.
39:40
SPEAKER_00: Um, especially when you get to the point where, like, sometimes in the dead of the regular season, it becomes difficult to come up with a two-hour show, you know, about stuff that we we don't even know if y'all are really really watching.
39:52
SPEAKER_00: And then we get to the postseason, it becomes even more difficult because we have a day, let's say we have a game on Wednesday, boom, Thursday morning episode, we talk about that game, and that's cool, but maybe there's no game on Thursday.
40:04
SPEAKER_00: And then we come into Friday and be like, okay, what do we do with this?
40:08
SPEAKER_00: And the simple answer to it is like, get creative, Kenny.
40:12
SPEAKER_00: And that that is what we attempted to do all season long.
40:15
SPEAKER_00: But even with the four brains working together, I do feel like there are times where we were creative with the episode idea, but the but the actual content that we produce maybe wasn't up to our standard.
40:25
SPEAKER_00: So I'll tell you all that to say that the 2026-2027 season, we are reflecting on what we did in 2025-2026, seeing what worked, seeing what didn't work.
40:36
SPEAKER_00: And I think we already have an idea that that volume of shows didn't really work.
40:40
SPEAKER_00: Because we we convinced ourselves beforehand that it made sense because there have been times throughout the history of our show where big news happened on a Wednesday.
40:49
SPEAKER_00: We just filmed on Tuesday.
40:50
SPEAKER_00: Damn it.
40:50
SPEAKER_00: We don't have an opportunity to talk about this big news until Saturday.
40:53
SPEAKER_00: And if you add them extra shows, big news happened on Wednesday, Thursday morning.
40:56
SPEAKER_00: Hey, so-and-so got traders.
40:58
SPEAKER_00: Hey, so-and-so just broke Kobe's 81.
41:01
SPEAKER_00: Like we had opportunities to have those episodes on the fly.
41:04
SPEAKER_00: But when it was on a day-to-day basis, I feel like it just didn't really work as well as we wanted it to.
41:10
SPEAKER_00: And the numbers show this, the response and the feedback from the community showed this as well.
41:15
SPEAKER_00: And I just think that we want it so that numbers on the board is a show that you don't want to miss an episode of.
41:23
SPEAKER_00: And I do think that throughout the season there were episodes, whether it'd be a Thursday or a Friday episode, specifically Thursday.
41:28
SPEAKER_00: That's the one that really got to people.
41:30
SPEAKER_00: Um, where the audience, you guys, just felt like, hmm, I just I will just miss this one.
41:36
SPEAKER_00: Which like you gotta do what you want to do, but like we don't want you to feel that way.
41:40
SPEAKER_00: We want you to feel like this is an essential part of your basketball viewing experience.
41:45
SPEAKER_00: And I think part of that is to lower the amount of shows that we're doing on a weekly basis and make it so that those shows that we do produce are really special and they can be really entertaining for two to three hours, however long we want it to go.
41:58
SPEAKER_00: So we are looking at stuff like that.
42:01
SPEAKER_00: Um, I went on to Kay Adams' show a couple weeks back, and she asked me the question, like, what's next for enjoy basketball?
42:09
SPEAKER_00: And I said, like, what's next for us is that we want to have enjoy football, we want to have enjoy baseball, enjoy golf, enjoy football, and so on.
42:16
SPEAKER_00: And that is still true, but I probably in that interview should have said, we're not ready to do that right now.
42:22
SPEAKER_00: Because the amount of DMs and text messages and uh uh emails that I got from creators in the space saying, hey, I want to be a part of the team was so crazy, which makes me feel like we here at Enjoy are building something special that so many people want to work with us.
42:36
SPEAKER_00: But I also have to tell all those people we're not there just yet.
42:39
SPEAKER_00: Reminder that Enjoy basketball as a company truly still is a startup company, still, y'all.
42:45
SPEAKER_00: Like though we have been in business for four years and been creating content for that four years, we are still pretty early on in our development.
42:52
SPEAKER_00: And while it would be amazing to sign your favorite football creators or some of the other favorite basketball creators, we're just not in a position to do that just yet.
43:00
SPEAKER_00: You know, we're lucky enough to be able to pay the people that already work here, hopefully a wage that they really are happy about.
43:08
SPEAKER_00: But as far as branching out, we're probably a little bit aways from it.
43:11
SPEAKER_00: Um, but I can't wait once we get there.
43:13
SPEAKER_00: Like I don't want to put a fake timeline for y'all to say, hey, by the 2027 football season, we'll be ready to do it.
