- 2 days ago
Washington finally is in control heading into a draft after years of bad lottery luck.
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00:00I appreciate Monumental Basketball PR for helping me out and setting up an interview with Michael Winger.
00:07He and I had met briefly, but I got to say, I was really blown away by, he's a down
00:14-to-earth dude.
00:16He's got young kids, I got young kids, we live relatively close to one another, know a couple of mutual
00:20friends,
00:21and we just BS'd for like 20 minutes.
00:24And then I was like, do you want to do this interview?
00:26He's like, not really.
00:28He was just kind of kidding.
00:30But it was really interesting being there and understanding what they're trying to build.
00:40And the thing that stood out to me, perhaps most, and eventually we're going to play the interview here,
00:49but I try to get some information on a timeline, right?
00:54Like, you now have Trey Young, you now have Anthony Davis.
00:56He said, in all of his conversations with Anthony Davis, everything is cool.
01:00So, we'll kind of see what ends up happening.
01:03Well, you know what, I hear him saying that to you, but you know what I'm going to believe in,
01:06Mike?
01:07When he shows up.
01:08When he's on the damn court.
01:09Yeah.
01:09I mean, every time I see his face, his face don't tell me that story.
01:13I agree.
01:16But, you add Trey Young, and Trey Young is legit happy to be here.
01:20One, we've seen him on the court.
01:22Two, he's talked enough, wearing the OV jersey, all that.
01:24Like, he seems like he really wanted a fresh start away from Atlanta.
01:28And he got it.
01:30AD, I don't think ever wanted to be traded to Dallas.
01:33And then certainly, I don't think he expected to be traded to Washington.
01:36Yeah.
01:37But, what I give Winger a lot of credit for is, one, it's a creative and smart way to kind
01:44of not answer a question.
01:47But, two, it's also a relatively fair answer.
01:50I was like, so, you've got vets now in Young and Davis.
01:54You're about to have the number one overall pick.
01:56Like, how much does this change where we're at in the building process?
02:03And he said, honestly, like, I'm going to know what we've put together, but until we watch 10, 20, 30
02:11games, I'm not going to know.
02:13He's like, the play on the court will dictate how we have to react.
02:19Because, and I think Paul Toboni said this.
02:22I'm not sure where I heard this, but credit to whoever asked him.
02:26Toboni was like, most people know what to do at the trade deadline.
02:30If you're looking like a 100-win team in baseball, you're going to add at the trade deadline.
02:37If you're looking like a 100-loss team, you're going to sell at the trade deadline.
02:42Now, what makes it tricky for the Nats is they look like an 85-win team, so I don't know
02:46what you do at the trade deadline there.
02:49But, specific to the Wizards, I thought it was fair.
02:52Winger's like, we've got to see what it is on the court.
02:54Because, what we're seeing in the NBA now, young teams can achieve.
02:59Yeah.
02:59Like, the Spurs are the most obvious example.
03:02The Thunder last year.
03:03Even the Pistons this year.
03:05They didn't have the playoff success, but they had a ton of regular season success.
03:09And, I mean, hell, they got to the second round of the playoffs.
03:13That would be a huge success here.
03:14Oh, yeah.
03:15So, like, should they start playing basketball in October, and all of a sudden, Trey Johnson's taking another step.
03:25Trey Young's rejuvenated.
03:26A.D.'s playing.
03:27This number one pick, whether it's Tabansa or Peterson or Boozer, like, if we get to Christmas and they're six
03:37games over .500, I think that could flip everything upside down in Washington.
03:43It's possible, but I still, I understand, you can't, that's why when I'm asked every year, what do you think
03:49team will do?
03:50I'm like, dude, they don't have a full roster yet.
03:53Right.
03:53No, no, no.
03:54But you know, yeah, I'll know when they put some damn people on the field.
03:58And when they put some people on the field, then I can see something.
04:00Listen, the thing about the A.D. thing is everybody was excited about it, for the most part, but he
04:10hadn't shown that same level of excitement.
04:12At least publicly.
04:13And if he's a part of the plan, Joe ain't selling that very much.
04:19Not yet.
04:20So, when that happens, when you see that, then you start to get a little enthused.
04:26But when you see him on the court, you'll be even more enthused.
04:29If he stays on the court, you'll be even more enthused than that, because that's not something he normally does.
04:35If he plays and stays and looks good, I think you wonder if.
04:40You're going to make a hell of a jump.
04:41Or if there's another move there.
04:44Possible.
04:44You know what I mean?
04:45Like, the NBA's a crazy league.
04:47We'll see what – it seems like Giannis is the biggest piece this summer that might be on the move.
04:52I'm with that.
04:53You also have the LeBron situation.
04:55I'm not worried about that one anymore.
04:56I think LeBron's on that – he's on that Lindsey Vonn right now, bro.
05:00The downhill swallel.
05:01The downhill slide, bro.
05:03I don't think you're wrong.
