- 12 minutes ago
Greg Finberg from Bullets Forever joins the Kevin Sheehan Show to discuss the rumors around the Wizards possibly trading Trae Young and gives his thoughts on who the Wizards will draft with the first overall pick.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Joining us right now is Greg Finberg. Greg is the staff editor at Bullets Forever, a great site, one of
00:08my favorite sites over the years because I am hardcore Bullets Wizards, and they've done a great job. He's got
00:15a Wizards podcast as well. You can follow Greg on X at Greg Finberg.
00:22Real quickly before we start getting into a lot of news related to the Wizards here, including that from yesterday,
00:28Alex Saar fractured his foot. First of all, how did it happen? And then give us what the expected timeline,
00:37Greg, is on his return.
00:41Yeah, so obviously unfortunate news with Alex Saar. He fractured his right foot in contact injury during a contact workout
00:50last week. The Wizards announced that he had surgery yesterday on Monday and that he should be back by the
00:58start of the 2026-27 season.
01:00There wasn't a mention of whether he'd be back by training camp or if he would just be back by
01:05the start of the season in October. Obviously not ideal, especially in a big man, seven foot, a lot of
01:12weight on there. Not necessarily the greatest thing to be dealing with foot injuries, but it seems like they avoided
01:18the worst.
01:18Anytime you hear someone got injured in the offseason, you don't want it to be any sort of, you know,
01:23tear to the ACL or Achilles. Obviously this isn't that. It could be a Liz Frank fracture that has him
01:29out for months and months and months.
01:31But this one seems like it was a fracture and that he should be back by the start of the
01:36season. So all things considered, not ideal, but the fact that he'll be in the starting lineup by October, you
01:43know, that's pretty good news, I think.
01:44Greg, of all the young players they've acquired via the draft and even trades, all of the true young players,
01:52you know, 23 and younger, we know that we know the list since the, you know, the effort to, you
01:58know, lose to, to, to be in the position they're in now began.
02:04Do you think among that list of players, Keishon, George, Bilal, Koulibaly, Alex Saar, Bubb Carrington, Trey Johnson, Will Riley,
02:14who am I forgetting?
02:16Among that list, do you think that there is a future MVP contender among that group?
02:27If there, if there was going to be one among that group, again, I think Keishon George would be my
02:34pick, but I don't necessarily think that he has the scoring or offensive production to, to covet that.
02:41I mean, you're seeing MVPs nowadays that are averaging 30 plus a game.
02:45And I think Keishon's an incredible defender.
02:48I think Keishon can easily average 20 a game, but I'm not sure if he's going to be that offensive
02:52engine or that go-to scorer that's going to warrant that.
02:55You know, I don't know if his offensive numbers in production can get to that level of an SGA or
03:00of a Luka up there in points.
03:02So again, I don't know if they have that.
03:04Again, I mentioned on the podcast a couple of days ago, I don't know if they have the offensive engine,
03:08the number one option at the moment.
03:10If they take it to Bonsa or Peterson, again, those are guys that most evaluators would say have all NBA
03:16or MVP upside.
03:19And again, that's the great part about having the number one pick is you have a lot of great young
03:23pieces, but you maybe don't have that, you know, number one option, that guy with MVP upside and you control
03:29the draft.
03:29You can go ahead and add whoever you want in a week from today to be that option for you
03:34guys.
03:34Yeah, I'm excited about Keishon George as well.
03:37I'm also excited about Will Riley and Trey Johnson, but I would agree with you.
03:41I don't necessarily see an MVP contender, but I do see an all-star or two, a future all-star
03:49or two in the group.
03:50Do you, and if so, in addition to George, who else would be in that category?
03:58I would say Alex R.
04:00I mean, just the two-way production from him, he's one of the best rim protectors in the league before
04:05he got hurt last season, averaged two blocks.
04:08So, you know, he can protect the rim and defend on that side of the ball.
04:11And offensively, you know, a guy that shot 39% from the field as a rookie raised that to 48
04:17% from the field last year, shot 33% from three, which is a respectable number for a big in
04:22his second year.
04:23And he was able to score from all three levels, added a mid-range game towards the end of the
04:27season, was able to score inside, has to get a little better there.
04:31But he has guard skills sometimes with the ball.
04:34He can take it from one end, dribble it up to the other end, and go coast to coast.
04:38He's a real talent.
04:40He's arguably the most talented young prospect they have right now, not considering the number one pick they have.
04:46So, I mean, if they have two all-stars, I think my best bet would be Keyshawn and Alex R.
04:53Yeah, I'm with you, too.
