June 24, 2025 • 40 mins
The Thunder are NBA champions. Kevin Durant is a Houston Rocket. And the 2025 NBA Draft is Wednesday night. So much is happening in the world of basketball, and here to break it all down with Action Network host Chad Millman are Brandon Anderson and Bryan Fonseca of the BUCKETS Podcast. Together they discuss the ravaged Eastern Conference, the potential of a Thunder dynasty, their top bets for the NBA Draft and so much more. #Volume
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
Welcome to the Fata Bridges of the podcast, part of
the Volume Podcast Network. I am Chad Millman of the
Action Network. This week, my co host, my companion, my compadre,
my BFF professional betters. Simon Hunter is still on they cation.
Yuck ended up with his relatives in Northern England, getting
(00:28):
his accent permanently on. But and the NBA season just
wrapped up, and it was thrilling, and it was exciting,
and it was awesome, and it was heartbreaking, and we're
wondering if we've crowned a dynasty. We're wondering how long
before Tyrese Halliburton comes back. But because the ANBA season
(00:51):
has mastered the month of June and into July, we
got so much good NBA stuff to talk about. NBA Draft.
Wednesday night, I'm joined by two of Action Network's finest
to discuss the NBA Draft. The event serves as the
official kickoff of the NBA offseason, the prelude to the
(01:14):
NBA Free agenc Madness to come from Action Networks NBA
Betting podcast Buckets. Welcome to the show, Brandon Anderson and
Brian Fonseca. Brian, I feel like you're making your maiden
voyage on the Favorites.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
I definitely am. This is the first time that I'm here,
happy to be here, obviously, just wish it was after
a better Game seven.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
I mean, it was a bummer. The Pacers made it
as much of a game as they could. That everything
about that Tyrese Haliburton images heartbreaking, and I think it's
going to stick with everybody in the finals. Brandon like
watching that game. I mean, we should do a quick
two minute recap just because it was. I never thought
(02:01):
that Pacers had a chance, but they've been so dynamic
and so such fighters all off season. Right up until
they were blown out, I thought they had a chance,
and I thought Oklahoma City was starting to sort of
spit the bit a little bit.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
It felt like we were literally like two three minutes
away from like you know, you know, it's the middle
of the third quarter, and the Pacers are still right
in this thing, and like right about as we were
gonna get like it was gonna flip totally to like,
you cannot blow this, Oklahoma City, You're the favorite, You're
at home in Game seven, Halliburn's.
Speaker 4 (02:38):
Out, you can't blow this.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
And then they didn't blow it. But we were like
three minutes away. It felt like from you know, I
think Oklahoma City had like a nine to zero run
and kind of ripped it open. If that round goes
the other way, if the Pacers just hit a couple
of threes and get a stop or two, I don't know.
We'll never know what would have happened. It sucks that
Tarrey's Halliburn the lasting image will have is of him
(03:02):
on the floor.
Speaker 4 (03:03):
In that way.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
There's so many images of Haliburn in these playoffs. We
got the choke image, we got the game winner in
Game one image, so many awesome moments, and it just
it's a terrible outcome both ways because we don't get
to see the payoff for the Cinderella Pacers thing, and
it kind of takes away from what it feels like
(03:24):
the thunder accomplished as like just an obvious not for me,
but an obvious asterisk. He sort of situation like, ah, well,
you know, the star got hurt. So you can just
smell the storyline coming where we kind of have to
talk down both sides of the equation.
Speaker 4 (03:40):
Now disagree the bumber to finish.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Disagree, Brian, I completely disagree with just the latter part
of what Brandon said. I don't take anything away from
the Thunder. The Thunder very well might have won that game.
They were in that game. Tyre's Halliburton had not been
that effective in the game. When he came back from
the right calf strain, he was to play well. But
I don't believe that there is any asterisk on this
(04:05):
team at all. I thought, and I want your take
on that, but I actually thought Brandon was going to
say now in an East that to me was entirely
up for grabs going into next year, and the Pacers
looking like they could be really confident Eastern Conference defending
champions and possibly the favorites to win that conference. Now
(04:28):
that's up in the air. We don't get to see
the follow up of this team that grew and figured
out who they were and came together and was so
competitive and started to develop like a real reputation and
a fan base. That's what I'm bummed I don't get
to see the next year. But Brian agree or disagree. Yeah,
I don't think Brandon Adderson is wrong and Chad Milman
(04:48):
is right.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
I don't think this is an asterisk. No, Look, it's
a bummer, right, because for me, it's like Oklahoma City
was the best team from start to finish, So them
winning the title, it's something that everyone should be okay with,
like they were the best team, but we were still
rob of what looked like it was going to be
a fantastic Game seven. I don't know if Indiana would
(05:12):
have won, but like I entertained the possibility when I
saw Tyre's Halliburton make two threes from like thirty plus
feet out and score nine points within seven minutes and
have the Pacers go on an early run, and it
was like, oh, we had been saying on buckets leading
up to this, like this is the one team on
the road in a Game seven where they're the most
(05:32):
defiant team in the NBA and you have to look
at them and be like, yeah, they have a real
shot here because they just don't care about how they're
perceived or they're underdogs, or they shouldn't be here and
all these different things like that's how they got here
to begin with.
