- 15 hours ago
The K&C Masterpiece recapped the NBA Draft Lottery and debated if the Mavs are in a good spot after landing the 9th overall pick. They discussed the potential for the front office to package picks to move up, they also broke down key prospects, whether the Mavs can find someone to pair with Cooper Flagg, and more.
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00:00All right, let's talk about the NBA Draft Lottery, some of the options that the Mavericks have as well.
00:05Was there any part of you watching this that thought it could be rigged yet again?
00:12Like in favor of the Mavericks or in favor of Washington?
00:15Oh man, A.J. DeBonsa looks sad when Washington got the top pick.
00:20But no, I meant more specifically for the Mavs.
00:23No.
00:23Okay.
00:24No, it was always like we got our rigging last year and the NBA was like, that's good enough.
00:31It's not like we're going to do what we did for Cleveland, y'all.
00:35Because then if it would have been Max Christie, Anthony Davis, Cooper Flagg, A.J. DeBonsa in a first round
00:42pick out of, oh, well.
00:43Yeah, maybe this thing was not going to work out.
00:46But, you know, whenever it landed nine, that's whenever I thought it got rigged the other way.
00:53I was like, oh, now they're just putting us back in our place where not only do we not move
00:58up or stay, we've got to get shipped to the back.
01:01I mean, we only moved down one spot.
01:03Yeah.
01:04That's worse.
01:05That's true.
01:06But I did see a lot of people freak out and I was like, hey, this is our lot.
01:10They're going to have to give up two fifth round picks to move back up to the one spot.
01:14Like the Cowboys did.
01:15There is not a fifth round in the NBA draft and I don't actually know if we have our second
01:20round picks.
01:22Are you telling me all drafts don't have seven rounds?
01:24No.
01:25Remember the NFL draft used to have, I don't know, like 14 rounds or something, too.
01:29So can you imagine, hey, we're going to be at Plunkers for the next 85 hours for all the NFL
01:34draft.
01:35But I wanted to go through a couple of different things.
01:41So the Pacers, the Pacers feel like the most gigantic loser in this draft.
01:48They have the second worst record in all of the NBA.
01:51But during the season, they had traded Avika Zubac for Avika Zubac.
02:00And part of that is they traded away their first round pick.
02:03Their first round pick ended up being pick number five.
02:06Okay.
02:06So that's what they traded him for.
02:08And the team that had the second worst record in all of basketball will not have their first round pick.
02:15How's that work?
02:16Because they traded away.
02:18Whoops.
02:19Dumb.
02:20And I think it was their owner.
02:21If not their owner, their GM wrote an apology letter to the Pacers fan base.
02:27And he was like, hey, I want to give us a shot.
02:28We took a risk.
02:30Yeah.
02:30And it didn't work out.
02:32So he admitted?
02:34Oh, yeah.
02:35Okay.
02:35Oh, yeah.
02:36Admitted the failure.
02:38He did.
02:39You got to kind of respect that, man.
02:42Just a little bit.
02:43A little respect.
02:43Yeah.
02:44Now.
02:44How many other people would do that?
02:47People do not like to admit their mistakes.
02:48That's true.
02:49If the Mavs.
02:50That's the life we've chosen.
02:51That's true.
02:52I don't understand.
02:53Why'd you play that dropout?
02:55I didn't play it.
02:55He said it.
02:56Okay.
02:56That's a good point.
02:57Yeah.
02:58And that's a great example.
02:59So for the Mavericks, if they would have won the coin flip with the Pelicans, they would
03:05have been picking number eight.
03:06But perhaps more intriguing.
03:10Had they lost their last game against the Bulls on April 12th, which they were victorious,
03:16149 to 128.
03:18What?
03:18They would have picked at least number eight.
03:20And if they would have won their coin flip with Memphis, which they would have gotten
03:24into by losing that game, they could have gotten picked number three.
03:27Okay.
03:28Because Memphis moved all the way up to three.
03:29All right.
03:30I understand.
03:30Like, you're saying they tried too hard in the last game against the Bulls and they
03:34should have just not tried.
03:36Alec, I ask you this.
03:37In a game where Kevin just pointed out they won with 140-something points.
03:4249.
03:43Almost 150 points, which is basically the NBA All-Star game.
03:47True.
03:48They could not put any worse players out on the court.
03:51Who else do you want them to put out on the court to try to lose that game?
03:55The Bulls gave up, too.
03:57Ooh, that's a good point.
03:59The Bulls were also invested in losing.
04:01And Cooper Flagg played like 10 minutes in that game.