04:54And I think the stroke has looked good even going back to his rookie year, regardless of what the percentages
04:59are from behind the arc.
05:01All right.
05:01I saw and I just read during the break that there was this report, and you retweeted it, and you
05:07wrote, interesting here.
05:10Jake Fisher, who does Jake write for?
05:12Or it's some sort of NBA site, suggested that Trey Young will likely end up with a long-term agreement
05:21here.
05:22But sources tell him that several teams, including Miami, are considering trade avenues to add Trey Young prior to the
05:33draft.
05:34What do you think the chances of them trading Trey Young before the draft or even after the draft are?
05:40I'd say pretty low.
05:42You know, this is a guy that was acquired by Washington when seemingly no one else was willing to acquire
05:48him.
05:49He had that lingering $49 million player option for the 26-27 season, had been injured most of the season.
05:55And it just seemed like, obviously, Atlanta didn't want to pay it, and no team really did.
05:59But Washington came in there, was able to trade an expiring salary in McCollum and Corey Gisberg to make it
06:04work.
06:04And it seems like, up until yesterday, it was pretty much a given that Young would extend in Washington.
06:11And it's, I think, worth noting that Drake Fisher mentioned that it's still the more likely possibility that Young remains
06:20in Washington, signs a long-term extension.
06:23And that this really only happens if the Heat whiff on Giannis Antetokounmpo.
06:29Because Fisher said that Young, alongside Kawhi Leonard and John Morant, are some of these big fish backup options for
06:37Miami if they can't land Giannis.
06:39And if I've learned anything over the last couple off-seasons, it's that when the Miami Heat are in trade
06:44talks for a star, they're never going to really get that star.
06:48It seems like they're in on everyone, but never get anyone.
06:51If you recall with Bradley Beal, Miami was supposed to be the frontrunner.
06:54And then Phoenix came in with a package that really didn't blow anybody away, but was better than what Miami
07:01was offering.
07:01And they ended up getting Beal.
07:03Obviously, you had Miami not get Giannis last offseason or at the deadline this past season.
07:08So there are two things that are a couple of things that still stand in the way.
07:13Like if Miami gets Giannis, this isn't really too much of a story.
07:17But what's interesting about a possible Trae Young extension is Fisher noted that this could be used by Young's camp
07:24as potential leverage almost in negotiations with Washington.
07:28Because he was saying that Young could covet a salary close to what he made in Atlanta, which is five
07:34years, $215 million.
07:35I mean, it started at $37 million, but was ascending value and is now at $49 million this year.
07:41So again, way more than people thought Young could get.
07:44I mean, the expectation is three years, $120 million.
07:47And this is almost double that.
07:49So that's very interesting that these rumors or reported new interest could be huge in extension talks between Young and
07:58Washington,
07:58potentially giving Trae Young some leverage that people didn't think he would have.
08:02But again, I think Trae Young only has that leverage if the alternative is he just leaves for free in
08:08free agency and signs with a team like Miami.
08:12Which again, if it's at that figure, doesn't make much sense because Miami can't afford it.
08:17You know, they're going to be $33 million over the tax, $40 million under the tax, $40 million under the
08:25first apron, and $50 million under the second apron.
08:27And if you factor in about $6 million for the number 13 pick they have in this year's draft, those
08:39numbers go to $27 million under the tax, $34 million under the first apron, and $46 million under the second
08:45apron.
08:46So it's not like they have this flexibility to add Young.
08:49And I'm just, I'm using Miami because they're the only team that was mentioned.
08:52But I don't really buy that he has this new leverage in trade docs.
08:55And I don't really buy that this means much.
08:57I think this is just another one of those reports that gets thrown out there.
09:02And if they get Giannis again, this all means nothing.
09:05It's just likely that Trae Young remains in Washington.
09:07What do you think they do with Anthony Davis?
09:10I think he stays.
09:12Again, I've maintained that.
09:15Contract-wise.
09:17Yeah.
09:18Well, I think he's about $58 million this year and then $63 million player option the following year.
09:25And, I mean, at 33 years old, I don't think he's going to be able to covet this type of
09:30money on the open market.
09:31So it's probably the last time he can try to get an extension.
09:34I think that's really what he wants out of this is to get some sort of long-term extension.
09:40So I haven't had much of a problem with what he's been saying.
09:42He wants to get paid.
09:44I'm not sure Washington really is in the camp of wanting to extend him.
09:47So if that's not going to be the case, then maybe he's looking for somewhere else.
09:51But I think it just plays itself out.
09:53I think he plays out at least the first half of the year in Washington.
09:56You see how it goes.
