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Should Pistons' fans expect to see Okorie contribute right away?
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00:00Well, hello on a Wednesday. Oh, Rico. That was a lively pre-show, I have to tell you.
00:06It was.
00:08Can I? Oh, boy. See, I shouldn't do this, but sometimes I can't help myself.
00:14And it's not, I don't think this is me being mean. I really don't think it's being negative.
00:21I think I'm definitely, I'm jaded a bit.
00:27So, the Pistons draft last night. They move up to 17 and take a player they like.
00:34Okay, fine. First of all, I didn't want them to use the pick. I wanted to trade the pick.
00:38So, we're off to a bad start.
00:40Yeah.
00:41And unlike a lot of people, okay, fans, I have to let off the hook. They're fans.
00:47And some of them are smart. Many of them aren't. But they're fans. Okay.
00:52I got to let them off the hook to a point. But I don't have to let the media off
00:55the hook.
00:56The media is supposed to be a smarter version of the fans.
01:01Be a little more nuanced. Be a little more plugged in.
01:05And be a little less bought and paid for. Be real.
01:11So, what I have witnessed, read, watched, listened to, I'm just gravely disappointed.
01:20And here's why.
01:23How is it that a player yesterday, no one knew who to F they were?
01:29Media, fan, nobody. Stop it.
01:32Was not mocked to this team. Was not talked about to this team.
01:36How is that player today viewed as this great steal?
01:39And I've heard callers on this station calling in, invoking the name of the Lord, Isaiah Thomas?
01:47Invoking the name of Kyrie Irving?
01:50You heard those, huh?
01:51Oh, I heard them.
01:53Here's what I'm not going to do.
01:55I'm not going to slander this kid.
01:58I don't know who the hell he is.
01:59Stanford was rat ass.
02:01And no, I wasn't up at 11 o'clock watching him play ACC conference games against Boston College.
02:06I can only go by, he's 19, he's woefully undersized, and there's kind of positional redundancy
02:13considering you have Dannis in his cape and you have Sasser.
02:18And I'm pretty sure this kid won't help you win a championship next year
02:22and won't really help you do much.
02:24Shout out Chaz Lanier and Bobby Clinton.
02:26The point is, I can't in good conscience come on the air and do that with you guys.
02:33I won't.
02:34Oh, he's a steal.
02:36He's a dog.
02:37What are you talking about?
02:38Basically, if you're going to pimp this pick having not known who they were,
02:42you could have drafted a wangless slug and you'd tell me it was a steal.
02:47So, like, can we not do that between two and six?
02:51Can we not hope cast?
02:54I mean, my God, some of the stuff I've read, some of the stuff I've listened to.
02:57What are we doing?
02:59No, here, I'm going to be the only adult here.
03:02I'm going to act like a man.
03:03I don't know this kid.
03:04Rico gave me a list yesterday.
03:06I knew some of those players.
03:07I'll offer you an opinion.
03:09Who the hell this kid is?
03:11Nor do I care.
03:12I didn't want to use the pick.
03:14Could he be good?
03:15Who knows?
03:16Maybe in three years, he's Kaysan Wallace.
03:19And he's fantastic.
03:21I can only go by what we have, which is really undersized.
03:25I have a couple of guys who do what he does.
03:28He has some offensive ability.
03:29And before you tell me he led the ACC in scoring, that's just super cool.
03:34So did Buddy Boeheim.
03:36Want to touch yourself over that?
03:39Hey, you know who led the Big Ten in scoring for years ago?
03:41Carson Edwards.
03:43Cutscene.
03:43Seven minutes in the league.
03:45Come on, guys.
03:46He scored more points than Cam Boozer.
03:48Great.
03:49I'm just saying, Rico, if you didn't know who the guy was a day ago, how are you screaming
03:54and yelling about it today?
03:55Right.
03:56Because I'm looking at this saying, well, did you just draft Kade's backup?
04:02Well, isn't that Dennis Jenkins?
04:03Like, where does he fit on this team?
04:05It didn't make a lot of sense to me.
04:08It's more of a depth piece.
04:10And you're like, okay, so that means it's Sasser getting traded?
04:13Like, there was so many different questions when I got that.
04:17But, yeah, it was just kind of like, huh.
04:19He might be good.
04:20But I don't.
04:21What am I going to do?
04:22How the hell am I going to get on here and be like, oh, this is such a steal.
04:25That's so fake.
04:26And you moved up to get him.
04:28So you must have really liked him because you traded picks.
04:32My problem, 19 years old, and I'm playing the odds.
04:36He's going to be a DNPCD in the playoffs.
04:40And therein lies the rub.
04:42Because, right, your draft picks, I'm thinking to myself, great.
04:46I'll probably end up having to go watch him down at Wayne State because he probably won't get much run
04:51with the Pistons this year because he is young.
04:54Or if he does, it'll be regular season.
04:56And then when the rubber meets the road, where will he be in the playoffs?
05:00Look, I'll wait and see.
