May 19, 2025 • 38 mins
In Episode 29 of The Backcourt, host Lucas Kaplan of NetsDaily is joined by Brooklyn Nets Radio Analyst Tim Capstraw to continue our season-long series of player breakdowns. This episode focuses on the LSU duo: Cam Thomas and Trendon Watford. They take a detailed look at Cam’s elite scoring ability and his growth as a more well-rounded player, as well as Watford’s unique skill set and his versatility across multiple positions on the court.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
You are now in the backcourt of Brooklyn NETS Podcast
presented by Ticketmaster.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Thank you guys for listening.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
I'm Lucas Kaplan, writer for NETS Daily, also of NETS
Film Focus, where we got some cool stuff coming for
you with special guest today NETS Radio legend The kap
or Tim Kapstraw.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
How are we doing.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
I'm doing great, Lucas. Great to be here in the
back court. I know people are saying, where the heck Sarah?
You know what I mean? People get ticked off when
they don't see Sarah. But it's me. I'm here.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
It's okay, you're you.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
You told me you've become somewhat of a career second
string point guard coming off the bench for Sarah.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
That's my my LinkedIn profile, it says Sarah, Sarah acustacks
back up. That's kind pretty good. I'll take that.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
There are certainly worse people to have to back up.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
I'll tell you that absolutely what a talent, what a
what a talent she is, and what an unbelievable person, Rightliev.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Absolutely well.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
We are thankful to have you on today. I know
Sarah appreciates it. I appreciate it. And we got a
couple more player, you know, review season review episodes to
record today. We got four more Nets to get to
before that. A bit of news, as most of you
guys know, the Nets will be picking eighth after the
NBA Draft lottery. Obviously not the ideal result, but you know,
(01:30):
with four first round picks this year, a high pick
in the second round, whatever trades may happen, but there's
gonna be a serious influx of young talent, and I
know that that's something that we're both excited about as
we look to next season. It's been a while since
there's been multiple rookies, you know, this much incoming talent.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
You would think, right.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
Yeah, no, and it's it's exciting, I know, disappointing and
something I'm sure for so many teams that were in
the lottery that didn't get the number one pick, I
understand and that disappointment, but I've also lived through a
long stretch of watching different general managers and watching the
work of Sean Marx and his staff and the incredible
(02:12):
evaluation ability that they have, So I was just excited
when they when they have these picks. I know what
they can do with them. I know the you know,
it might be selecting players it might be. I don't
know figuring out what works best. There's a lot of
different options. But being able to evaluate talent not where
it is right now, not necessarily just where it is
(02:34):
right now, but where it will be in a couple
of years is a skill and I think Sean Marks
and his staff absolutely have that skill and I'm looking
forward to it well.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
Sources also tell me that you're a big fan of Scout,
a video series, and nets are putting out bringing fans
behind the curtain on sort of the very very intense
and focused outing process for this draft.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
I hear, I hear, you're a big fan.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
I cannot wait for I mean, I watched episode one
right I saw the setup and I said to myself,
I walked into walked into the office. You saw me
the other day. I said, so, what outside group did
they get to do this? Who did they get to
do this? Because no, seriously, it's it's like it should
go right to Netflix after it's done, you know, or
(03:23):
whatever a streaming service. It is fascinating to me. It
is so cool, and that's pretty good access they getting to,
isn't it. I Mean, you're in there, you're in the room.
But you know, everybody does stuff after it happens. You know,
they'll they'll let people in the room when you're in
this this time of the the development and the philosophy
(03:48):
and seeing the amount of people around the room and
what goes into it. And I'm looking at these different
scouts saying, I remember I tried to recruit that guy,
No way I was going to get him, Siriah. I
got like different ex good players, ex coaches I knew
from years ago, different guys that you've heard about. And
(04:08):
it's unbelievable what goes into it. But it's also unbelievable
how important it is. You know, it's like of unbelievable
critical importance. And what a show scout is. Man, I
I'm hooked. I cannot wait for it. And just the
overall production of it was so elite. I can't believe it.
(04:33):
And I guess I was done in house. I guess right.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
There are people, yeah, all the next content team, that
is all them, and they are like you said, you
know a twenty four could have done it could have
been a DiPalma it.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
It is going to be great.
Speaker 4 (04:51):
I know.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
I know. That's the first thing I said. Who put
this together? It is well. First of all, put it
up for awards, right, I mean, because I'm a big
documentary I love docts, you know, so like the idea
of I don't know, put it out there, get in
at Sundance. Wait this winter, I'll go out there and
check it out.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Yeah, I would love to listen.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
I hope that it illuminates for NETS fans just how
much goes into the scouting process. I'm glad the work
of bj Johnson, who has done a great job heading
up the scouting department over the last few years, gets
to be in front of the camera. I know that's
not his goal, but it's great to highlight such a
valuable member of the organization. And with that, we're going
to talk about a couple of guys that you know,
(05:35):
I know he had a hand in a couple of
ex Tigers, one of whom the NETS drafted and the
other of whom I know they had extensive scouting reports
on because that's just what they do. And those two
players are going to be Cam Thomas and Trenton Watford,
a couple of x LSU players, as I mentioned. And
we're gonna start with Cam Thomas, who appeared in just
(05:58):
twenty five games this season, and he played the first
eighteen straight and then suffered three separate, you know, left
hamstring strains, missed a lot of time. He completed his
fourth season, is going to be a restricted free agent,
So between the injuries and his contract situation, there is
of course a lot for him to figure out get
(06:20):
right over the summer. But when he played, he gave
us some good tape to break down. Twenty five games
isn't nothing, and he averaged twenty four three rebounds and
four assists, all of which were career highs on forty
four to thirty five eighty eight shooting splits. So, just
before we get into specifics, what did you see from
cam Thomas new or four, What were your major takeaways,
(06:42):
particularly when he was playing a lot consistently at the
start of the season.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
Well, you know what my takeaway is because it happens
now during the playoffs when I'm watching the playoffs, my
takeaway is right that in the playoffs, offenses get bogged
down and you need a player to make plays, right,
And everybody said the physicality's gone up, And so I
think I had a greater appreciation for Cam Thomas even
(07:09):
as I watched the playoffs right now. I appreciate an
awful lot of what he does. There are times where
maybe I underestimated and thought And I still think there's
conversation for a guy that's averages twenty four points a game.
I still think there's conversation as to exactly what he
is on a high level, top five seven team, I
(07:32):
think there's conversation that's okay to have. But man, when
you see these teams get bogged down, and the importance
of a bucket getter, guy that could just get someplace
with physicality, with toughness in the you know, all places
on the floor, including the mid range, which becomes more
valuable in the playoffs. You know, as we watch, I
(07:56):
like the progress that he made. I think he I
thought he was even at a higher level offensively, he
used the three to his advantage during the year, his
physicalities of ability to get to the free throw line,
how tough he is. I thought his playmaking improved, and
I think his defense improved. And you know, he's got
(08:17):
a very good career ahead of him, and I'm just
curious to see, you know, how it all plays out.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Yeah, the big thing when I think about playoff basketball too,
is that he for a player that had a career
high usage rate above thirty percent when he played this year,
he really does not turn the ball over, which is
a good call aside from the shot making really essential
when you think about guys that can handle the ball
in the playoffs when defenses are loading up against you.
(08:43):
So that's something I really also appreciate about his game.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
He's going to have to though. He's going to be
one of those guys that the double teams come his
way for the rest of his career. And is ability
to handle We saw that. We saw that we forget
about early on the career, early on in the season,
how good he was it getting off the ball quickly.
He didn't even get in trouble, he anticipated the trouble.
In what greater respect can an NBA player get than
(09:08):
being double team did the first quarter of games right,
just base on reputation, that's pretty impressive.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
Yeah, but teams don't even want to let him, you know,
get hot. And the way he can make pull up
jumpers against drop coverage, against softer coverage, it really has
necessitated that teams are throwing doubles at him. Teams are
trapping him all that stuff. And I just remember, you
know that in season tournament game with the orange floor
(09:36):
at Madison Square Garden when he had forty two points.