05:04I'm sure the LeBroniacs in the Aquarium.
05:06He can still – people get excited.
05:09He ain't carrying no team no more.
05:11And if people think he can, you're a damn fool.
05:13He showed you that this year.
05:15Can't do that.
05:15He might do it this game, this quarter, this half.
05:19He cannot do that consistently.
05:22He can't carry a team anymore.
05:24No.
05:24I don't think.
05:25He can – or we saw it.
05:28Like, he can carry a team into the playoffs, but they're not going to advance deep.
05:34A lot of people are saying he goes back to Cleveland, which I would find interesting with Donovan Mitchell.
05:43And James Harden?
05:44Well, I don't – what is Harden's status?
05:46Like, is he a longtime Cav?
05:48I don't know.
05:51Harden is –
05:51That's a business I've never wanted to be in.
05:53Well, Harden is – I'll tell you this.
05:55He – I guarantee he got money on his deal and he's going to be getting paid next year.
06:00It's all that matters.
06:01I'm sure.
06:02And I bet it's $65 million.
06:05It's close.
06:06Dude, let's play a game.
06:06I'm going to pull it up.
06:07I'm not going to look yet.
06:08How many teams has James Harden been on?
06:11Let's try to name them.
06:12I'm going to go six or seven.
06:15OKC.
06:16Yeah.
06:17Philly.
06:18Yeah.
06:18Now Cleveland.
06:19Yeah.
06:19Houston.
06:20When he went to Houston.
06:20Houston.
06:22Was he in Atlanta?
06:23I don't know if he was in Atlanta.
06:25I know the Magic City Wings story, but that might have been a playoff series.
06:29All right.
06:29I got it for –
06:30Matt, that was about Atlanta, though.
06:32The Nets.
06:33Remember they brought in Kyrie and KD and Harden?
06:36I said Philly.
06:38All right.
06:38See, Philly?
06:39Here we go.
06:40James Harden.
06:41OKC.
06:42Houston.
06:43Brooklyn.
06:45The Clippers, we forgot.
06:46Yep.
06:47Yep.
06:47Right.
06:47Right.
06:48I mean, this dude has been on one, two, three, four, five, six teams.
06:55And I know the NBA is crazy, and, I mean, to his credit, the longevity is wild.
06:59He's played for 17 years in the NBA, and he's still averaging over 20 a game.
07:04Yeah.
07:06But now, should we look up career earnings for Mr. Harden?
07:10Lots.
07:11Do we want to guess that?
07:12I mean, he's probably gotten two super maxes.
07:14Man, the man got paid, bro.
07:17Do you think over or under 300 mil?
07:21Over.
07:23400.
07:24Over or under?
07:25Yeah.
07:25Over.
07:26Damn.
07:27Of course, the internet's not working, but, oh, here we go.
07:32Damn.
07:33How much?
07:36At the conclusion of this year, James Harden has made $411 million.
07:43And probably got another 60 to 100 coming to him.
07:47It looks like he has a player option for next year at 42 mil.
07:54I would exercise that option.
07:56Hell yeah.
07:57He got paid just by team.
07:59He's been paid over $100 million by three different organizations.
08:05He made $1.80 with Houston, made $111 in Philly, and $150 with the Clippers.
08:11Mm-mm, mm-mm.
08:12That is crazy.
08:15That's the NBA, bro.
08:17If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.
08:20NBA, you make tons of money.
08:21Don't win nothing.
08:22The other thing that Winger said, I asked, you know, when will you have a firm idea of
08:28what you're doing?
08:28Because I believe, I saw it on the station's Instagram, on the 106.7 The Fan Instagram.
08:32If you're not following it, you should be.
08:34It's a good Instagram page.
08:35There's a lot of good clips.
08:36White Bryant and crew do a great job turning that stuff around.
08:40We're hard.
08:40I think it was Nick Aschew kind of reporting that the Wiz are not as firm on A.J. DeBanca
08:48at one as maybe some believe they are.
08:51Certainly, like, they're not off of that, but they are considering all their options,
08:55including Boozer, including Peterson.
08:57Well, they said that, in a sense, early.
09:02We're going to keep our eyes and ears open, and we're going to look at everything.
09:06They never said, oh, yeah, he's number one.
09:09That's everybody else.
09:10So I did ask him, and I just said it outright.
09:13I was like, yo, all the analytics nerds love Boozer.
09:15They think he's the best player in this draft.
09:18And to be clear and transparent, Winger was very clear he wasn't going to address specific
09:23players, right, which he shouldn't.
09:25He's the president of a team about to make the number one overall pick, and maybe there's
09:29a godfather offer coming, right?
09:32But I asked him, how much do analytics enter into your decision-making process?
09:38And he said, you know, we very much care about analytics.
09:42We very much care about the numbers.
09:43That will absolutely be a part of our decision-making process.
09:47But then he also said, he's like, I believe Will is one of the best true scouts in this game,
09:53and we're going to watch him.