05:01I'll give anybody a chance.
05:02It's fine.
05:03But what I'm not going to do is get on the air and just lie to my audience.
05:05I'm not doing it.
05:06Well, Mike, you know, Jalen Brunson was taken in the second round, and look at him now.
05:09So is Gilbert Arenas.
05:10There's a one-off for everything.
05:12There's Draymond.
05:13Yeah.
05:13It's like, okay, but I don't think that he's any of them.
05:16They literally look like they drafted the same player again, a la Iserman.
05:21We're just going to keep drafting that same guy.
05:23We talked about this yesterday.
05:25You know, I don't have to agree with the Warriors strategy about thinking they can still win.
05:31I don't think they can.
05:32Not just based on their roster, but the structure of the Western Conference.
05:36But at least the Warriors were true to the plan, which is they drafted Yaxel, jack of all trades, real
05:42high basketball IQ, great wingspan, kind of a jack of almost.
05:46They kind of drafted younger Draymond.
05:49Okay.
05:49Yeah.
05:49And he's old, he's 24, he's going to play.
05:53Steve Kerr doesn't play young players.
05:54He can hit the ground running.
05:55Makes sense.
05:56I want our lunch bet.
05:58With Mara going to OKC.
06:00We talked about it.
06:01Like, they got their taste of the Western Conference final.
06:04We need more size.
06:05Right.
06:05We need another big man.
06:07Look at what the Spurs did.
06:09The Spurs kind of got bullied in the NBA finals.
06:11Drafted big people.
06:13You saw that, too.
06:14Because, yeah, OKC said, we're going to get the Wimby stopper.
06:19And the Spurs were like, we're going to get Wimby some rest.
06:22They got Terrace Reed.
06:23And they got the big man from Kentucky.
06:25Qantas.
06:26We're going to go ahead and make sure that Wimby doesn't have to play 48 minutes so you guys can't
06:31wear him down.
06:31So that stuff, look, if the Pistons' plan is to just take their time and draft and develop, they have
06:39a right to do that.
06:40And I'm not making fun of the player.
06:43But I don't think that's where 90% of fans are.
06:47We're sitting here going, it's time to go all gas and no breaks.
06:50It's time to get in on this.
06:52And here's my fear.
06:53By using that draft pick last night, that would most assuredly take Trey Murphy off the board.
06:59Because New Orleans would have wanted picks.
07:02So is my off-season now Uncle T on the mid-level exception and Norm Powell?
07:08That's what we're going to do?
07:10Because that's what it feels like.
07:11I can probably guarantee you Uncle T.
07:13I don't even know if you're going to Powell.
07:15You should stop it right now.
07:16Okay.
07:17Come on, man.
07:18Don't do that.
07:19But look, I'm fine hearing from you guys.
07:22But if I'm not doing my job because I'm not just going to get on the air and lie to
07:26you, well, then fine.
07:28I'm in dereliction of my duty.
07:30I'll go home.
07:31Oh, this was one of the steals of the boulder dash.
07:35Never seen the kid play.
07:36None of you have either.
07:37So cut it out.
07:38And if you want to call up and say you're nuanced and watching him play, that's great.
07:42You watched a YouTube video.
07:43Congratulations.
07:44I'm not interested.
07:45I didn't want to draft a 19-year-old undersized player who probably needs a year plus just to get
07:50his body right to play in this league.
07:52And then, by the way, Cade's always going to play 40-plus.
07:56Yes, he's too small to play alongside Cade for long stretches.
08:00And you already have Dennis and Sasser.
08:03Now, the rest of the offseason can play out.
08:06Maybe they make some moves.
08:07Maybe some of those guys aren't here.
08:09Also, a word of caution about Norman Powell, another woefully undersized player to play the two.
08:15About six, two and a half.
08:16It's about five inches short of being an NBA two guard in today's world.
08:21So, look, you can take it wherever you want to go.
08:24Oh, my disappointment has nothing to do with this young man.
08:27I'll give him a fair shake.
08:28The disappointment is I don't want to use the pick at all.
08:32You know, if they were going to move up, move up and get a player who's going to help me
08:35next year.
08:36I really don't think that's a fair thing to ask of this kid as a 19-year-old.
08:41Like, there are 19-year-olds drafted in the top 10.
08:43And we saw Reed Shepard, who was a really nice player at Kentucky, get taken and spend his first year
08:49in the G League and did not play for the Rockets.
08:51He got taken number three overall.
08:53Like, I'm just defending you in this regard.
08:56You're not being negative.
08:57No, no, I'm not being negative over me.
08:59He's drafting children.
09:00Right.
09:00He's not ready to be dropped into the NBA.
09:03He will get eaten alive.
09:05He's got to get bigger.
09:06He's got to get stronger.
09:07He's got to get up to the speed of the game.
09:09I know he plays fast, but there's college fast and there's NBA fast.
09:14So, we'll see.
09:15So, yeah, it's probably going to take some time to develop.
09:17I'll also speak to bias.