He was sixteen of twenty two. They tried trapping him
near the end. He was already too hot. And then
the other two games that stand out to me are
the last two he played before his final hamstring strain.
You were on the road in Cleveland and Chicago where
he ends up with just a boatload of assists, including
(09:58):
a double double with tennisis against the Hago. He didn't
shoot the ball. You know, he wasn't as hot as
we've seen him. But what do you remember from those
last two games where he just really felt it felt
like the peak of his playmaking powers that we've seen
so far in his career.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
And yeah, that's what stands out right, because that's what
everybody's talking about, right. Could he has to become a
better you know, the next step will be can he
become a playmaker? Can he can he make guys around
him make the game easier for other players around him?
And he certainly was doing that during that those those
couple of games. Really throughout the season. I mean, I thought.
(10:36):
I just thought he had an impressive season in that
he was you know, what separates a lot of players
in the NBA is consistency. I thought he would go
out to the floor and say, this guy's gonna get
your twenty twenty five. Somehow he's gonna wake up that way.
That's that's a pretty valuable tool to have in the NBA,
(10:59):
really in any life level of basketball. Knowing that you
could have a guy that it seems to come easy.
And what I also noticed this year more than others,
was a respect he got from around the league. I
think the other players think he's pretty special also.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
And his scoring ability, yeah, yeah, And I think that
says a lot. And it almost it those two games
when he at the end of the season and then
you know, his best playmaking stretches in a way highlight
how easily he can get to a spot and get
a shot off. Now there's a lot of you know,
conjecture about some of the long twos he made some
(11:35):
of them threes this year. What's a good shot early
in the clock, what's a bad shot? But you could
especially tell in those last two games where he's going
out of his way, it seems early to get you know,
Nick Claxton lobbs underneath the basket to kick out to
three point shooters. I think the big thing for him
handling the ball this much this season was kind of
(11:57):
knowing and trusting that he's going to be able to
get to his spots. And once you hit the hit
the role guy more, once you hit it to the
corner more, the defense will soften up and you will
kind of be able to turn the scoring on. And
I like that, you know he I think he is
(12:19):
to keep getting his to his spots in a variety
of ways. I love him upping the catch and shoot
three point volume, getting to attack closeouts, kind of coming
off screens because you see in these playoffs stars have
to attack. To be able to attack in multiple ways.
I think that's a big takeaway for me as well.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
Absolutely, absolutely, and just the ability to again, he I
thought his mental he adjusted his mentality. He was his mentality.
Just like you said, those last two games were they
prime examples. But I thought that he started understanding that
he was getting so much attention and you know, the
(12:57):
game will come to him. He's got time during a game.
He doesn't have to come out play high level basketball,
it gets down to the stretch of a game. We
know you're the guy, but along the way, make this
game easier for everybody out there, certainly still don't don't stop.
Don't used to hear and I, you know, I love
this term. You know, Jordan said, well, scoring is his superpower,
(13:18):
right and he can't. That's a perfect way to say it.
What a nice way to say you're great at something.
And he wanted him to do that. But I thought
he was learning how to really mix it up and
the setups and just the all around play was really
coming on definitely.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
And you know, I I think when you know again,
I watch these playoffs. We're watching Okce Denver right now.
And something that oka See, for example, has struggled with
is that when they give the ball to Shay, it's
been fairly monotonous in these playoffs. He's isolating from the
top of the key. And when your main guy gets
(13:56):
his offense sort of in the same position, the same
play type over and over, it can be easier to
scheme against. And so we've seen Okac's offense struggle in
this second round. And you know, the hope for camp
Thomas is this guy's a deadly catch and shoot three
point shooter. He's deadly off movement coming off screens, and
I like him mixing that in more in addition to isolations,
(14:20):
high pick and rolls, that stuff. So I do think
he has some potential to keep growing as a versatile score.
But the numbers this season, you know, bear out kind
of everything that we're talking about. Not only did he
have a career high usage rate and again small sample
sized twenty five games, but a career high just offensive burden.
(14:42):
It was the most efficient season of his career. He
traded some of those long pull up twos for pull
up threes and catch and shoot threes, and that brought
him to about fifty eight percent true shooting, just below
league average, but obviously on a ton of volume. He
had the most efficient passing season of his career by far,
not just you know, total assists, but assists as a
(15:04):
percentage of his usage rate.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
Again, no turnovers.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
And the other thing that he continues to do is
he's an elite foul drawer. He gets to the line
and he makes eighty eight percent of them. So all
of these underline kind of you know, he's winning on
the margins. You may not think of a guy that
takes a lot of pull up twos, you know, maybe
struggling to get to league average efficiency as winning on
(15:29):
the margins. But there's a I see that as really
like I've been hard on him in the past, you know,
talking about decision making this and that, But when you
get a guy that is an elite foul drawer continues
to improve the playmaking and improve kind of the shot diet,
the trend line to me just seems to be pointing
pretty staunchly in the right direction.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
Yeah, and I don't consider it necessarily basically because we
watched him grow in what he had to work on.
I don't consider twenty five games a small sample for him.
It's not like he's come out of nowhere. Read the
evolution of Cam Thomas. I don't call it. Yes, twenty
five doesn't seem but it didn't seem flucish at all.
Nothing seemed flucish. It seemed this is who he is,
(16:11):
this is what he can be. And his mentality was,
you know, where the heck you guys been. This is
what I told you I was going to do. And
I thought he had a maturity and I thought we'd
get back to The beauty of how I think Jordy
Fernandez is going to coach though, is that I think
he has got a nice variety in the offense. Naturally,
I don't think he's one of these guys that wants
(16:32):
to have start a game off targeting people and having
Cam Thomas go at him. No, he wants to play
a lot of five out motion. He wants to play
that flash game reverse offense with the off the elbows,
with a lot of variety. He doesn't want it to
be an ISO kind of style of play. It can happen,
but within the flow of what's going on, and I
(16:55):
think the balance of that type offense is very conducive
to a player like camp Thomas.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
Definitely, And again he is really just the foul drawing
speaks to his ability to kind of get his body
into people. I think he's become a more physical driver
as he's matured, you know, using his body to create
space and that handoff game, that side to side action
(17:22):
that they get to. You know, he's just gotten a
lot better at making decisions getting downhill, and this offense
has helped him get downhill. What do you think you
know his You kind of mentioned this at the start,
we're watching the playoffs. You know what is a great
Cam Thomas playoff game? Next year, a couple of years
on a good team. You know what is he bringing?
(17:44):
You know what can you put him into the game
and expect from him at.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
The Oh, kid me what he's doing now? He can
do that, he can do what he's going to be
able to do that. And yet when you see the
elite teams that are moving on in the playoffs right now,
they are stacked with two way players, right so for
Cam to be the player that he wants to be,
every team that's successful right now, you look at their
(18:10):
five starters on the floor, pretty much they're two way studs.
And I thought Cam made a jump defensively. I think
he made a jump, but I think he probably was
looking at these players and looking at the elite teams
of the NBA and saying, listen, in the starting units,
you don't have guys that can't go both ways and
be excellent on both ends of the floor. I thought
(18:32):
he made strides defensively, but I think that's going to
be the part of the game that he wants to keep.
I'm sure the coaches will stay on him and he'll
keep it. He has the athletic ability. I think he
has the attention. I think he improved. I think he
could be a very good defensive rebounder, right. I mean,
he's got great two foot hop get back in there
and get after him, and a good offensive everybody. He's
(18:55):
a physical, strong, strong in the error kind of guy.
I think he could help teams that way also, but
that you know, to be deep into playoffs, I don't
have any problem with them getting thirty forty at the
other side of the floor. He's gonna just keep getting
better at so the team will be able to be
in position to be a playoff.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
Team, definitely, And you know, part of that is being
you know, the Nets switch a lot of guard to
guard stuff, non big stuff, using his frame to body
up maybe bigger guys.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
But obviously a lot of.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
This is off ball defense to communicating, being aware, and
that's always going to be a incline.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
Learning gets better, though, get better, you can get you know,
something hard to find natural scorers that can score it
like that, but you can, you know, guys can get
a lot easier to get better on defense than to
find a way to get twenty five points in a game,
let me tell you.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
And it's funny because sometimes I feel like we don't
always we don't always give grace to the guys that
come into the league with this natural s orit ability.