Speaker 5 (05:44):
So to see it and like that was just disheartening.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
I just wish it ended differently because I think, you know,
for the sake of like just basketball in the NBA Finals,
like we were about to see something.
Speaker 5 (05:54):
Special, like a special finish.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Oklahoma City still might have won, that could have been
the case, but Tyre's Halliburton was like on a tear
early on and then he got hurt, like just on
that play. Three ruptured achilles in the playoffs, two to
star players. Which is another thing that we can potentially
get to because I have some I have some thoughts,
probably not a little bit of them on whether or not,
(06:16):
you know, this should affect how we look at NBA
seasons and whether or not they should be shortened. But ultimately,
like I thought, we were robbed of what would have
been a great finish, and Indiana, to Brandon's point, did
have like there was a window there in the third quarter,
but you know, they just didn't have enough. Ultimately, TJ.
McConnell could only take you.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
But so far, Meanwhile, within the span of twelve hours,
we all of a sudden have so much to talk
about regarding any early leans for potential title matchups, potential
Western Conference finals or Western Conference champions, Eastern Conference champions.
(06:56):
Let's talk about the East for a minute. Halliburton probably
not going to play next year, Dame probably not going
to play next year, Giannis, who knows where is going
to be, But the Bucks are clearly diminished. Tatum probably
not going to play next year. The Celtics, they were
already going to change their roster last week, the Magic
(07:19):
make the trade with the Memphis Grizzlies for Baine, and
now all of a sudden, people are legitimately talking about
the Magic as being one of those teams that could
be the team to beat in the Eastern Conference. Obviously
Daris Garland coming back from his toe surgery will be better,
and that team was diminished in the playoffs. What do
(07:39):
we do here? How do we handicap the Eastern Conference
right now when the teams that could have had the
best chance to win are now playing without their best players.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
Yeah, the favorites going into yesterday, we had basically co favorites,
three co favorites. I've never quite seen that in the NBA.
That's not how the NBA rolls with three co favorites.
It was Calvs, it was Paid, it was Knicks, and
Jim Turvey and I on Buckets did a podcast on
already kind of a look ahead to next year's conference finals.
We disagreed that the Knicks were in the triumvert of favorites.
(08:09):
We feel like the Knicks, they're a coach right now, Like,
let's see what the Knicks put together first, who will
put them in the mix? I do think the Calves
are the correct favorites. I know that they came up
short this year. I know that they fell, But shouldn't
we think about them losing the Pacers a little differently
now a month later after how good the Pacers have been.
Maybe not so embarrassing for a one seed Calves to
(08:30):
lose to that Pacers team. To me, you know we're
gonna naturally look down the list and say, okay, well
the Magic they got their new star, they had their trade.
They're the next young team to make the leap. How
about the Pistons. You know they were right there with
the Knicks in the first round. Maybe they're the team
to make the leap. For me, I don't necessarily want
an incremental growth from one of the young teams. Maybe
(08:51):
it will just be that I'd almost rather take a
shot if I'm gonna, you know, play a future this
far out, I'd rather take a shot at a wrap
or a blank canvas nets roster of just like somebody
that's like, hey, you know what those guys are.
Speaker 4 (09:06):
The favorites talked about the blank canvas in the East.
We see that too.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
How about we just go make a big move, Let's
make a splash. We weren't really trying to win right now,
but this conference is eminently winnable. Let's let's put our
chips in and go make a move. And maybe that's
Devin Booker now that the Suns are in a rebuilding mode.
Maybe it is Giannis on a new team, maybe he
stays in the East, Janis on whatever team in the
East with not Dame Lillard's Achilles. I'm interested, Like, give
(09:32):
me anybody, literally, any teammate to Yanis. Then that's not
Kyle Kuzma, to be clear, a real teammate to Yannis.
I'm interested, Like I am less interested in those middle
tier teams kind of edging up into the gap. I'm
more interested in a longer shot team that just like
finds the star, makes the big move, smells the blood
in the water we're seeing and it's like, let's let's
(09:55):
take a shot here.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
I love that idea. Who do you think that? And
is like you just name raptors nets who of the
you know, middle the teams that could take the big leap,
is going to put themselves in the best position.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
So I was intrigued by the Nets. We talked about
this briefly after the game last night. Matt Moore at
Buckets things, that's not the Nets. You think the Nets
are a year away. They're saving up for a year
from now free agency.
Speaker 4 (10:24):
That can change.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
Maybe you kind of just shift your odds when there's
this big gap year.
