Final First Round Picks and Outlook

Coming up, we get got mock drafts. I'm going to talk through the entire first round of the twenty twenty six NBA draft with my latest mock draft, which is based on all the latest intel around the NBA. We talk a little bit about the Yanna stuff in there as well. Look aheads of Saturday night Nick Spurs and if you do want a podcast on Saturday night, you're in luck because Tom Habister and I are going live Saturday night right after game five will be live on YouTube and the audio version will be posted immediately afterwards. And by the way, if you are an audio listener On Spotify, we are so close to one thousand reviews. So I'd love to hit one thousand before the NBA draft. That's our goal Please give us a five star review on Spotify if you haven't done so already. It does help out the show a lot and let's hit our goal together. Have a good one everybody. Talk to you on Saturday night and here's the mock draft It's the best time of the year in the NBA right now with the conference finals, then the finals, then the draft and summer League And on game time You got the advantage as a fan. It's the hack for unlocking amazing tickets and just a few taps. It's incredibly easy to use and the game time guarantee means you can trust you'll get one hundred percent authentic tickets to no matter the event that you're trying to go to. pllus Fes are always included so you get to see what you pay. I'm very thankful to get credentials to these events in the basketball world. So I will be using the game time app instead. my summer concerts coming up. I'm very excited about it. One of the cooler features about the Gameime app is the seat views. You get to have a panoramic view of your seat in the app before you buy And I've been using that when I've been looking for tickets at venues that I haven't been to before to get an idea of what it's going to look like when I decide or what seat I'm going to have at the concerts that I'm going to. So take the guesswork out of buying tickets with game time Download the Gameime app, create an account and use code KOC. for twenty dollars off your first purchase. Terms do apply again Create an account and Rdeem code KOC for twenty dollars off. Download the Gameime app today. Avoiding your unfinished home projects because you're not sure where to start, Thumbtack knows homes, so you don't have to. Don't know the difference between matte paint finish and satin, or what that clunking sound from your dryer is. With Thumbtack, you don't have to be a home pro. You just have to hire one. You can hire top rated pros, see price estimates, and read reviews all on the app. Download today days away from the NBA draft. So let's do another mock draft with all the latest untel starting with number one, the Washington Wizards, nothing's changed here. stillill got them taken AJD Bana out of BYU. It does seem like Washington continues to do their due diligence, thinking about Boozer, thinking about Peterson, talking about trades, but in all likelihood AJD Bona is looking like the selection here for the Washington Wizards. You know the deal with him. six foot nine, seven foot one wingspan, potentially a dominant scorer. I love the clip of him during the NBA finals, where he saw the OG and Oi played and he was going crazy over that. And I was thinking to myself like, oh, I wonder if with all the criticism of AJD Bond and not being a high steel player, a high block player despite his measurables and athleticism, if he'll watch this game and realize, oh OG andobi, the guy who might win finals MVP He's doing it with more than just scoring. Here's what I have to do to truly be a superstar. So I don't know. I thought crossed my mind for, you know, a young nineteen year old kid watching the NBA finals and seeing a moment like that from OGian and Obi. So we'll see with the wizards. I think he's a perfect fit there. He is the the safest pick overall for that roster, just a great fit with their youth and with their veterans, but we'll see how this plays out over the remaining days before the draft. With the second pick, I'm changing to Cambooer here because just a gut feeling. this isn't based on intntel or anything like that. But you look at the history with the Aes back in Boston once upon a time when they had the number one pick in the twenty seventeen draft They worked out Markeel Folz. and something was just off with him. He had a poor workout. He seemed very immature, didn't look like a guy who could ever become the leader, which is important. point guard. and so what did the Celtics do they traded down to the third pick and they got Jason Tatum, one of the best draft trades in the history of the sport So now you look at the Utah jazz in this position with a number two pick. They do have good options here, obviously, but