I mean, it's almost a thing these days where we
see all the two way action, we see the guys
that can pass the ball, and we love, you know,
these connector pieces. But it almost feels like we maybe
(20:14):
don't value putting the ball in the bucket as much
and are almost less willing to give grace to guys
who this is their main skill.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
And then you wait for the playoffs and you're reminded
of the importance of it once again. Find a guy
to get a basket.
Speaker 1 (20:30):
Yeah, I mean these you know, the Warriors losing Steph Curry,
they certainly could have used like Cam Thomas and get
a basket. The Rockets certainly could have used the great defense,
great rebounding, all the stuff we're talking about, could have
used a guy to go get a bucket.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Right one.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
And the one thing I wanted to end on a
pretty uh when I was coming across kind of researching
his season. The last two years really for Thomas have
been really shockingly similar at least satistically to one Jalen Brown.
I don't know how you feel about, you know, maybe
that comparison if you see any similarities, but just in
(21:08):
terms of where they get their offense from on the court,
kind of where they like to operate. A lot of
the shot profile stuff is the same, a lot of
the efficiency, passing, turnover margin, all of that is the same.
And you know, Jalen Brown is making fifty sixty million
dollars a year. I'm not saying that's camp Thomas right now,
but I'm just curious to see how you feel about
(21:30):
that as a a point of reference, you know, maybe
not putting a ton of stock in it, but the
profiles are very similar.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
Well, yeah, the numbers add up that way. I can't
tell you I've ever thought of him and Jalen Brown
as being similar players before you said that, you know,
before you said that. And yet if I get you're
probably right. If I looked at the numbers, it'd be
the same, and their areas of scoring and how they
do things, and again it's it's you know, can you
(21:59):
go to that next let ken Well, he's also Jaylen
Brown now an elite defenders. They're getting back to what
we talked about before Boston. Why they so good, Well,
they put five great defenders on the floor. There are
also five good offensive players. You want to be a
top four, top eight, top twelve team in the NBA,
that's what you want to put on the floor. Goes
back to the same thing. I think he's capable of
(22:21):
other levels on the defensive side, and then I'll start
talking to him about, you know, comparing. But I do
find that interesting, and that goes to show you it
doesn't surprise me. He's a special type of a talent.
And yet, you know, coaches are all about, you know,
you know, getting to that next level. You talked about playoffs.
(22:43):
I just, you know, want to make the point that
you have to be at that upper level on both
sides of the floor to be one of those main guys.
I think in the playoffs.
Speaker 2 (22:53):
Absolutely, yeah, I think he will.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
I think he will. I really believe it. Guys get better,
you get better in the NBA, you get the big picture.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
Yeah yeah, no, And he has real skills.
Speaker 3 (23:08):
Yeah yeah, yeah. I think he'll be coached up. He'll
be coached up, unbelievable. Just stay healthy, and that guy
is is a beast. Man, he's gonna I'm fired up
about him.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
And he's working with real proven skills. The foul drawing
is as elite as it gets in the NBA. He
is a real proven shot maker, jrump shooter. The turnover stuff,
it seems real, four years of it now, kind of
being low turnover percent on his drive. I know a
lot of that is because he is trying to get
(23:43):
a shot up on those drives.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
But there's a lot of strong underline indicators.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
The guy turns twenty three, I believe at the start
of next season, twenty four at the start of next season,
room to get a lot better. I know that he's
a restricted free agent. I'll have to figure out this summer.
But a very strong twenty five games from the sample
size may have been small, but as Kapper pointed out,
(24:08):
did not feel fluky at all. And I would like
to leave you with this one quote from camp Thomas,
which I think says it all about sort of his
experience plan under Jordi Fernandez this year. He says, I think, Brooklyn,
we're in a really good spot, a great spot. Actually.
I love Jordi because I've learned a lot from him,
and I can't wait to run it back next year
(24:29):
with him.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
If that is the case, we'll see.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
But it's definitely been great learning from him, and I
think we are in a great spot, a great relationship.
Just want to keep building that and keep growing kind
of tracks with what we've heard all year from these
guys in Camp Thomas and in this.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
System.
Speaker 3 (24:46):
Absolutely, the respect that well Jordy shows towards his players,
I think it gets reciprocated right back to him and everybody.
That's no surprise. That's how cool though to hear players
because I know he doesn't mess around either. I mean,
he's coaching them up. He's not not patting him on
(25:07):
the back of all the time. He's not afraid to
get after, you know what I mean. And these guys
like him, but the more importantly they respect him. And
that's the biggest key of all Brooklyn Nets fans.
Speaker 4 (25:21):
Dougs times and no looks are great on TV, but
catching them from the hardwood as a whole different experience
because nothing compares to catching your nets irl, and that
all starts a tying tickets a Ticketmaster, the only official
ticket market place of the Brooklyn Nets. Even if you're
headed to the game last minute, you don't find tickets
and Ticketmaster right up until tip off, so you can
catch every highlighting person. And if you've got tickets but
you can't make it, including season tickets, Ticketmaster is there
(25:42):
for the assist. You can easily and safely sell your
game tickets on Ticketmaster. There's no better brag than being
able to say you saw it live, see your courtside, Brooklyn.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
And so too does Trenton Watford.
Speaker 1 (25:55):
As we move on to another ex Tiger, he said
in his exit interview, I really enjoyed this group.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
I enjoyed being here.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
We got to have some talks or whatever coming up soon,
but I enjoy being here. I don't know, I like
what we got going on, and he called Jordy a
great coach. Trendon is an unrestricted free agent but continues
in the line of guys with a lot of praise
for this organization, for this program right now. He played
forty four games this year, also dealt with hamstring injuries,
(26:25):
particularly in the beginning of the season, but averaged ten points,
four boards, three assists, those points that assist career highs
and it felt like he really found a future role
and a present role for himself in the NBA as
sort of this jumbo ball handler, you know, frustrating matchup
for defenses to deal with. I'm assuming you that that's
(26:46):
kind of what you took away from his season as well.
Speaker 3 (26:49):
Yeah, the versatility and yeah, tough, not an easy guy
to guard, right, you don't know who exactly to put
on him. He can go to beat you off to dribble.
He's crafty with the ball. He's physical when he takes
it into the pain. He's got a little shake to
him at times and will bump you. And then of
course I love the old school going down to the post.
(27:11):
You can tell you know, you know me, I got mileage, man,
you know how old I am. Luke. I love how
about latent games? Yeah, going down to the post and
then and then getting the ball to him and the
consistency of that being a go to play trendon Watford again,
(27:33):
I thought he was putting a lot of nice positions
to help himself this year. I think that's a general
theme I have for everybody. I think the players are
going to say to themselves, Man, Jordy Fernandez and his staff,
they did a lot for me because they showed what
I could do. And you know, every skill that I
think Trendon Watford has was put into play this year,
and he's got a lot of them.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
Yeah, we really saw him kind of the nets commit
to him of this idea. As you handle the ball,
you create offense in different ways. You have the freedom
to post up smaller guys. You have the freedom to
attack slower footed guys off the dribble, from the perimeter.
And again, you know we talked about playoff guys being
able to attack in multiple ways. That's certainly the promise
(28:15):
or the potential for Trenton Watford. He had some real
standout games this year. I remember that Indiana road trip
where they played two games there, particularly in the second
where a late comeback fell short.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
He when they went to Philly, when they went to Philly.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
In one and he had sixteen points and six assists
and told Gershan Yabucel that couldn't guard him late in
the game.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
Was a pretty fun moment.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
And you know what separates to you Trendon in his
best moments this season versus maybe when he struggled.
Speaker 2 (28:54):
You know, all as all players do.
