2025 NBA Prospects and Pre-Camp Insights: Pistons and Trail Blazers' Future Strategies

[00:00:10] [SPEAKER_00]: It's Wednesday, you know what time it is. Front Runner Podcast Collective is back on the air. I am your

[00:00:18] [SPEAKER_00]: humble host, Vince, and today's show we're going to hit the last installment of the NBA

[00:00:25] [SPEAKER_00]: draft picks for 2025. We're also going to break down some of our off-season art

[00:00:33] [SPEAKER_00]: innovations and what we kind of expect or what we want to look for early in the seasons from

[00:00:40] [SPEAKER_00]: two particular teams, which are the Detroit Pistons and the Portland Trail Blazers. But before

[00:00:47] [SPEAKER_00]: we get to all that, we got to get to the socials. One, at on X or Twitter, how would you like to say it?

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[00:01:26] [SPEAKER_00]: other thing is that the producers are great. Their commentary and also some of the things that

[00:01:34] [SPEAKER_00]: they are doing that are kind of like underneath the shell type of stuff. There's a ongoing little

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[00:02:55] [SPEAKER_00]: more draft things or what have you. We want to get into the Marvel universe and the only way

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[00:03:24] [SPEAKER_00]: like and comment on those videos, there are, does the angel of Russell video up there right now?

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[00:03:56] [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, they are from part of the podcast. So you say hey, Vince, why am I going to look at something

[00:04:05] [SPEAKER_00]: that I've already listened to? Normally with the clips, you're going to see things that we did

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[00:04:19] [SPEAKER_00]: gathered that did not make the podcast. So there's always something new with the clip and it

[00:04:28] [SPEAKER_00]: usually ties into what we were talking about. I was going to a lot of time on those clips so

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[00:05:00] [SPEAKER_00]: telephone about front runner podcast collective. You know I said that August was the birthday month

[00:05:09] [SPEAKER_00]: and what have you and all of these type of things and whatever. And I'm here to tell you that

[00:05:16] [SPEAKER_00]: today is what? That's today's August 14 and to say that we are close to our record downloads

[00:05:26] [SPEAKER_00]: were three quarters of the way there and we have 17 more days to go. So what this tells me?

[00:05:35] [SPEAKER_00]: One, you guys do listen to me and you do life me. So we appreciate you so much. The second thing is this.

[00:05:47] [SPEAKER_00]: I said it on a tweet and I'll say it here. It's not bad from some for somebody who was home with seven

[00:05:55] [SPEAKER_00]: years ago. Not bad for somebody who was a raging alcoholic. While seven years ago plus

[00:06:05] [SPEAKER_00]: seven years ago now I give all praise and glory to my Lord and Savior. I could do none in this

[00:06:13] [SPEAKER_00]: without him but the other thing that I want to say is that when we talk about at the end of the show

[00:06:24] [SPEAKER_00]: that surround yourself with people that are going to only brighten your light

[00:06:33] [SPEAKER_00]: that's not just a catch phrase. That's not something witty we just came up with or whatever.

[00:06:40] [SPEAKER_00]: My life, my friends, mentors that have helped me along the way, the long-beager rescue mission

[00:06:48] [SPEAKER_00]: who helped me when I was going through my situation with alcoholism takes a village. So again thank

[00:06:57] [SPEAKER_00]: you guys for downloading podcasts. Thank you for telling your friends about the podcast and again,

[00:07:07] [SPEAKER_00]: thank you for being part of this community. It means a lot. I see a map of the world and I see

[00:07:14] [SPEAKER_00]: that my podcast with Seria and Funches Help. It touches Taiwan. It touches Hong Kong. It touches

[00:07:27] [SPEAKER_00]: every continent on this planet. So again, I'm grateful and I'm grateful to you guys that we

[00:07:34] [SPEAKER_00]: go across the all-time record for most downloads of this particular podcast in the month of August

[00:07:43] [SPEAKER_00]: which is the birthday month. So how Lulia to us? We thank you guys. Clap it up. Clap it up.

[00:07:50] [SPEAKER_00]: So let's get to the point, right? Because we got some stuff to really get into. Enough of this

[00:07:55] [SPEAKER_00]: sapista, enough of events over here, ball in, about sentimental, dribble, whatever. All right so

[00:08:04] [SPEAKER_00]: what we're going to do is we're going to hit a couple of teams. We're going to talk about their

[00:08:09] [SPEAKER_00]: offseason. We're going to talk about what's going on with them and then we're going to see about

[00:08:15] [SPEAKER_00]: what we might want to look forward to early in the season with these particular teams.

[00:08:24] [SPEAKER_00]: And the first team that we're going to talk about is the Detroit Pistons. Now let's kick things off

[00:08:30] [SPEAKER_00]: with Detroit last year having a record of 21 and 61. All eyes are on the young dynamic team

[00:08:38] [SPEAKER_00]: that needs to develop leaving the charge is none other than K, coming him who signed a

[00:08:44] [SPEAKER_00]: working max extension in the offseason. Coming him has had his husband is and has been the

[00:08:51] [SPEAKER_00]: court in stone of the franchise and the pressure is on him to elevate his gang to lead the

[00:08:57] [SPEAKER_00]: Pistons to more victories this season. As an NBA scout put it, K has the potential to be one of

[00:09:07] [SPEAKER_00]: its crucial that he stays healthy and consistent. And let's not forget Jamie Bitterstaff or

[00:09:13] [SPEAKER_00]: J. V. Bitterstaff who is emphasized the importance of K's leadership both on and off the court

[00:09:19] [SPEAKER_00]: starting that it will be instrumental in shaping the team's identity this season. But it's not just

[00:09:28] [SPEAKER_00]: okay right because the guy that we really need to talk about is J. and Ivy. Now I will be the first

[00:09:37] [SPEAKER_00]: one to say that J. and Ivy got really the short end of the stick this is year three for him

