The Western Conference Challenger Guide: Timberwolves, Nuggets, and Lakers

it's tuesday, you know what time it is. Frontrunner podcast collective is back on the air. I am your humble host, vince, and on today's podcast we will be discussing some of the contenders in the Western Conference not like the people who did a bunch of stuff and also the defending the reigning NBA champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, that we know what they are about, you know saying we know what Oklahoma City is all about. They're a freaking unit. Now who are the other challengers that can take the west from the oklahoma city thunder? Now, I think the way vegas has it put out there, you know ok is a heavy favorite, which they should be. But we're going to talk about some of these teams out here who have done some real good work in the offseason and we will also get to those teams and what they've done and what we think about their chance not their chances, but what they've done and what we think the team is going to look like and how they're going to implement some of these new players and how they're going to attack the season when we get there in October. October is coming and basketball will be great, so we're going to get into that. So who's on the docket for today? Very easy, minnesota Timberwol. Who's on the docket for today? Very easy, minnesota timberwolves are on the docket. I'm gonna talk about them. We're going to discuss some of the moves that the clippers have made. Um, we'll talk about a little bit about all the la teams really gonna talk about the lakers, but we also are going to spend some time on the denver nuggets, because the nuggets have done some real good work out here. And we're also going to talk about a guard who kind of jumped on to the scene in summer league. But we know all about him, right? I'm saying we'll talk about that. Yes, sir, and then that's pretty much it. That's what we got going on for today.

Now on to the other things that we kind of need to talk about. One I always am very grateful to my audience when it comes to Downloading the podcast, listening to the podcast. I just want to say that, first of all, we got like this influx of New people Listening to the podcast in China. We got Some new people listening in Japan. So the far east Is being covered very well. I thank you guys so much. If you enjoy basketball, if you enjoy what we put out, we are greatly appreciative of what you are enjoying through us, because we love to do it, guarantee love to do it. To do it, guarantee love to do it. Now our germany contingency are french patriots out there who love the podcast. I can't forget about you, I can't forget about our, our. I guess you know where we came from, or some of us came from not all of us, because Because I'm half black, so half of me didn't come from there but Great Britain and England is out there doing it.

Real big South America has stepped up in a major way. But you know who we haven't talked about in a while the United States of America. You know what I'm saying. The United States of America, you go well, vince, you know, know you giving a lot of love to the international crowd? You have not spoke poetically about the great United States of America. I'm like you know what? You're right, you're right. So we're gonna talk a little bit about what's going on in our neck ofck of the woods.

Now I would think that Los Angeles Would hold it down for me, right? I would think that and they have. Los Angeles is holding it down. But our, our neighbors to the south, san Diego, stay classy, san Diego. Thank you so much For downloading the podcast, begrudgingly the Northern California people and I say that in the most endearing terms possible San Francisco, sacramento, oakland, the yay area, you know what I'm saying thank you so much for downloading the podcast. We really appreciate you now we got downloading the podcast. We really appreciate you now we got some.

The heartland of america has stepped up in a major way and you know we have given a lot of love to the oklahoma city thunder and you would think like, hey, they would be, you know, coming in and saying, hey, you know what, thank you for covering our team and, you know, speaking on our behalf when we weren't on TV, a lot and things of that nature. But Kansas City Missouri yeah, that's how it goes. Kansas City Missouri is in the building folks and they are coming in in a major way. Boston is definitely there. That's my second home. I spent 15 years there. So great, great times In Boston.

Brookline, canton, even the North Shore. Haverhill you know what I'm talking about. I was up there. You know what I'm saying. Malden, where you at. You know what I'm saying. Tewksbury, what's going down. You know what I'm saying. I was up there. Georgetown yeah, there's a Georgetown in Massachusetts. By the way. Great pancakes in Georgetown. Great pancakes in Georgetown, massachusetts. Little spot Lawrence doing it real big.

New Hampshire, the state to the north of Massachusetts, holding it down for me, appreciate you. I want to get Maine. I talk about Cooper Flag, so I expect Maine to be in the building. So I need my mass holes to go talk to the people in Maine and say, hey, are you downloading the front runner podcast, collective podcast, are you doing that? Tuesday and Friday. Tuesday and Friday he drops jewels, he drops knowledge about NBA and some of the draft prospects that are coming out. So I want to make sure y'all get that, alright. So throughout the podcast We'll talk about our social medias and things of that nature, with me On the silent ones. And twos, she will be dropping little notes Into my peripheral, probably very shortly. Soraya, I want to thank her for being on the pod. So, without further ado, you know what we're about to do get into this whole deal. So let's do this.

So the Oklahoma City Thunder win the title. They hold it down for everybody. Houston Rockets did a bunch of stuff. Durant is there. They. They sent my guy, cam Whitmore to Washington. I can't wait to see cam whitmore get, get buckets in the nation's capital. That's my guy still. I am still. You know what bill simmons talks about. He, he was one of the first people to buy property on cam whitmore island. I don't even know how that's possible when I planted my flag to literally draft day, draft day dog. You can't sit there and say, oh, I bought property on Cam Whitmore Island and you were the first one there when I had already established like a casino. I established like a couple condominium places. You know a whole development situation. So, bill Simmons, you late to the party, my guy Late. But with all that said, we talked about these people. We did a whole big thing on Houston. We hold you down for Oklahoma City.

So what we're going to do today is we're going to talk about some of the other contenders in the West. So we're going to talk about some of the other contenders in the West. We're going to talk about Minnesota. We're going to talk about the Denver Nuggets. We're going to talk about the Los Angeles Lakers. We're going to talk about the Clippers. It's like the team is right behind the newsmakers of the summer, which are the Houston Rockets, because they got Kevin Durant. We got to give them love because they got Kevin Durant and also the reigning defending NBA champions, oklahoma City Thunder. You know they didn't really make a lot of moves or anything Because all they did was give a boo-coo amount of money to Jalen Williams and also Chet Holmgren. So we are gonna talk about the other guys. You know, if you've seen that movie, you know I'm talking about Will Ferrell. Mark Wahlberg was in that movie. So we're gonna talk about the other guys. Hopefully it's entertaining and also informative.