Speaker 3 (28:56):
Turnovers, Yeah, turnovers. That's a if you coach turnovers drive
you nuts, right, yeah, because he has the ability he
can really handle basketball, handle the basketball. But he'd have
a few numbers, a few games or a few like
three or four possessions out of you know, in a
row where the ball would go so that that that
would be a bit of a downside. Although you don't
(29:19):
want to take away his aggressiveness because he's so good
with the ball. It seemed like his turnovers weren't when
he was aggressive though. It was more that he would
get casual or unforced. There as a number of times,
you know.
Speaker 2 (29:33):
So, but.
Speaker 3 (29:36):
He is again an interesting player. He is so interesting.
He's so much younger than you think. For some reason,
I think he's twenty eight years old. He's another young player.
And the versatility with which he plays, I go back there.
You're right, that Indiana game, he got thrown out of
the game, I think in the end, and they could
they could have used him. Yeah, they could have used
that in that game, and he would have won. Nets
(29:58):
would have won that game. And and Indiana's you know,
we can see they're a really good team and the
one and I don't know, there's an awful lot to
like about him. A gentleman out on the West coast
named Gordon Chias, who's a scout for the Utah Jazz,
told me how much I would love I would love
(30:21):
Trenton Watford because he watched all the Western Conference all
the time. Right, and uh, he said in a short role,
he was unbelievable in Portland, like just rolling. Now that
was not really an unbelievable part of a game of
his game. But they thought that we had really gotten
you know, he had thought that we had really snuck
(30:41):
a really talented player. I think the Lillard situation really
worked in the net's advantage to get him to Brooklyn.
And now it's an important time to make some decisions.
But again, his versatility is what you think of, and
he's fun to watch. He's a creative all round player
that's kind of like it's hard to find that many
guys that you compare him to, right, I mean, he's
(31:03):
a little bit I don't know Randall's little Julius Randall.
I don't know. Randall's probably a higher higher level is
playing great right now, but you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
Like, yeah, creating offense with finesse and strength and some passing.
Richard Jefferson on the broadcast this season comped him to
a Boris Diao.
Speaker 3 (31:21):
Boris Boris was, Uh, he's an interesting player, and but
aren't that many guys like them, So it's weird, too
weird to compare him. You know what he was. I
guess where he really made it early on in his career.
I think when he first came out with the nets,
he was great. We call it Krino is great. You know,
(31:43):
Chris Kreno is so he calls it the r PO.
You know, he would fake the handoff on a dribble
handoff better than anybody, like he should be playing for
the Giants or the Jets or somebody like that.
Speaker 5 (31:55):
He was really good at faking that handoff so much
so that it was a big I thought it was
a part of opposition scouter reports where they're like the
guy would get the player would get separation because they
were concerned about the fake handoff of Trenton Watford.
Speaker 3 (32:11):
That's how crafty he was.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
Yeah, I would love to see you know, this year
was a lot of perimeter creation, but as you mentioned,
you know, people Portland fans were pretty you know, had
some strong feelings about him no longer being on the roster.
Two years ago, the Nets picked him up. The short
role is one of the things they mentioned, and so
going forward, I'd love to see you know more, not
(32:35):
that the Nets you didn't use him well this year,
but a blend of you know, setting screens, fake dribble handoffs,
kind of as the big while also being the ball handler,
and a lot of actions as he was this year,
getting switches, getting downhill and yeah, just further leaning into
that versatility. He's got to keep, you know, got to
(32:56):
keep the turnovers to a minimum. I said that many
times this year it felt like they were preventable turnovers.
Speaker 2 (33:04):
They weren't always quote.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
Unquote good turnovers where you know you're trying to make
a high level pass to the rim, or you know
you're getting it to a corner three point shooter, and
you know, those are the turnovers you can live with,
probably more so than than kind of ones where you
know the ball's off his foot or it's just a
it's just an off target pass, stuff like that. He
(33:26):
obviously loves that floater inside. It makes up over a
third of his shot diet, but you know, when you
take that many shots from that range and he needs
about forty three forty four percent on him. You just
have a lower margin for error handling the ball that much.
So he's got to limit the turnovers, continue to shoot
the three point shot, and then those are possessions that
(33:49):
coaches want, and you do enough of that and you
get to get into your bag and get downhill.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
And handle the ball.
Speaker 1 (33:55):
I thought his playmaking and his passing really improved towards
the end of the year, especially in that Philly game.
I remember he had a couple of really nice reads
out of the post.
Speaker 3 (34:04):
Ah yeah, oh, I love the action they run out
of the post. We talk about it, right.
Speaker 1 (34:08):
Yeah, yeah, you posted it, Bill Bow, Yes, yes, you
were big on that, this.
Speaker 3 (34:12):
Bill bo action where there's where he gets the ball
in the post and we see that all. We used
to see that with Draymond Green with the with the Warriors.
I think Quinn Snyder brought it from Europe years ago,
and Bill Boo is what it's called. It's billbo Spain.
So we should probably ask Jordy about that, Jordy Fernandez.
But while Trendon is posting up on the block, there's
(34:33):
action going on, curling action and screening action at the
falling area, and sometimes guys would just instead of going
to just backcut immediately and then trendon Watford was finding
guys that way. Sometimes it really looked beautiful when Cam
Johnson would come out and be envisioned and then knock
down a shot. So he's almost like down there as
a quarterback kind of reading this situ almost like a
(34:54):
point guard in the post. So that's some of the
stuff that that's something else you can do. So I
think he'd create It's a little confusion for you on
defensively exactly how you can shake where to put him
at times? Do you know what I mean? I think, yeah,
I think I think he creates. You know sometimes you know,
can he get on that small forward? Is he quick
(35:16):
enough there? Is he going to have enough size inside?
So he's got to keep working on that side of
the floor also, And just again like a lot of
the players, they had good conditioning, great condition and make
that an incredible you know, be in the greatest shape
of your life the rest of your career. You only
get to do this once, you know.
Speaker 1 (35:34):
Yeah, and maybe you know that cuts down on some
of the turnovers. I do think a more defined role
for him on defense, the bigger he can play more
defensive rebounding, you know, guarding up, guarding forwards would help,
just because then he's getting he's down low, he's getting boards,
he can push the ball. More of a match up
nightmare in that sense, more of a screener.
Speaker 2 (35:54):
Uh yeah.
Speaker 1 (35:55):
And and he definitely has a lot of room to grow,
but he showed a ton of stuff this year, especially
again still just twenty four years old.
Speaker 3 (36:03):
It's amazing, isn't it. He just feels it just feels
like he's a veteran of a team. I really think
he's done wonders for his career. You know, maybe he's
with the nets. I'm not really sure. But that's what
I'm happy about for these guys. I think their careers
are all heading in the right direction. And you know,
like say, you know, a team's got to make decisions.
(36:25):
Players got to make decisions. Who knows where people I
don't know, but I know one thing, just like me
and you, right, what do we want in our lives?
An opportunity a chance. These guys all got that this year,
and I thought they were lucky and to have great
coaching that allowed them to show themselves in the best way.
Speaker 1 (36:50):
And that's a great lead in for the next episode
that we are going to record. Not to spoil it,
but a guy or two that got a ton of
opportunity this year. This has been episode I believe number
twenty nine of the Backcourt Caepra. I got to thank
you for joining me on this one talking about a
couple of LSU tigers.
Speaker 3 (37:11):
Yeah, I know, a lot of fun, A lot of fun. Again,
if you're looking, if it's on camera, I'm not Sarah,
so that's it. That's disappointing, But all in all, you
know a good time. I just like talking ball with you. Man.
I get fired up. I forget I'm on air, so
I gotta kind of make sure I edit myself properly.
But it's good. It's a lot of fun. Let's keep
(37:33):
it going.
Speaker 2 (37:34):
That's okay.
Speaker 1 (37:35):
I'll make sure I post a Spotify link instead of
an Apple Music instead of YouTube, so we'll get an
audio only audience.
Speaker 2 (37:42):
I hope for this one.
Speaker 3 (37:43):
That's right, go audio only with me, Pal, don't be
overdoing the visuals.
Speaker 1 (37:48):
So for all you that watched this, I hope, I
hope Capper and I are faces with the absence of
Sarah wasn't too distracting for all of you that listened
to this, we really thank you.