Speaker 4 (10:30):
I'm gonna give them credit on that.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
So I'm going to go with the Raptors as a
team that quietly, from like February forward, was like a
top three to five defense in the NBA, even though
they were just kind of off the radar totally. They
just they have this weird mix of players that don't
make a lot of sense. I don't really feel like
we know what Messiah Jerry is doing building the team,
but the weird mix of players make for interesting trade targets.
(10:54):
Is it brandon Ingram, is it Emmanuel Quickly?
Speaker 4 (10:57):
Is it RJ? Barrett? Teams like these dudes.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
I don't really love these dudes, but teams do, and
that means okay, maybe that was the Kevin Durant package,
it wasn't Maybe that's the Jannis package Jonason, Toronto international player.
I'm intrigued. I think that's a real possibility there. The
jury's pulled off big moves before we saw the Cly
trade and then boom, they win a championship right after that.
(11:21):
So I do think there's some intrigue, some roster intrigue
of Okay, sub prect two or three of the guys
for a star. There's still a few other guys on
the roster there, and I don't really know what becomes
of the team, but I can imagine a bigger leap
rather than incremental one. So I'll say Raptors as just
like a shot in the dark team right now.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
All right, Brian. Yesterday Kevin Durant traded to the Rockets
and finding out well being interviewed on stage at Fanatics Fast,
which to me was just choice content forget. You just
never get. This is the day and age we're in,
(12:03):
though everything is filmed, everything in this event. You got
Kevin Durant on stage and in the middle of a question,
the interviewer is starting to hear fans yell Durant was
just traded to the Rockets, and that's how the news
is being broken. That's the world we're living in right now.
(12:26):
That catapults the Rockets up the Eastern the Western Conference
behind the thunder Now and shortest odds over reaction.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
I mean, the Rockets already had in elite defense, and
now they're getting the one thing that they really needed
was a shot creator.
Speaker 5 (12:42):
I have my concerns.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
I have my concerns about Kevin Durant turning thirty seven
in September and potentially leading this team to the Western
Conference championship against what we just saw in Oklahoma City.
But it's very hard to repeat, especially now because the
long grueling seasons.
Speaker 5 (13:00):
Are even longer and more grueling.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
Because the game is just faster and Oklahoma City is
very young. But you're one injury away from things just
changing like that, as we've seen from other teams. I
don't think it's an overreaction to have Houston second. They
were the second seed, although many of us didn't believe
they would win in the first round because Golden State
on the other side had Steph Curry added Jimmy Butler,
(13:22):
still have Draymond Green, Steve Kerr, who's been an institution
there for many years, but now with Houston, it's like, Okay,
you're getting Kevin Durant to take on the Jalen Green role.
I think that Brandon's going to be.
Speaker 5 (13:34):
With me on this.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
I think that's a huge upgrade. The concern I think
is though health. Is Kevin Durant gonna play sixty two games,
seventy games, forty eight games? And can they get by
in the regular season if he's limited. That leads us
to Amen Thompson, who some of us believe is a
potential star, a potential All Star, and somebody who's gonna
(13:58):
get a lot of buzz for different diferent types of
awards and honors moving forward. Is this an opportunity for
him to assume that role in the event that Kevin
Durant can for eighty two games, which he probably won't
be able to, that's an unrealistic request.
Speaker 5 (14:12):
And also for Amen Thompson, can.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
He just develop more because he's only still in his
early to mid twenties, he's only a few years in
the league. He's had some injury stuff that he's had
to overcome, so the progress hasn't always been linear. But
he's somebody to look to and then this is the
thing that I like about Houston and with some of
the Eastern Conference teams that Brandon was talking about, you
have to look at when it pertains to futures, you
(14:34):
have to look at teams and how they're built from
a salary component. Because Houston has tradable contracts, they just
cast in two of them for this deal with Jalen
Green and with Dylan Brooks to be able to reach
that salary number that Kevin Durant has. So the same
thing could be said for Fred van Vliet, and they
still have all their young pieces. They didn't move any
(14:55):
one of them, So there's room for Houston to make
another move. And if they're going to be aggressive and
ambitious like this, there's reasons to think that it's not
going to stop here at Kevin Durant.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
So what do you think that starting line up for
Houston looks like? Is Fred van Vliet on the team?
Is it Reed Shepherd who is starting in place of
Fred Van Vliet. Who's who's starting in place of Jalen Green?
Is it Jabari Smith? Is it somebody else They've got,
like you said, so much young talent. Name me the
(15:27):
starting five for Houston Brandon, So.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
I was hoping going to Brian for that one on
top of Brian nambe the starting five for Houston.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
Too.
Speaker 4 (15:37):
Yeah, I don't.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
I think maybe that maybe the two is not currently
on the roster, And as much as we like Reach
Shepherd's potential, I don't know if I thrust him into
that role yet. I would look at Fred van Vliet.