So let's get into it. We're going to start here in Minnesota and I love Minnesota for this reason. Y'all know what my love is for Anthony Edwards. My affinity for Anthony Edwards knows no bounds. It might be a little stalkerish at this point, but that's what I do. But what is going to be different about minnesota this year? What you know, sometimes you got to win in the margins. Sometimes it's not the big splash that you make, it's the big splash that you don't make and see if there's any kind of internal improvement that we can do. And we're going to talk a little bit about it today because we saw some revelations during the summertime. We saw our guy what's our guy's name? Terrence Shannon Jr do it real big. So well, he also has somebody else who did it big, who kind of caught my eye and I want to speak on him a little bit during this segment with the Minnesota Timberwolves. So we're going to get into it right now.

You know the casting characters that we have already discussed the Rudy Go-Bears of the world I think he just blocked another shot. Former Defensive Player of the world I think he just blocked another shot. Former defensive player of the year, naz reed, who can just hit the corner and bang another three whenever he wants. Six foot nine stretch four or five, depending on what you need. You know about julius randall and the bully ball, the bruiser style that he likes to play. I like to call julius randall the bruiser weight. You know saying shout out to my guy, pete dunn, who's on the show in the wwe. Get well, my guy looking forward to your return. The bruiser white, pete dunn, but our guy julius randall, he gets it done with bully ball.

Now, what impressed me or what kind of kind of sparked my interest and what really wanted I wanted to go ahead and talk about today, is the rookie that they got from France and that is Johan Berenger. Now I don't know if you saw the summer league performance, but my guy is not even 19 years of age and he was out there sending messages. He was also sending shots back. If you never had to choose, what if Minnesota could have rim protection and floor spacing every single minute of the day? One of the things that we are going to talk about in this podcast is that with Julius Randle, with our guy Nas Reed, and then with Rudy Gobert. When Rudy goes off the court, the rim protection people it's like a feeding frenzy. They get excited. They go oh man, let's go to the rack, because we don't really respect anybody else. They got at the rim. That might have changed with the drafting of Johan Berengi over the summer in the 2025 NBA draft draft.

This kid is a absolute machine now. We talked about him in the past. I gave you some things that he kind of reminds me of a long morning. If you have not heard that podcast, go back and listen to the archive pods. We've been speaking this guy up since we've seen, seen him summer league. Now, for years, nba teams have played a trade-off game Protect the rim but sacrifice shooting. Stretch the floor but give up the paint. The Timberwolves, if they get real bold and start thinking outside, which we give a lot of love in this podcast to Tim Conley, which we give a lot of love in this podcast to Tim Conley. We think he's one of the most forward thinking dudes out there doing it.

I just heard a podcast that had the two new owners, mark Lurie and Alex Rodriguez, and they were talking about how impressed they were with Tim Conley and his vision for the team and they'll. They just love that. They can just get out the way and they can just see competency just going on and they see they want to just build and build and build the Minnesota brand, the franchise. They're looking to build a new stadium what have you? I mean new arena, not stadium. Stadium is more football. Sorry about that, but they're looking to enhance what they have in Minnesota. Good for everybody involved. Love to see it.

The one thing they did also say in their little podcast that they did with Kevin O'Connor, formerly of the Ringer, now with Yahoo Sports does NBA for them does an excellent job. Love you, kevin. Do your thing over there. My man, I'm glad that you also moved back to Boston or outside of Boston, I don't know exactly where you at, but I got a sneaky suspicion. I got a sneaky exactly where you at. But I got a sneaky suspicion. I got a sneaky suspicion where you at, but they were on this pod and they were talking about Tim Conley, talking about how it's awesome to have a guy like this To be forward thinking. And he did it this year and he did it last year. Everybody remembers Rob Dillingham, but Terrence Shannon Jr Was also in that particular situation. He's done it again with Johan Berenger.

So the Minnesota Timberwolves are looking at a situation right now where Rudy Gobert is still the anchor of the team. He has elite defensive traits. You know that. He is a multi, multi time defensive player of the year. Nasri is one of the best six men we've ever seen, just getting buckets, getting rebounds, doing the whole thing. He's a complete walking mismatch on his own H, hitting threes at a clip that most bigs can only dream of.

Well, then they brought in this kid who is just super tall you know 611 Johan Baron J and you go. Well, let's see, cuz he's young, we'll see if he can play. And then he went to summer league, put on a show. Now I don't know about the offensive situation, but if he's willing to rebound and go after shot, uh, shots, like he did in summer league. Minnesota might have did it again. Tim Conley might have done it again. And keep in mind, johan Berenguer has only been playing basketball for four years. Four years so he's 6'11", damn near 7' feet tall, like a 7'6 wingspan.

The world didn't draft the finished product. They picked a possibility and a blueprint, not a building. Let's start here at the beginning. Berenger didn't touch basketball to the age of 14. He played soccer, which is football in other countries. Well, we call it soccer here. He ran some track and a little bit of volleyball, but hoops.

Hoops was a project from day one. In some scouting circles, project is called for. It means raw tools, a long roll, patience required, but sometimes the leaves best defenders and vertical spacers started late. The tool showed up before the skills. Baron jay tools jump off the screen. They right there. He has one of the quickest um double jumps in basketball and you usually don't necessarily see that in seven footers, usually see it on a little bit smaller dudes, like the 6a dudes, they kind of they have that explosion. No, not with this kid. This kid has has it his incredible footwork when it comes to that.

So first, the rim protection. Everybody saw the six blocks that he had in summer league debut and he's not just chasing stats. He did chase shots, but it's not chasing stats. He was forcing guards to think twice. His instincts seemed beyond his years, you know, saying just beyond his second movement among the most agile bigs in his class. He also covered ground like a wing. He runs the break and he recovers after switching, which is important because it goes back to his soccer background. Itouts say he plays above the realm at both ends.

