00:00This was Will Dawkins, asked specifically about BYU's A.J. DeBonsa.
00:06A.J. DeBonsa, bring that might work in your organization.
00:11Yeah, Massachusetts guy, just like myself.
00:14So you can imagine since 14 years old, we've been here and he's the next one out of our state.
00:19So I know A.J. and his family pretty well, just based on just being in Massachusetts in basketball.
00:24But again, it's people.
00:26This guy has a charisma to him.
00:28He's got a confidence to him.
00:29He's been able to do it at every level that he stepped at, increases play.
00:32And when you talk about basketball, he can score it.
00:35He can defend.
00:36He's long.
00:36He can make plays for others.
00:38He's a high-level talent.
00:39So we have an opportunity to take a look at him.
00:42We get to know him a little bit more.
00:43We got to interview him today.
00:43We'll spend a little bit more time with him, hopefully, in D.C.
00:45But again, a true talent at the top of this draft.
00:49There you go.
00:50I don't know what that tells you guys.
00:51I mean, I would hope that if you're going to answer a question about a player at the top of
00:58the draft, rather than a one-word, which is what he did with the junkies yesterday, which was great.
01:05And I think he said for DeBonce, a consistent score or something like that.
01:12But if he were asked about Peterson, I would imagine, other than the fact that they grew up in the
01:18same area in Boston or in the same city, and part of that New England scene, that Boston scene, other
01:27than that, that he'd say similar things about Peterson, would say similar things about Boozer, et cetera.
01:32Caleb Wilson, he's not going to, I mean, I think we've learned enough listening to Will Dawkins and some of
01:39the, you know, even Michael Winger, to a certain degree, we've heard much less from him over the last couple
01:45of years.
01:46They're not going to give away their hand.
01:48Now, Sean Farnham, who has called a lot of college basketball games at ESPN, I actually think he's really good
01:55as a college basketball analyst.
01:58He was on something yesterday.
01:59You'd have to tell me what it was, Max.
02:01But he thinks that the trade possibility is real.
02:06Here's what he said.
02:07The church rarely loses.
02:09I know that.
02:09What do you think the Utah Jazz do?
02:11I think they're going to try to trade, Jimmer.
02:12They'd have to give up a good piece.
02:14They'd have to give up a piece that Washington would want.
02:16If they want AJ and they think AJ is going to be their guy and they want to keep him
02:20in state, from Utah Prep to BYU to the Utah Jazz, there's a price to be paid.
02:24And as Ted DiBiase, the billion-dollar man, said back in the day, everybody's got a price for the billion
02:29-dollar man.
02:29And for the Washington Wizards, they have a price.
02:32I was talking with Ace earlier today as I saw him in the lobby with AJ, and he's like, ah,
02:36you know, what's going to happen?
02:37And I said, well, the church rarely loses.
02:39I know that.
02:41We'll see what they want to give up.
02:43And is Washington willing to deal?
02:49Ryan Smith is the owner of the Utah Jazz.
02:54He's, by the way, not even, I think he's in his mid-40s, something like that, and is a Utah
03:01guy, a billionaire businessman.
03:03And I'm assuming, I'm assuming Mormon.
03:08I'm assuming, you know, Latter-day Saints guy.
03:12I think that's what Farnham was referring to.
03:14So, you know, there's been some conversation that, you know, last year when Utah selected Ace Bailey with the pick,
03:24fifth pick overall, right before the Wizards selected Trey Johnson,
03:26there was some conversation that the Wizards were very much interested in Ace Bailey.
03:33I was not an Ace Bailey guy just for whatever it's worth.
03:37I saw him play multiple times in the Big Ten that year with Rutgers.
03:41Dylan Harper I liked a lot, and Harper's really playing well for San Antonio right now and was picked number
03:47two overall.
03:48I mean, how about that last year?
03:49It's still kind of amazing.
03:50Rutgers ended up with two top five picks in the NBA draft.
