00:00Let's talk about NBA prospects. That's going to be my not-professional segue right there.
00:07All right. Would you want the Mavericks to trade up for any of these perhaps more gettable players?
00:16Your options on the board today, Mikel Brown, Kingston Flemings, or Keaton Wagler.
00:21Who would you like to start with?
00:23I want to start with Flemings, because you were the first person to suggest keeping an eye on him to
00:31me.
00:32And I believe Alec as well was there whenever it was a suggestion.
00:35But I think Alec had already been in on this, because that's Alec. That's how he do.
00:40He knows stuff.
00:41And so I want to rock with him, the kid out of Houston.
00:45All right. Go ahead. Good decision. Give me cut number six.
00:48Will you please? Because I believe right here, right now, this is my favorite player of these three.
01:00All right. So you're going to notice two big differences.
01:04And I would love if after this we could pivot to Wagler, because I think you have a decision to
01:10make
01:11whether you go with Kyrie or don't go with Kyrie, depending on how you feel about these two players.
01:17All right. So Kingston Flemings, he is your playmaker on the ball.
01:24Keep in mind the phrase I'm going to use.
01:26If everything works perfectly.
01:29Oh, no.
01:30If everything works perfectly, think injury-free Derek Rose.
01:34He is very fast with and without the ball, so he can bring you all kinds of downhill offensive pressure.
01:44All right. All right. All right.
01:45I need to know what you mean by if everything goes perfectly.
01:50Okay. Because he can get to the basket.
01:54All right. He can give you that forward, forward, forward offensive pressure, that slash that you're going to want.
02:00But folks have questions about his jump shot.
02:06Now, it is true that seemingly everybody he talks to seems to like him.
02:12NBA executives and everybody else, they really like him.
02:16So keep an eye out.
02:17You know how we talked about Kareem Lopez.
02:18Maybe the workouts could really push him up the board.
02:22Keep an eye out on the same thing with Flemings, like when they're doing the shootouts like they did yesterday.
02:29If he can answer some of those questions or look good in some of these workouts, I think he can
02:36move up the board.
02:37So he was 38%, 38.7% from three and 84.5% from the line this past season.
02:46Showing those types of progressions are really important for him.
02:52And if he can continue to grow in that area, he could be an absolute stud.
02:59But those are the questions.
03:00Will his jump shot continue to develop?
03:03I don't have an answer for that, Kevin.
03:05Sure. If you did, I would be like, you need to quit this job and go scout.
03:09Yeah.
03:10Because you're going to make a lot of money.
03:11Or we could just, you know, we could still do the job.
03:14Oh, okay. All right. Fair enough.
03:15But also, you know, the only God can predict that.
03:18Sure.
03:19But he, like, and if he puts the work in to make it happen.
03:23And that's the other factor is you never know with that.
03:25And he seems intrinsically motivated, but you're talking about things you don't know?
03:29That's a guess.
03:30Yeah.
03:30The one thing that I gathered from this kid, now, like Cooper Flagg, I think that he, when
03:36I watch him play, he gets joy from beating people.
03:40Yes.
03:41And I think that Fleming, Fleming just gets joy from playing this game.
03:46Oh, yeah.
03:47When I watch him play, like, he just looks like he knows everybody on the court.
03:51You know that dude that shows up to the, your uncle that shows up to the softball field,
03:55and he knows every person as he's walking into the softball field.
03:59Right.
03:59And they're all saying hi to him, and he has to stop and talk to, you know, Ronnie over
04:03there for a couple minutes.
04:04And then he finally gets there.
04:05He doesn't even have time to stretch.
04:07He throws the ball twice and then gets out there and plays.
04:09And you're like, what just happened?
04:11Right.
04:11That's what Kingston Fleming reminds me of.
04:13Just the way I've seen him communicate with people.
04:16And it kind of goes back to that moment when he was in the other team's circle as they
04:21were huddled up.
04:21And he was just over there, like, hanging out with them.
04:23And they were like, oh, what's up, dude?
04:25And he was just like, let's go.
04:26You know, he was excited, but nobody got mad about it.
04:29They were just like, let's go have some hoops and have some fun.
04:31And that's the kind of dude that I like having around for culture purposes, because he's
04:36good, but also can keep it loose whenever it gets a little tight.
04:40Oh, from the 4-6-9, I've wanted them to draft him no matter where they pick.
04:45Okay.
04:45And I like that.
04:46If he's a 9, I'll take him.
04:47So I think they mean, like, even if they were 1.
04:50If he's a 1, I'll take him.
04:51Okay.
04:52Hmm.
04:52All right.
04:53So that would require, I think, some pretty radical changes.
04:57I think if you went with Flemings, this might be a situation where you move on from Kyrie
05:03Irving.
