00:00The Wiz have the number one overall draft pick coming up.
00:03They've got eight incoming future first-round picks.
00:07The max they could trade are five.
00:09They have 11 future second-round picks.
00:12The Wiz have assets.
00:15They have a lot of young players.
00:16They also have veterans with serious pedigree.
00:20A future Hall of Famer in Anthony Davis,
00:23who seems lukewarm on the possibility of playing here.
00:26We'll see if that changes.
00:28He's got 110 million reasons to want to play here.
00:32They have Trey Young, who I wouldn't imagine is on a future Hall of Fame track,
00:36but has been very good, made some all-star teams.
00:39Those are players that could help them now,
00:41help them over the next few seasons.
00:42Those are players that could be flipped for more assets.
00:45I'm reading now from Bobby Mars of ESPN.
00:50The Wizards have the first pick in this year's draft
00:52and plenty of future assets.
00:54Besides their own firsts in the next seven years,
00:57Washington has the second most favorable
00:592028 first of Boston, Milwaukee, and Portland.
01:02In the same year, the Wizards can swap their own pick
01:05with the least favorable among Brooklyn, Philly, and Phoenix.
01:09Washington can then swap that pick for the least favorable
01:12between Milwaukee and Portland.
01:14In 2030, Washington can swap first with Phoenix.
01:17A lot of that is incredibly complicated gobbledygook,
01:20and it's far away.
01:22But what we know now is the Wizards have the number one overall pick.
01:26Yeah.
01:27I am not as locked on DeBansa as others are,
01:33whether you're a Peterson guy, DeBansa guy.
01:35But, B, let's start here.
01:37Are you confident that the best move for the Wizards
01:41is to stay at one and pick a player?
01:43I'm not confident that that's the best move.
01:46And the reason is, I just think that they have to listen.
01:51And just what you rattled off,
01:54what if the possibility is getting to Peterson and still,
01:58and possibly another player with a future first or whatever?
02:04You want to have yourself set up in a certain situation.
02:07And if they go through it
02:09and they don't think one is greater than the other,
02:11like a far gap,
02:14what difference does it really make?
02:17You know what I mean?
02:18Totally.
02:18And I think that's where we're at.
02:20If you were coming out right now and you had a Wimby,
02:23you had a flag,
02:25you'd take that pick.
02:26Right.
02:27But right now, you have to listen to everything.
02:30Your mind can't be made up at this point.
02:34Agreed.
02:34Now, if they have done their scouting
02:37and they have their draft board
02:38and they have AJ at one and Peterson at two
02:41or vice versa,
02:43that's reasonable to have your draft board.
02:45Now, you're going to bring these guys in for visits
02:46and there's still a lot of moving parts involved.
02:49Yeah.
02:49But I do not think the Wizards are at their stage of the rebuild,
02:58whatever you want to call it,
02:59that trading is absolutely the wrong option.
03:04No.
03:04No.
03:05I don't buy it.
03:06I don't think that's where they're at.
03:08No.
03:09Now, the only trade I'd be cool with
03:11if you're trading out of one is to two
03:13to get the other guy and get more assets.
03:17I am interested in trading veteran players.
03:21Like, if you could get...
03:24People say I'm crazy for this.
03:25I'm curious what you think.
03:26Like, if you could trade Anthony Davis
03:28and get back into the top 10
03:30and Acuff's there or Ament is there,
03:34there's some player that you've identified
03:35that's going to be an absolute superstar.
03:38Like, I am good with that.
03:40Would you rather have AD?
03:42Listen, man.
03:43If I want people that want to play for this team.
03:46Right.
03:47And if...
03:49Like, once they go in
03:51and go through all of their draft,
03:54whatever they do,
03:55and they come out with a plan
03:57of what they want to do,
03:58I'm cool with either way.
04:00Because...
04:01I look at this draft
04:03in the top five.
04:05I don't really see one guy
04:07just blowing away everybody else.
04:09And if they can get one of those guys
04:12and also other people and picks,
04:16why on earth would you not want to do that?
04:19Because if it was somebody in this pick
04:21coming out, like,
04:22we would say,
04:23oh, yeah, this guy is this, this, this.
04:24Because I can understand saying take it.
04:27But I haven't heard that.
04:30I hear more people unsure
04:31of who the number one guy is.
04:36I'm with you, man.
04:37I, like...
04:39I just wonder...
04:41You know,
04:42Barry got to talk to
04:44Ted the other day.
04:47And...
04:48So Barry's for Luger in the Athletic
04:49got to talk to Ted Leonsis.
04:51You shouldn't just say
04:52Barry got to talk to Ted.
04:53People might not know what that means.