Maybe I'm and Thompson just slides to the two for now,
and then you have Jabari Smith, Kevin Durant, and Alprin Shangoun.
But based on this question, Chad like, I don't think
(15:58):
the roster has done yet.
Speaker 5 (15:59):
I think Houston goes out and.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Does something else and adds somebody who's different to fill
that Jalen green spot in terms of like somebody who's
more of a defender, a catch and shoot guy, not
Kentavious Caldwell Pope, but conceptually somebody like that. Hell, if
I were them, I would be calling and I would
be calling Boston and being like, Hey, what do you
want for Derek White? Could we come? Could we actually
(16:22):
do like a Derek White sort of deal, because that
would make a lot of sense conceptually. That's the kind
of two guard that I would want somebody who can
shoot threes, somebody who could defend, and somebody who doesn't
need the ball a ton to be effective.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
So would you even bet Houston at two in the
Eastern Conference or do you think Golden State is a
better bet given how they played against them and what
this team could have done is steph hadn't been injured.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
Yeah, I think it's a tough spot with the Rockets
because I think that I think two things can be true.
I think they are right to be the second favorite
in the West, but I don't think that necessarily makes
them betible at that spot either. Like they again, they
were the two seat already this year. But if you
took Houston and put them into the East, considering the
East picture we have talked about, they're the big favor,
(17:16):
like everybody wants a piece of Houston then, but that
would be Triuvia. Put the Lakers in the East as well,
and you got Luca and Lebron, that maybe would be truviy,
but the Warriors in the East. You could make that
case for a bunch of East teams. It's not the
East though, And in particular, you're gonna have to beat
the Thunder. Probably we do know that since twenty nineteen forward,
the defending NBA champions have not made the following conference finals.
Speaker 4 (17:40):
So maybe we should.
Speaker 3 (17:41):
Be betting Houston, because if it's not the Thunder, maybe
it's open. But for right now, the Thunder to me
are the team that we might have actually just seen
the worst version of this team to come over the
next few years. This is such a young Thunder squad.
Carusoe and Hartenstein are the veterans on this team, and
they're like around thirty, Like they're still fine and not
(18:02):
necessarily going anywhere. J Dubbs still young, getting better. Chat's
still young, not a great Finals should be getting better.
We saw both of those guys get better in series
and throughout the playoffs. Shay is still just kind of
in the entering his prime stage. Probably will still get
a little better. He still can clean up the handle
a little bit, clean up the passing. To me, I
(18:23):
can't invest in Houston futures right now because I do
think that the floor will keep them there in the
regular season, except that Durant will miss some time so
they'll move a little bit. But to me, it might
almost be that they're kind of buying down the price
in Oklahoma City a little bit. The gap from OKC
to Houston in the regular season may not be so huge,
(18:44):
but in a playoff series, it still was a pretty
wide gap. And to me, there's a lot of comparison
about these Thunder that just won the title to the
twenty fifteen Warriors. We saw what the Warriors became after that,
seventy three and nine after that, and they did not
win the title. The injuries happen, lebron happened, I understand,
(19:06):
but this might have been the bad version of the
Thunder compared to what still to come. So I think
that the Thunder might just be the team to be
in the in the West still, even though the Rockets
are the team that's gonna catch all the attention with
Durant on the roster now.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
All right, So the team's chasing who want to be
like the Thunder. They want to be like the Pacers.
They want to develop through the draft, they want to
get young players on good deals. Obviously the Mavericks one
of those teams. They blew everything up with Luca. They
get lucky. They've now got the opportunity to draft Cooper Flag.
He will be the number one overall pick. If you
(19:45):
had a scatter report for Cooper Flag, Brian or Brandon,
whoever would like to go first. I don't want to,
you know, I want to share the ball off between
you two. Do you have a comp do you have
an assessment based on past number one picks? Brandon will
start with you.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
I think that Cooper Flag is the clear number one
pick and also simultaneously, maybe not quite the generational guy
that he's being hyped as as this incredible next American MVP.
Speaker 4 (20:20):
Surefire superstar.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
I would love a world where Cooper Flag could be
my second guy on the team, and that might sound slanderous.
Speaker 4 (20:29):
He's awesome.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
He does so many things while the floor is incredibly high.
He's an awesome defender. He can score so many ways.
He's he can use both hands to finish. I don't
know if I'm quite there yet on the shot. I
think he needs to work on it a little bit.
I don't know if that will ever be a knockdown
skill for him. I don't know that I quite think
he is like a certainly not an A plus NBA athlete.
(20:50):
I think he's more of like a B minus NBA athlete.