05:04So how soon?
05:08I would make the argument straight away.
05:10And I'm sorry, correct me.
05:12How long does Kyrie have on his contract?
05:14Is he a couple years left?
05:17Two years?
05:17I'm actually not positive.
05:18And so that's why I'm asking, like, does playing with, behind Kyrie make sense for a
05:25year?
05:26Because you don't have, you know, you know what I'm saying?
05:28You have two years to move him.
05:29Sure, sure.
05:30And so does playing with him and letting him work with him and develop with him a little
05:34bit help?
05:35Yeah.
05:35Or does it hinder?
05:37But you want to get the ball in this dude's hands as quickly as you can.
05:40Yeah.
05:40That's what you're saying.
05:41And I continue to wonder if, like, you want people who are all on the same growth page,
05:47you know, or same enough.
05:50I got you.
05:50Like, Kyrie is like, hey, I'm ready to win now, one would assume.
05:54And this might not be the case.
05:57But if you want to stick with that, let's take a look at Keen Woggler.
06:02That is your more prototypical shooting guard.
06:06Okay.
06:06I think he would fit great next to Kyrie.
06:10All right.
06:11I'm going to give you a gap here.
06:12Higher end, think Tyrese Halliburton.
06:16More reasonable expectation might be somebody more like Luke Kennard.
06:21Okay.
06:21All right.
06:22Everybody seems to love Luke Kennard.
06:24Yeah.
06:24Yeah.
06:24For sure.
06:24He's a good player.
06:26I just, like, those are different levels of players.
06:28So I think Woggler is a good catch and shoot guy.
06:32He's really good with off the ball movement.
06:36All right.
06:36We could be Clay.
06:39Not so much of the pure shooter.
06:41I mean, that feels like a tough expectation to put on anybody.
06:47But Clay right now.
06:50I think he has significantly better mobility.
06:53And so I will just go.
06:55Okay.
06:55All right.
06:56All right.
06:56I would just go with that part.
06:57I'm going to watch this kid so I can get a better understanding of whether or not he's Clay.
07:00And so, yeah.
07:01Come back.
07:02I want to know that.
07:03So Woggler is the rags to riches story in this draft, if you're looking for one.
07:10He was not one of the top of the class guys.
07:14You know how we talked about the other day, Nate A.
07:16meant.
07:17Yeah.
07:17Like, he came into college and people were like, he could be a top five pick.
07:20Nobody was saying that about Keaton.
07:23And then he led Illinois to the final four.
07:26And he's just, like, all the way.
07:28He is taken off.
07:31And people are like, holy crap, this kid's really good.
07:33And he's really good in a really strong draft.
07:36Like, I could see him going six or seven very reasonably in a very strong draft.
07:42Like, this isn't a dud draft like a couple of years ago.
07:45And if you think he's shooting, like, you notice, obviously, this is the theme.
07:50If his three-point shooting translates to the next level, then he could be a stud as well.
07:56Now, for Woggler, he shot 40%.
07:59From three this season.
08:03And then, if you look at the NCAA tournament run, he really upped his game.
08:08He was shooting seven three-pointers per game at a 37% clip.
08:12And one of the reasons that fell is because he really struggled in that game against UConn.
08:17Okay.
08:17But before that, he was...
08:20Was that struggle because UConn is that good?
08:23Or he just, the moment.
08:25Well...
08:25And he had something to learn from.
08:27And so, that question right there, I think, is a great question.
08:29But that's one of the key cruxes of this scouting report, right?
08:34Do you think he just had a tough night?
08:36Or do you think the better defensive pressure of UConn, which is the next step to what you're
08:41going to see defensively in the NBA, is what stymied him?
08:44And sometimes you have to have that moment.
08:46For sure.
08:46So you can be a phoenix and rise again.
08:49But, Kevin, I like watching this dude shoot the three.
08:52I like watching the fact that he can create his own shot.
08:55I like the fact that when he gets around the basket, his head isn't just focused on,
08:59well, I've got to make this bucket.
09:00He can make those passes.
09:01Right.
09:02He's got a lot of ability that I like, and I really like the length, too.
09:05Yeah.
09:05He does look 12.
09:07Is it the face?
09:09It's definitely the face, because his body looks like it's developed for that right
09:13now.
09:14But he's got some game, dude.
09:17I like watching this kid.
09:18And he is somebody that I think can plug right in and run at the two.
09:24Yeah.
09:24So I do like that.
09:26Can you see him handling some more ball handling duties?
09:30Yeah.
09:32Or would you just rather have him not focused on that right now?
09:36No, he could, but I think if you're really going to unleash his full scoring potential,
09:40running him next to Kyrie would be significantly better for him.