04:56But Leonsis, I thought
04:57it was pretty interesting,
04:59said that...
05:00I believe his exact words,
05:02and I'm going to pull it up here,
05:03the deconstruction phase is over.
05:08And I think
05:09that's kind of an important
05:12note,
05:12because
05:15like,
05:16they did have to
05:17deconstruct this thing.
05:19Mm-hmm.
05:19But now it's time
05:21to build it back up.
05:22Yeah.
05:23Like,
05:23I believe they should be on
05:25the ascent
05:26now.
05:27And I don't know
05:28what that means.
05:29I know
05:29it's easy for us to, like,
05:31write
05:32the starting five
05:34and say,
05:36okay,
05:36like,
05:37with this starting five,
05:39this team should be really good,
05:41right?
05:41But I don't know
05:42how realistic that is
05:44for what's going to happen
05:45this year.
05:46You...
05:46A lot of this
05:48circles back to me
05:51is Anthony Davis
05:52going to play for this team.
05:53Both, like,
05:54is that what he wants?
05:56And is that what
05:57the organization wants?
06:00I would think
06:01the organization
06:01wants that to happen.
06:04But
06:06once it...
06:07When he gets on the court,
06:08you will see it
06:09in his actions
06:10and how he approaches it.
06:11But I still...
06:12We talked yesterday
06:13about Ayuk
06:14walking away
06:15from their 25.
06:16I don't think
06:17Ant's going to walk away
06:18from 55.
06:20I just don't.
06:21Right.
06:22So,
06:23if you got to go
06:24through that way
06:25of getting him
06:26to try to force it
06:27to see,
06:28you go.
06:28But my whole thing is
06:30I don't think
06:30he's going to walk away
06:31for money.
06:32This is Ted Leonsis
06:34talking about
06:34where the Wizards are now.
06:36And ultimately,
06:36he's the dude
06:37that signs the checks,
06:38right?
06:38Mm-hmm.
06:38And to Ted's credit,
06:40because I think
06:40during the Grunfeld era,
06:41there was a whole lot
06:43of succeed,
06:44maybe win the first round,
06:45and you're not
06:47a real championship contender.
06:49And I think
06:51Washington...
06:52I think fans
06:53grew tired of that,
06:54especially once
06:55things kind of
06:56went sideways
06:57with Wall,
06:57and then it was just Beal,
06:58and then Beal
06:59kind of was
06:59and wasn't playing.
07:01And then
07:01they were supposed
07:02to be this 5-6 seed
07:04that then was
07:04not making the playoffs,
07:06and then it just was like...
07:07Mm-hmm.
07:08It took a lot
07:09to get Ernie Grunfeld fired.
07:10Credit to Danny Ruye.
07:11I mean this sincerely.
07:12There was a stretch of time.
07:14I don't know when
07:15this was,
07:16but Ruye
07:17every day
07:17would tweet out
07:19some
07:21incredibly harmful
07:24transaction
07:24that Grunfeld approved
07:26with the hashtag
07:26please fire Ernie Grunfeld.
07:28Mm-hmm.
07:28And he did it
07:29every day for months,
07:30and eventually...
07:31Like, the reality is,
07:32and I know this
07:33from knowing sports owners,
07:35like,
07:35they do pay attention
07:37to where the fans are at.
07:38Now, you can't pay
07:39daily attention to that.
07:41You can't be swayed
07:42in the moment,
07:43but if it's months
07:44and months
07:45and then years and years,
07:46like, eventually
07:46you have to pay attention
07:47to that.
07:48And,
07:49to Ted's credit,
07:52tanking,
07:53truly rebuilding,
07:54deconstruction,
07:55as he called it,
07:56it's not good for business.
07:58It just isn't.
07:59Like, you're better off
08:00with a full arena
08:01and making the playoffs
08:02because the playoffs
08:03are going to be sold out.
08:04Like, you're better off
08:05being the five seed
08:06for business.
08:07In a long run,
08:08getting it right
08:09is better for business.
08:10Totally.
08:10And he saw that
08:12and agreed to it.
08:14Yeah.
08:14So where they are now,
08:16this is Leonsis
08:16via The Athletic,
08:17via Barry Sferluga.
08:19If we were going
08:20to win the lottery,
08:21this was a good year
08:22to do it.
08:22Not so much
08:23because of the
08:23concentration of talent,
08:25but it does give
08:26these very strategic thinkers
08:27lots of options.
08:29I couldn't tell you today
08:30what they will ultimately do.
08:33I can tell you
08:34how they're thinking about it.
08:35They would be open
08:36for discussion.
08:36We paid our dues
08:38and now we have the options
08:39and we have a month
08:40to figure out
08:41what to do
08:41with that perspective.