I only it will hold him back. But I don't
know if I see superstar MVP athleticism, which in the NBA,
size and athleticism are going to rule the day, and
you can't develop those things, you either are or you
are not. To me, I look at him and I
see a guy that I like to camp. Here is
(21:12):
Andre Kirlenko from the Jazz a couple decades ago, who
sounds like a mean comp. I thought our Kielinka was awesome,
Like I had him Top three and MDB ballot one
year as just a jackknife. Do everything I can initiate
the offense. To me, that's Cooper's biggest talent for his
size is to be able to have the ball and
create for others with his size, with the scoring threat,
(21:33):
with his defense. It's the all around game. It's it's
maybe Franz Wagner, maybe Franz plus, it's maybe Gordon Hayward plus.
I know I'm doing all the White comps. Here's my
other comp. What if you took Lebron James and all
the stuff that he's good at, all the rounded game
and all the ways of seeing the game, and then
you're stuck him in a lanky white teenager from Maine.
(21:56):
What if you did that. That's the comp That's what
Cooper Flag is and I mean all the good parts
of that, but the limiting part also, And I think
it's gonna be a very good player, but not necessarily
an MVP player to me.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
All Right, So, Brian, the Spurs are number two. Super
exciting team between Castle, dieron Fox Wenby when he's back,
they can draft. They're going to be able to draft
Dylan Harper, who a lot of people peg to be
an All Star. Flag and Harper are probably the two
prospects people are most excited about in this draft. Can
(22:33):
they turn themselves into an OKC team in the next
twelve to twenty four.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
Months, Well, if Victor won Monyam is healthy, I think
anything is possible kind of for that team. Speaking of
a team like Houston who has all their young guys,
Spurs have their young guys like they just drafted the
rookie of the year. After drafting the rookie of the year.
They have Stefan Castle, who we project is going to
be really good, who people want to compare to a
(22:58):
Drew Holliday type for example. And if he's that, that's
an enormous steal. That's an enormous win. That's someone who
you know could be a number three on a championship team.
We clearly all expect, if healthy, which is the key
Victor Webba Yama to be that number one. So it's
about filling out the rest of the roster and going
shopping with maybe a Keldon Johnson or a Devin Vessel
and trying to see what you can get for some
(23:19):
of those guys if you want to like trade up.
Oh and by the way, they have Daron Fox, who
presumably would be your number two because they landed him
last year. Dylan Harper is interesting. I wonder how he'd fit.
It does feel like it is trending that way. I
have my questions about the entire records experience last year,
just because not just not making the NCAA tournament with
(23:41):
you know, two of the top guys, but also like
I just feel like, if you're that.
Speaker 5 (23:46):
Good, should probably win a little bit more.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
Now, stats don't always translate, Like we have a lot
of examples of guys who aren't that productive in college
and end up being more productive in the pros, like
a Stefan Castle, like Russell Westbrook, like a zach Lavine.
But there are examples the other way where guys put
up big numbers in college, like a Ben Simmons, like
Markel Foltz, it doesn't really mean anything. And those are
two of the guys that people are probably scared of
(24:10):
as it pertains to these Rutgers guys. Ace Bailey being
the other one, and I think he scares more people
for obvious reasons. I think Harper feels like a safe
number two pick. I don't think I'm as high on
him as some of the others, Like I really like VJ. Edgecomb,
for example. He's somebody who's gonna be picked maybe right
after Harper. He's favored to go three, he might go fourth.
(24:31):
I think he's definitely a top five pick. He's a
guy that I'm really excited about. I like Trey Johnson
a lot, like there are other guys in this draft
that excite me more long term than Harper, But I
still think Harper is going to be really good. But
it feels like a safe number two overall pick. And
for the Spurs, I don't think they need to sort.
Speaker 5 (24:48):
Of reinvent the wheel here.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
I just think they need to hit on somebody to
continue to add to what they.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
Have, so you don't think trading out of that spot
if they're not convinced on Dylan Harper and trying to
get someone who is a veteran that has a contract
that plays to what fits within their construct is now
and getting future picks because they will be giving up
(25:16):
a number two overall pick is a better play. Oh.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
I would absolutely entertain moving number two if I'm the Spurs.
If I'm the Spurs and I want to get ambitious
and really look at the Western Conference, like, Okay, we
have Victor Wembanyama. We can go to war with him
and de Aaron Fox and Stefan Castle and everything else
we have, Like, yeah, I would entertain moving off of
number two. Frankly, I thought that if Yiannis was on
the table, that's something that they can dangle in front
(25:42):
of Hookey and be like, hey, Giannis Wenby, Darren Fox,
Stefan Castle, if he survives that trade, like the Spurs
still have draft picks to play with. So yeah, I
would definitely entertain moving off number two if if there's
a package worthy, especially because there are things that they
can do now that Victor woman Yama is still on
(26:03):
his rookie contract and is not going to hit an
extension until that kicks in a couple of years from now,
so they have time to take in some salary, some
big salary before Wemby ends up getting his inevitable MAX extension.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
All right, well, look, you mentioned the magic player who's
sort of the folk rum on which all this is
going to turn, And that's as Bailey, who has been
weird and animatic and making demands of teams when he
has been the guy of those three players at the
top of the board who people had the most questions about,
(26:38):
has not visited anybody yet most people expected him to
be the consensus number three. Now people thinking that it
may be VJ. Edgecombe, and that kN K. Nipple is
the guy who could go four. Trey Johnson you mentioned him,
could go five, and a lot of people now starting
to mock he's Bailey going sixth to Washington? And because
(27:03):
is it this guy's game, is it this guy's attitude,
is it the way he's managing the process? I know
his father is intimately involved, and how Dad's always fucked
things up. So, like Brandon, if you're making a bet
on who the number three pick is gonna be Do
we look at all this as a smoke screen? Are
we off Ace Bailey going to the sixers?