And third, his mental runway. With only four years of organized basketball, he's still learning, reads, developing that feel that you need to deal with more complex offenses and more diverse um offensive centers or offensive bigs or what have you. So there's a lot to learn for him. But he's so enthusiastic about his capabilities and also his just growing knowledge of the game that he's kind of a sponge right now. Remember last year with Eves and Meecy, everybody said he was a complete project. Now, personally, I think he got bullied a lot. You don't see that necessarily with this kid as much. So who knows? But with him still developing the field, there have been some flashes, like we talked about the verticality, the discipline, because what we did see in summer league is like when the pump fake went. If you weren't off the ground he wasn't jumping with you, so you had to leave your feet for him to leave his feet and then it ended up all bad for you. But it's rare that somebody his age isn't biting on the pump fakes. But he's also rotating with intent and that's a good sign.

So he had six blocks in his opener shot, anywhere between 50 and 55% in his games that he played field goal percentage. Hopefully those numbers go up as he fills out. The opponents were already avoiding paint like the word got out. What? Like wildfire as soon as he blocked a couple shots. Because he blocked a couple shots within like a not even a minute period. It was just. It was insane. It was like somebody went, challenged him. He said nope, that's a block. They got the ball back, not the same exact person. Another dude on the team got the ball back, shot it. Nope, that's not, no, we're not. Don't let you do that either. So now serea brings this in from a scout in Europe. They said with Jan, you have a player who is still learning but moves like a guard in a center's body.

The NBA is looking for mobility. If you cannot guard in space, you don't play Berenguer. He is not just blocking shots, he's changing the geometry of the defense. For me, this matters much more than points or rebounds. At the age of 18, you already right there. Mobility, defensive geometry, defense travels for sure. With every project there are risks, experience. He's processing the game on the fly. Sometimes he's a step too late, sometimes he's a foul magnet. Those things we didn't kind of observe in Summer League as much, but we really enjoyed the hustle that we saw.

Strength he's still building an NBA frame, so there will be some bullying of him. He will get moved off his spot by bigger bigs and bigger bodies. His offensive, his offensive game, is very limited at this point in time. He's not stretching the floor whatsoever, but he is a dynamic rim runner and live finisher. No post-ups yet, so no post-up moves. He is basically kind of like if you have a imaginary, if you have a magic, imaginative guard, he will definitely help that guard in the biggest way way possible. I would love to see, like Julius Randle and Johan Baron J craft some chemistry together, because I think that Julius has a feel for the game when it comes to his passing. I think it's a little underrated personally. So we'll see how that goes. So why does it matter? Because he's 19 or about to be 19 and most NBA bigs aren't ready. The question isn't where the where he is is what where he's going.

If baron jay's instincts and work ethics catch up to his tools, the wolves could have a true Fundament of foundational room protector for years to come, could have a true fundamental foundational room protector for years to come. Think jaron jackson jr, think nick claxton. Those rare bigs who can change a defense not just in the box score but on the floor like have people thinking about them. And the reason why I say it like that is this is that nba players are not I wouldn't call them weird, but the one thing they they are sometimes is they can be risk averse and if the word gets out that this dude will embarrass you on the perimeter if you aren't real, like knowledgeable and understand exactly where he is, so you can get your shot off. Dudes in the NBA do not like their shot being blocked, especially like jump shots and things of that nature. They hate that and they would be more. I guess you want to say kind of like what's the word I'm looking for. They would be more cautious in their attempts to get shots off if this dude is in the vicinity. I mean, who do we think of when we think of that victor wing by yama, of course. So yeah, this season I don't expect a ton from him.

I'm going to check in with a couple people that we talked to and we're going to tell you a little bit of what we think the plan might be with him. But is there a better place for him to learn? Behind veterans like Rudy Gobert, you know, teach him the nuances of blocking shots. Behind veterans like Rudy Gobert, you know, could teach him like the nuances of blocking shots, being a rim protector and all that. But Randall, nas Reed, our guy Gobert, and now you have Baron J.

The Wolves have three bigs right now, each with their own game, their own value and, if we're honest, their own question marks. Rudy go. There is the defensive anchor, still putting up defensive player of the year numbers. Nas Reed is a modern stretch, big six-man microwave scorer. Julius randall is a high. Well, he's gonna be less. He was less high uses this year but he's a high uses guy, usually pick and roll type of dude looking for mismatches all the time. He's a four uh, not quite the rebounder or defender he once was, but he's still a weapon. And now the rookie Johan Berger, raw, mobile rim protecting. So can they all coexist? Or does someone need to get squeezed to get squeezed? Well, we're going to try to break that down for you a little bit later.

Let's dive into the numbers that serea got for us. Our guy rudy, go there. 18.2 rebound rate, 4.1 block rate, zero three-point attempts, defense, defense and more defense from Rudy Gobert. Now Julius Randle 12.1 on the boards last year, 0.7 block rate, but over 25% usage. The offense runs through him when Ant is not on the floor, but the defense, well, he's trending down. Naz read also has a 12.1 rebounding rate, but he has a 3.0 blocks rate. And here's the kicker half his shots come from three. So he's a spacing dude for big and baron. J is just elite tools, theoretical whatifs and likely to lead the pack in the rim deterrence, because nobody wants to be embarrassed, especially by a French rookie.

Offensively. You've got to keep it simple with him. Basically, set the pick, go rim run. If we can get that play to you, then that's what we're going to do. If not, just follow my lead and try to see what we can get that play to you, then that's what we're going to do. If not, just follow my lead and try to see what we can get into.

I would hope that, as he continues to blossom and flourish and really all you want him to do is just be a maniac on the court, I don't care what he scores, I don't care how he scores, I just want him to play, I want him to fill the crowd and I want him to be in a situation where he's not like adhering headlights when it comes to playoff games. So that's kind of what I'm looking for with randall and naz. You're playing the scoring game but losing the interior d fence. Absolutely 100, I agree.

So what does the number say? When gobert sits and naz and randall play the five? The wolves rim protection drops off cliff paint touches for opponents. Field goal percentage at the rim both spike. But if you could sub, baron jay, suddenly your defense holds, you stay big and nas reed can keep bombing from the outside as a four sure the hell can, and that's the secret.