[00:09:44] [SPEAKER_00]: and really to tell you truth it really could be on a was it now is this year or this is year

[00:09:56] [SPEAKER_00]: yeah this is year three for him year three so

[00:10:06] [SPEAKER_00]: it's tough he had money Williams. Money Williams I don't know went through some Jedi

[00:10:13] [SPEAKER_00]: mind-trick stuff with him where he was like these are these are not the two drawers you're looking for

[00:10:19] [SPEAKER_00]: you don't need to start it's all about earning playing time and J. and Ivy sitting there going

[00:10:27] [SPEAKER_00]: where you know like I was like the number four overall pay. Like I should be starting

[00:10:34] [SPEAKER_00]: over a killing in haste everybody in the league thinks that I should be starting over killing

[00:10:41] [SPEAKER_00]: haste scouts other NBA executives are saying why is J. and Ivy not getting the development

[00:10:50] [SPEAKER_00]: especially in this time in this situation of where the Detroit pistons are right you're sitting

[00:11:00] [SPEAKER_00]: there and we just talked about the records 21 and 61 they had a catastrophic losing streak

[00:11:06] [SPEAKER_00]: in the middle of this year and we have J. and Ivy and his plan time and being bench it's just

[00:11:14] [SPEAKER_00]: being puffy by money Williams now towards the end of that we started to see J. and Ivy play

[00:11:23] [SPEAKER_00]: because obviously something came down from the front office which the front office is completely

[00:11:28] [SPEAKER_00]: changed too. Troy we were as out trading Langdon and then we got money Williams out J. B.

[00:11:38] [SPEAKER_00]: Mr. Staff who is really good about developing young talent is in and now it's time for these

[00:11:47] [SPEAKER_00]: kids to really settle in it's just unfortunate that now J. and Ivy's in year three he needs to

[00:11:53] [SPEAKER_00]: show improved what he is because it will be indicative of what his contract situation is going to be

[00:12:01] [SPEAKER_00]: or will it be another Jonathan Kaminga situation where Jonathan Kaminga has said listen

[00:12:08] [SPEAKER_00]: I want to rookie max extension you guys dropped a ball with my development I don't have anything

[00:12:16] [SPEAKER_00]: to do with giving myself more playing time so I expect to be paid because you guys tell me I'm critical

[00:12:26] [SPEAKER_00]: to your future and then all the while Jonathan Kaminga's in trade rumors and whatever but

[00:12:34] [SPEAKER_00]: if you think about J. and Ivy he might be in the same type of situation.

[00:12:40] [SPEAKER_00]: You know bad team back instruction bad development unfortunately you know money Williams

[00:12:50] [SPEAKER_00]: was in there and just the silk opera that was money Williams getting the job in the first place

[00:13:00] [SPEAKER_00]: and then just being so reluctant to play the young players because of money doesn't like young players

[00:13:07] [SPEAKER_00]: you know c. DeAndre 8. So with all that being said let's get into some of

[00:13:15] [SPEAKER_00]: some of the thoughts of J. and Ivy. J. and Ivy entering critical year as well despite his

[00:13:21] [SPEAKER_00]: explosive athleticism and his scoring ability Ivy in consistency has raised questions

[00:13:28] [SPEAKER_00]: about his long-time role with the team last season he averaged 15.1 points game 4.2 assists

[00:13:37] [SPEAKER_00]: and 3.5 regounds a game while only shooting 42% from the floor period and he shot 33.2% from

[00:13:48] [SPEAKER_00]: however he his defense rating was 115 which was one of the lowest on the team. Jonathan

[00:13:59] [SPEAKER_00]: Gavoni weighs in onto Ivy potential. Ivy ceiling is incredibly high but this season is about

[00:14:06] [SPEAKER_00]: putting it all together he's he needs to show he can be consistent especially on defense.

[00:14:13] [SPEAKER_00]: if he can do that he can be a key piece to Detroit future a distance executive echoed the same

[00:14:21] [SPEAKER_00]: sentiment emphasizing the need for Ivy to become a reliable two-way player. Now G. and Ivy

[00:14:34] [SPEAKER_00]: is one of the most athletic guys that we have in league it is not a question of whether

[00:14:43] [SPEAKER_00]: can he stay in front of people it's a matter of desire and it's a matter of

[00:14:52] [SPEAKER_00]: you know locking in on your defensive philosophies and principles. And here's the thing

[00:14:59] [SPEAKER_00]: the first two years I'm gonna give him a pass because unfortunately Detroit didn't seem serious

[00:15:06] [SPEAKER_00]: as an organization. Now I think there were well intentions I think there were

[00:15:15] [SPEAKER_00]: there were plays on upside and what have you but I don't think anybody ever thought about

[00:15:22] [SPEAKER_00]: roster construction or how having non-shooters in other places we're really going to affect

[00:15:31] [SPEAKER_00]: and Jay Nivey who are your high level high first round picks because if you think about it

[00:15:39] [SPEAKER_00]: last year not this this past year but last year they're sitting on the clock and a sore Thompson

[00:15:47] [SPEAKER_00]: falls into their lap. Now I'm not saying a sore Thompson is a bad player but he came

[00:15:56] [SPEAKER_00]: into the draft the 2023 draft okay so not 2024 draft 2023 he comes into that draft

[00:16:07] [SPEAKER_00]: with the reputation of he's gonna need a lot of work on his outside shot. Now if you look at

[00:16:16] [SPEAKER_00]: draft needs and things of that nature well Detroit needed everything but the one thing they absolutely

[00:16:24] [SPEAKER_00]: needed was spacing that was the one thing they needed was spacing and they went for the upside play

[00:16:33] [SPEAKER_00]: in a sore Thompson. Now we're gonna get to him in a second I want to focus this more on Jay Nivey