09:58And if the team isn't going or playing great, Davis is healthy and they're suitors,
10:02then maybe you look to move them.
10:04If everything is going right, then maybe you don't.
10:06But Washington's not necessarily in a space where they have to do anything regarding the Davis situation.
10:12All right.
10:13Let's talk about a week from tonight.
10:15Before we get to what you would like them to do, what do you think's going on right now?
10:23I mean, more people than not are reporting to Bonsa.
10:26But then you've got this Peterson situation where, by the way, I think it's terrible advice that he's working out
10:33for one team,
10:34given all of the mystery around his season at Kansas.
10:38I think he should be accepting every single meeting with an opportunity to explain what happened face-to-face with
10:44all of these teams,
10:45especially at the top of the draft.
10:47But what do you make of that report?
10:49Do you think that the Wizards are still between these two players, or have they made a decision?
10:59I think for Washington, it's this two-horse race.
11:02And I think it's probably been that the entire time.
11:05But ESPN reported yesterday that it is down to either DeBonsa or Peterson with the number one pick.
11:12There's a lot of smokescreens during this whole process.
11:15And you've got to be smart with what you believe and what you don't believe.
11:20From Peterson's perspective, I'm sure he knows that if he doesn't go one, he's not falling past two, that Utah
11:27is going to take him.
11:29And so there's not much, I guess, incentive or motivation for him to work out with Utah or meet with
11:34Utah,
11:35because they're going to draft him anyway.
11:37Even if he blows them away with a workout, it's not like they're going to trade up a spot to
11:41go get the guy that's probably going to fall to them at two.
11:44And if he has a bad workout, then maybe the workout with Boozer in Utah was good, and they decided
11:50to pivot.
11:50So I understand it from his perspective in that, you know, why would I do that?
11:56It's like when a player who's going to get drafted in the first round doesn't throw at the NFL Combine.
12:00It's like, well, I don't think that's necessarily because he's scared or thinks he would fail.
12:04But a lot of those players don't have the backstory that he has.
12:07There's a lot of mystery around him.
12:11That's why you would do it.
12:12I mean, how many teams has DeBonsa had formal visits with?
12:18Well, Eastern reported that Friday he met with the Wizards, and then Saturday he met with Utah,
12:22and he said he's only working out for those two teams.
12:25Yeah.
12:27All right, so what do you think is going to happen?
12:29Do you have a lean for them or not?
12:33I mean, I've maintained throughout the whole draft process that I think it's just going to be DeBonsa.
12:38Like, I think it's going to be all this smoke and all these reports, but at the end of the
12:42day, DeBonsa will go one, Peterson will go two, Boozer three, and Wilson four, and then the draft really starts
12:49at five.
12:50I'm not really in line to buy too much into a lot of these reports, and I will say, with
12:57all the information that ESPN's Jeremy Wu and Sham Sharania have, with all the shift in thinking now that Peterson
13:03canceled that Utah workout, ESPN still has A.J. DeBonsa as number one pick in their mock draft.
13:10Almost every other mock draft you'll find still has A.J. DeBonsa, and that's based on whatever information they clearly
13:17have that they believe he's still going to be the first pick.
13:19So, again, I think that's just going to be the case.
13:22I think it's going to be a bunch of reports and rumors and smoke screens just for us to get
13:27to the draft and just see Washington take DeBonsa, who I think they should take, and I do think it's
13:32the best prospect.
13:33All right. Well, that was what I was going to ask you next. We're talking to Greg Finberg from Bullets
13:39Forever. So, you want DeBonsa. Tell me why.
13:44Yeah, well, there's a couple of reasons, and the number one is just like you can't teach the size, the
13:51speed, the athleticism to which he possesses.
13:54It's a lot of unteachable traits there. Six foot ten in shoes, above a seven foot wingspan, can handle like
14:01a guard, can run and blow past defenders in transition, in the open court, even in the half court.
14:07It's a lot of stuff that you can't necessarily teach that he possesses. He's also just the best pure scorer
14:15in this class.
14:16And for a team like Washington that needs this offensive scoring engine, that needs this number one option with MVP
14:23upside, he kind of fits everything they need is this big wing that can go get you a bucket when
14:29everyone knows who's about to get the ball.
14:31He averaged 25 and a half points per game at BYU as a freshman, which led all of Division I,
14:37and he did it on above 50% shooting from the field.
14:40And the best part about his game is he can get to the rim seemingly whenever he wants. He shot
14:4472.3% at the rim at BYU, which was in the 90, I think the 91st percentile among fellow
14:51prospects.
14:53He can also get into the mid-range, which is something that's kind of returning in the league. Average eight
14:58mid-range jump shots per 100 possessions, which is the 94th percentile.