Speaker 2 (37:59):
I like some describe all that stuff. This has been.
Speaker 1 (38:02):
Episode twenty nine of the Backcourt, presented by Ticketmaster.
Speaker 2 (38:06):
We'll see you guys next time.
You are now in the backcourt of Brooklyn NETS Podcast
presented by Ticketmaster.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Thank you guys for listening.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
I'm Lucas Kaplan, writer for NETS Daily, also of NETS
Film Focus, where we got some cool stuff coming for
you with special guest today NETS Radio legend The kap
or Tim Kapstraw.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
How are we doing.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
I'm doing great, Lucas. Great to be here in the
back court. I know people are saying, where the heck Sarah?
You know what I mean? People get ticked off when
they don't see Sarah. But it's me. I'm here.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
It's okay, you're you.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
You told me you've become somewhat of a career second
string point guard coming off the bench for Sarah.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
That's my my LinkedIn profile, it says Sarah, Sarah acustacks
back up. That's kind pretty good. I'll take that.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
There are certainly worse people to have to back up.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
I'll tell you that absolutely what a talent, what a
what a talent she is, and what an unbelievable person, Rightliev.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Absolutely well.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
We are thankful to have you on today. I know
Sarah appreciates it. I appreciate it. And we got a
couple more player, you know, review season review episodes to
record today. We got four more Nets to get to
before that. A bit of news, as most of you
guys know, the Nets will be picking eighth after the
NBA Draft lottery. Obviously not the ideal result, but you know,
(01:30):
with four first round picks this year, a high pick
in the second round, whatever trades may happen, but there's
gonna be a serious influx of young talent, and I
know that that's something that we're both excited about as
we look to next season. It's been a while since
there's been multiple rookies, you know, this much incoming talent.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
You would think, right.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
Yeah, no, and it's it's exciting, I know, disappointing and
something I'm sure for so many teams that were in
the lottery that didn't get the number one pick, I
understand and that disappointment, but I've also lived through a
long stretch of watching different general managers and watching the
work of Sean Marx and his staff and the incredible
(02:12):
evaluation ability that they have, So I was just excited
when they when they have these picks. I know what
they can do with them. I know the you know,
it might be selecting players it might be. I don't
know figuring out what works best. There's a lot of
different options. But being able to evaluate talent not where
it is right now, not necessarily just where it is
(02:34):
right now, but where it will be in a couple
of years is a skill and I think Sean Marks
and his staff absolutely have that skill and I'm looking
forward to it well.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
Sources also tell me that you're a big fan of Scout,
a video series, and nets are putting out bringing fans
behind the curtain on sort of the very very intense
and focused outing process for this draft.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
I hear, I hear, you're a big fan.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
I cannot wait for I mean, I watched episode one
right I saw the setup and I said to myself,
I walked into walked into the office. You saw me
the other day. I said, so, what outside group did
they get to do this? Who did they get to
do this? Because no, seriously, it's it's like it should
go right to Netflix after it's done, you know, or
(03:23):
whatever a streaming service. It is fascinating to me. It
is so cool, and that's pretty good access they getting to,
isn't it. I Mean, you're in there, you're in the room.
But you know, everybody does stuff after it happens. You know,
they'll they'll let people in the room when you're in
this this time of the the development and the philosophy
(03:48):
and seeing the amount of people around the room and
what goes into it. And I'm looking at these different
scouts saying, I remember I tried to recruit that guy,
No way I was going to get him, Siriah. I
got like different ex good players, ex coaches I knew
from years ago, different guys that you've heard about. And
(04:08):
it's unbelievable what goes into it. But it's also unbelievable
how important it is. You know, it's like of unbelievable
critical importance. And what a show scout is. Man, I
I'm hooked. I cannot wait for it. And just the
overall production of it was so elite. I can't believe it.
(04:33):
And I guess I was done in house. I guess right.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
There are people, yeah, all the next content team, that
is all them, and they are like you said, you
know a twenty four could have done it could have
been a DiPalma it.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
It is going to be great.
Speaker 4 (04:51):
I know.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
I know. That's the first thing I said. Who put
this together? It is well. First of all, put it
up for awards, right, I mean, because I'm a big
documentary I love docts, you know, so like the idea
of I don't know, put it out there, get in
at Sundance. Wait this winter, I'll go out there and
check it out.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Yeah, I would love to listen.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
I hope that it illuminates for NETS fans just how
much goes into the scouting process. I'm glad the work
of bj Johnson, who has done a great job heading
up the scouting department over the last few years, gets
to be in front of the camera. I know that's
not his goal, but it's great to highlight such a
valuable member of the organization. And with that, we're going
to talk about a couple of guys that you know,
(05:35):
I know he had a hand in a couple of
ex Tigers, one of whom the NETS drafted and the
other of whom I know they had extensive scouting reports
on because that's just what they do. And those two
players are going to be Cam Thomas and Trenton Watford,
a couple of x LSU players, as I mentioned. And
we're gonna start with Cam Thomas, who appeared in just
(05:58):
twenty five games this season, and he played the first
eighteen straight and then suffered three separate, you know, left
hamstring strains, missed a lot of time. He completed his
fourth season, is going to be a restricted free agent,
So between the injuries and his contract situation, there is
of course a lot for him to figure out get
(06:20):
right over the summer. But when he played, he gave
us some good tape to break down. Twenty five games
isn't nothing, and he averaged twenty four three rebounds and
four assists, all of which were career highs on forty
four to thirty five eighty eight shooting splits. So, just
before we get into specifics, what did you see from
cam Thomas new or four, What were your major takeaways,
(06:42):
particularly when he was playing a lot consistently at the
start of the season.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
Well, you know what my takeaway is because it happens
now during the playoffs when I'm watching the playoffs, my
takeaway is right that in the playoffs, offenses get bogged
down and you need a player to make plays, right,
And everybody said the physicality's gone up, And so I
think I had a greater appreciation for Cam Thomas even
(07:09):
as I watched the playoffs right now. I appreciate an
awful lot of what he does. There are times where
maybe I underestimated and thought And I still think there's
conversation for a guy that's averages twenty four points a game.
I still think there's conversation as to exactly what he
is on a high level, top five seven team, I
(07:32):
think there's conversation that's okay to have. But man, when
you see these teams get bogged down, and the importance
of a bucket getter, guy that could just get someplace
with physicality, with toughness in the you know, all places
on the floor, including the mid range, which becomes more
valuable in the playoffs. You know, as we watch, I
(07:56):
like the progress that he made. I think he I
thought he was even at a higher level offensively, he
used the three to his advantage during the year, his
physicalities of ability to get to the free throw line,
how tough he is. I thought his playmaking improved, and
I think his defense improved. And you know, he's got
(08:17):
a very good career ahead of him, and I'm just
curious to see, you know, how it all plays out.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Yeah, the big thing when I think about playoff basketball too,
is that he for a player that had a career
high usage rate above thirty percent when he played this year,
he really does not turn the ball over, which is
a good call aside from the shot making really essential
when you think about guys that can handle the ball
in the playoffs when defenses are loading up against you.
(08:43):
So that's something I really also appreciate about his game.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
He's going to have to though. He's going to be
one of those guys that the double teams come his
way for the rest of his career. And is ability
to handle We saw that. We saw that we forget
about early on the career, early on in the season,
how good he was it getting off the ball quickly.
He didn't even get in trouble, he anticipated the trouble.
In what greater respect can an NBA player get than
(09:08):
being double team did the first quarter of games right,
just base on reputation, that's pretty impressive.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
Yeah, but teams don't even want to let him, you know,
get hot. And the way he can make pull up
jumpers against drop coverage, against softer coverage, it really has
necessitated that teams are throwing doubles at him. Teams are
trapping him all that stuff. And I just remember, you
know that in season tournament game with the orange floor
(09:36):
at Madison Square Garden when he had forty two points.
He was sixteen of twenty two. They tried trapping him
near the end. He was already too hot. And then
the other two games that stand out to me are
the last two he played before his final hamstring strain.