Speaker 3 (27:25):
I don't think it's a smoke screen. I think Ace
Bailey thinks it's all very real. I think Ace Bailey
seems to want to fall out of the top five
and get to a spot where he can get a
few more shots up. This is the guy just wants
to shoot some jumpers, right. He just wants to just
go be a hooper. This is a hooper at heart,
and he wants to hoop with the wizards who need
(27:46):
a hooper. He wants to hoop with the nuts, who
we just talked about as a blank slate. That sounds
more appealing to me if I just want can I
be Cam Thomas?
Speaker 4 (27:54):
Great, I'll get twenty.
Speaker 3 (27:56):
Points a game like he might become a pretty interesting
Rookie Year sort of pick if he falls to one
of those teams. Rookie of Year odds are up right now,
by the way, at one book already Cooper flag opened
at minus four hundred to be the Rookie of the Year.
That is yeah, Brian's face does it all. That's an
absurd number of over confidence in Cooper Flag. I'll give
you a Rutgers hot take here. I watch a lot
(28:18):
of Rutgers ball this year. Obviously you need to because
both Harper and Bailey, and I was like, man, I'm
out on Bailey. Bailey's not good. This is not my
style of guy. Here's my Ruckers hot take. I think
Dylan Harper if you could give me odds right now
on to win an MVP someday, I will fade Cooper
Flags odds and I would bet Dylan Harper's odds. I
(28:39):
think Dylan Harper has a higher ceiling of MVP level
of a James Harden type player of the way we
choose MVPs these days, of what he would do. What's
weird is that, after all my watching of Rutgers and
all my hating of Ace Bailey and the style of
playery is like a Wiggins type player, an MPJ Harrison Barnes.
Speaker 4 (29:01):
Who are these guys? They're all like.
Speaker 3 (29:03):
Top three recruits that sucked for an entire NBA career
and then eventually we're like, well, you kind of became
a pretty solid fourth role player on a winning team
after we paid you three hundred million dollars to develop
into that, and you're like, well, I guess I'm not
the number one player. Maybe I should rebound and defend
a little bit. And you eventually became that. But was
(29:23):
it on your initial team that drafted you? Was it
in our initial investment of one hundred million dollars?
Speaker 2 (29:27):
Not?
Speaker 4 (29:28):
Really?
Speaker 3 (29:29):
All that said, those are good players, those are players
on champions. Wiggins won a championship, NBJA won a championship.
A different sort of player, Aaron Gordon was a number
one in Orlando, then went to Denver and became a
different version and became a champion. And this guy that
we love, I think, to me, I really like j Edgecum,
(29:50):
I really like con K Nipple. Shooting guards are only
so valuable. Ace Bailey's upside of what he could be
if that jumper is is wet as it looks, if
I think there's some defensive upside and potential there. We
saw him make some nice blocks and steal some playmaking.
I personally, after all that, still have Bailey top four
(30:12):
on my draft board. Even though I don't even like
the idea of what he is. I think he's a
perfect fit in Philadelphia. They need a shooter with size
VJ and Kahn are shooting guards. This is a Cooper
Flag size player in Ace Bailey, and I'll come back
all around. I will be looking to invest in the
(30:33):
sixers at three. Still drafting Ace Bailey. I'm not gonna
do it yet because this is effectively number one pick.
We know one and two, and we've seen the odds
swing wildly in like twenty four hours before the draft.
Darryl Moury don't care what you think about it. Darryl
Moury doesn't care if you canceled your workouts. Daryl Moury's
gonna do whatever he feels like it. And if he
(30:55):
feels like you're the guy his team wants to have,
he's gonna draft you and let you figure it out later.
So I think Darryl Moury might after all that, still
think Ace is the guy. And if we can get
like he's a four hundred plus four hundred odds now,
if I can get like a past five six hundred,
the ten to one on okay, we've all decided it's VJ.
(31:15):
Let me swerve the way I bet the draft is swerving.
I'll bet on uncertainty. I still think Aces and play
at three, all right?