09:44He's a competent passer.
09:46I need to see him catch and shoot a few more.
09:47I've seen a couple of them.
09:49Yeah, yeah.
09:49I need to see a little bit more.
09:50He's good off of catch and shoot, for sure.
09:52You know how Jaden Hardy could catch and shoot, but also could create his own shot?
09:57And he's got a little bit of that, but it looks like he has a little more to it.
10:00Now, then we get to Mike L. Brown.
10:02I think Mike L. Brown is the person that a lot of people were sad when you dropped just
10:07from eight to nine, because maybe you'd seen projections that he could go at eight.
10:11That's why I'm telling you to watch players like Wogler or Flemings and where they move
10:17or watch somebody like Kareem Lopez who could move in to that top area.
10:21And then Mike L. Brown, I believe it was at the lottery selection, said,
10:26I think Dallas is the best city in the country.
10:28It's my favorite city in the country.
10:30It'd be great.
10:31I just love the vibe of Dallas.
10:32I have a lot of family in Texas as well.
10:35I saw him play at the AAU tournament in Dallas, so that would be great.
10:38Every time I go to play in Dallas, I love the city, love the vibe, love the people, love
10:43the fans.
10:43Holy crap.
10:44Wow.
10:45His shooting range is insane.
10:47Okay.
10:48It is.
10:49He doesn't care where he is on the court.
10:52He's just like, I need to see the basket.
10:54Oh, there it is.
10:55Shot.
10:55So here is where you're going to have to maybe do your biggest projection.
10:59This is a guard heavy draft, right?
11:02Like you look at a lot of the players we've talked about so far are guards.
11:05There are a lot of scouts out there that still think Mike L. Brown has the highest upside
11:11of the group.
11:12That includes Acuff, Wagler, Flemings.
11:15His positional size, shooting ability, and passing skills all stand out.
11:22And I think this is another kid that could show that off in workouts.
11:25Because in workouts, then, you could almost compare side by side and be like, ooh, that
11:30looks better than Acuff.
11:31Or that looks better than Flemings or whoever.
11:34But one of the issues he's also going to run into is every single one of those players
11:39we just listed, they had better seasons.
11:41Okay.
11:42Because Mike L. Brown is impacted by his back injury.
11:44Yeah.
11:45And then, Kevin, quite honestly, back injuries don't get any easier on a player or a body.
11:52Sure.
11:52So that's just always going to be something that will be a concern.
11:55And so you hope, like, that's the way you look at it, right?
11:58That's the projection.
11:59You hope it was a one-off or it was a specific thing that they fixed and it's going to
12:03be
12:03okay.
12:03But you have to think about that.
12:05Is this going to be an issue throughout his career?
12:07He's a quick decision maker.
12:08He's really good in the pick and roll.
12:12Oh, yeah.
12:12And he can finish against elite length guarding in the NBA.
12:19So you know how we talked about with Flemings and Wagler, like, is their shooting going to
12:23translate to the NBA?
12:24One thing I can tell you, it really does look like Mike L. Brown should be able to continue
12:30to score and finish against NBA guards, especially with their length.
12:35So he has flash plays, splash plays that are similar to Kyrie Irving.
12:43But I'm not, I'm saying like right now his defensive highlights, they're like, and his defense.
12:48I'm like, he's getting blown by on all these.
12:51But on the videos that I'm watching, I wouldn't have put those specific plays in there.
12:57I'm going to throw out a player in just a second.
12:59It might make you nervous.
13:00Chris, I think he's a lot closer to Tyrese Maxey.
13:04Okay.
13:05But I can also see and understand the comps of Trey Young with better defensive upside.
13:15But, if we're being honest, to your point, I wonder if it's going to be a struggle for
13:21him to guard, especially if he's playing at the two, off of bigger NBA guards.
13:27I can see that.
13:27So, like, I think Trey Young might be the worst defensive player in the NBA.
13:30So I don't want to say that's his comp.
13:33I don't necessarily think that's fair.
13:35But as of yet, he has not shown to be a particularly proficient defender or at least project that
13:42out at the NBA level.
13:44He does fight his way through screens.
13:45He fights his day out front.
13:47You know, his footwork's pretty good.
13:49It's just, you know, there's some body limitations at the moment whenever you have bigger guys
13:54on him.
13:54You got, but there's, the offense and production might make up for it enough.
13:58But if you're wanting to be in one of those lockdown defensive teams in moments, I'm not
14:02asking him and Kai to do that for me.
14:04Yeah, and I think those two could play well offensively alongside each other.
14:10So, I mean, and when we talk about the speed, him and Acuff's speed really does stand out.
14:15Put him in transition.
14:17He can go.
14:17Absolutely.
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