I just think about it with Darren Peterson. thinkink about the downside aspect, the whole Cramping saaga. He missed eleven out of thirty five games and One of those games came against undefeated Arizona. fifteen minutes before the game, he pulls himself out, says I can't play of flu like symptoms Is that a gamer? Is that a guy who really is a go getter that you think the jazz or draft or that false experience? This is a annti social loner, self proclaimed antis social loner I think the guard has to be a bit of a leader on your team. And so I just wonder the back of my mind, If in reality player we've seen in college basketball in recent years as a freshman, Camboozer. might actually be the pick with the second pick here for the Utah jazz because Boozer, I started this whole process when the jazz won the draft lottery And I was like, well, wait are they going to trade up to number one to get BYU's AJD Mansa And I thking o, Can Boozer is not a great fit here. They already have Jaron Jackson junr. They got Larry Market in. They're probably bringing back Walker Kessler. Boozer doesn't fit. But the more I thought about it, over this past month since the lottery, I'm like, Dude, the lineup versatility Jazz would have would be insane. bothoth Jackson and market and have played the three. in multiple iterations on different teams in the past Boozer's ability to space the floor as a shooter. He can play next to a non shooter or play Bolleyball inside. He can rebound at an elite level as well You could play with Jumbo lineups with Kessler and Jackson and Market in and Boozer with Kante George or Ace Bailey To me like The lineup flexibility of those Utah teams would just be retty fascinating. watch It feels very modern to me with skill across positions and with size and flexibility. So it's just Gut feeling. everybody else has Peterson in the slot and understandably so. He's a remarkable score as we'll get to in a second with the third pick here with the grizzlies, but I just got a feeling in the back of my mind that Utah is I could do something a little bit surprising here with the second pick. So I'm going with Cambooer with the second pick. That's a big change in this mock draft. and obviously causes the dominal effect of things later on down the board. Number three Memphis S Grizle Everybody's got Cambooer here pairing with Zach Ey all makes all the sense in the world, but hey Darren Peterson will be the selection in this mock draft considering he's the one who falls after the bona and Boozero one and two Peterson to me, still works here in Memphis. You pair him with Cedric Howard, Zach Edy, Jalen Wells, this potential ation moving forward with these young guys growing together This is a team that still would need a true point guard assuming John Marant is very well on the way out and I believe he will be either via trade or buyout So maybe they get that guy with their next pick at number sixteen, but Peterson, multiple guy who can handle the ball, playoff ball. I think he would be a sensational fit for the Memphis Grizzlies even though Boozers the guy everybody's getting excited about right now in Memphis. Number four, Chicago Bowls, Kaya Wilson. Nothing's changed here. I don't expect anything else to happen. I think Wilson will be the pick here unless there's a shocker with one of the top three teams taking Wilson, but I do not anticipate that happening. But with his versatility as a defender, his rebounding ability, the flashes he shows offensively We know what he did against Kansas. We know we did in a half against Duke. when the jumper is falling, he looks like a potential star. And even without that, the lob finishing, the downhill attacking, the open floor creation as well. there's some there's something special here, potentially with Wilson that could be untapped moving forward in the NBA Nber five, LA Clippers. I get them taking Mikeael Bown, Louisville Garde here, but the fascinating thing with the clippers is more on the intel side. There's continues to be noise with the sources I talk to around the league that the cllippers are a possible trade spot a team to move up with somebody that has multiple firsts like Atlanta. They have eight in twenty three, Dallas nine and thirty OKC twelve and seventeen, Charlotte, fourteen and eighteen. If the bucks do trade Yanis ahead of the draft, they could have two first with ten and thirteen or whoever if it is Miami as a team that does trade for Yanis. So I think the cllippers are are very much a team that could be moving down here for multiple first round draft picks and To me, I personally I think that would be very wise for them. I don't love any of the fits here. I do not love Darius A cuff fit with Darius Garland I don't love the woggler fit either for that team as well too small in the back