Lineups are chess, not checkers. As a four. Sure the hell can, and that's the secret. Lineups are chess, not checkers. So let's break this down real quick. If Finch plays Nas at the four, unless Baron Jay handled pure five minutes, the Wolves will finally get lineup versatility Against traditional bigss, stick will go there. If you need offense, nods reed and julius randall, I'll score them. If you need energy or defensive, stop, send in the rookie. You know, go ahead, build a twin tower and then just put shooting all around it. Go ahead and build a twin tower and then just put shooting all around it. As Coach Finch said last year, the more cards you can play, the less predictable you come. You come at the playoffs.

The question for the staff Isn't talent, it's timing. Are you willing to live with the rookie mistakes If long term Playoff Is there? I mean, this is a problem that has battled teams and franchises for the dawn of time, you know, is that this kid, baron jay, needs time on the court, but you're going for a championship. You thought you were close last year. You thought you were close the year before that because you both were in the western conference finals, but you knew you had more work to do. And is this kid it? Only time will tell. So so can all three coexist if finch is willing to experiment. Absolutely the key is using the right bag for the right job, and what we're going to do is we're going to talk about how we can get this going. So let's enter into our X and O's lab. You know what I'm saying. Let's get there when this theory hits the hardwood out. You know I'm saying, let's get there where this is theory hits the hardwood.

Chris finch, the wolves coach, is known for mixing and matching his lineups, maximizing strength, hiding weaknesses. But when you have four legit bigs, each one of them with different tools, that is a real chess board. So let's draw it up. Your classic look at the five is rudy gobert with randall at the four. Offensively power, randall, isos, google's uh. Gobert sets the hard screens, rolls, crashes in uh, crashes glass. Defensively, gobert is patrolling the paint. Nothing's easy at the rim. But here's the rub With both out there, the floor tightens. Teams dare Gobert to shoot on, they want Gobert to shoot the ball, they dare him to shoot the ball, and then you collapse on Randle Pretty easy, because his handle sometimes I'm not tight enough and he gets the ball stripped away from him.

So when you need a pure defense, when you live with it but late in games or when you're chasing points. You need another look. I'd like to see Randle and Nas together. See what that looks like. I would love to see that. And then offensively, suddenly, that will pop. If you have Reed and Randle Manning the 5-4.

Now I don't know how much defense you're getting, but you are getting a ton of offense Nas in the corner, randle attacking off the bounce, driving in lanes and Ant out there just destroying people, dante DiVincenzo just shooting up 33 footers, 35 footers on a regular basis. So spacing is going to be just absolutely paramount when it comes to johan bernier, because if he's not out there with reed or randall, so then you are losing your edge to have, you know, the four out system and what have you. So we're gonna talk and get a little experimental, like how you gonna miss and match some of these guys together. What if you pair uh naz with? We did that one? Um, I personally think baron j's mobility lets you switch more. Keep the rim, keep a rim protector on the floor at all times. No need to blitz and pick and roll. Uh coronations j Johan can cover ground, recover and block shots from the weak side.

Suddenly, you don't lose the defensive identity when Govera sits down and that's huge in the playoffs because they picked unmercifully on the Minnesota Timberwolves lead that they would get, and then Rudy Govera would lead the game. And then it was like, oh boys, we got a chance, so we'll see how it all works. The Wolves get stopped. Baron J snacks the board this is in my fantasy montage Instantly sprints the lane, conley and or Ant on the wing randall trails. But baron jay is already in the dunker squad doing same defensive collapses. Lob is imminent. Two hands, rim rattles, boom, dunk. The whole crowd. Go crazy, everything's great. The next possession, switching everything on d baron j shows off his on wall, recovers to the rim and erases the layup. Now reed cleans up the glass and then they're off and running. And that's scary because they already track me onto themselves.

The games you play shape your entire style. Go Gare and Baron J give you rim protection, just not shooting and Razz and Rando firepower. But the risk is giving up the lead's buckets, easy buckets. Baron J we talked about his mobility. We talked about how awesome it is. We're going to talk about maybe unlocking the code, seeing how this is going to work, and we think really how this is going to work is Nas Reed is going to have to play so far, meaning that Julius Randle is going to have to kick rocks and be on the bench every once in a while and you're not going to have to use it a a ton if you can use it like three to four minutes at the somewhere in the second quarter and then also somewhere early on in the third quarter to go ahead and get hit there.

You know your time, that you're allotted. You know, and get rudy go. There's some, you know, much needed break, because here's the other thing. Rudy is what? 32 now, gonna be 33 this year. So I'm not saying that he's washed. All I'm saying is that the metrics show that there's been a little dip but he's still super effective. Then you know, you know it's not like he's falling off a complete cliff and he can't move and whatever case and be he still Rudy Govier and there's so much knowledge in the game or whatever the case may be, that he might hurt not hurt himself, but he might be hurt but then he's able to use his length and his experience to combat whatever is coming at him. So he doesn't necessarily need to be 100% healthy, but he's going to have a better chance this year to end up like that.

They got a lot of options. Personally and I'm not saying that Baronangay needs all these minutes because he doesn't, you just wanted him to get his feet wet a couple six minute stretches, like either in the second and third quarter or whatever case may be, might be a way of doing it. This isn't a lineup you throw out there every single night. But against slow footed bigs, nas Berenger run them off the floor. Against small bigs, berenger gives you a real backstop. Now Reeves provides a stretch in the playoffs. You want to always have the rim protection, but you can't play Go-Gear 40 minutes every single night. This is true. You know, when you get long into the two, there's certain things you just know you can't do. There's certain things you just know you just say, okay, well, I'm going to go ahead and take the L on that one, because shit, I'm getting old.

When Go-Garret and Sat and Nas played in the five, the Wolves defense was ready to drop sharply. But when Nas played next to a true rim protector and the drop flattened and spacing and defense together, grand J's role is to anchor the second unit and keep the paint protected at all costs. Let Nas be a rematch nightmare for somebody. So he's never going to be in a position where he has to score. Now, if he grabs a rebound and dunks it, that says he's going to get his points, at least for the time being. But that's what he's looking at. So we talked about Baron J's energy. We talked about his rookie stock report. We're going to have to definitely get us some early shares on Baron J.