09:19I admit it.
09:20My bias is simple.
09:21Like, I'm jealous of Miami this week.
09:23The Heat made a big move.
09:25The Panthers made a big move.
09:26We're just sitting around.
09:29I'm just hanging around.
09:31You know, it's like that Beetlejuice thing from the Howard Stern show.
09:36Hey, what are you up to?
09:38Who, me?
09:39I'm just hanging around.
09:40I mean, like, is someone in this town going to do something here?
09:45Now, Austin Reeves is off the board.
09:47He just signed with the Lakers, and he did not get the payday.
09:51I think that's a separate topic, but it's interesting.
09:54Just because you can pay someone does not mean that you do.
09:58They could have paid him 250 mil.
10:00He got 188.
10:02It's a good lesson.
10:03Not going to bid against yourself.
10:05No, and that's where Pistons, hey, we'll drop the offer sheet.
10:08You can go out, test the market, do what you want.
10:10The max anybody else can pay you is 177.
10:14Smart move by the organization.
10:15Now, I swear to God, if they come back with a $200 million deal,
10:18my head's going to explode.
10:20But what do you guys think?
10:21I mean, if it's inevitable.
10:23I mean, I think it's like the Jameer Gibbs contract.
10:26Certain things are just going to happen.
10:27It's inevitable.
10:28It's the price I care about.
10:30That's all.
10:31Look, you guys, if you love a Coro or a Corey or however you say this kid's name,
10:36go for it.
10:37Spin a wives tale.
10:38Do whatever you want to do.
10:40But I think it's just pretty shameful what goes on in this town.
10:43Basically, the Pistons could have drafted a fake person last night,
10:46and you'd have the writers and hosts and different people in this town pimping it.
10:50Why?
10:51Like, whatever happened to just say, you know what?
10:54No idea.
10:55You know what?
10:56Disagree with the pick because I didn't want to use the pick.
11:00Not everything our teams do is awesome.
11:02It's okay to live in that world.
11:04But you got to look smart.
11:06So that's why everybody will tell you how great this kid is going to be.
11:09Unless you had this kid mocked to the Pistons with a big write-up or you did a monologue on
11:14it.
11:14Sorry.
11:15That ship sailed.
11:16I mean, next boat leaves tomorrow.
11:18Bro, I gave you seven names that I thought that they would go after and doing probability.
11:22And I was like, okay, didn't see that coming at all.
11:26Dude, my Celtics drafted a guy I liked on yesterday's show in Senac.
11:30You don't hear me.
11:31Man, you ain't going to hear me pimping it.
11:32That kid is years away.
11:34That kid is a beanpole.
11:35He needs time.
11:36I mean, I'm happy with it.
11:38And maybe they can develop them.
11:39The Celtics have a much better player development track record than the Pistons.
11:44But there's no illusion to, I think, that kid's helping my team go back to the finals next year.
11:49And I guess that's just it, Mike.
11:51I'm looking at a lot of the previous Pistons draft picks of the last couple years.
11:56And they don't help the team.
11:58They don't do anything.
11:59So it's kind of hard to get excited about this because lately your history has not been that great.
12:05And look, we got to let some of it play out as far as maybe his role gets increased based
12:10on other roster attrition moves, different things.
12:13But in the here and now, I didn't want anybody at that pick.
12:17So I was never going to be thrilled.
12:19Not angry.
12:20Not yelling.
12:21Not even knocking the kid.
12:23But, I mean, saying he's undersized is not negativity.
12:26It's truth.
12:28Saying that a 19-year-old that is drafted outside of basically the top 20 in the draft, yeah, I'm
12:34just going to give him time.
12:35I'm going to show the kid some grace.
12:37That has nothing to do with me feeling like, okay, we're better today.
12:42I mean, it's just clear Trajan's just going to take, hey, just hanging around, doing my thing.
12:47Just take my time.
12:49Like you said, Holland, Chaz Lanier, like, okay, I'll wait to see these guys when they do something.
12:56And if you want to hope cast things, if you had a top five pick, I'll always allow that.
13:00You're at the top of the draft.
13:01You're taking the alleged best of the best.
13:03Two years later, Ron Holland's a DNPCD in the playoffs.
13:08But yet, you think I'm going to come on the air and tell you all about Stanford's finest and how
13:13he's going to average 15 a night next year.
13:14Yeah, we're not doing that.
13:16If it happens, God bless.
13:17That's fantastic.
13:18Give Trajan an extension.
13:20I'm sitting here going, all right, we got a guy for the G League.
13:24Yeah.
13:24But he was the ACC leading scorer.
13:27He outdid the...
13:27Good buddy Boeheim led the ACC in scoring two years in a row.
13:30How'd that go?
13:30Number three and number four draft pick.
13:32Mm-hmm.
13:33Mm-hmm.
13:33I'm with you.
13:35I'm with you.
13:36Okay, then.
13:372-4-8-5-3-9-97-97.
13:39We'll get to the people.
13:4097-1.
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