You were on the road in Cleveland and Chicago where
he ends up with just a boatload of assists, including
(09:58):
a double double with tennisis against the Hago. He didn't
shoot the ball. You know, he wasn't as hot as
we've seen him. But what do you remember from those
last two games where he just really felt it felt
like the peak of his playmaking powers that we've seen
so far in his career.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
And yeah, that's what stands out right, because that's what
everybody's talking about, right. Could he has to become a
better you know, the next step will be can he
become a playmaker? Can he can he make guys around
him make the game easier for other players around him?
And he certainly was doing that during that those those
couple of games. Really throughout the season. I mean, I thought.
(10:36):
I just thought he had an impressive season in that
he was you know, what separates a lot of players
in the NBA is consistency. I thought he would go
out to the floor and say, this guy's gonna get
your twenty twenty five. Somehow he's gonna wake up that way.
That's that's a pretty valuable tool to have in the NBA,
(10:59):
really in any life level of basketball. Knowing that you
could have a guy that it seems to come easy.
And what I also noticed this year more than others,
was a respect he got from around the league. I
think the other players think he's pretty special also.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
And his scoring ability, yeah, yeah, And I think that
says a lot. And it almost it those two games
when he at the end of the season and then
you know, his best playmaking stretches in a way highlight
how easily he can get to a spot and get
a shot off. Now there's a lot of you know,
conjecture about some of the long twos he made some
(11:35):
of them threes this year. What's a good shot early
in the clock, what's a bad shot? But you could
especially tell in those last two games where he's going
out of his way, it seems early to get you know,
Nick Claxton lobbs underneath the basket to kick out to
three point shooters. I think the big thing for him
handling the ball this much this season was kind of
(11:57):
knowing and trusting that he's going to be able to
get to his spots. And once you hit the hit
the role guy more, once you hit it to the
corner more, the defense will soften up and you will
kind of be able to turn the scoring on. And
I like that, you know he I think he is
(12:19):
to keep getting his to his spots in a variety
of ways. I love him upping the catch and shoot
three point volume, getting to attack closeouts, kind of coming
off screens because you see in these playoffs stars have
to attack. To be able to attack in multiple ways.
I think that's a big takeaway for me as well.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
Absolutely, absolutely, and just the ability to again, he I
thought his mental he adjusted his mentality. He was his mentality.
Just like you said, those last two games were they
prime examples. But I thought that he started understanding that
he was getting so much attention and you know, the
(12:57):
game will come to him. He's got time during a game.
He doesn't have to come out play high level basketball,
it gets down to the stretch of a game. We
know you're the guy, but along the way, make this
game easier for everybody out there, certainly still don't don't stop.
Don't used to hear and I, you know, I love
this term. You know, Jordan said, well, scoring is his superpower,
(13:18):
right and he can't. That's a perfect way to say it.
What a nice way to say you're great at something.
And he wanted him to do that. But I thought
he was learning how to really mix it up and
the setups and just the all around play was really
coming on definitely.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
And you know, I I think when you know again,
I watch these playoffs. We're watching Okce Denver right now.
And something that oka See, for example, has struggled with
is that when they give the ball to Shay, it's
been fairly monotonous in these playoffs. He's isolating from the
top of the key. And when your main guy gets
(13:56):
his offense sort of in the same position, the same
play type over and over, it can be easier to
scheme against. And so we've seen Okac's offense struggle in
this second round. And you know, the hope for camp
Thomas is this guy's a deadly catch and shoot three
point shooter. He's deadly off movement coming off screens, and
I like him mixing that in more in addition to isolations,
(14:20):
high pick and rolls, that stuff. So I do think
he has some potential to keep growing as a versatile score.
But the numbers this season, you know, bear out kind
of everything that we're talking about. Not only did he
have a career high usage rate and again small sample
sized twenty five games, but a career high just offensive burden.
(14:42):
It was the most efficient season of his career. He
traded some of those long pull up twos for pull
up threes and catch and shoot threes, and that brought
him to about fifty eight percent true shooting, just below
league average, but obviously on a ton of volume. He
had the most efficient passing season of his career by far,
not just you know, total assists, but assists as a
(15:04):
percentage of his usage rate.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
Again, no turnovers.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
And the other thing that he continues to do is
he's an elite foul drawer. He gets to the line
and he makes eighty eight percent of them. So all
of these underline kind of you know, he's winning on
the margins. You may not think of a guy that
takes a lot of pull up twos, you know, maybe
struggling to get to league average efficiency as winning on
(15:29):
the margins. But there's a I see that as really
like I've been hard on him in the past, you know,
talking about decision making this and that, But when you
get a guy that is an elite foul drawer continues
to improve the playmaking and improve kind of the shot diet,
the trend line to me just seems to be pointing
pretty staunchly in the right direction.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
Yeah, and I don't consider it necessarily basically because we
watched him grow in what he had to work on.
I don't consider twenty five games a small sample for him.
It's not like he's come out of nowhere. Read the
evolution of Cam Thomas. I don't call it. Yes, twenty
five doesn't seem but it didn't seem flucish at all.
Nothing seemed flucish. It seemed this is who he is,
(16:11):
this is what he can be. And his mentality was,
you know, where the heck you guys been. This is
what I told you I was going to do. And
I thought he had a maturity and I thought we'd
get back to The beauty of how I think Jordy
Fernandez is going to coach though, is that I think
he has got a nice variety in the offense. Naturally,
I don't think he's one of these guys that wants
(16:32):
to have start a game off targeting people and having
Cam Thomas go at him. No, he wants to play
a lot of five out motion. He wants to play
that flash game reverse offense with the off the elbows,
with a lot of variety. He doesn't want it to
be an ISO kind of style of play. It can happen,
but within the flow of what's going on, and I
(16:55):
think the balance of that type offense is very conducive
to a player like camp Thomas.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
Definitely, And again he is really just the foul drawing
speaks to his ability to kind of get his body
into people. I think he's become a more physical driver
as he's matured, you know, using his body to create
space and that handoff game, that side to side action
(17:22):
that they get to. You know, he's just gotten a
lot better at making decisions getting downhill, and this offense
has helped him get downhill. What do you think you
know his You kind of mentioned this at the start,
we're watching the playoffs. You know what is a great
Cam Thomas playoff game? Next year, a couple of years
on a good team. You know what is he bringing?
(17:44):
You know what can you put him into the game
and expect from him at.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
The Oh, kid me what he's doing now? He can
do that, he can do what he's going to be
able to do that. And yet when you see the
elite teams that are moving on in the playoffs right now,
they are stacked with two way players, right so for
Cam to be the player that he wants to be,
every team that's successful right now, you look at their
(18:10):
five starters on the floor, pretty much they're two way studs.
And I thought Cam made a jump defensively. I think
he made a jump, but I think he probably was
looking at these players and looking at the elite teams
of the NBA and saying, listen, in the starting units,
you don't have guys that can't go both ways and
be excellent on both ends of the floor. I thought
(18:32):
he made strides defensively, but I think that's going to
be the part of the game that he wants to keep.
I'm sure the coaches will stay on him and he'll
keep it. He has the athletic ability. I think he
has the attention. I think he improved. I think he
could be a very good defensive rebounder, right. I mean,
he's got great two foot hop get back in there
and get after him, and a good offensive everybody. He's
(18:55):
a physical, strong, strong in the error kind of guy.
I think he could help teams that way also, but
that you know, to be deep into playoffs, I don't
have any problem with them getting thirty forty at the
other side of the floor. He's gonna just keep getting
better at so the team will be able to be
in position to be a playoff.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
Team, definitely, And you know, part of that is being
you know, the Nets switch a lot of guard to
guard stuff, non big stuff, using his frame to body
up maybe bigger guys.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
But obviously a lot of.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
This is off ball defense to communicating, being aware, and
that's always going to be a incline.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
Learning gets better, though, get better, you can get you know,
something hard to find natural scorers that can score it
like that, but you can, you know, guys can get
a lot easier to get better on defense than to
find a way to get twenty five points in a game,
let me tell you.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
And it's funny because sometimes I feel like we don't
always we don't always give grace to the guys that
come into the league with this natural s orit ability.