Speaker 1 (31:22):
Well, you also just gave me a hot take here
about what's going to happen with Ace Bailey and where
he best belongs and also who has the higher upsides
as VP candidates in the future. Brian, I know you
have a hot take, and I'm actually incredibly interested in
it because the player you're talking about not only represents
(31:45):
the college where my younger son is about to go,
so we paid a lot of attention to this kid,
but also he is mocked to be going to the
team that I love the most, the Chicago Bulls. Give
me your hot take.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
Okay, who is are we talking about Derek Queen specifically?
Speaker 5 (32:05):
Is that what we're talking about? Yes, just to make sure.
Speaker 2 (32:07):
Yeah, Derek Queen, who right now is in New York
City obviously get ready for the draft. I'm very intrigued
by his game. I think he's gonna be either one
of the best players in this draft or somebody who's
out of the league in like five six years. So
the problem is with centers who can score, which he can.
(32:29):
He is one of the better offensive games for a
big man in this draft. Teams can't always figure out
what to do with these guys we saw.
Speaker 5 (32:39):
I remember vividly.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
This is ten years ago, but jialil okafor happened right.
This is somebody who came into the league. He was
a bucket down low. He can score on anybody. And
then three years later, after being a Rookie of the
Year contender, was getting traded with Nick Stauskis for a
second round pick and Trevor Booker to the nets where
he just sat and didn't nothing for the duration of
(33:02):
a few months before just flatlining the rest of his
career and we've barely seen him since. I think he
made a cameo with like the Fort Wayne team in
the G League this year, and he's been in the
G League. He played I think for the Nigeria national team,
like lot's really happened there. I think with Derek Queen,
though I don't know if he's alprin Shngun two point zero.
(33:24):
I don't know if he's a better version of that,
but he can be something. He needs to go to
the right team. This is something we don't talk about
enough with draft picks. These guys have to go to
the right environments. Often I worry about anyone who's.
Speaker 5 (33:37):
Going to Washington for example.
Speaker 2 (33:39):
No disrespect to anyone who roots for the Wizards, and
I do think they have some players like I like
Bala Kulabali, I like Alex Sar, But the right guy
has to go there. And I think with Derek Queen,
if he goes to like the Chicago Bulls, for example,
I would like to see them move Nko, that's gonna
be the case because it's like, all right, what are
we doing If you have both of them there and
(34:01):
Derek Queen's backing up the Kolavucevich like that doesn't make
a lot of sense. And also do I trust the
Chicago Bulls in terms of development no offense, I mean,
they haven't had a great track record as of late.
They look like they're about to pay Josh getting a
lot of money too, so we'll see what that happens there.
But with Derrek Queen, I think he needs to be
in an environment where he his offensive game is embraced.
Don't try to make him just the pick and roll guy.
(34:23):
He's somebody who can do things with the ball. I
think there's some playmaking potential in there, even at the
next level. But he's somebody who can create. And I
for a big man, and I do wonder is he
going to be pigeonholed as somebody who plays eighteen minutes
a game and is like a fantasy stud gets like
twelve and six and then go sit down. Or is
(34:44):
he somebody that is going to be nurtured and developed,
probably like an alprin Shngoun and see his offensive game
like actually gets at the next level. So I don't
know if Chicago's the right environment unless you're telling me, hey,
the Kolovich can go somewhere else, or can he go
to a different type Brandon NASA's head vigorously, or can
he go to another team Like I know Charlotte is
(35:06):
a weird landing spot. I do think Charlotte might have
the right coach finally, but they still have to get
the right mix of players. Like I have questions about
LaMelo Ball, I have questions about Brandon Miller, and I
bring them up because Charlotte could sneakily be a trade
back candidate. So do they go back in the top
ten and maybe get the Derek Queen if they're because
the Mark Williams thing happened, and it's like, are they
(35:29):
going to try to move off Mark Williams again because
he was almost a Laker that one time that we
seemingly all forgot. So I think Derek Queen could either
be really good or just somebody who's just shoved out
the league. Because teams can't figure out what to do
with an offensive minded center anymore. Unless they can shoot
threes at a great rate or can just get like
(35:49):
seven eight assists per game or something along those lines,
they'll like almost have to be special. And I think
there's room for somebody who can create their own offense
on the interior, scoring the post, so to speak, but
could also be a little bit of a hub, even
if it's just for stretches of a game.
Speaker 1 (36:04):
All right, Brian, you mentioned Charlotte potentially trading back, which
would be sort of a bold prediction for Draft night.
Brand And I'm going to give you the last word.
Give me your bold predictions for NBA Draft Night.
Speaker 3 (36:18):
I'm gonna give you a bold bet that you can
make right now for NBA Draft Night. We light at
the top with the Kevin Durant trade. In that trade,
the Phoenix Suns traded away Kevin Durant. They got back
some guys I don't really like very much, but they
also got back at draft pick. They got the number
ten pick, and the Sons have not had a number
ten pick. Have the Suns been paying attention to the
(36:40):
guys being drafted in the top ten? To have the
scouts even been like ready for who might be that
guy in the top ten? You know who's guy that
the Sons do know a lot about. Matt Ishbiah, the
owner that likes to be involved, played a little basketball
in college with Jason Richardson. You want a championship with
Jason Richardson. Jason Richardson is the father of Jace Richardson.