On most nights you're looking at a DMP coach's decision, a handful of minutes, maybe 5, maybe 10, when Gobert or Nas sits or at the game. They get out, the games get out of hand. But his impact it's all about flashes and he can. He can change and the tone in the three-point minute burst he can erase. Lay up, run the clock. D, you know, blocks into the third row making the crowd pop like dominating mysterio, greatest, greatest luchador of all time. Dominate mysterio jr or just dominate mysterio. Let's get it right.

Vince, lock in here's the checklist for the wolves. Lock in here's a checklist for the wolves. Protect the room. Don't bite on pump fakes. Challenge every shot, check, check and check. Play under control. That's the thing that he has to work on. Stay out of foul trouble. Real hard to do, but three fouls, six minutes. Let you know that's going to be a work in progress. Bring energy, sprint the floor, crash the glass, communicate and then hard. Set hard screens and roll to the basket equally as hard. Finish lobs through contact. Don't force anything outside the paint, be basic. Basically, you're doing all the dirty work. Make life easier for others.

I love it. I give this draft pick a 10 out of 10. It's showing flashes of just creativity and also a really high-end skill. That's the one thing you want to see in summer league is does whoever I drafted let's say I drafted somebody 12 okay, if I drafted somebody 12, I'm like, okay, it's not lottery. So what am I looking? Okay, he is this. So what I'm looking for is these things to translate or these things to have gotten better than what last time we checked his his gold scouting report, you know saying so. That's kind of a way we look at it.

But at this point it's all theoretical. Johan, right now it's all about growth. He's learning something every night, even if it's from the bench. That's a win for year one. Long term, baron J is a developmental bet if the wolves stay patient to let him learn from. Go there, dodge, read and give him real minutes when the matchups are favorable. The playoffs could be a foundational realm protection for years.

I agree with all that, um, but again, what we want to see is flashes. What we want to see is little spurts out of him and go from there. Every contender faces it. You do not play the long game, you chase the moment, and the Wolves are doing that. I don't know what this Excuse me. I don't know what this goes at. Every contender faces. Do you play the long game or do you chase the moment for the wolves right now? That's the dilemma that they're living in. Let's be honest. The wolves are on the clock. Go bear is still elite, but he's 33 years of age. Randall is a proven scorer, but not getting any younger, and Nas is in his prime and the front office is all in on a deep playoff run Again. They've had two Western Conference Finals finishes in the last two seasons.

But if you're drafting Berengi, can you afford to live with the rookie mistakes now, or do you keep him in bubble wrap for later? Does he look like a Chipotle burrito to you? I think not. Let that boy play A little bit, at least the way the Minnesota Timberwolves. Look at Baron J. They don't look at him as a project, they look at him as an investment. Him, they don't look at him as a project, they look at him as an investment. So in a couple years, when rudy is, you know, thinking about hanging him up, you know, our guy baron j is right there. If the world's a patient, let baron j develop. With gobert he could still become that next guy, rim protector, mobile, big Future on your defense.

But patience means trusting the process, even when Playoff games have been. If we were trying to develop the future and win today, that means holding Johan to a high standard but not expecting the world from him at 19 years of age. We'll give him a shot, but he has to earn it. I will say right now patience is a virtue. Every front office has to have a message and the message and the mess yeah, the message is baron j is a bet on the future. Soon the future arrives. Because that dude blocked shots, like alonzo morning, who told you that another guy who might also be kind of well, he's on the bubble because he's a. He was a two-way guy. He wasn't even drafted, or yeah, was he? No, he was drafted in the second round? No, was he, was he? I gotta go back and look. God, it's been such a blur.

Andrew nemhard's brother, ryan nemhard, is with the dallas mavericks now. He's a floor floor general for sure. Nimhard, directing traffic, uses screens to kick to the corners wide open. Three got it. You know what we're talking about. How you doing, keep it moving. He's 5'11" In a league full of giants, he was undrafted there. It is Overlooked and betting on IQ over over wingspan. But the dallas mavericks, they see a floor general there. You go all right, he already knows. He already knows how to concentrate. Can ryan nimhardt punch above his weight and because and become the next backup point guard to carve out a real NBA lane? We hope so.

Here's a little snapshot on our guy started with this journey two years at Creighton, two years at Gonzaga and then by the end Ryan Nembhard was leading the nation in assists, posted a wild 4-1 assist to turnover ratio. I will say that again A 4-1 assist to turnover ratio In the West Coast Conference Conference record 181 assists no big deal In the Summer League. You can see the poise 11.3 points and nearly seven dimes. Showing off that polish as a decision maker and just start starting the straw. You know he's the straw that stirs the drink. You know, saying he gets in there, what stands out with him is he never looked rushed, never looks out of control. He reads the floor, keeps the ball moving, avoids the wildness. Guy, love it. No from serea.

Nimhar doesn't have the size, but you feel the command. If he plays like a second year pro and not an undrafted rookie in Dallas they might have a real edge 41 turnover ratio that's club record for the elite. You know what I'm saying. Yeah for sure, taylor. Oh yeah. Tactical breakdowns, yeah, okay.

So how do small guards survive and win? We're going to tell you all about it. You got to have some fundamentals in your game. No doubt you got to be able to shoot it. You got to be able to hit free throws at a decent level as far as that's concerned. But there's other parts of the game that you can manifest yourself and get yourself some time on the court Processing speed Think Chris Paul and Fred VanVleet always one step ahead. He's already got that point of attack.

Getting under your guy pastor, like Alvarado from New Orleans, scrap the Lowry deal. Well, you don't have to worry about that, cuz he ain't gonna never be lowering, and that is that. So you know, unless there's a cool Japanese steakhouse around here. Yo, nah, no, no, no. So the other thing that you can do is you can stretch the floor, make defenders guard you at 28 feet a la Seth Curry style or his brother Steph Curry Paint Crafts. You're not finishing over shot blockers, that's for damn sure. So floaters and fake ups and pivot footwork, think Brunson, think Lowry.