[00:16:40] [SPEAKER_00]: and K cutting him right now. Now you can be enamored with the talent of a sore Thompson which there

[00:16:48] [SPEAKER_00]: various various skills and there are just tantalizing athletic traits that we can get into

[00:16:56] [SPEAKER_00]: momentarily but that did not you didn't think of your two prior first round draft picks when you

[00:17:18] [SPEAKER_00]: know. You thought of like oh well here's another piece in which ever one of these guys rises to the top

[00:17:27] [SPEAKER_00]: that's the one we're gonna roll with there was really no game plan there was no intentionality

[00:17:32] [SPEAKER_00]: these are the type of things that we want to get to when we're talking about our podcast front

[00:17:38] [SPEAKER_00]: running podcast collectives want to tell you about the front offices and how they look at how they

[00:17:45] [SPEAKER_00]: look at players and how they're looking at where they are in their cycle of either development

[00:17:51] [SPEAKER_00]: getting to a point where they're going to try to get to the playoffs and things that nature or

[00:17:58] [SPEAKER_00]: they're in that mix of playoff contention or title contention and what margin moves we can get into.

[00:18:05] [SPEAKER_00]: Troy Reaver is a great like scout he's a great like person who can I has an eye for talent

[00:18:16] [SPEAKER_00]: the problem is is roster construction was absolutely abysmal and there was never a thought

[00:18:23] [SPEAKER_00]: process of the players that you had in house till what you were drafting and it was something where

[00:18:30] [SPEAKER_00]: the piston faithful they had to be pulling their hair out when they were looking at this situation

[00:18:37] [SPEAKER_00]: and now we've got a whole new regime and now hopefully they can start untiein the knots that Troy Reaver

[00:18:48] [SPEAKER_00]: and his staff and a lot of them put out there so it's going to be a tough year.

[00:18:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Great thing is is that 2025 bunch of dudes you know we're going to get into some of them

[00:19:05] [SPEAKER_00]: but the question was raised about Ivy how long is his future in Detroit because the thing that

[00:19:17] [SPEAKER_00]: I thought about what all of this is it's that all this chaos was going on with K2 and my

[00:19:25] [SPEAKER_00]: Juket had an injury in his second year which was Ivy's rookie year so his third year which was

[00:19:32] [SPEAKER_00]: Ivy's second year last year they played together really for the first time and then you had the whole

[00:19:40] [SPEAKER_00]: J-9B thing him getting dicked around out of the starting lineup and what have you with money

[00:19:45] [SPEAKER_00]: William so this year is really year one of hey we're going to try to get these guys and let's see what it is

[00:19:57] [SPEAKER_00]: you imagine K is already on his rookie extension max deal and J-9B situations is about to come up

[00:20:06] [SPEAKER_00]: so you got to make a quick decision on who and what you have and what you're going to do with it

[00:20:13] [SPEAKER_00]: now which raises an interesting question because here's the thing that I want to get to now

[00:20:19] [SPEAKER_00]: is that we need to talk about a sore Thompson another player to watch is a sore Thompson he

[00:20:26] [SPEAKER_00]: had a promising rookie year highlighted by his defensive prowess and his rebounding however his

[00:20:32] [SPEAKER_00]: shooting remains a key area of development Thompson shot 18.6% from beyond the arc

[00:20:42] [SPEAKER_00]: and 59% from the free throw line this is a govoni note Thompson's potential is in

[00:20:50] [SPEAKER_00]: man's butt for him to become more of a complete player he needs to develop a reliable outside shot

[00:20:57] [SPEAKER_00]: I mean you can go back to the to the pre-drift and that was the same situation it was

[00:21:04] [SPEAKER_00]: super super super super star athlete super off the charts athlete he was like one run behind his brother

[00:21:13] [SPEAKER_00]: and then all of a sudden we get him into a basketball game we're going hey he can't shoot the

[00:21:23] [SPEAKER_00]: basketball well we knew that like we knew so again bad poor roster construction this is the best part

[00:21:37] [SPEAKER_00]: about the whole thing though because we're going to talk about the draft pick in a second because

[00:21:44] [SPEAKER_00]: it's almost like they didn't learn anything but it made me think of that we might be looking at

[00:21:51] [SPEAKER_00]: all wrong but give me a second I do want to get to one last guy and I want to bring him

[00:21:59] [SPEAKER_00]: us specifically because this time last year I was watching Jalen Doring in the summer league and Jalen

[00:22:09] [SPEAKER_00]: Doring was putting the ball between his leg he was shooting outside jump shots there were now

[00:22:16] [SPEAKER_00]: the passing still skeptical but there was play at least independent isolation play making

[00:22:26] [SPEAKER_00]: ability for himself so there was independent ISO creation for him I don't know if that

[00:22:34] [SPEAKER_00]: necessarily would have turned into hey he's going to be some sort of offensive hub like ridiculous

[00:22:42] [SPEAKER_00]: athlete and offensive hub but we did see some things that I really really liked and this is not

[00:22:49] [SPEAKER_00]: this last summer league it's the previous is 2023 summer with now at that point

[00:22:58] [SPEAKER_00]: the co-host at that point was Nico Miyatello and I remember having conversation with Nico saying

[00:23:05] [SPEAKER_00]: I don't understand why James Weisman is eating up minutes of Jalen Doring it didn't make any

[00:23:14] [SPEAKER_00]: sense to me the trade didn't make any sense and I know I'm beaten to death all the moves

[00:23:20] [SPEAKER_00]: of Troy weaver but what I'm trying to say is that those moves affect today and Jalen Doring is also

[00:23:28] [SPEAKER_00]: another guy because he was in the Ivy situation here's his third year and he's still dealing with

[00:23:37] [SPEAKER_00]: you know no offense to Isaiah Stewart because I love him he's still dealing with James Weisman they