court Michael Brown to me just feels like the M versatile on ball and offball guy next to Garland, but even that's not ideal, which speaks to the point that nothing here really makes all the sense in the world LA. So why not move down, get two shots in the top seventeen range or so in a really, really strong draft class after you got rewarded this pick on lottery night thanks to that Y Zubats pacers trade. So I like a trade down for the clippers here and that's what I'm thinking is highly likely to happen Number six The Bookle Nets. Earlier this week on Tuesday, I reported that Nate Aymond and Carem Lopez worked out against each other. This workout was originally supposed to have Kingston Flemings and Keaton Wagler as part of it. Those two guards the both of them canceled this workout. A a prior group workout they had with the Bulls, which featured Nate Aymond, Mz Johnson and Wagler and Flemings and a few other guys like more second round undrafted guys. So something happened in that workout that caused the two guards to say, we don't want to work out against each other or with these guys again. So they canceled that nets's workout It turned into Ament versus Lopez And um, I don't have either them Take care for Brooklyn I do think Brooklyn is another team that could be a trade down possibility. I continue to hear about possibly the Kings moving up one spot. to assure themselves getting Darius ACuff. I've heard about Atlanta possibly moving up as well to jump in front of the kings to get the guy that they want to guarantee their guy and And I don't know if that means Darius A cuff I don't know that for certain But ACuff is the guy in the slot that I have. It's hard not to watch these NBA finals with Jayalen Brunson leading the Kicks all the way one game away now from the NBA finals. and not think about Darus Af and what it could mean for him moving forward in the NB when hes six foot two with a six heaven wingspan, a versatile player who can play with and without the ball, a very talented playmaker He's got it all offensively It's just defensively. as you know, he's just completely garbage He was terrible at Arkansas. He was so bad that even Draymon Green, who I had a my pod earlier this week I asked Draymon about ACf. We were talking him up. It was a really good conversation. but on Draymon's show He like was criticizing ACuuff's defense to his face saying, here's what you got to do to be better And yeah, AC has a long way to go. I just don't know if he cares on defense. He talks about it how he cares, but I haven't seen it on the floor. Regardless offensively the dud to beast and when it comes to playoff timees, some of these guys can step up and he has the body to at least play tough. Nber seven Keat and Waggler to the Sacramento Kings, Obviously, the kings continue to want A cuff air. All indications are they want A cuff Maybe this is all a smokes screen. I don't think so. I think it is very real that Sacramento wants ACf and views him as a potential face of the franchise for the next decade and it's not just rooted in the relationship between Scott Perry and ACuff's father s has nothing to do with just them being Detroit guys. It's their belief in him as a player. That said Waggler is the pick here because ACf got taken at six. And this is a very real potential scenario to think about on draft night. I remember about, you know, maybe late May, early June, one of the mocks I did, I had Waggler, I think falling to eighth and a lot of people were like, no way This isn't going to happen. Walkner' fifth or sixth at worst. Not so fast. Waggler From what I understand, you know, he was expected to be the fifth pick, but I don't believe the cllippers are super in love with him. Wagler himself just canceled the group workout with the nets who have the sixth pick and so Here we are at number seven with Sacramento and my league sources say he has a workout with Sack next week So Wagler will be working out with the Kings as Sacramento continues to do their due diligence on Fing a new point card for their roster moving forward Number eight, the Atlanta Hawks. I get them taking a die Mara out of Michigan. Mara to me is a no brainer selection here In my eyes for Atlanta, depending on the guards available. I think the way this board falls I would go Mara and I would instead look for my guard at twenty three. Wh's the best guy left? at twenty three is what I would be thinking about if I'm the Hwks because they do need size. I am a big on yet O Kongu guy. his development offensively is so impressive defensively he has some versatility. He's just not big enough to be true five and And so I' like to see Atlantico jumbo here Mara, O Kong Ru, Jayalen Johnson Font court that team would be freaking huge tough to score on and still with a lot of skill on the offensive