09:55We're going to watch the tape.
09:56We're going to watch these workouts.
09:57I'm sure they're going to have all these guys in for a dinner and a visit and a workout
10:01and all this stuff.
10:02So if the analytics community is as hardcore about Boozer, there's going to be a guy in
10:11the Wizards organization that will probably have that same belief.
10:15That doesn't mean that will be the deciding factor.
10:18But, like, at this point, we've heard the numbers people say this about Boozer enough
10:25that that philosophical belief will be represented in their discussions.
10:31Does that mean it drives it?
10:33I don't know.
10:34Maybe, maybe not.
10:35Can you imagine if they took Boozer one, though?
10:38Hey, man, listen.
10:39As I say all the time, Jay, take the person who they feel based off of the way that they
10:45look at it, it's the best.
10:48They can't be worrying about how hype everybody is about DeBanza, Peterson, Caleb Williams,
10:55whoever.
10:55They can't worry about that.
10:57Did you say Caleb Williams?
10:58I mean, William, Wilson, Wilson.
11:00They have to be able to pick the person according to what they have come up with and not worry
11:09about the rest.
11:09The other interesting piece, so the NBA draft is June 23rd in Brooklyn, right?
11:18So that is exactly two weeks from today.
11:21I asked him, when do you think you have your decision ready?
11:25Because I think that's a big part of it, too, right?
11:28Is when are you ready to go?
11:31Because do you take that all the way to the wire?
11:34Or do you want to have some sense of finality?
11:38And then certainly the phones are going to be ringing, right?
11:41Yeah.
11:42But he said, he's like, I want to get maybe the 20th or 21st to have our board decided.
11:49And obviously, phone calls will happen and things will, you know.
11:52But I found it really interesting.
11:54He said, I don't want to have recency bias if we obtain another piece of information the
12:01day before the draft to override what we've spent months doing.
12:07Yeah, yeah.
12:07You know what I mean?
12:07Like, you've got to build your book and your theories and your decisions and not let that
12:14be swayed kind of at the last minute.
12:16I thought that was the right approach.
12:18Only time it's swayed the last minute, somebody came in and gave you a deal you can't refuse.
12:22Or there's like the Laramie Tunsil photo that leaks on.
12:26Yeah.
12:26But at this point, nobody would even care, right?
12:29Right.
12:30But yeah, what do you think the chances are that they trade this pick?
12:3625%.
12:38I tend to agree.
12:40I don't think it's a closed door.
12:42No.
12:42Because if you love these top three significantly and you know you can move from one to three
12:49and get one of these dudes you want, I think it'd be crazy to close the door on that.
12:55Yeah, you shouldn't.
12:57And you know, everybody, oh man, we've got to have the number one pick.
13:00And I know, the man says, one around, I want to be the number one pick.
13:04Who wouldn't?
13:05You're supposed to be.
13:06You're supposed to want to be that.
13:08But just because he put on a suit don't mean he's going to be able to carry a thing.
13:13I've talked to more people about him wearing that suit.
13:16And it sounds good to some people.
13:17Some people are excited about it.
13:19I don't care.
13:20Because you don't play suit-skitball.
13:22You play basketball.
13:23What is the suit people are excited about?
13:25That he wore a suit at the lottery?
13:27He wore a suit like at a job interview.
13:31Job interview in basketball is putting the ball in the hole, dog.
13:33Right.
13:34And I understand some people can be swayed by a certain thing.
13:36I love the fact MJ always wore a suit on his way to a game.
13:42He said, I'm going to a job.
13:44But still you wouldn't put on your uniform, which is a suit.
13:46Right.
13:47I'm not really thoroughly impressed by a guy who put on a suit to go work out.
13:55Because you've got to take it off anyway and put it on a boot call.
13:57So I'm not amazed by that.
14:00Right.
14:00And I'm not swayed by it.
14:02Play basketball.
14:03That's all I care about.
14:04It is cool that no matter what happens, no matter what transpires over the next two weeks,
14:10and the rumor mill will go crazy, all these things, right, the Wiz are at the front.
14:16Like, whatever happens, it's going to go through them.
14:19Yeah, yeah.
14:20Whether that's taking Peterson, taking DeBonsa, taking Boozer maybe, trading it,
14:26no matter, like, no one else can impact this draft the way the Wizards can.
14:29And I think that's got to be rewarding after lottery luck has not really hit in Washington.
14:38And the way these new tanking rules are going to be,
14:40who the heck knows how it's going to go going forward.
14:43So, like, at least you're cashing in your ticket at the last time you can.
14:48Now, would you love to have gotten lottery luck last year and gotten flagged?
14:52Sure.
14:53Hell yeah.
14:53Like, not slide all the way down as far as they could like they did?
14:58Of course.
14:59But two weeks out from the number one pick, man, it's an exciting time for the Wizards.
15:05They got a lot of good young talent, man.
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