[00:23:46] [SPEAKER_00]: finally rid themselves of Marvin Bagley Jr or Marvin Bagley III but when is it going to be his time

[00:23:54] [SPEAKER_00]: and then this brings up their draft pick so with the fifth overall pick this year

[00:24:01] [SPEAKER_00]: the Detroit Pistons take another Uber athlete in Ron Holland now Ron Holland who joins the

[00:24:14] [SPEAKER_00]: Pistons with high expectations Holland's average 13.4 points again 7.1 recounts

[00:24:22] [SPEAKER_00]: he was with the G League and night he's known for his defensive impact in versatility well

[00:24:28] [SPEAKER_00]: don't you have a guy on your team in the name of a sewer Thompson so Holland average 14.3

[00:24:50] [SPEAKER_00]: 13.4 points again he averaged 7.3 rounds a game with the G League and night he's known for

[00:24:57] [SPEAKER_00]: defense impact in his versatility doesn't this remind you of a Saur Thompson this is what we talked

[00:25:07] [SPEAKER_00]: about last year with a Saur Thompson right now I understand that this is new regime and whatever

[00:25:13] [SPEAKER_00]: and this brings me to the point that I'm not here to say that they're going to be sweeping changes

[00:25:22] [SPEAKER_00]: but let's kind of look at the writing on the wall a little bit now Jalen Duran in his time

[00:25:32] [SPEAKER_00]: has been a pretty good soldier you haven't heard a lot of you know words about whatever is going

[00:25:39] [SPEAKER_00]: on with him now the one guy that you did here things like was Jay Nivey even Kate went through all this

[00:25:46] [SPEAKER_00]: and yeah there were a little bit more some words but Kate because of the gravitas

[00:25:52] [SPEAKER_00]: being the the higher the highest draft pick of all of them we came in the highest draft pick

[00:26:05] [SPEAKER_00]: of all of them you would he would have a chance to say something because obviously he seen all the

[00:26:12] [SPEAKER_00]: teams and whatever you know coaches and all the changes so he would have something to say about that

[00:26:18] [SPEAKER_00]: but I find it funny that a Saur Thompson's here Ron Holland's here James Weismans here

[00:26:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Isaiah Stewart's here Jalen Duran's here J Nivey's here Marcus Ascira is here

[00:26:35] [SPEAKER_00]: there's a lot of duplicity with this team there is a lot of young promising talent

[00:26:46] [SPEAKER_00]: what are you going to be able to develop all the talent or are you going to concentrate on

[00:26:51] [SPEAKER_00]: two or three dudes and then kind of shuffle the deck with the rest of the guys that you feel maybe

[00:27:01] [SPEAKER_00]: let's give them a new start or let's see what we can get back for them before there before

[00:27:08] [SPEAKER_00]: there they become less of an asset than what they are right now so basically that's what I'm

[00:27:13] [SPEAKER_00]: trying to say it's like I wonder if Jay Nivey is looking at this situation going like

[00:27:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Ron Holland younger version of a Saur Thompson are we doing something there? Jay Nivey

[00:27:27] [SPEAKER_00]: I mean yeah we like them you know kind of Russell Westbrookish type guy

[00:27:35] [SPEAKER_00]: well we really need something next to K where he can get the shooting and get the the floor

[00:27:41] [SPEAKER_00]: facing that he needs now with all that being said you know they signed to buy a series

[00:27:50] [SPEAKER_00]: they resigned some on fentecule these are things that we did in a previous quad in regards to

[00:27:57] [SPEAKER_00]: their free agency and we gave them grades and things that nature so there is a level of

[00:28:06] [SPEAKER_00]: respectability there there is some floor spacing there there is some hey we've been around the

[00:28:12] [SPEAKER_00]: block a couple times there so that will be helpful and what Jay Jay B better staff is trying to

[00:28:20] [SPEAKER_00]: create with the Detroit pistons but I find it really hard to believe that you're going to be able

[00:28:26] [SPEAKER_00]: to have K kind of have Jay Nivey a Saur Thompson Jayland during on the floor together

[00:28:36] [SPEAKER_00]: trying to what you need though right in an alternate universe these dudes can shoot

[00:28:43] [SPEAKER_00]: and all the athleticism can play and it's all great we talked about it with

[00:28:51] [SPEAKER_00]: the traffic coming into into the into the NBA this year you got to be able to shoot it

[00:29:02] [SPEAKER_00]: we specifically talked about this with Ron Holland you got to be able to shoot it

[00:29:07] [SPEAKER_00]: green court all this athleticism and offensive creation that you can do at 6800 15 pounds

[00:29:16] [SPEAKER_00]: it's fantastic if they are packing the paint because they don't re-splash your outside shot

[00:29:22] [SPEAKER_00]: this is a mute point we have nothing to talk about so I'll be interested to see some of

[00:29:29] [SPEAKER_00]: some of the things that go on this year with Detroit there's two things I'm looking for

[00:29:35] [SPEAKER_00]: what does K do in this year because he's still going to have some

[00:29:42] [SPEAKER_00]: deficiencies on the roster but he will have a couple pieces where it's kind of like okay I have

[00:29:49] [SPEAKER_00]: enough to kind of navigate my way through the other thing that I'm interested in is how

[00:29:57] [SPEAKER_00]: committed are the pistons who again trading linden did not draft Jay Nivey he did not draft

[00:30:07] [SPEAKER_00]: a sewer Thompson but he damn sure did draft Ron Holland and I wonder how much loyalty

[00:30:19] [SPEAKER_00]: he has to those two draft picks we shall see as the year gets on the second thing that I want

[00:30:27] [SPEAKER_00]: to talk about is the Portland Trailblazers Portland also was 20 was terrible 21 and 61 last year

[00:30:36] [SPEAKER_00]: nothing went right they started with the Damian Lillard situation remember he was on the team