end and perimeter in general. So I like Mara here personally But I do think Atlanta is definitely looking at a lot of guards for the spot as well in addition to showing a willingness to trading up into the five or six vibe Number nine Still Braiding and Burryes to the Dallas Mavericks. I know this is a boring pick. Burryess is here and everybody's mock. It seems like he's steering his way towards Dallas Doesn't guarantee he'll be the pick here, but Burry six foot four six six wingspan very tough over two hundred pounds. He's heavy, he's strong, versatile offensively. I think he personally like would be a really great fit with Cooper Flag. I know it's boring to a lot of Mavs fans, but sometimes boring is the best possible thing for you Number ten Kingston Flemings from the Houston Cougars going to the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bs man. I mean, there is So much honest noise right now. I reported on my podcast on Thursday how you're following up on what Bill Simmon said on his pod about the Celtics being in on Yianis and then on what Jake Fisher said about the heat being nervous about the Celtics I reported on my pod that the Celtics had everybody on the table. aside from Jason Tatum and that they are being aggressive and looking er offers for some of their guys have to compile assets for the box Sam Amk over at the athletic reported again on Friday morning, adding even more context to the story here bus as I hinted at in my podcast, don't want Jayalen Brown. Jayalen Brown would have to go a third team. This would have to be a complex three four team deal for Jan us to land with the Boston Celtics Bottom line is Books have options The heat want y on us, the Celtiics want y on us. And as the athletic reported two other teams, the Minnesota T Wolfves and the Orlando magic continue to be teams that are interested in Yan us. I said to Tom Havistro on my podcast on Thursday Think about mystery teams Those are two of them Who are her mothers that you think could be a mystery team for Janna Senator Cuba. Just keep it in mind Just keep it in mind. I'd be curious with the comment in the YouTube comments or the Spotify comments who you think another team should be That should pursue Jan' because there are others out there. So we'll see what the bucks do. I get to take Kingston Flemings guard out of Houston here Flemings to me he's going to be a good NBA player. He's just so tough, so smart. So skilled. P part of me thinks he should be just selected higher here than he is here despite the fact he's small I really like Flemings a lot. hadad him on pod, Re good kid. And we'll be right back after this break Number eleven, Golden State Warriors, Nate Amenss Boy Warriors fans don't like this pick. I already know. this is this would be the most warriors possible selection, taking raw Six foot ten. Maybe he's good, maybe he sucks prospect and they I meant for Steve Cor who who historically Sure does love playing young guys at are raw, right? I'm sure Kr would love this pick. I just think Ament offers some upside. These six foot ten guys don't grow on trees when they can handle the ball and shoot off the dribble the way Ament can He's got a lot of skill, man I think his range is anywhere like starting at six with Brooklyn It somewhere in the mid mid teens. I think it's a pretty wide range for him that could fall like slightly outside the lottery, but in all likelihood He's a top ten top eleven guy because somebody's going to take a b a swing on him here. and I think Golden State despite the fact curves back, despite the fact Draymon and Crier back Sometimes you' going to take swings and that's how you're rewarded the most. Number twelve, Kareine Lopez the Oklahoma City Thunder. Lopez he fits a need for this team. They need a big forward. Kareine Lopez a sixty eight over two hundred twenty pounds long wingspan, very tough. He's got a man's body. I think he's someone who could come right in and he projects as a role player and That's where you could be on a rookie scale contract for OKC moving forward. But again, OKC is a team looking to move up. All indications are they are looking to move up and I think that target Be a Daimara I think it could be, but it's who knows with the Thunder honestly. likeike you you can't you can't predict anything. This is just hearsay. when it comes to OKC, what other people are saying, you never get anything thunder of substance Number thirteen The Miami Heat. I get them takaking Hana Steinback here, even though like I just don't know if they're going to be here. There's a favorite to Land Yianis We'll see if that actually ends up happening U I think for the heat having another big would make some sense here The Clele wear Bamana bio lineup works statistically. Spolster doesn't seem to be in love with wear though. So