03:55But the reason I didn't like Ace Bailey, just to refresh, is I just, there was a night they played
04:01in College Park, and he tapped out.
04:04Derek Queen was dominating him, and he tapped out.
04:07He went over to the bench, sat, never came back into the game, and I was like, that's not a
04:12guy I'd want on my team.
04:15I saw it a couple of times.
04:16He did the same thing.
04:17He had a really good game against Indiana, and then the next night or two games later, he just sort
04:23of tapped out.
04:25Maybe it was some load management as a college player.
04:27I don't know.
04:28Ace Bailey played pretty well as a 19-year-old rookie this year.
04:326'9", 200 pounds, can do a lot.
04:35Super versatile.
04:35But he averaged 13.8 points per game, just over four rebounds a game, played really good for a rookie
04:44season at 19 years old, for a bad basketball team, of course.
04:49So, could the Wizards trade back one spot for, you know, Ace Bailey and maybe future picks?
05:01I don't know.
05:02I mean, the only thing I care about when it comes to what they do in the upcoming draft is
05:10that they either pick the player that they think has the best chance five, six, seven years down the road
05:20of becoming an MVP or being an MVP contender.
05:26That's number one.
05:27Number two, if they don't see that in any of these players, then I would want them to consider a
05:35trade.
05:36To trade back and acquire more opportunities to get more really good players that they think are all-star potential,
05:45maybe not MVP potential.
05:47But the number one goal when you're picking that high in an NBA draft is, can I find the next
05:55MVP candidate, you know, when he's 24, 25 years old, whoever that player is?
06:03Because that's what you need in the NBA to win championships.
06:07You have to have a top five player.
06:10Gone through this list over and over and over again.
06:14You go back, you know, 2004 was the last team, the 0-4 Pistons who beat the Lakers were the
06:23last team without an obvious top five player.
06:27After that, San Antonio, Tim Duncan.
06:30After that, the Heat, Shaq and Wade.
06:33After that, the Spurs, Tim Duncan.
06:35The Celtics of 0-8 had, you know, you could certainly say that Kevin Garnett that particular year was a
06:43top five player.
06:44In 0-9, you know, it was Kobe with the Lakers in back-to-back years.
06:48In 11, it was Dirk with Dallas.
06:51In 12, it's LeBron.
06:53In 13, it's LeBron with the Heat.
06:55In 14, this has been, you know, the pushback with some of you over the years when I've said this,
07:01that when the Spurs won the title in 14, Kawhi Leonard was the MVP of the finals.
07:08Was he a top five player in the league at that point?
07:12No, not, you know, necessarily.
07:15Was Tim Duncan still a top five player?
07:17It, that's where it gets a little bit dicey.
07:21So, the 14 Spurs would be the one pushback on this.
07:26And then you had, obviously, Golden State with Steph.
07:31Cleveland with LeBron.
07:33Golden State with Durant and Steph.
07:35Back-to-back.
07:36Toronto with Kawhi in 2019.
07:39The Lakers with LeBron in 2020.
07:41The Bucks with Giannis in 21.
07:43Golden State in 22.
07:44If you want to say Steph at that point wasn't top five.
07:47He was close to it.
07:49The Joker in 23.
07:51And then last year, Tatum.
07:54And Brown, really.
07:55But Tatum, you know, more so as a first-team All-NBA selection in 24.
08:00Then last year, obviously, the MVP with SGA.
08:03So, the 14 Spurs, maybe.
08:08But I think you got to go all the way back to the 0-4 Pistons to find the last
08:13NBA champion
08:15without an obvious top five player on the roster.
08:19You know, their best players were Rip Hamilton, Chauncey Billups, you know, Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, etc.
08:27Forgetting somebody else on that team.
08:29But wasn't a top five player.
08:31Tayshaun Prince.
08:32Tayshaun Prince.
08:32Tayshaun Prince.
08:32Tayshaun Prince.
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