I mean, it's almost a thing these days where we
see all the two way action, we see the guys
that can pass the ball, and we love, you know,
these connector pieces. But it almost feels like we maybe
(20:14):
don't value putting the ball in the bucket as much
and are almost less willing to give grace to guys
who this is their main skill.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
And then you wait for the playoffs and you're reminded
of the importance of it once again. Find a guy
to get a basket.
Speaker 1 (20:30):
Yeah, I mean these you know, the Warriors losing Steph Curry,
they certainly could have used like Cam Thomas and get
a basket. The Rockets certainly could have used the great defense,
great rebounding, all the stuff we're talking about, could have
used a guy to go get a bucket.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Right one.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
And the one thing I wanted to end on a
pretty uh when I was coming across kind of researching
his season. The last two years really for Thomas have
been really shockingly similar at least satistically to one Jalen Brown.
I don't know how you feel about, you know, maybe
that comparison if you see any similarities, but just in
(21:08):
terms of where they get their offense from on the court,
kind of where they like to operate. A lot of
the shot profile stuff is the same, a lot of
the efficiency, passing, turnover margin, all of that is the same.
And you know, Jalen Brown is making fifty sixty million
dollars a year. I'm not saying that's camp Thomas right now,
but I'm just curious to see how you feel about
(21:30):
that as a a point of reference, you know, maybe
not putting a ton of stock in it, but the
profiles are very similar.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
Well, yeah, the numbers add up that way. I can't
tell you I've ever thought of him and Jalen Brown
as being similar players before you said that, you know,
before you said that. And yet if I get you're
probably right. If I looked at the numbers, it'd be
the same, and their areas of scoring and how they
do things, and again it's it's you know, can you
(21:59):
go to that next let ken Well, he's also Jaylen
Brown now an elite defenders. They're getting back to what
we talked about before Boston. Why they so good, Well,
they put five great defenders on the floor. There are
also five good offensive players. You want to be a
top four, top eight, top twelve team in the NBA,
that's what you want to put on the floor. Goes
back to the same thing. I think he's capable of
(22:21):
other levels on the defensive side, and then I'll start
talking to him about, you know, comparing. But I do
find that interesting, and that goes to show you it
doesn't surprise me. He's a special type of a talent.
And yet, you know, coaches are all about, you know,
you know, getting to that next level. You talked about playoffs.
(22:43):
I just, you know, want to make the point that
you have to be at that upper level on both
sides of the floor to be one of those main guys.
I think in the playoffs.
Speaker 2 (22:53):
Absolutely, yeah, I think he will.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
I think he will. I really believe it. Guys get better,
you get better in the NBA, you get the big picture.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
Yeah yeah, no, And he has real skills.
Speaker 3 (23:08):
Yeah yeah, yeah. I think he'll be coached up. He'll
be coached up, unbelievable. Just stay healthy, and that guy
is is a beast. Man, he's gonna I'm fired up
about him.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
And he's working with real proven skills. The foul drawing
is as elite as it gets in the NBA. He
is a real proven shot maker, jrump shooter. The turnover stuff,
it seems real, four years of it now, kind of
being low turnover percent on his drive. I know a
lot of that is because he is trying to get
(23:43):
a shot up on those drives.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
But there's a lot of strong underline indicators.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
The guy turns twenty three, I believe at the start
of next season, twenty four at the start of next season,
room to get a lot better. I know that he's
a restricted free agent. I'll have to figure out this summer.
But a very strong twenty five games from the sample
size may have been small, but as Kapper pointed out,
(24:08):
did not feel fluky at all. And I would like
to leave you with this one quote from camp Thomas,
which I think says it all about sort of his
experience plan under Jordi Fernandez this year. He says, I think, Brooklyn,
we're in a really good spot, a great spot. Actually.
I love Jordi because I've learned a lot from him,
and I can't wait to run it back next year
(24:29):
with him.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
If that is the case, we'll see.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
But it's definitely been great learning from him, and I
think we are in a great spot, a great relationship.
Just want to keep building that and keep growing kind
of tracks with what we've heard all year from these
guys in Camp Thomas and in this.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
System.
Speaker 3 (24:46):
Absolutely, the respect that well Jordy shows towards his players,
I think it gets reciprocated right back to him and everybody.
That's no surprise. That's how cool though to hear players
because I know he doesn't mess around either. I mean,
he's coaching them up. He's not not patting him on
(25:07):
the back of all the time. He's not afraid to
get after, you know what I mean. And these guys
like him, but the more importantly they respect him. And
that's the biggest key of all Brooklyn Nets fans.
Speaker 4 (25:21):
Dougs times and no looks are great on TV, but
catching them from the hardwood as a whole different experience
because nothing compares to catching your nets irl, and that
all starts a tying tickets a Ticketmaster, the only official
ticket market place of the Brooklyn Nets. Even if you're
headed to the game last minute, you don't find tickets
and Ticketmaster right up until tip off, so you can
catch every highlighting person. And if you've got tickets but
you can't make it, including season tickets, Ticketmaster is there
(25:42):
for the assist. You can easily and safely sell your
game tickets on Ticketmaster. There's no better brag than being
able to say you saw it live, see your courtside, Brooklyn.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
And so too does Trenton Watford.
Speaker 1 (25:55):
As we move on to another ex Tiger, he said
in his exit interview, I really enjoyed this group.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
I enjoyed being here.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
We got to have some talks or whatever coming up soon,
but I enjoy being here. I don't know, I like
what we got going on, and he called Jordy a
great coach. Trendon is an unrestricted free agent but continues
in the line of guys with a lot of praise
for this organization, for this program right now. He played
forty four games this year, also dealt with hamstring injuries,
(26:25):
particularly in the beginning of the season, but averaged ten points,
four boards, three assists, those points that assist career highs
and it felt like he really found a future role
and a present role for himself in the NBA as
sort of this jumbo ball handler, you know, frustrating matchup
for defenses to deal with. I'm assuming you that that's
(26:46):
kind of what you took away from his season as well.
Speaker 3 (26:49):
Yeah, the versatility and yeah, tough, not an easy guy
to guard, right, you don't know who exactly to put
on him. He can go to beat you off to dribble.
He's crafty with the ball. He's physical when he takes
it into the pain. He's got a little shake to
him at times and will bump you. And then of
course I love the old school going down to the post.
(27:11):
You can tell you know, you know me, I got mileage, man,
you know how old I am. Luke. I love how
about latent games? Yeah, going down to the post and
then and then getting the ball to him and the
consistency of that being a go to play trendon Watford again,
(27:33):
I thought he was putting a lot of nice positions
to help himself this year. I think that's a general
theme I have for everybody. I think the players are
going to say to themselves, Man, Jordy Fernandez and his staff,
they did a lot for me because they showed what
I could do. And you know, every skill that I
think Trendon Watford has was put into play this year,
and he's got a lot of them.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
Yeah, we really saw him kind of the nets commit
to him of this idea. As you handle the ball,
you create offense in different ways. You have the freedom
to post up smaller guys. You have the freedom to
attack slower footed guys off the dribble, from the perimeter.
And again, you know we talked about playoff guys being
able to attack in multiple ways. That's certainly the promise
(28:15):
or the potential for Trenton Watford. He had some real
standout games this year. I remember that Indiana road trip
where they played two games there, particularly in the second
where a late comeback fell short.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
He when they went to Philly, when they went to Philly.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
In one and he had sixteen points and six assists
and told Gershan Yabucel that couldn't guard him late in
the game.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
Was a pretty fun moment.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
And you know what separates to you Trendon in his
best moments this season versus maybe when he struggled.
Speaker 2 (28:54):
You know, all as all players do.
Speaker 3 (28:56):
Turnovers, Yeah, turnovers. That's a if you coach turnovers drive
you nuts, right, yeah, because he has the ability he
can really handle basketball, handle the basketball. But he'd have
a few numbers, a few games or a few like
three or four possessions out of you know, in a
row where the ball would go so that that that
would be a bit of a downside. Although you don't
(29:19):
want to take away his aggressiveness because he's so good
with the ball. It seemed like his turnovers weren't when
he was aggressive though. It was more that he would
get casual or unforced. There as a number of times,
you know.