[00:30:43] [SPEAKER_00]: he was about to get ready for training camp and then all of a sudden right before training camp

[00:30:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Damian Lillard is in Milwaukee we had a couple days of Drew Holiday being a Portland Trailblazer

[00:31:01] [SPEAKER_00]: then he got Jettison off to Boston and then Malcolm Brogden of all people showed up

[00:31:10] [SPEAKER_00]: in all the while scoot hinders in there number two over our number three overall pick as

[00:31:18] [SPEAKER_00]: why is that concerned let's see it and watch in all of this along with Anthony Simon's

[00:31:26] [SPEAKER_00]: in a long was shading chart all high first round draft picks by the Portland Trailblazers

[00:31:33] [SPEAKER_00]: over the last four or five years so that's the bad drop to last season. Chocic Villas was the

[00:31:41] [SPEAKER_00]: coach of this this this wrecked season also remember they also had DeAndre eight on that team

[00:31:48] [SPEAKER_00]: remember he gave himself the nickname I'm gonna be known forever as Dominate and

[00:31:58] [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know if he dominated last year but we'll see what year two brings

[00:32:06] [SPEAKER_00]: and then they also got Robert Williams's third from Boston in that Malcolm Brogden trade as well

[00:32:15] [SPEAKER_00]: you got all these vets oh and they saw Jeremy Grant to like a huge contract last year as well so

[00:32:21] [SPEAKER_00]: you got a lot going on and now you got this young court that's just sitting there and they have no idea

[00:32:27] [SPEAKER_00]: what's going on um they obviously didn't make the playoffs

[00:32:34] [SPEAKER_00]: a broad significant roster change I don't know how significant it was what they have done

[00:32:40] [SPEAKER_00]: is they have included Denny Obdia into the mix of what they have and I will say

[00:32:49] [SPEAKER_00]: personal I'm a huge fan of Denny Obdia I think that last year was the best year that we saw

[00:32:57] [SPEAKER_00]: of Obdia but he can bring some connectivity to the Portland Trailblazers that they

[00:33:04] [SPEAKER_00]: sorely sorely lack and if you can get Jeremy Grant out of there because here's the thing

[00:33:12] [SPEAKER_00]: with DeAndre eight and with Malcolm Brogden with Jeremy Grant there you're really

[00:33:25] [SPEAKER_00]: stifling the development and the opportunities for Shane Sharpe and Scoot Henderson and we haven't

[00:33:32] [SPEAKER_00]: gotten to their draft pick this year so who's a sinner which is weird because they got two

[00:33:40] [SPEAKER_00]: sinners on the roster so hmm hmm wonder what that is right so with the seventh overall

[00:33:48] [SPEAKER_00]: pick this year the Portland Trailblazers drafted Donovan Klingan you know him as the two time

[00:33:56] [SPEAKER_00]: a national champion the big man who was trying to shut down Zach Edy and just slam dragons

[00:34:04] [SPEAKER_00]: left and right and just you know pretty much dominating college basketball no big deal the last couple

[00:34:10] [SPEAKER_00]: years how you doing so 7 to 280 with a bunch of attitude walks into the building which is the

[00:34:23] [SPEAKER_00]: Andre 8 and almost lap every time I say Dominaton because it's complete opposite it's just

[00:34:31] [SPEAKER_00]: so wrong for him to have that never mind anyways so here you have another situation just like with

[00:34:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Detroit where you have a plethora you have duplicity at especially at the center position this is

[00:34:47] [SPEAKER_00]: way crazy to have this much young talent at that position you one of these guys is going

[00:34:53] [SPEAKER_00]: how to develop and we all know it's gonna be Donovan Klingan so when's the DeAndre 8 and

[00:35:00] [SPEAKER_00]: trade coming when's the Robert Williams trade coming when's the Jeremy Grant situation going

[00:35:11] [SPEAKER_00]: clear itself out Portland's asking for two first round draft picks for Jeremy Grant and people are

[00:35:18] [SPEAKER_00]: like why are we doing that I don't know why we want to act right but until they figure out

[00:35:31] [SPEAKER_00]: what they're going to do with broadden Jeremy Grant DeAndre 8 and their Robert Williams I'm really

[00:35:40] [SPEAKER_00]: kind of concerned about all the young talent now I think it will shake itself out this year I think

[00:35:47] [SPEAKER_00]: you know as we get through the oxies and again into the year maybe there's some deals that

[00:35:54] [SPEAKER_00]: they can do to kind of clear up some of this clutter and some of this log jam that they have

[00:36:00] [SPEAKER_00]: but as a right now the things that I'm hoping for the things I want to see is that

[00:36:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Chancy makes a commitment to the youth that Scoot Henderson gets his minutes that Shaden sharp gets

[00:36:14] [SPEAKER_00]: his minutes no matter how bad it looks I want to see it because we have to know if they can play

[00:36:23] [SPEAKER_00]: this is Shaden Sharf's third year now so this is your kind of need to know

[00:36:29] [SPEAKER_00]: what are you gonna do with Anthony Simon's is he part of the long-term plan or is he a piece

[00:36:35] [SPEAKER_00]: to get you more asses down the road and again how do you clear up some other veteran leadership you

[00:36:46] [SPEAKER_00]: on this team these are questions that are most interested that most interesting to me

[00:36:58] [SPEAKER_00]: one of the most interesting developments is the potential partnership between DeAndre 8 and

[00:37:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Dove and Clingon this is what Joe Crown and GM of the place is said made a clear that drafting

[00:37:10] [SPEAKER_00]: Clingon wasn't about replacing Aten but complimenting him in fact Crohn and Share that

[00:37:18] [SPEAKER_00]: when he called Aten to discuss the draft was incredibly excited and eager to work with Donovan

[00:37:25] [SPEAKER_00]: Clingon Cronon said DeAndre 8 was incredibly excited and he asked how can we how can he help me