04:06I don't know that they tried to win that game as much as they just couldn't.
04:11Well.
04:11I got two options here, Kevin.
04:13Okay.
04:13Two options.
04:14Instead of blaming it on the last game.
04:16What about the third game of the year?
04:18They were on a two-game losing streak, all right?
04:20And they beat Toronto at the moment when Ujiri was like, this is the team I want to go to
04:26next year.
04:27He was like, I see what they're doing to Toronto.
04:29I don't think he was with Toronto then?
04:31Exactly.
04:31That's what he was watching from afar.
04:33And he was like, any enemy of my enemy or whatever.
04:37It's my friend.
04:37It's my friend.
04:38Yeah.
04:38And so, or, or.
04:40Oh, okay.
04:42Let's go four games, five games before the final game of the season.
04:46Cooper Flagg scores 45 points in a victory over the Lakers.
04:50Oh.
04:51After he had scored 51 points two nights before in a loss to the Magic.
04:55Why couldn't he have just scored a regular 33 points?
04:58They won by six.
04:59So if he just had a regular good game, they could have lost.
05:02It's a great game.
05:03Okay.
05:04So let's, look, there's lots of, Roger Staubach told you, it wasn't Jackie Sheridan's drop
05:09that lost us the Super Bowl.
05:11Who?
05:11I don't know why I'm talking about Jackie Smith.
05:13It wasn't his drop that lost the Super Bowl.
05:16So what you're saying is, you'd have lost any of those games.
05:20Yeah.
05:21You would have been in the coin flip situation.
05:22And if you won the coin flip, that was Memphis' pick.
05:26They won up to three.
05:28And also, don't forget about the five out of six between November and December, where
05:33the Mavs really tried to convince us they were hot.
05:36You lose two of those, no coin flip.
05:39Yeah.
05:39And we could be higher up.
05:40You would have ended up with a third pick.
05:41However, Rolando Blackman is looking at this from a positive viewpoint.
05:45He goes, hey, I was the No. 9 pick, so I'm not going to drag down on the No. 9
05:49pick,
05:49which makes a lot of sense.
05:51Two things there.
05:51One, when have you ever known Rolando Blackman to not be positive?
05:55That is a good point.
05:57It would have been weird if he was like, this is some bull crap.
06:00And two, Alec, how do we do with No. 9 overall picks?
06:05Are we all right here?
06:06I mean, you mentioned Rowe.
06:08We got Dirk!
06:09That's a good one, yes.
06:10Dirk Nowitzki.
06:11Some other notable 9th overall picks.
06:14Sean Marion, Amari Stoudemire, Andrea Guadala, DeMar DeRozan, Tracy McGrady.
06:20It goes on and on.
06:22Oh, yeah.
06:22There's been some good names there.
06:24Can I tell you the exact opposite of that?
06:28So if the Mavericks, but for not our team.
06:31Oh, okay.
06:32So look, the Mavericks have had success at pick 9, and pick 9 overall has had plenty of success.
06:37The Chicago Bulls got pick 4.
06:40Let me tell you a story about the history of the Chicago Bulls with pick 4.
06:45Yeah, they lost to the Mavericks to essentially seal the Mavs' fate this year.
06:49I mean, good point.
06:50But the Bulls should hope they had any pick except for pick 4.
06:53Oh, no!
06:54Here is their history with pick 4.
06:56I'd have never even heard of this first guy.
06:58In 1968, they took Tom Borwinkle.
07:03In 1980, they took Kelvin Ramsey.
07:06Okay.
07:07I don't know who that is either.
07:08Then in 2000 and 2001, they had the No. 4 pick in back-to-back years.
07:13They picked Marcus Fizer and Eddie Curry.
07:17Shot guy, the jab guy, right?
07:19Fizer.
07:19That's different.
07:20That's Puff Fizer.
07:22Okay.
07:22And then in 2020...
07:23Eddie Curry, how'd things go for him?
07:24Not great.
07:25All right.
07:25And then in 2020, they took Patrick Williams, who has yet to materialize.
07:30And oh, by the way, in 2006, they traded down from 2 to 4 and took Tyrus Thomas.
07:36So at pick 4, they've taken Tyrus Thomas, Patrick Williams, Eddie Curry, Marcus Fizer, Kelvin
07:42Ramsey, and Tom Borwinkle.
07:45Hold on.
07:46You're telling me in 2006, they had the chance to take LaMarcus Aldridge at 2.
07:51That's right.
07:52And they said, we'd rather have...