08:43Mm-hmm.
08:45I think that's the right way
08:46to do it.
08:47Yeah.
08:48I mean,
08:49you got to have a game plan.
08:50And that group,
08:51since it rolled in,
08:52that's why you know
08:53how I was about it.
08:54If you're not going
08:54to be winning,
08:55I'm not going
08:55to be excited.
08:56But if you come in
08:57and you give me the plan
08:58of what you're trying
08:59to do,
08:59I can understand it.
09:01And then I can start
09:02to see.
09:02And you can see
09:05how they're starting
09:05to hit steps
09:06and hit points.
09:08So,
09:08that gets me fired up.
09:10I don't know
09:10if it does the same
09:11for other people,
09:12but if I see you
09:14sitting at the same spot,
09:16but you're telling me,
09:17oh, we're going
09:17for it this year
09:18and I don't see
09:19any moves,
09:19I'm not going
09:20to believe you.
09:21But what they've done
09:22over the last year
09:23and a half,
09:23two years,
09:24I now see
09:25they are really
09:27planning for something.
09:28And you just go back
09:29and look at the team
09:30that they left from.
09:32How they're set up.
09:33Right.
09:33You know,
09:34OKC has been
09:35in the last two finals.
09:37They got a guy
09:38that won two MVPs.
09:40They're loaded up
09:41and down the roster too.
09:42And then you go
09:42look at their
09:44draft capital
09:45in the next 10 years.
09:46They are still set up
09:48to keep this thing
09:48going like it is.
09:49Right.
09:50You have to be
09:51excited about it.
09:52I think
09:53if you're a Wizards fan
09:55right now
09:56is the most optimistic
09:57you've been
09:57in some time.
09:59Ted also said
10:02when he was hiring Winger
10:05and then Winger
10:05wanted to hire
10:06Will Dawkins,
10:07Winger was very clear.
10:09According to Ted,
10:10I'm quoting here,
10:10he said to me
10:11three or four times,
10:12you know this could take
10:13four or five years.
10:14And I said,
10:15I totally understand.
10:16I've been through
10:17the deconstructing stage
10:18with the Caps.
10:19I lived through it
10:20the first time
10:21with the Wizards.
10:21I'm prepared.
10:22I don't see any other path
10:24to get out of where we are
10:25than deconstruct.
10:27And they've executed it
10:28very, very well.
10:29Yeah.
10:30So for three years
10:31they've been terrible.
10:32I mean,
10:33the record is what it is.
10:34They haven't won 20 games
10:35in the last three years,
10:36I believe.
10:37This past year
10:38they went 17 and 65
10:39and lost 26
10:41of their last 27.
10:42Okay.
10:43I believe that was
10:43on purpose, right?
10:45A lot of the rules
10:46that were done, yes.
10:48To that point,
10:49Ted said,
10:49these are the rules
10:50you gave us
10:50and we have lived up
10:51to those rules.
10:52If we've done anything
10:53outside the rules,
10:54I understand we deserve
10:55to be fine.
10:55But you'd better show me
10:57where we're outside the lines.
10:58Don't find us
10:59because there's a lot of teams
11:00that now perhaps
11:01are trying to replicate this.
11:04They completed the task.
11:05I'm going to tell you
11:05how good they did it.
11:07This crew
11:08with Winger and Dawkins
11:09came in
11:10and they did their
11:11deconstruction,
11:11whatever you want to call it,
11:12tanking,
11:13so well
11:15that they never
11:16faced the wrath
11:19of the commissioner.
11:21They never looked
11:22at this team
11:22like they were doing
11:22anything wrong
11:24because what they were doing
11:25was putting
11:26exciting players out there
11:28and they played hard.
11:30They didn't just see
11:32the star player
11:33that wasn't playing.
11:34They had young players
11:35that got banged up
11:37mysteriously sometimes.
11:39But you never heard
11:42the commissioner
11:42mention this team
11:43when they talked about
11:44the people that was thinking.
11:46Think about that.
11:47Totally.
11:48So if Winger,
11:48totally,
11:50if Winger's saying
11:51four or five years
11:52and we as a fan base
11:53are excited
11:55about where they are
11:56right now
11:57and then you add
11:57to Bantzler,
11:58Peterson,
11:58whoever it is.
12:00So this is what?
12:00The third year
12:01going into?
12:02Going into year four.
12:03Year four.
12:04Year four.
12:05So hey,
12:05it's time to start competing.
12:09When I hear that,
12:11I do not think
12:13Trey and AD
12:14are part of
12:14the long-term vision.
12:16Probably not.
12:17But that's okay.
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