Maybe maybe even if you don't get Janas, you flip we somewhere else and bring in another big Hanna Steinbeck to me with his size six ten, seven two wingspan, the potential shooting ability paired with his skill on the interior offensively. I'd be very intrigued by having that combination of size and skill Bam at a bio and Hanna Steinbeck together Number thirty numberber fourteen The Charlotte Hornets Marj Johnson still the pick here same as last week restaurants I just I get excited about Morz Johnson being paired with Lamelo Ball and Con Knip and Brandon Miller. I mean Marz Johnson is one of the quintessential Rle player who makes these beyond the box score plays. He's tough. He's two hundred and fifty pounds with a seven four wingspin, versatile downhill guy off rolls to the rim and loobbs can switch across positions defensively Ggive me Morz Johnson, dude. I love Mareis Johnson Number fifteen to the Chicago Bulls. Bennett Sturts had them taken Kayle Wilson with the fourth pick. Now they find a true pure point guard here in Sturts I think a lot of people are like, wait, wait a minute. whereere is the Baron Fylon? Where is Ubuo Cory? We'll get to them in a second The bottom line here is with SturTts or any of these guards in this range These guys are all in a fight for these slots, for these guard needy teams They're all fighting for it And somebody is eventually going to fall, somebody's going to go higher than expected My understanding when I talk to sources around the league is that for all of them, Stur, O Cory Fyon their their range is late lottery to early mid twenties. like it's it's a wide range. It's going to be a Beauty is in the eye of the beholder selection for a lot of these teams. and I just think for Bennet Sturts his ability to play with and without the ball would really be a nice fit with Haya Woltson and picking roll with with their big forwards they have on that team Mas Bzelis Josh Gittdy, Noah Senge, this team to me would be very exciting to have sturts at the controls moving forward. Number sixteen, the Memphis Grizzlies after getting Darren Peterson with the third pick in this mock. I've got them taking Abuca O'Corey out of Stanford with this pick. O'Cy and Peterson back court together be very intriguing. They have Maybe contrasting styles, maybe complimmentary files U Cy more of a downhill guy, fifty percent of his shots last year at Stanford came at the rim. Peterson, of course, more of a perimeter oriented player. Maybe those guys would work quite well together in a back court. That said, team would feel a bit small. O Cory Peterson coward at the three all of a sudden feeles a little small to me. U if on ememphis, which speaks to why I would so badly want Cambooer with the third pick instead of Daron Peterson. But O Core' the pick here Um There's other guards obviously on the table as well, but like Fylon here one hundred and seventy five pounds. I don't know about that. We'll get to him in a second. Number seventeen, OkayC. this is a pick that a lot of people talk about if the Thunderr can't trade up. twelve and seventeen that The Thunder could just move out of this pick trading seventeen perhaps to a team that's not even in the first round. New Orleans. Phoenix, a team like that for a future pick or future picks That could be what happens here with the seventeenth pick for OKC That said, the guy I'm having them pick hairs Alan Graves. Alan Graves. If you're watching this YouTube video or listening to the podcast this far in You already know the name Alan Graves. He is an analytics darling, but he also does so much stuff beyond the box score as well. He's a tough hardard nosed, gritty basketball player, unexpected one and done came off the bench last year at Santa Clara and yet here he is a potential top ten top top twenty pick in the NBA draft and also on the top ten on many analytics boards. I saw on X earlier this morning on my for you page, somebody who who I hadn't followed in the draft community. had graves seconds on their board. I think that's crazy I think that's too high But he does have his people around the league that I've talked to. They' like, yeah, I think Graves is the seventh best player or the eighth best player in the draft. So he's got his people and depending on how you perceive him, the seventeenth pick is either a major steal or a major reach because many others perceive him as a guy that should get drafted early second round. It's a wide range round Number eighteen This is a hard one. I have the hornets taking Malik Thomas. I know this doesn't make all the sense in the world considering they're probably going to resign Kobe White and they already have Lelo ball. They drafted Conconiple last year I just don't know if I I'm going to see them taking two bigger guys here to me, like I think you