07:53Tyrus Thomas.
07:54All right.
07:55Sounds like they really struck gold with that Michael Jordan kid.
08:01Yeah.
08:01Yeah.
08:02But that was pick 3.
08:03Yeah.
08:03So, what amazing and exciting ways are the Bulls going to find to screw this one up?
08:10All right.
08:11So we have a few different options here.
08:14They got Elton Brand.
08:14You know, that was a smart decision.
08:16But that was a pick 1.
08:17Yeah.
08:17Rocket Man.
08:18Specifically, just no, that's Elton John.
08:21Oh, Tiny Dancer.
08:22Very different people.
08:24I really thought you were going to say Tony Danza.
08:26In terms of their height and profession and other things.
08:30You tell me Elton Brand can't sing and Elton John can't hoop.
08:34I will tell you this.
08:36I think it is significantly more likely that Elton Brand could headline a concert at an arena
08:43than Elton John could go off for 25 points in an NBA game.
08:49There's a man who's been successful at everything he's ever done, I think.
08:53It's true, but isn't he also like 75?
08:55Yeah, that's probably tough.
08:57Sitting at a piano is a little easier.
08:58You could take prime athleticism, Elton John,
09:01and I'll still take Elton Brand in this Elton versus Elton competition.
09:05Right.
09:06I don't know.
09:07Okay.
09:07Well, fair enough.
09:08Yeah.
09:09All right.
09:09So what can the Mavs do?
09:11So I thought this over.
09:13A few different scenarios for you.
09:15Now, some of them we might pick up tomorrow.
09:18Right.
09:18So you could take the No. 30 pick and try to package it with pick No. 9
09:24and maybe move up to 5 or 6.
09:26If you think you could go up that high into the Acuff or Keaton Wagler range.
09:32More likely, I think that might just bump you up a couple spots,
09:35so 7 or 8 if you're thinking Flemings or Brown.
09:39And I'll pick up on those players tomorrow.
09:41Okay.
09:42In the meantime, I have four options.
09:43Because I do like two of those players a lot.
09:46Okay.
09:46Good.
09:47I have four options for if you stick at pick No. 9.
09:52Probably in the order that I might prefer them for now.
09:57Braden Burries.
09:59He, the first comp I thought of was Karis LeVert.
10:04He's similar to R.J. Barrett with a lot of downhill physicality.
10:08But he has a significantly higher defensive ceiling.
10:12Some would say his defensive ceiling is more like somebody like Derek White.
10:16And I think we all saw, whether it was in the NBA Finals
10:18or just from watching basketball in general,
10:21that having somebody like Derek White is something that you would like.
10:24Hopeful ceiling, somebody like Jalen Williams.
10:27Okay.
10:28Obviously, the good Jalen Williams is doing really well.
10:31He's a really good rebounder for his size.
10:34The curiosity I have is he hasn't really shown the ability
10:38to run a team offensively.
10:42So this is not your next option at point guard.
10:44Okay.
10:45So you're hoping Kai is back.
10:47Kai takes over the point guard role.
10:49This guy works alongside Max Christie and Cooper Flagg.
10:52And then that becomes an issue of roster construction.
10:55And if you think you're already kind of set there.
10:58Seems like there's a lot of rotational pieces that are all the same there.
11:01That could be the case, which is why we'll move to the next two.
11:05Nate A. Ment and Yaxel Lendeborg.
11:08Okay.
11:09So for A. Ment, think Michael Porter Jr.-esque with a better defensive upside.
11:17However...
11:17So a future star is what you're saying.
11:19I was going to say upside.
11:21Because to be fair, A. Ment is also very inconsistent defensively.
11:26So I'm not here to tell you that you've seen enough to be like,
11:30oh yeah, that guy for sure.
11:32And he's what, 19 still?
11:33And we'll get to the difference with him and Lendeborg then.
11:38Because Lendeborg is 24.
11:40That's old.
11:41By, again, by human standards, no.
11:44By entering the league, yes.
11:47So some people thought A. Ment had star potential before the season started.
11:52He was a top five projection going into the draft.
11:55Probably more folks think he looks like a solid contributor now.
11:58Now, he's a jumbo wing, but he's not a down-in-the-trenches banger.
12:03So you might look at his size, and you're like,
12:05ooh, maybe we can get him down in the post or in the block.
12:08No.
12:08Not going to happen.
12:09In college, that worked.
12:11But I don't think at the next level, that's going to be the case.
12:15That being said, there were times in the tournament when he was hurt,
12:21and he was like, I have to go figure out a way to get points no matter what.