15:03Shot 46% from the mid-range, which is in the 91st percentile among fellow prospects. And that's kind of
15:09where the game is shifting, right?
15:10It's not necessarily all about the three ball anymore. You're seeing Shea, you're seeing Brunson operate in the mid-range,
15:15operate around the bucket.
15:16That's kind of what works now. And that's what A.J. DeBonta does really well. And a lot of the
15:22negative parts of his game, or at least the question marks, are about his defense, which I don't necessarily see
15:27as the biggest issue,
15:29considering he's 6'10 in shoes, 7-foot wingspan, incredibly athletic, great hops, a 42-inch bird at the combine.
15:35It seems like he has a lot of the traits that are translatable on that end and with more film
15:41study, with maybe less pressure on him to do everything offensively and more incentive for him to lock in on
15:46the defensive end.
15:47I think he projects as a solid defender, at least in the league. And the other question mark is his
15:52outside jumper, 33.1% from three at BYU.
15:56Obviously not a great mark, not the worst mark either. But, you know, he also shot 44%, I think, on
16:03off the dribble threes and showed a willingness to take that shot.
16:08And there are other things that showcase, other indicators that showcase he has good touch, like the 46% clip
16:14from the mid-range.
16:15He was able to use the floater and go off flat. So, there are indicators that he can develop that
16:20jumper.
16:21Like John Wall came into the league shooting 32% from three. He turned out pretty well. Anthony Edwards shot
16:2729% from three at Georgia.
16:29Five years later, he made 323s, a 39% clip for Minnesota, led the league in three-point shooting.
16:36Like, it's not like you can't develop a three-point jumper.
16:39And, to me, A.J. has all of the traits that you really can't teach in what you want for
16:45a number one option with MVP upside, which is why I think Washington should take him at number one.
16:50Greg, thanks. Great job. Appreciate it.
16:53Thanks.
16:55Greg Finberg from Bullets Forever at Greg Finberg, F-I-N-B-E-R-G on X.
17:03Yeah, I really like Peterson's game. I just have a lot of question marks about Peterson, and I think a
17:13lot of teams do.
17:14I really like A.J. DeBonce's game.
17:17There's one thing, and I think I've talked about this previously, he really is just a flat-out scorer as
17:25much as he is a shooter.
17:26He's very patient. He has the ability to get to a spot. He has the ability with his size to
17:33shoot over people.
17:34His release isn't at the highest point. It's more sort of almost shoulder or a little bit above the shoulders.
17:44But still, he's 6'10 with the wingspan, and with the extension, he should be fine.
17:49Defense, it's so hard to predict. You know, defense in college, a lot of these teams play so much zone
17:54anyway.
17:55It's really hard to project, especially when they are so young and physically underwhelming for the most part.
18:04I'd find it hard to believe that DeBonce isn't going to score at a pretty healthy clip at the NBA
18:10level.
18:10I love the fact that he loves basketball as much as anything else and is a total gym rat by
18:19all accounts
18:21and played literally, at times, 40 minutes per game.
18:24I think he had 6 games over his last 18 or 17 games where he played all 40 minutes.
18:31He had 35 in the game in the tournament.
18:34They lost to Texas in the first round of the tournament, but he had 35 in that game, shot it
18:39well.
18:41Darren Peterson, though, there is something when you watch him in the games in which he played well at Kansas
18:50where there was an effortless way in which he created space and scored.
19:01And it's not, like, massively explosive.
19:06It is more deliberate.
19:09It's more methodical.
19:10And it's really fun to watch.
19:14The problem, of course, is that he wasn't always playing this year.
19:19If there's bad advice, if there's immaturity, or if he was legitimately hurt or legitimately sick,
19:28things change, as we said with Wemby.
19:31And, you know, if you didn't see Darren Peterson play, put on a couple of the games.
19:38Put on the game that they played against BYU, against Abansa in his first half in that game.
19:46Put on the tournament loss to St. John's early in the game and then late in the game.
19:52There is a way in which he plays that's like, wow, he is smooth.
19:59He looks like he's not even trying, and yet there's all this space that's created with his handle,
20:05with his movement, and he can score at a high clip, too.
20:10Abansa, I don't know if either one of them is going to end up being an MVP seven years down
20:15the road.
20:16But I do think that that's the choice.
20:18Acuff Jr. is still the guy that I think, more than anybody else,
20:22I would be shocked if he's not averaging 26, 27, 28 a game within three or four years in the
20:29NBA.
20:30Kevin Sheehan Show, the Team 980 and theteam980.com.
Comments