could still Use another guard And I think Malik Thomas showed a lot last year for Arkansas with his ability to play with And without the ball He played basically the entire season next to Darius A cff and he shined playing offball. And then in the games when Af was out, including againgst old Miss and the SEC championship, he had twenty nine points and looked amazing on balked as he did all year long When A cuff was off the floor and Thomas was on, Thomas's efficiency was actually better without a cuff out there. So I think this is a guy with his skill off the catch and off the dribble that he would have the need to be a primary curator alleviated with all the other guys that Charlotte has and I think drafting him doesn't necessarily prevent you from bringing back Kobe White either. He's just a guy on a rookie skcale contract. And by the way, as I said earlier Charlotte with fourteen and eighteen is a team that's a threat to move up as well Number nineteen, Christian Anderson to the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors are another team looking at guards here. They need a guard. Christian Anderson to me is a very interesting choice. Anderson has recently hadad some workouts with teams in the top ten. I've heard his range is in that late lottery range to again Mid twenties range with all these guards it's very, very wide. It's going to depend on how they perceive Christian Anderson and Benet Sturs and O'Cory and all these guys Anderson is only six foot one. But he's got a six foot six wingspand. I've heard he's done really, really well on workouts that he's really shown toughness defensively that has it like even surprised some of the people that already likes him as a player. So I think Kristian Anderson is one of those types of dudes with What he did these last two years in college The scoring you know about Arguably the best shooter in the draft class with his ability off the catch and off the dribble But the the rebounding defending There's more to his game that has him on the rise on a lot of people's boards despite the fact he's not a downhill attacker. We'll be right back. to number twenty now San Antonio Spurs down three games to one in the NBA finals. Whats something clearly missing from this team T me It is a big forward You got Carter Bryant? He's a great, great one to invest in, but you still need somebody who's more like six, nine, six, ten That type of range and oh boy, who fell here in this mock draft It's Yaxel Lenonbard And a lot of people like watching or listening to this are probably like, Yahaxel's not going to fall twenty going to fall the twenty and you might be right He might not. He could end up going eleventh. He just worked out for the Warriors this week at his press conference. They weren't hiding the fact that they worked him out. It might be Golden stake might be Miami at number thirteen. He worked out with Miami earlier this month. If Miami doesn't get Yonis and trade out that thirteenth pick. could be Milwaukee in that same slot. Wh knows We'll see with the axle but. The fact is he hasn't had the best workouts. for any team. He hasn't had the best workout month U from what I understand is like he's still getting over that injury that affect affected him at the end of the season at Michigan You already know the deal with Lndenbg. if you follow the draft that he doesn't have the best intel, even though he's going to be twenty four as a rookie. He's not the most mature individual So I think teams are a little turned off by that, which is why could slip And I think you see the names drafted above him Like you're telling me that Like some of these teams would take twenty four year old Rokie Jaxel Lenenburg over young freshman Allan Graves or a point guard needy team is going to take him over Christian Anderson or orr like abuko Corey, I don't I don't buy it completely. So somebody's going to slip and in this mocker haveb it being the San Antonio Spurs luckking out. and getting theax to Landedbard, what a perfect fit that would be bringing him to San Antonio. We'll see how the finals goes on Saturday. I still can't believe I still can't believe they blew that twenty nine point lead. I can't wait till Saturday to see. if they bounce back or if it's going to be a continuation of what happened in the second half of the game and mix roll with what's looking like could be a veryery, very fifty fifty crowd. There's been some reporting around how ticket resales are the forty percent or fifty percent of New York based buyers I mean, there's going to be a lot of people traveling to San Antonio on Saturday night from New York and from around the world. go see their Nicks potentially win the NBA finals. So that crowd was full of Nicks fans For games one and two. I was there for game one And I was amazed by the amount