12:24And he was able to get to spots that he wanted to.
12:27And that was nice.
12:28Okay, so that is an important thing.
12:31Because the question I have at the next level is,
12:33does he have enough strength to create his own shots?
12:36But he's a tall shot maker.
12:38Off the dribble from three or just around the basket?
12:41I probably think more inside the arc.
12:44Does he have the skill, quickness, or strength to create those shots?
12:49But, Corey, you were just kind of talking about it.
12:51He's a tall shot maker, which is always going to be desired in the NBA.
12:56Yes, it will.
12:56Now, let's compare that with Lindeborg.
12:59Lindeborg is five years older.
13:02He's very well-rounded, though.
13:04I'm sorry.
13:04I was thinking Lindeborg when you were just, I'm sorry.
13:07That's who I was focused in on.
13:08My apologies.
13:09No problem.
13:09He is very well-rounded.
13:11So kind of think Aaron Gordon, maybe Boris Diaw.
13:16But again, he's going to be 24 when the season starts.
13:18So, I mean, look, we just went over this a lot in the NFL draft.
13:22Do you have an issue with that?
13:24That will be for the team to decide.
13:26He's a really good rebounder.
13:27He's good defensively.
13:30He shows a lot of versatility defensively and has lots of energy.
13:33He's a hustle guy.
13:35Oh, so is he Eddie?
13:38Or Eddie, is he that kind of hustle guy?
13:41Oh, like Navarro?
13:42Yeah.
13:42Oh, with, you know what is interesting?
13:45I think the rebounding is kind of similar right there.
13:48He has a higher upside just because of the size.
13:50Offensively.
13:50Okay.
13:51And that's what I was saying about him.
13:53He was the dude who was hurt in the tournament.
13:55Still got to spots when he wanted to that were different from what his game was, but knew he had
14:00to.
14:00Kevin, I like this because of what our new GM said.
14:04And that was, our new GM said, we want to find a guy with high character, fits into our culture
14:09for the next 10 years.
14:10And this dude right here, from everything I read about him and everything I saw about him, has those traits.
14:16Agreed.
14:17And wants to be on the court.
14:18Like, just, like, Cooper Flagg wants to be out the court and will cut you to get out there.
14:23Sure.
14:23He seems like that kind of guy, too.
14:25I could see that.
14:26Now, here's what you need to figure out.
14:28And, Corey, I'll go directly to you because you bring up the idea of a contract year.
14:32Not a contract year for Lundeborg, but consider this.
14:34He really upped his three-point game this season.
14:37He more than doubled his attempts, and he shot 37.4% from three.
14:43And over his last 11 games, which included the NCAA tournament, he shot 53% from three.
14:51Wow.
14:51But my question is, do you think that was a fluke?
14:55Do you think this season, where these last 11 games are an anomaly and he'll go back to the three
15:00-point shooter he was,
15:02if it's here to stick, that's an interesting thing.
15:05And then the other thing to tag on, is he a three or a four?
15:08Because if you go with him at the four, you're going to be playing a lot of small ball.
15:11Yeah, and don't you feel like you kind of already have a guy like that in P.J. Washington
15:18who can play the four and five sometimes when Jason Kidd's like, that's our new center out there.
15:24Which is what I would like to avoid.
15:26But, you know, different version of it.
15:29You got a good point there.
15:31I'm going to go on, yes, this was his opportunity to launch himself to a new financial category,
15:37but he's already getting paid pretty handsomely at Michigan.
15:40Sure.
15:40I mean, he had even more money offered to him from, was it Kansas?
15:44And he was like, I want to play for this coach specifically, I want to win.
15:47And so that's like, I'm hoping that that's the kind of personality that you have
15:51and that he continues to be that kind of three-point shooter.
15:54Then keep an eye out, I mentioned this in Crosstalk, keep an eye out on Kareem Lopez.
15:58His pre-draft workouts might change opinions on him a lot because he didn't play in college.
16:03He was playing in Mexico.
16:05But he kind of has that Andrew Wiggins or OG Ananobi defensive vibe, and he's very explosive in physical and
16:15transition.
16:15He's kind of like a bigger version of Barry's.
16:19So that's intriguing.
16:21But he's not very polished in the half-court offense.
16:24He's going to have to show some things.
16:25But I think of all the people that can move, like I think Burry's, Amant, and Lendeborg could all be
16:31there for you if you sit at nine.
16:32For Lopez, I wonder if he could move a good little bit up, which would then maybe trickle down to
16:39some of those players.
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