Off ball Value, cut, relocate, catch and shoot. Just don't stand there and watch, be part of the game, like even if you're messing something up on the other side while anthony edwards has the ball. That's okay, that's perfectly fine. But when you pull up the summer league tape, you see flashes, you see pocket passes, you see pick and roll, you see you see quick hit ahead action, three off movement, all these type of things. But the growth is still needed. He needs to tighten his handle, better rhythm as a scorer, getting his shot off Versus length. That's going to be something he's going to have to learn. And Sarray's note is For Neymar the difference is going to be Playing with pace, without Wasted Dribbles, anticipate every defensive rotation and be ready To fire the ball when it comes back to him.

Dallas doesn't need a hero, they need a steady hand and that is what Ryan Nembhard is. This dude is absolute stones. Here's where it gets interesting. We got some red notes again as a quick, quick reminder to our listeners. Where it gets interesting, we got some red notes again as a quick, quick reminder to our listeners. Kyrie Irving is set to miss at least half the season with rehab in the knee. So they've signed D'Angelo Russell and he's stepping in as a starter. So our guy Nas Reed is getting this time right now to himself. I don't know what that means for him, but I will say this is that one point guard is not enough. You need a second one and then, if you trap and whatever, you might need a third one.

The attention where Ryan Nimhard played his ass off. They had Cooper Flagg out there. For the two games he was out there, they had him as a de facto point guard. So depth charts are flexible. But let's be real. If Nimhard isn't a turnstile on defense and shows the headiness, not shot creation, the Mavs might have no chance. But to give him a look, we shall see.

I want to know how he can play 12 to 14 minutes in the league to do what Rob Dillingham was not able to do. Someone hit me up on twitter at frontrunnerpc our producer is. At raya, underscore bunch f, u, c, n, f, u, n, c, h, and then frpc. So let's say it again at rhea underscore fudge, frpc. So how's my dude gonna get minutes? Okay, you got, you got. You got a couple people ahead of him. You got somebody on the the men. So who's going to be the straw that starts the drink?

As far as second unit is concerned, the point guard position off the bench, especially if Cooper flag is playing a combo forward more than full-time like ball handler, will have you the, the, the da. So cheap, cheap fouls at a minimal, don't get picked on, which he's definitely gonna get picked on because he's five foot nothing and weighs almost nothing. Most importantly, no rookie panics. Dallas wasn't reliable, dalton Hero was a hero. So what's his role going to be? I don't know. Let's see what gets him on the floor Defense toughness, low turnovers, playing within himself, what gets him benched?

Being a rookie, rookie panic? You're seeing goals out there, careless fouls and getting torched on switches, mm-hmm. All right, sir. Yeah, all right, yeah, sir. We'll see Now what's the X factor for him Film study you got to get. Now what's the x factor for him? Film study. You gotta get an edge somehow, and you got no tendencies and you got no um patterns. So that might be a way where he can get an edge and kind of keep himself on the court, soaking up every minute behind dilo and kairi.

Being a tone center with the second unit is what he can look forward to. All right, let's move on to what? Well, the thing that we all want to do. We want to converse with our audience. So, because we we mapped out several skills fits for our guy nimhard to prove, but it's your turn.

What's the one skill that keeps small guards on the floor? Is it shooting? Is it defense? Is it playmaking? Hit us up at rea. Underscore punch frpc. And also my twitter handle is at front runner p is in paul c. So you know what we need to go now. You need to go Rocky Mountain high. What Coors hangs out, you know saying I don't you drink anymore, but you know talking about.

To be honest with you, I was uh, I was shocked that they got rid of Michael Malone and at the time that they did, it Was really baffling to me. Now it didn't make a huge Reason for, you know, not Not doing anything at the deadline or whatever case may be. Shout out to Calvin, calvin Booth, who was looking for the young players to make these incredible leaps, and everything, and Michael Malone saying, hey, we ain't playing those guys. So I don't know what you're talking about. But then this sets up Jokic, and he's never looked more unstoppable, but no more human. More unstoppable, but no more human. He fresh off his uh, you know, just another outstanding performance as a basketball player.

So it's a franchise at a crossroads. I don't know you got a generational star in his prime and you don't know that the clock is tinky. It's not just stacking talent, it's about timing, about culture, about protecting. The one thing that you can't replace you know what I'm saying Isn't load off, isn't it loud? But his expectations, yep, for sure. And either you're helping or you're getting out the way. We'll see what nilhar does or not, nilhar, I'm sorry. We'll see what the bench does, because we got some bench people in denver that we need to talk about. We talk about windows. They don't stay open forever, but in this league, all it takes is one injury or one grind of fatigue One summer when your superstar starts to wonder If the load is too much.

So when Yoki said he needed help, real help, the Nuggets front office had a choice Do you double down and reinforce the roster, protect the young, your big men's energy, from moments that matter the most, or do you risk it, watch a movie that window slam shut before you can even realize it's closing? So let's look at some of the moves that they made during this offseason. Jonas Valanciunas is here. Let's look at some of the moves that they made During this offseason. Jonas Valanciunas Is here. We thought he might be playing over in Europe.

Nah, speculation and conjecture, and nobody was signifying anything With that. Remember they drafted Deron Holmes last year Out of Dayton and everybody loved him in summer league and then he got hurt. So if our guy Valanchunas kind of falters towards the end of the year and you got this young guy on the bench, maybe that becomes kind of like a secret weapon for him. I don't know. I don't know if he'll play a lot being like the third big. Well, we will see. I don't know if he'll play a lot being like the third big. Well, we will see.

I will tell you right now if you look at I think it was imperative that Jonas Valanciunas showed up in Denver. They've been trying to do it with, like DeAndre Jordan. They've been trying to do it with like just piecemeal pieces. They never gave Zeke Najee a real chance. So you know, it's one of those things where getting somebody in who can play like 14, 16 minutes a game you're talking giving Jokic down to 32 minutes, which still seems like okay, well, that's, that's normal. Why are we even work? Why are we tripping? Well, this dude was playing like 42 minutes a game because it was no one that the coaching staff trusted and as soon as Jokic left the court, like the, the, the on offs, the on off, uh, metrics with Jokic either on the court, great.