of people on the concourse there that were from New York. And I look forward to seeing what it's like on on Saturday night against San Antonio. Number twenty one, Cameron C to the Detroit Pistons car, three indy style guy. some up and down reporting around how his workouts have gone after an excellent NBA draft combine. It seems like he's more like in his expected range. I just think for the pistons, he would make a heck of a lot of sense three indy guy defends multiple positions can play with the ball, can run pick a roll for you can come off screens attack close outs. I like Car a lot as a fit next to Kid Cunningham in that pistons team. Number twenty three, got Chris Sack to the Philadelphia seventy sixers Chilly's going to find the center man. like they need to have another guy who can back up Jon beat or play the four Next to Joeln be. I think Sinak is one of those guys equipped to do that in this range. coete being another one that stands out to me in this range for Philadelphia. I have some options that make a lot of sense for them. And then now we bring to number twenty three. you're like, where the hell is the barren fylon? Well, here's the barren fylon Number twenty three to the Atlanta Hawks, F like someone's going to slip, man. Someone's going to fall This is the reality of it. in the NBA drafts. and Fylon his skill level, the improvements he made in Alabama last year became such a better shooter hisis ability to get wherever he wants off the dribble Six foot three, six six wingspand. He's got the little beautiful buttery floater in the lane. He's so skilled and I think for this Atlanta team after taking Mara in the lottery in this mog with Jalen Johnson and all the size of O Kongoo and the wings they have, Nikel Alexander Walker You bring Phylon to this team. It bring back CJ McCollum as a veteran. He can come off the bench as a rookie G, get bigger That's why he could fall themough because he's so small. He's even though he's six three, he's only one hundred and seventy six pounds and You might be saying, well, look at Jayalen Brunson in the finals Jayen Bronsson is like two hundred fifteen The dude is big. He's probably thirty, forty pounds heavier than a Baron phylon Maybe Firelon can get to that point. I don't think so Bronson has those tree trunk limbs Pylon does not And that is a concern that I have about Fal on despite how much I love him purely as a basketball player Number twenty four, the New York Kicks, one game away Fr a championship, first one of fifty three years. With this pick in this mock draft, I got them taken co aete. And I think this is in part a reaction to games in the finals. Mitchell Robinson has been solid Sometimes bad, sometimes good, solid overall He's a free agent this off season And it's clearly very important that the Kicks have the ability to play with a Hard nosed backu F Pete isn't necessarily a player He's only six foot seven with a six foot eleven wingspan, but I just think about That being an asset for the Nicks Because if you do add a five in some other form, a true five Jayen Aquaintance type or he's available on the board here If you really if you wanted to promise Luigi Suego the international big man, he's got a decision to make actually by tonight. You might hear this and he'll have made his decision by the time it airs. But Ca Pete to me it's six seven with his toughness football player frame football player family background as well Ppair that with Carl Anthony Towns in a front court That could beautiful to me. And like they've shown the willingness to play some small ball as well and That's one thing he can do is a small ball five. So I can't wait to see Saturday night in San Antonio, G to be crazy. I think it's going to be a fifty crowd. I'm very excited to see what atmosphere is like for a potential close out game for the Kicks. Nber twenty five, the Lakers Dallen Swayain. what do you need next to Luca? you need Toughness length Versatility Well, there you go. Dallen Swain, six ten wingspin, six foot seven frame hadad one of the most efficient isolation scoring seasons in college basketball last year. He just can't shoot but he's shown a little bit of progress as a shooter. and I think if you're the Lakers at this point of the draft of the twenty fifth selection, yes, giveim me the guy who shot who scored seventeen points for game last year thirty four percent from three is an eighty percent guy from the free throw line. fifty percent of his floaters. We'll bet on that guy to figure it out as a shooter. So Daleon Swainne is a guy I haven't heard a lot personally, mayaybe others have It's been quiet. It's been really quiet with Intel around Dallon Swayan. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing But I think his range could be pretty wide late lottery Late first. Number twenty six, Jaden AQutance. this is another guy been really quiet with him. I haven't heard much with Quaintance with where he could go, what teams are targeting him, which is a little unusual with somebody that has a big name presence like Jaden Quaintance, somebody who people once thought was going to be a top ten pick if you're Just thinking about the mock mock drafts and the NBA drafts for the first time right now with ten days to go You might be like, Okaykay, then why did Jad and GQueenens fall? It's simple. He tore his ACL in his meniscus. He fractured his knee, he transferred to Kentucky and then he continued having swelling. and his sophomore year was shut down after playing four games. So he's played twenty eight games and four seasons, but Quaintance is a freakish defender. seven foot five wingspan, six nine frame, two hundred fifty three pounds. You don't find bodies like that with his quickness and versatility defensively and anywhere and offensively he's a very like quirky player. He can he's more of a downhill guy who finishes up a rim lob threat type of guy, but pass a little bit especially at Arizona state as a freshman, he showed a little bit of open floor creation ability. So there's there's something there with him. It's just he's a hackable shooter. The injury stuff is scary. That's why I think he could slip twenty six here with Denver and Denver. they need a backu five. Yonis Valentrun this is not it. They got to find a backup five for Yokich and A acquaintance is somebody that I think could play with Yokch given Yokich his ability to space the floor. Speaking about spacing the floor, numberber twenty seven, the Boston Celtics, the Nikola Vuchevich experiment was a failure. He got hurt, never found his flow And that Celtics rotation during their three one blown leadan to the Sers Var to me. It check out some of the same boxes about the idea of vooch floor spacing, offensive skill It's just VSR is so much younger and has so much better potential on the defensive end of the floor. And even offensively, I think there's a little bit more facilitation ability than Vuch in Israel stationary style was able to provide. So I like VSR as a fit for Boston considering their needs in that front court rotation, even though, of course They're in on Yanis as well N twenty eight. Minnesota. I got them taking Isaiah Evans out of Dke care They need another guard, another another guy younger than Mike Connley who can provide a spark for that team Thumu is a free agent. Bonone Tylon is a free agent. Conley is old. He's thirty eight years old Isaiah Evans at six foot six with his length improvements he made off the dribble as a sophomore at Duke to me makeaking a very intriguing short term and long term fit next to Anthony Edwards. Of course Minnesota is another team in on Janis and in on other trades as well. They're looking to make moves. Nber twenty nine got Sergio Dela Rea his actually True measurements came out. He participated in the combine overseas and Pretty good. Sergio came out as six foot six with two hundred four pounds Six nine wingspan So a bit bigger than expected which is a good thing. I'm encouraged by those given I already really liked them as a player. Versatal offensively can shoot it play out a pick and roll a bit To me, I wonder if he's the type of guy with his kind of combo guard skills and size that If he had played college basketball, would we be talking about him as a lottery pick Potentially Is that possible? you know, twenty years old around sophomore is age. I think Delaa has some real skill to him to be a potential steel and So the Cleveland Cavaliers. they get a lot of upcing free agents, Dean Wade this off season and then and Key on Ellis as well. and then next year. Max Truce. and so Dela Ro would make sense as an investment for them Number thirty, last pick in the first round, Dallas Mavericks. I get them taking Luigi Swgo. Swuego has until tomorrow to decide if he's going to stay in this year's draft or not this might, you know, a different choice at some point. I've had Jack KL here. He was supposed to go to GenzZaga overseas point guard and passast mock drafts, but I do wonder if there's a team that could be in on Luigi. He didn't have the best year overseas. But he's seven foot three, seven six wings man only nineteen years old. He's got perimeter skill, get shot blocking ability I just don't see how a guy like that doesn't potentially draw late first round interest U even though he's more like one year away and it seems like he's likely to go to college and likely go to Villanova for a big bag. But overseas guys. They don't they don't like to go to college unless they have to go to college and with Luigi won't We'll see with what with what decision he ends up Making. That's it for the first round Mck drafts