[00:37:34] [SPEAKER_00]: him what can we do together he's out of two was great about the whole situation

[00:37:43] [SPEAKER_00]: of course GM is going to say that let's talk about what Johnson's billet says coach Johnson

[00:37:52] [SPEAKER_00]: billet also expressed his excitement of the potential of his duo billet is planning to

[00:37:58] [SPEAKER_00]: experiment with Aten at power forward and Clingon at center saying I think the league is going to

[00:38:05] [SPEAKER_00]: try to get bigger in the interior so I think it will be fun billets also mentioned the importance

[00:38:12] [SPEAKER_00]: of the expanding Aten's range particularly encouraging him to incorporate three point shot into his game

[00:38:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Blazers are clearly focused on building around their young core which include trading

[00:38:28] [SPEAKER_00]: sharp scoot handers in and these two dynamic cars are expected to take on a significant role

[00:38:34] [SPEAKER_00]: in driving the offense billet highlighted the importance of having big men who can space the floor

[00:38:41] [SPEAKER_00]: saying understanding that we are going to attack the basket having Clingon space

[00:38:49] [SPEAKER_00]: their big is going to make it make a decision and that he's a weapon that we can use

[00:38:59] [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know how this is going to work because DeAndre 8 doesn't shoot through three he's a mid-range

[00:39:05] [SPEAKER_00]: assassin we'll see I mean I'm hearing some of these quotes so I'm going like okay

[00:39:16] [SPEAKER_00]: yeah so all right again this team is going to be near the bottom 100% they are

[00:39:24] [SPEAKER_00]: taking for cover flag in the rest of the 2025 NBA draft prospects which we're about to get

[00:39:31] [SPEAKER_00]: two a second now what all that being said again if you clear up some of your veteran clutter

[00:39:40] [SPEAKER_00]: you can develop your young guys but until you clear up those guys this is going to be a shithead show

[00:39:49] [SPEAKER_00]: so I'm interested to see and we'll see how it all goes but I think that as soon as there's

[00:39:57] [SPEAKER_00]: some sort of clarification of what they can actually get for Jeremy Grant and Malcolm roged in

[00:40:02] [SPEAKER_00]: that's how you stack the call for your first round picks and you're you're draft arsenal

[00:40:07] [SPEAKER_00]: and then you go on from there because it really is about the development of the young players

[00:40:13] [SPEAKER_00]: and how we can get them going as quickly as possible to see the state to see what they have set

[00:40:21] [SPEAKER_00]: the stage for what they have next year right with hopefully a really high end talent out of this next

[00:40:30] [SPEAKER_00]: draft all right speaking of draft we're getting to our final installment of the 2025 NBA prospects

[00:40:40] [SPEAKER_00]: we've given you 25 so far I think something like that and we're going to go ahead and give you

[00:40:48] [SPEAKER_00]: our last one this doesn't mean we're going to stop talking about the draft this just means that

[00:40:54] [SPEAKER_00]: as far as like talking about you know breaking down prospects or whatever we gave you a taste

[00:41:02] [SPEAKER_00]: a lot of these guys are going to be in the first round early second round basically

[00:41:07] [SPEAKER_00]: that's what they're projected to be so all the names that you're hearing right now are names that

[00:41:13] [SPEAKER_00]: are going to pop local in your TV screen a lot this year because these are the guys that

[00:41:20] [SPEAKER_00]: the NBA scouts and the evaluators are talking about right now without me and said let's get into it

[00:41:27] [SPEAKER_00]: and our first post-square that we're going to bring up is oh I'm going to kill this name

[00:41:32] [SPEAKER_00]: um Zanovera E E E oh my god Zanovera E vis-a-vich yes Zanovera E vis-a-vich is his name

[00:41:45] [SPEAKER_00]: he is 7 foot 3 220 pounds he has a 7 foot 6 wingspan last year he had with 9.5 points again

[00:41:58] [SPEAKER_00]: rebound's a game and 2.6 blocks a game he shot 47.1% field goal percentage and 34.2 at the 3. level

[00:42:10] [SPEAKER_00]: now a vis-a-vich is a towering presence with a lead shot blocking instincts and the ability

[00:42:19] [SPEAKER_00]: to stretch the floor with the shooting his defense instincts highlighted by his 2.6 blocks per game

[00:42:26] [SPEAKER_00]: making him potentially an anchor in the paint however scouts help point it out that vis-a-vich

[00:42:33] [SPEAKER_00]: needs to as strength to handle the physicality demands that the NBA will bring.

[00:42:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Jonathan Gaboni noted if he continues to develop his offense again and maintain his defense of

[00:42:46] [SPEAKER_00]: prowess vis-a-vich could easily be a lottery pay well 73220 right I mean that's the first thing

[00:42:54] [SPEAKER_00]: he's going to have to get stronger but being able to shoot the 3 and 2.6 blocks again that's a nice

[00:43:02] [SPEAKER_00]: base to start off with and remember he has a translatable trait on the defense aside

[00:43:12] [SPEAKER_00]: and he has a translatable trait on the offense aside so he is two good ones and then also you can't

[00:43:20] [SPEAKER_00]: teach 733 so that's a trait as well so a vis-a-vich will see what he looks like during the year.

[00:43:31] [SPEAKER_00]: The next guy that I want to get to is Ben Soroff he's a 6 foot 6 200 pound wing last year 17.2

[00:43:41] [SPEAKER_00]: per game 4.5 rebounds a game 3.3 assists again he shot just below 46% at 45.8 and he shot 31.7

[00:43:56] [SPEAKER_00]: on beyond the art all right let's get into a little scouter report. Sarah is a versatile

[00:44:02] [SPEAKER_00]: scorer with the ability to create his own shot and score at all three levels of the basketball court.