When he's off the court, absolutely like the worst, almost the worst human lead, bad. So you can't have that kind of fluctuation you got to be able to like. If you got a 16 point lead, this dude should be able to come in and you still up by 10, 12, whatever case may be, not this. Oh the lead, the lead is gone. We're now behind by three. That's crazy. So bringing in Jonas Valachunas really helped that situation. We're happy that the Joker got somebody who can hold it down for him when he gets his little rest.

Now the defensive wings, the wings in general, just try the wings, the mile high wings, whatever. Put some more hot sauce on it if you need to be. But you got now Newcomer Cameron Johnson, you got Christian Brown. We'll see if Peyton Watson can hit a jumper Anytime this decade. I don't know. I do not know. He's long, switchable and ready to guard everywhere. That means less scrambling, less help defense and way less situations where it looked like Jokic had to cover everybody. He was tired in all of this. It's by design. Yoke is can finally rest, knowing that his defense won't collapse. And when the playoffs come, every save minute, every defensive stop could be the difference between a run or early flight home, and last year it was an early flight home. So we'll see how that goes.

Uh, I'm very looking forward to the, the experiment that is cameron johnson and then trading michael porter jr to the brooklyn nets. Now, what you gain with cameron johnson is this Cam is going to be able to still shoot the ball. He is he going to shoot it at the level of Michael Porter Jr? No, because they lost like three, four inches in height and you might say, well, that's not a lot. It's a ton when it comes to basketball. But Cameron Johnson does provide.

Something that Michael Porter Jr either failed to do, didn't want to do or just didn't have the capability of doing is that Cameron Johnson might not be the greatest defender on the face of the planet, but he knows where to be. He knows that you're not beating him back door very easily as far as that's concerned. He sees, he sees man and ball, man and ball and what have you. So he's really good about staying on his man, which is great. I don't know if that works as our literal point of attack defender. I think that's still a big cry away big cry. But you're not gonna get beat on silliness and he's going to be able to rebound his position decently, as far as I think he's going to be. Uh, oh a way better.

Second, second, uh, side initiator for sure. You know michael wharton jr. So he got the ball. He was trying to shoot it. He like, oh, 35 feet away, no problem, still going to shoot it, still going to shoot it. So did this help them? Let's see.

I think the Denver Nuggets just got deeper, longer and more versatile. But you don't win with rings on spreadsheets. You win them with chemistry. You win them with chemistry. You win them with trust. You win them with the kind of understanding that only comes from surviving together on the biggest stage.

Bruce brown is back, hallelujah, the cowboy is back where he belongs. That's another uh wing. You know, defender, he's a glue guy. Grit he's got. He's the guy you want next to yokich when things get tough. Gordon aaron gordon was so pivotal and we got hurt and whatever, whatever. It was like a wrap for them. Chrissy Brown also did some things last year we were impressed with. There's going to be a lot of stuff that we're excited about with that dude.

Now, at the end of the day, smart moves by Denver Bryan Robinson bringing his GM style to the Denver Nuggets. So we like that. There will be some defensive tweaks. So what's still missing for the Denver Nuggets? It's the age-old question how Jamal Murray is going to look early in the season. Are we going to have the swoon? Are we going to have the swoon? Are we going to continue this pattern? And is Nikola Jokic? Is he? He's elite, right, and I'm not just saying that, I'm just saying like we still got three to four more years of this. I think, very impactful play by Jokic. So I think you need to maximize these years as much as you possibly can, and I think denver is doing took the steps to do that and I I applaud them to making the, even though we thought the decision was terrible when it happened.

We kind of have to second guess that and go hey, maybe they were right, maybe they were on to something. We just didn't know what the hell we were talking about. But we need to see what's going on with Jamal Murray and how he's gonna handle this situation. Are you gonna come into the season in shape? Did you take care of all the nagging injuries? You know prior, you know prior to you getting bounced in the playoffs, is Jalen Pickett's growth on Might fill the gap? If he's not ready, denver may look For another Missing move, another veteran point guard. Let me tell you something. That Russell Westbrook thing Was a Divided locker room, so to speak. There were people who were like why is this dude playing when we're way better than him? It was a mess down there. I will say that, if I'm looking at denver, they did a lot too and I think they deserve some of this. Uh, love that we are giving them, but my thoughts are irrelevant. Mile high basketball.

Denver nugget fans, what's your biggest concern heading into the season? Is it the playmaking? Is it still depth? Is it the health of Jamal Murray? Is it the slow start that Jamal Murray gets off to, or is it something else? Hit us up on Twitter At Rhea underscore Funch FRPC on X. You know what I'm saying. And then also make sure that youunch FRPC on X. You know what I'm saying. And then also make sure that you Follow your boy on X At Frontrunner PC and I'll go ahead and get Some of your stuff cracker lacking To you and then we will go ahead and have a good time and have some conversion. We will have some communication On the internet, just like all the regular people out there. Nobody calls anybody anymore crazy to me.

All right, we're gonna talk about the lakers, and this is self-serving. I know I'm a laker fan. I tell you loud and proudly that I am one of these guys and yes, we are definitely coastal elitist. We are are like sitting here going like, oh yeah, oklahoma and such and such team is boring. No, we didn't. No, we did not. We love the NBA finals. We love Indiana being there. We love Oklahoma City being there, but I'm still a Laker fan, so let's talk about it.

So Lakers have very sparse assets. You know they only got one first that they can get rid of right now. They only have one second that they can get rid of right now and for the offseason to end this way for them, where you get DeAndre Ayton and we'll talk about some of his know this coming in a second, you get marcus smart, proven defensive anchor and jake lauravia. Now a lot of people think there's more in the bag with Jake LaRavia than he's shown, but for what he is and what he has been working on and what he wants to do this year, I'll allow it. I'll allow it. But here's the thing Not only did they get these three players what they did, they did this without giving up what Any first round picks.