Speaker 2 (29:33):
So, but.
Speaker 3 (29:36):
He is again an interesting player. He is so interesting.
He's so much younger than you think. For some reason,
I think he's twenty eight years old. He's another young player.
And the versatility with which he plays, I go back there.
You're right, that Indiana game, he got thrown out of
the game, I think in the end, and they could
they could have used him. Yeah, they could have used
that in that game, and he would have won. Nets
(29:58):
would have won that game. And and Indiana's you know,
we can see they're a really good team and the
one and I don't know, there's an awful lot to
like about him. A gentleman out on the West coast
named Gordon Chias, who's a scout for the Utah Jazz,
told me how much I would love I would love
(30:21):
Trenton Watford because he watched all the Western Conference all
the time. Right, and uh, he said in a short role,
he was unbelievable in Portland, like just rolling. Now that
was not really an unbelievable part of a game of
his game. But they thought that we had really gotten
you know, he had thought that we had really snuck
(30:41):
a really talented player. I think the Lillard situation really
worked in the net's advantage to get him to Brooklyn.
And now it's an important time to make some decisions.
But again, his versatility is what you think of, and
he's fun to watch. He's a creative all round player
that's kind of like it's hard to find that many
guys that you compare him to, right, I mean, he's
(31:03):
a little bit I don't know Randall's little Julius Randall.
I don't know. Randall's probably a higher higher level is
playing great right now, but you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
Like, yeah, creating offense with finesse and strength and some passing.
Richard Jefferson on the broadcast this season comped him to
a Boris Diao.
Speaker 3 (31:21):
Boris Boris was, Uh, he's an interesting player, and but
aren't that many guys like them, So it's weird, too
weird to compare him. You know what he was. I
guess where he really made it early on in his career.
I think when he first came out with the nets,
he was great. We call it Krino is great. You know,
(31:43):
Chris Kreno is so he calls it the r PO.
You know, he would fake the handoff on a dribble
handoff better than anybody, like he should be playing for
the Giants or the Jets or somebody like that.
Speaker 5 (31:55):
He was really good at faking that handoff so much
so that it was a big I thought it was
a part of opposition scouter reports where they're like the
guy would get the player would get separation because they
were concerned about the fake handoff of Trenton Watford.
Speaker 3 (32:11):
That's how crafty he was.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
Yeah, I would love to see you know, this year
was a lot of perimeter creation, but as you mentioned,
you know, people Portland fans were pretty you know, had
some strong feelings about him no longer being on the roster.
Two years ago, the Nets picked him up. The short
role is one of the things they mentioned, and so
going forward, I'd love to see you know more, not
(32:35):
that the Nets you didn't use him well this year,
but a blend of you know, setting screens, fake dribble handoffs,
kind of as the big while also being the ball handler,
and a lot of actions as he was this year,
getting switches, getting downhill and yeah, just further leaning into
that versatility. He's got to keep, you know, got to
(32:56):
keep the turnovers to a minimum. I said that many
times this year it felt like they were preventable turnovers.
Speaker 2 (33:04):
They weren't always quote.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
Unquote good turnovers where you know you're trying to make
a high level pass to the rim, or you know
you're getting it to a corner three point shooter, and
you know, those are the turnovers you can live with,
probably more so than than kind of ones where you
know the ball's off his foot or it's just a
it's just an off target pass, stuff like that. He
(33:26):
obviously loves that floater inside. It makes up over a
third of his shot diet, but you know, when you
take that many shots from that range and he needs
about forty three forty four percent on him. You just
have a lower margin for error handling the ball that much.
So he's got to limit the turnovers, continue to shoot
the three point shot, and then those are possessions that
(33:49):
coaches want, and you do enough of that and you
get to get into your bag and get downhill.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
And handle the ball.
Speaker 1 (33:55):
I thought his playmaking and his passing really improved towards
the end of the year, especially in that Philly game.
I remember he had a couple of really nice reads
out of the post.
Speaker 3 (34:04):
Ah yeah, oh, I love the action they run out
of the post. We talk about it, right.
Speaker 1 (34:08):
Yeah, yeah, you posted it, Bill Bow, Yes, yes, you
were big on that, this.
Speaker 3 (34:12):
Bill bo action where there's where he gets the ball
in the post and we see that all. We used
to see that with Draymond Green with the with the Warriors.
I think Quinn Snyder brought it from Europe years ago,
and Bill Boo is what it's called. It's billbo Spain.
So we should probably ask Jordy about that, Jordy Fernandez.
But while Trendon is posting up on the block, there's
(34:33):
action going on, curling action and screening action at the
falling area, and sometimes guys would just instead of going
to just backcut immediately and then trendon Watford was finding
guys that way. Sometimes it really looked beautiful when Cam
Johnson would come out and be envisioned and then knock
down a shot. So he's almost like down there as
a quarterback kind of reading this situ almost like a
(34:54):
point guard in the post. So that's some of the
stuff that that's something else you can do. So I
think he'd create It's a little confusion for you on
defensively exactly how you can shake where to put him
at times? Do you know what I mean? I think, yeah,
I think I think he creates. You know sometimes you know,
can he get on that small forward? Is he quick
(35:16):
enough there? Is he going to have enough size inside?
So he's got to keep working on that side of
the floor also, And just again like a lot of
the players, they had good conditioning, great condition and make
that an incredible you know, be in the greatest shape
of your life the rest of your career. You only
get to do this once, you know.
Speaker 1 (35:34):
Yeah, and maybe you know that cuts down on some
of the turnovers. I do think a more defined role
for him on defense, the bigger he can play more
defensive rebounding, you know, guarding up, guarding forwards would help,
just because then he's getting he's down low, he's getting boards,
he can push the ball. More of a match up
nightmare in that sense, more of a screener.
Speaker 2 (35:54):
Uh yeah.
Speaker 1 (35:55):
And and he definitely has a lot of room to grow,
but he showed a ton of stuff this year, especially
again still just twenty four years old.
Speaker 3 (36:03):
It's amazing, isn't it. He just feels it just feels
like he's a veteran of a team. I really think
he's done wonders for his career. You know, maybe he's
with the nets. I'm not really sure. But that's what
I'm happy about for these guys. I think their careers
are all heading in the right direction. And you know,
like say, you know, a team's got to make decisions.
(36:25):
Players got to make decisions. Who knows where people I
don't know, but I know one thing, just like me
and you, right, what do we want in our lives?
An opportunity a chance. These guys all got that this year,
and I thought they were lucky and to have great
coaching that allowed them to show themselves in the best way.
Speaker 1 (36:50):
And that's a great lead in for the next episode
that we are going to record. Not to spoil it,
but a guy or two that got a ton of
opportunity this year. This has been episode I believe number
twenty nine of the Backcourt Caepra. I got to thank
you for joining me on this one talking about a
couple of LSU tigers.
Speaker 3 (37:11):
Yeah, I know, a lot of fun, A lot of fun. Again,
if you're looking, if it's on camera, I'm not Sarah,
so that's it. That's disappointing, But all in all, you
know a good time. I just like talking ball with you. Man.
I get fired up. I forget I'm on air, so
I gotta kind of make sure I edit myself properly.
But it's good. It's a lot of fun. Let's keep
(37:33):
it going.
Speaker 2 (37:34):
That's okay.
Speaker 1 (37:35):
I'll make sure I post a Spotify link instead of
an Apple Music instead of YouTube, so we'll get an
audio only audience.
Speaker 2 (37:42):
I hope for this one.
Speaker 3 (37:43):
That's right, go audio only with me, Pal, don't be
overdoing the visuals.
Speaker 1 (37:48):
So for all you that watched this, I hope, I
hope Capper and I are faces with the absence of
Sarah wasn't too distracting for all of you that listened
to this, we really thank you.
Speaker 2 (37:59):
I like some describe all that stuff. This has been.
Speaker 1 (38:02):
Episode twenty nine of the Backcourt, presented by Ticketmaster.
Speaker 2 (38:06):
We'll see you guys next time.
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