43:20
SPEAKER_00: I don't want to say that because I don't know.
43:21
SPEAKER_00: I literally don't know.
43:23
SPEAKER_00: Part of being a business owner of a startup, you don't you I don't know what next year looks like at all.
43:27
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I can try to project, I can try to hope for some things, but you never really know.
43:32
SPEAKER_00: Um so yeah, we're figuring some things out.
43:36
SPEAKER_00: We've been lucky enough to do some partnerships with the NBA, which is one of our big like who'd who would have been able to predict that we'd have a true partnership with the league?
43:45
SPEAKER_00: Like, there's so many people that create content around the sport, around these leagues, the W and the MBA.
43:52
SPEAKER_00: Um but you never really think that you're gonna be able to have a partnership with the people that are making those decisions, and we've been lucky enough to do.
44:00
SPEAKER_00: That and that has opened up so many doors to create some cooler content.
44:02
SPEAKER_00: So, like this whole offseason for us, whether it be me and the four guys that do numbers, or me and the many producers that are on the team, or a content lead, or the other owners of the company, we're taking this off season to be like, okay, what is the craziest thing we can do and get away with?
44:18
SPEAKER_00: And I can't wait to figure out what exactly that looks like and what exactly the answer is.
44:23
SPEAKER_00: But I gotta notes in my phone where I just I have some of those pie in the sky ideas of content pieces and people I would love to bring to the team.
44:36
SPEAKER_00: And I can't wait to see if we can make that a possibility, man.
44:39
SPEAKER_00: Um so yeah, 2026-2027 season, expect the content that we produce to feel I don't know, feel better.
44:49
SPEAKER_00: Feel better.
44:50
SPEAKER_00: I want everybody to feel happy about it.
44:51
SPEAKER_00: I want the people that are producing the content to feel happy, I want people that are watching the content to feel happy, all of the above.
44:57
SPEAKER_00: And 2026-27, I am guaranteeing on my Charles Barkley shit, I am guaranteeing that that will be the case.
45:05
SPEAKER_00: And some of the other stuff we're working on is kind of cool too.
45:07
SPEAKER_00: Listen, we're going, we just had, we went to the NBA Finals as a company.
45:12
SPEAKER_00: I every time I'd ever been credentialed in my life, it would say Kenny Beacham or Kentral Beacham.
45:17
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes they go government, sometimes they go shorter name.
45:20
SPEAKER_00: And it'll say House of Highlights or Turner Sports or NBC or ESPN slash Omaha.
45:27
SPEAKER_00: This is the first, I'm gonna get this framed.
45:29
SPEAKER_00: The NBA Finals, it said Kenny Beachum, and then my publication was enjoy basketball.
45:34
SPEAKER_00: Blows my mind that that was a thing.
45:37
SPEAKER_00: So we're going to the NBA draft, and we're gonna have another one of those that in theory is gonna say Kenny Beachum, enjoy basketball.
45:44
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, man, we really, we really are doing this thing.
45:47
SPEAKER_00: So we got that, and then after the draft, we're going to summer league.
45:52
SPEAKER_00: And summer league is my my favorite trip of the year.
45:55
SPEAKER_00: Again, my favorite time of the year is the draft, but this is my first time going to the draft.
45:58
SPEAKER_00: My favorite trip of the year is summer league.
46:00
SPEAKER_00: It is something we all look forward to so much because though it is still basketball, it is so much more laid back than any of the other content that we produce throughout the regular season.
46:08
SPEAKER_00: Um, we're like, dude, there have been times we just get on the hotel elevator.
46:12
SPEAKER_00: It's like, oh, oh, snap, Cooper Flags in the elevator with me.
46:15
SPEAKER_00: You know, like it's just craziness that happens in Vegas.
46:18
SPEAKER_00: Every almost every NBA mind you can think of is there at the same time.
46:22
SPEAKER_00: The networking opportunities is ridiculous.
46:24
SPEAKER_00: And while I will say I have been a poor networker in the previous times of my life, I think that in San Antonio a few months ago or last month, I I got better.
46:34
SPEAKER_00: Last month, that was like a week ago, I got better in that networking part, and I can't wait for Summer League to be like just talking to people and just like I have been always a guy that's been afraid to walk up to somebody whose work I admire.
46:46
SPEAKER_00: In Vegas, I walked up to many people, like hey yo, I'm just introduced myself and Kenny Beach or Love your work.
46:49
SPEAKER_00: Boom.
46:50
SPEAKER_00: That's the whole conversation.
46:51
SPEAKER_00: The whole conversation.