Future assets were fully preserved. Any of their core rotation group Reeves, hachimura None of those guys are gone. Connect, who has lost value, and we'll talk about that and they still have meaningful cap flexibility going into 2026 and beyond, because it's all about building around Luka. All three arrive via buyout or opportunistic cap maneuvering, not via costly trades or anything like that. Loved it. How many contenders managed to get add a defensive player of the year, a starting center in a six foot eight without losing a first rounder or a key piece. It's rare offensive Front office work. I tell you. Just trying to tell you, this was pretty expert Front office work. So shout out to our guy, rob Palenka, who we give a lot of shit to On this pod. But we also got to give credit when credit is due. He actually held it down and again and we're going to talk about it right now Say what you want about the flaws of these people, but there's some things to really be excited about. Again.

The Lakers retain rare optionality with future picks, meaning like also, if they can, somehow I'm not saying they will, but they somehow can get through 2025, um into 2026 and not give up their first rounder and they'll walk into the draft next year. Have three picks to give to somebody. Now you talking, now you talking, now you talking, now you talking. Instead of thinking out the bench la addict, playable nba talent raising their floor and also raising their, their number of people that they can play in the playoffs. Good lord, jj reddick at the end was like we can only play like four and a half, but we got to stick Somebody out there. They completely went away from Jackson Hayes. You know what I'm saying. They just like and they were like Yo, if Gabe Vincent can play, we'll let him play a little bit, but LeBron, you're the center, you're going to play a bunch of minutes. There's no questions asked at this point.

Now people say, well, they didn't swing big. Well, how are they supposed to swing big? I mean, you can say were you giving up a first-round pick for Cameron Johnson? I know there's a lot of people out there that say, yes, we should have given up a first-round pick for Cameron Johnson. Problem with that is that that's a very valuable pick because it's a 20-31 pick. So by the time that pick comes up, cameron Johnson might be either out of the league or really close to out of the league. What I've been told is that pick is one of those things where, if we gave it up, we're looking for something really substantial back. What I've been told is that pick is one of those things where, if we gave it up, we're looking for something really substantial back and for some reason they don't look at Cameron Johnson and go that's substantial back. They want a higher tier player for that particular situation. Now most contenders had to surrender at least a draft first round draft pick or core player young player to add to their top eight rotation this summer. Lakers instead by Lowe, smart, laravia and also DeAndre Ayton.

What are some of the other things that other people are talking about? Dalton Connect is still a trade ship. I don't care what you think about him right now. We will talk about some of his miscomings in a second. But the one thing I do want to talk about is is Luka Doncic right now as a recruiter impact? His impact is maximized when the front office can close deals without bleeding out the picks or depth. To me is luca already a better franchise ally than lebron james.

So say what you want about deandre ayton, okay. Whatever you think of him, ayton still unmotivated, average 15 points a game and 10 rebounds. He's a legit room protector. Aiden's best years came when he was spoon-fed loves and passes by. Cp3 with Lucas height, creativity and elite passing skills gives me cause of optimism for a bounce back year from DeAndre Aiden Just saying and this is what I think about Samar He'll show on the perimeter. However you stack it up Now, samar is not won't be tasked to do much else, like when he was in Washington he had to coddle rookies or run the offense, you know, when he was a Celtic or whatever case may be Not here He'll be asked to do what he does best Defend elite wings scores. Now, my skepticism is Smart and his ability to chase elite guards. Skepticism is smart in his ability to chase elite guards. That might be beyond smart at this age of his career, but maybe with the less responsibility we might see some of these things resurface and that could make a major difference in what the Lakers are or what they are on paper.

Now, as far as what they've done this offseason, they've kind of I say to a certain extent they've kind of threaded the needle, so to speak. They added three playable guys Aiden Smart, laravia without giving up any of the draft picks or prospects or what have you. So Austin Reeves is still on team. Dalton Connect is still on his you. So Austin Reeves is still on the team. Don Connect is still on this team. Rory Hatchimore is still on this team. None of those guys are gone.

For the people that were brought in, it was all non-rotational players that were either waived or whatever the case may be, and that was it so good again, keeping your powder dry. Um, for the real move that might happen at the trade deadline or next summer, if connect can regain his form from early his rookie season. The lakers are searching for internal growth. If not, we still own our future picks and we're in better shape than a lot of contenders out there who made splashes in july. So they kept their flexibility, they kept their you know, they kept their situation going.

Here's the thing with connect. I know a lot of people were down on him because he didn't have a great summer league and you should be Like we expect that dude to dominate in the summer league. What have you? But the one thing that maybe he's still shell-shocked from, or whatever, or trying to understand in his head that right now, because my defense is so porous, I need to just concentrate on hitting just corner threes. I'm gonna run to the corner and shoot a three and hopefully I can grasp or gain some more defensive chops through having laravia on the team, having Marcus Smart on the team kind of put me where I need to be and I don't give up a bunch of points like a sieve. That is the hope and dream for Dalton Connect. Hopefully that is something that was weighing on his mind as he was playing Summer League and what have you, and he just wasn't able to get the shot going, or whatever case may be, but only time will tell.

So I'd like to thank my awesome producer, serea, for this podcast. We're gonna get up out of here, remember, feel good, friday is coming, and why that's important. Why that is that important? Because it'll be our first foray into the 2026 nba draft, and who's coming out and who should we be looking at? We're going to talk about all the unusual suspects darren peterson, aj, the best, and what have you. Even maybe some cam boozer talk. You know saying, you know, dukes is getting it done. We will be talking about that as well.

So the one thing again is that we want to thank the audience for your participation in our podcast. Thank you to come along with us on this journey. We surely do, damn sure, appreciate it. So thank you so much.

And, with that being said, the best part of you is you make sure that the people in your life are supporting you. They're, um, they're sending, uh, nothing but like well wishes and and um, things like just positivity into you. They're speaking positivity into your soul and hopefully they're not being a drain on you whatsoever, you know. And if these people are exhibiting these behaviors, make sure to acknowledge them, appreciate these people, because these people are the ones that are holding it down for you. For you to be special, your support group must be special. They must understand their role and they must be able to do their role At a specific High level. And if you got that, then acknowledge that, appreciate that, send them a text, give them a hug, take them out for drinks, go out to dinner, break bread together, do what you need to do, but make sure they know that they're acknowledged and they're appreciated. So, with that being said, we up out of here, deuces oozes, and we'll see your ass on Friday Late.