[00:44:10] [SPEAKER_00]: His basketball IQ is often praised by scouts, Johnson Gavoni stating his understanding

[00:44:18] [SPEAKER_00]: of the game allows him to make smart decisions on the court however. Sarah's athleticism and 3 point

[00:44:26] [SPEAKER_00]: shooting consistency are areas that need improvement. He projects as a late lottery pick

[00:44:33] [SPEAKER_00]: mid for our mid first round so this is again early early early right this is what they saw

[00:44:41] [SPEAKER_00]: and camps and this is what they see in like the EYBL this is what they see in like you know

[00:44:49] [SPEAKER_00]: these are the best ways to be some of runs like the peach jam and things of that nature right.

[00:44:56] [SPEAKER_00]: Here's the thing basketball usually is not played like in this play at the EYBL level

[00:45:04] [SPEAKER_00]: yes he does have some things to work on not going to see here in like like cape up for this

[00:45:10] [SPEAKER_00]: kids specifically but I wonder when he gets to the college and they say okay this is what you

[00:45:17] [SPEAKER_00]: can do this is what you can do these are the things that we can actually help you improve on.

[00:45:25] [SPEAKER_00]: I think you with a player like this especially somebody who is such a smart player

[00:45:31] [SPEAKER_00]: some of these things can get some of these little nuances can get cleaned up very quickly

[00:45:37] [SPEAKER_00]: and can be very impactful on the level of how we see them as a defender or whatever occasion

[00:45:46] [SPEAKER_00]: so I look forward to seeing Sarah this year and see how it plays out but the 31.7%

[00:45:56] [SPEAKER_00]: shooting I think it has a lot more to do getting square up from the tape that I've seen on him

[00:46:04] [SPEAKER_00]: he doesn't square up consistently enough and his foot placement is all over the place

[00:46:11] [SPEAKER_00]: it's not up and down so some things to work on. Another name that I'm going to

[00:46:18] [SPEAKER_00]: probably struggle to say this is EZON, Elmanza, Elmanza is 16220 pounds with 7 foot

[00:46:29] [SPEAKER_00]: one wing span he average 12.3 points a game last year 9.2 rebounds 1.5 blocks

[00:46:38] [SPEAKER_00]: he shot at 48.5% and he shot 27.8% from 3.5. Scouting report on him is that Elmanza is known for

[00:46:49] [SPEAKER_00]: his relentless energy, high motor and exceptional rebounding skills particularly on the offensive

[00:46:56] [SPEAKER_00]: glass he's still developing his offensive game with scouts noting the need for more.

[00:47:03] [SPEAKER_00]: consistent mid range shot better finishing around the basket his rebounding ability

[00:47:09] [SPEAKER_00]: especially on the offensive end is exceptional. Kavolim mentioned, Kavolim mentioned Elmanza is

[00:47:17] [SPEAKER_00]: projected to be elite first rounder I haven't seen a lot of tape on this kid so far but

[00:47:27] [SPEAKER_00]: the one thing that does stand out is that he's a warning guy. If the ball is on the floor he's

[00:47:36] [SPEAKER_00]: going to go get it. He just assumes that offensive rebounds are his which I like will see how

[00:47:46] [SPEAKER_00]: I translate to the next level because everybody is that strong issue right not everybody is

[00:47:52] [SPEAKER_00]: looking at you but everybody is strong at you and we'll see how it all plays out. The next person

[00:47:59] [SPEAKER_00]: who I'm in I'm getting just destroyed with these names these names are killing me today so what

[00:48:06] [SPEAKER_00]: we're going to do is we're going to talk about a due fieldo a due of fieldo is 6.822 last year

[00:48:15] [SPEAKER_00]: average 10.8 points again 5.9 rebounds again 2.2 steals a game he shot the ball at 44.7% and

[00:48:27] [SPEAKER_00]: he shot it at a decent 33.3%. Here's what the scouts are saying about the arrow. Fieldo is a

[00:48:35] [SPEAKER_00]: versatile dufander who can guard multiple positions and is an excellent rebounder for his size.

[00:48:42] [SPEAKER_00]: His emerging offense particularly his improvement as a shooter has been noted by scouts

[00:48:49] [SPEAKER_00]: but he still needs to be how more reliable as a scorer Ross was from me highlighted.

[00:48:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Bairro's defense ability defense of versatility makes him an attractive option for teams looking

[00:49:02] [SPEAKER_00]: for death on the wing. He's expected to be a early second rounder. One thing about this one is

[00:49:11] [SPEAKER_00]: it's going to be the shot. He could move up to like 16 easy if the shot turns out to be money.

[00:49:23] [SPEAKER_00]: If it doesn't we're gonna meet we're gonna be in a problem. We will be in an issue.

[00:49:31] [SPEAKER_00]: But the arrow is a really interesting prospect because there's a lot of good things that he does.

[00:49:39] [SPEAKER_00]: There's a lot of flashes of things. He's very comfortable with his body control. He's very fluid

[00:49:49] [SPEAKER_00]: athlete. I don't mind him in the half court. It's just will you shoot it. It's not going to be

[00:49:58] [SPEAKER_00]: his intensity. It won't be his intentionality because if he is on the court he's going to defend

[00:50:04] [SPEAKER_00]: he's going to rebound. He's gonna give you max effort. Those things are just embedded in the individual.

[00:50:13] [SPEAKER_00]: It's can you work on your jump shot? Can your dribble penetration or your dribble

[00:50:21] [SPEAKER_00]: to the whole tie-dub? These are things that we're gonna be looking for throughout the year on our guy.

[00:50:30] [SPEAKER_00]: The next guy up is another name that was absolutely butcher.

[00:50:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Is a flory. Baudunga. Flory Baudunga is 69. 2016. He has a 7 foot to and a half wing

[00:50:46] [SPEAKER_00]: span. He averaged 11.7 points. The game last year. 10.5 rebounds. 2.8 blocks shot. 56% from the field.