46:52
SPEAKER_00: Um, so I can't wait to do that.
46:53
SPEAKER_00: And I would always recommend if you are somebody that is trying to get into the basketball space as a scout, as an editor, as a writer, as anything, Summer League is a place to be.
47:05
SPEAKER_00: You never know who you're gonna turn it, run into.
47:08
SPEAKER_00: Um, and I don't know if content groups are still the same, but when I was growing up, it just made sense to create a content group with people that are A-like-minded and like in size when it comes to like their audiences, where you know, a lot of the groups that you know and love today, most of those guys, when they started together, probably had the same amount of subscribers or close to like, hey, I let's do a video together.
47:32
SPEAKER_00: I was send my fan base, you send your fan base, and now we can cross-pollinate, and boom, just like that, we have a huge audience together.
47:38
SPEAKER_00: That's the way I'll be looking at Summer League as well.
47:40
SPEAKER_00: Where like you're if you're an independent writer that you really love your stuff or you're struggling to have people get your eyes on it, you may find another writer that has a little bit of a base that you know y'all can work on something together, and now you guys are just gaining traction and gaining fan bases that way.
47:55
SPEAKER_00: Um, and you know, you never know who you're gonna run into, man.
47:58
SPEAKER_00: You never know who you're gonna run into.
48:00
SPEAKER_00: You never know the content either.
48:02
SPEAKER_00: Like, even if you're a person that is not making content yet, that you want to make content, please do, especially in the NBA space, because the doors are more open now than any time ever.
48:13
SPEAKER_00: Where I don't want to name drop, but there are people that have been YouTube scouts just out of the love of the game.
48:22
SPEAKER_00: YouTube scouts that have got real scouting jobs for real NBA teams based on a YouTube resume, y'all.
48:31
SPEAKER_00: Go create the content, man.
48:34
SPEAKER_00: Be okay with looking silly.
48:36
SPEAKER_00: Be okay with looking silly.
48:38
SPEAKER_00: That's like one of the biggest things people tell me, I'm just not comfortable with being wrong, or I'm not comfortable with looking silly.
48:45
SPEAKER_00: Be okay with it.
48:47
SPEAKER_00: Because for every time you look silly and you miss on the draft pick, that could be seven times you look great.
48:53
SPEAKER_00: Be okay with the missus, man.
48:55
SPEAKER_00: Be okay with the missus.
48:56
SPEAKER_00: Create content.
48:58
SPEAKER_00: Even if even if even if you just love the game but you don't want it to be your profession, or you're not sure if you want it to be your profession, create the content.
49:07
SPEAKER_00: Who is it, Colin and Samir?
49:09
unknown: Right?
49:09
SPEAKER_00: Is that those are the guys?
49:10
SPEAKER_00: I gotta google this real quick.
49:11
SPEAKER_00: If I'm not mistaken, um, they have a a sh a hat, a piece of merch, that says like, press publish.
49:22
SPEAKER_00: The greatest advice you give to a creator in life is to press publish.
49:25
SPEAKER_00: You never know.
49:27
SPEAKER_00: You never know.
49:28
SPEAKER_00: Hopefully, you enjoyed this episode of Smallball with Kenny Beecham.
49:31
SPEAKER_00: Way more laid back.
49:32
SPEAKER_00: I do want to say that we are going on a brief hiatus for the the postseason or the off-season here on Small Ball, but again, we will be doing shows, we will still be doing Kenny for Real and so on.
49:42
SPEAKER_00: But I do think that when big news happen, it makes more sense for me to go on to numbers on the boards to talk about it or Kenny for Real versus Smallball.
49:50
SPEAKER_00: And I do want to rework small ball just a little bit, but that's a conversation for another day.
49:54
SPEAKER_00: If you enjoyed the episode, leave it a like, subscribe, and I'll see y'all next time, baby.
49:59
SPEAKER_00: Man, this is this is one hell of a season.
50:01
SPEAKER_00: What hell of a season?
50:02
SPEAKER_00: Love you.
50:02
SPEAKER_00: See you soon.
50:04
SPEAKER_00: DraftKings is now live in all 50 states, and right now, new DraftKings customers can spend$5 to get$200 in total bonuses.
50:11
SPEAKER_00: All you have to do is download the DraftKings sports app and use promo code Enjoy when you sign up.
50:16
SPEAKER_00: DraftKings is now available nationwide.
50:18
SPEAKER_00: So take your shot and get involved.
50:20
SPEAKER_00: DraftKings, the crown is yours.