[00:50:58] [SPEAKER_00]: Here's the scouter record on our guy Baudunga. Baudunga is a Baudunga's athleticism and his

[00:51:05] [SPEAKER_00]: link make him a dominant presence around the realm both as a rebounder and a shot blocker.

[00:51:11] [SPEAKER_00]: He excels in transition and uses his speed and legability to finish at the realm. However,

[00:51:19] [SPEAKER_00]: this his offensive game is still developing. He lacks consistent mid-range jumper.

[00:51:27] [SPEAKER_00]: His ability to dominate the board especially on the offensive end is a significant asset.

[00:51:33] [SPEAKER_00]: This is what Gavoni said. Baudunga is a projected to be a mid-second round pick.

[00:51:44] [SPEAKER_00]: What we'll see. The one thing about it is this dude got block shots and rebounds at this level

[00:51:50] [SPEAKER_00]: he's able to really basically mirror the numbers that he does that. NBA scouts saying

[00:51:57] [SPEAKER_00]: on you saying that. They're going to be like, oh 11 rebounds? Because he rebounds. That's the

[00:52:04] [SPEAKER_00]: one thing if he rebounds in college which I think he will. Rebound is a want skill. It's a

[00:52:12] [SPEAKER_00]: it's a skill about what it's about your energy level, your desire level to go get it.

[00:52:19] [SPEAKER_00]: Now, I'm going to be some guys who are just as legally gifted long. They're just going to fall

[00:52:24] [SPEAKER_00]: into rebounds. I definitely understand it. But usually the really good rebounders are

[00:52:30] [SPEAKER_00]: dudes that just know I want that ball and I'm going to get it. So he could be one of those guys.

[00:52:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Now our last guy in the last net and thank God I saved these for the last.

[00:52:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Casper is Yaka Chunus. Is the last guy we're going to talk about and I hope I got that right

[00:52:56] [SPEAKER_00]: if I didn't get that right, you guys are going to make ton of fun to me. I know Seria has been laughing

[00:53:02] [SPEAKER_00]: all throughout this situation. You guys can't hear it but I can't. Yaka Chunus is 645 190. He

[00:53:18] [SPEAKER_00]: points a game. 6.7 assists per game. 1.5 steals a game shot the ball at 40.4% field goal percentage

[00:53:29] [SPEAKER_00]: and only 29.2% from 3.1 range. Yaka Chunus is recognized as a true floor general with a

[00:53:37] [SPEAKER_00]: lead court vision and the ability to make difficult passes look easy. His rebounding from the

[00:53:45] [SPEAKER_00]: position is another valuable asset. However, his shooting consistency talking about the 29.2%

[00:53:52] [SPEAKER_00]: from 3.0 range and his lateral quickness on defense are areas that need improvement. Yaka Chunus

[00:54:00] [SPEAKER_00]: has high basketball IQ and leadership qualities are praised by all sources noted by Washerman.

[00:54:11] [SPEAKER_00]: He's projected to be a late first round early second round pick. So these are our draft people

[00:54:23] [SPEAKER_00]: for today. The names absolutely abysmal. I can't you know whatever. Okay, we want to try to get

[00:54:32] [SPEAKER_00]: better about that. Like I said, we're touching these guys for the first time. Obviously,

[00:54:38] [SPEAKER_00]: we'll have better pronunciations as we go along. That is a promise. Now, the one thing we do

[00:54:45] [SPEAKER_00]: want to say shot shot out to lunch and lunch shots out to Sirea for helping me get this information.

[00:54:54] [SPEAKER_00]: The other thing is is that this is the end of the NBA prospects right now. Again, we're going to

[00:55:01] [SPEAKER_00]: continue to talk about these guys as we get closer and closer to the season and whatever

[00:55:07] [SPEAKER_00]: we'll start trying to do is really start gathering until seeing if we can gather more and then

[00:55:15] [SPEAKER_00]: we can fill out the picture a little bit better on all these guys. So that's what we're looking

[00:55:22] [SPEAKER_00]: forward to. And again, what we also want to talk about as we go along here is your guys'

[00:55:31] [SPEAKER_00]: participation with us. You know, you can also recommend, hey, did you talk about this team?

[00:55:39] [SPEAKER_00]: I don't remember you talking about them or hey, I really want you to talk about this uh,

[00:55:45] [SPEAKER_00]: this player in regards to what they're going to do this year. You could also help

[00:55:53] [SPEAKER_00]: produce someone to podcast. So hit us up on Twitter at frontrunner pc or at ria underscore

[00:56:01] [SPEAKER_00]: ffrc. With that being said, I want to thank my producers again. I want to thank the audience

[00:56:08] [SPEAKER_00]: for you guys' listen. You guys are absolute animals. We had a call to action. Be a friend,

[00:56:16] [SPEAKER_00]: tell a friend is a movement. It is a way of life. It is how we get down here at frontrunner podcast

[00:56:24] [SPEAKER_00]: collective. And you guys are doing a fantastic job. So thank you, we are humble by your uh,

[00:56:34] [SPEAKER_00]: just loving the podcast and also helping us build the audience because again, I'm not using any

[00:56:41] [SPEAKER_00]: money for any sort of promotion. So you know what I'm saying? We straight out of low cash right now,

[00:56:51] [SPEAKER_00]: so what that being said, the best part of you is you. Make sure that you are surrounding

[00:57:00] [SPEAKER_00]: your yourself with people that are only going to brighten your life. The people who are trying

[00:57:05] [SPEAKER_00]: to diminish your light, you might want to take a second look at those people and see why they are

[00:57:11] [SPEAKER_00]: still around you and then see if there's maybe a decision that we made. Go out and do goodness

[00:57:19] [SPEAKER_00]: world and we'll see you back on this on this feed on Friday. You guys have a good one. Peace.