(37:02):
Perhaps we know that about him. Jace Richardson to be
the number ten pick. I bet it in the Action
app last night forty to one odds. Do I think
he should be the number ten pick? Probably not, but
I think it's in range. I have Jace Lottery on
my board that's in arrange well enough. Maybe the scouts
aren't totally ready yet, or maybe Madishpia is ready and
(37:24):
he's like, you know what, we're starting over, but we're
starting over with my guy, my guy from MSU, the
Michigan State Heritage pick. Maybe he took number ten with
full intention to put the stamp on and bring in Jace.
That's my bold prediction, forty to one or best number
you can find.
Speaker 1 (37:40):
I love that, Brian, I lied. I'll give you the
last word. Do you have a lot? Do you have
as bold a prediction as Brandon does?
Speaker 2 (37:50):
Unfortunately about forty to one, But I think I do
think like I'm intrigued at a potential shakeup in the
top five. Where I looked at your my Afears at
plus three hundred and common Malo Watch at plus three
fifty to go into the top five, because if Ace
Bailey is going to legitimately fall, because there are still
some books who think he's going to go in the
(38:11):
top five, and I know that Bill Simmons and Ryan
Rosseillo keep talking about Utah potentially liking Ace Bailey.
Speaker 5 (38:18):
I think there's a reason for that.
Speaker 2 (38:20):
But if Ace Bailey does fall out of the top five,
you're gonna need guys to rise on the board. Jeremiah
Fears is somebody who reportedly has been killing his draft workouts.
Who is somebody who is a very athletic guard. I
have questions about the jump shot, but those type of
dudes tend to rise up in the draft. Malo Watch
(38:40):
also is seven foot two and looks like he's gonna
be able to knock down threes at some point consistently,
along with being a rim protector. That's modern day NBA
basketball from the center position. We just saw Chet Holmgren
in that finals being a version of that. Those are
the two guys that I would look at in terms
of potentially crashing the party in the top five. Mala
(39:01):
Watch from Duke was one guy that I especially like.
He scared the hell out of me as somebody who's
Puerto Rican in the World Cup and in the Olympics
because he was on South Sudan and I was like, man,
I hope they don't play him a lot. They did not,
and he's gonna be the face of that program for
a long long time. But those two guys, I think
either one of them have the potential to rise into
(39:22):
the top five if something just sort of freaky happens
early on in the draft.
Speaker 1 (39:28):
All right, Brandon Anderson, Brian fin Seka, listen to Buckets, everyone,
because this stuff was great. You'll get more of it
on Buckets. The Favorites will be back with our next
episode Thursday on the Action of Work YouTube page, download, Spotify,
Apple pods wherever you get your pods. Rate review, subscribed,
leave us five stars, shay whatever you want, feedback as
a gift until next time. I Love you. Action Network
(39:58):
reminds you please gambler responsibly. If you or someone you
care about has a gambling problem, help is available twenty
four to seven at one eight hundred Gambler
Welcome to the Fata Bridges of the podcast, part of
the Volume Podcast Network. I am Chad Millman of the
Action Network. This week, my co host, my companion, my compadre,
my BFF professional betters. Simon Hunter is still on they cation.
Yuck ended up with his relatives in Northern England, getting
(00:28):
his accent permanently on. But and the NBA season just
wrapped up, and it was thrilling, and it was exciting,
and it was awesome, and it was heartbreaking, and we're
wondering if we've crowned a dynasty. We're wondering how long
before Tyrese Halliburton comes back. But because the ANBA season
(00:51):
has mastered the month of June and into July, we
got so much good NBA stuff to talk about. NBA Draft.
Wednesday night, I'm joined by two of Action Network's finest
to discuss the NBA Draft. The event serves as the
official kickoff of the NBA offseason, the prelude to the
(01:14):
NBA Free agenc Madness to come from Action Networks NBA
Betting podcast Buckets. Welcome to the show, Brandon Anderson and
Brian Fonseca. Brian, I feel like you're making your maiden
voyage on the Favorites.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
I definitely am. This is the first time that I'm here,
happy to be here, obviously, just wish it was after
a better Game seven.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
I mean, it was a bummer. The Pacers made it
as much of a game as they could. That everything
about that Tyrese Haliburton images heartbreaking, and I think it's
going to stick with everybody in the finals. Brandon like
watching that game. I mean, we should do a quick
two minute recap just because it was. I never thought
(02:01):
that Pacers had a chance, but they've been so dynamic
and so such fighters all off season. Right up until
they were blown out, I thought they had a chance,
and I thought Oklahoma City was starting to sort of
spit the bit a little bit.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
It felt like we were literally like two three minutes
away from like you know, you know, it's the middle
of the third quarter, and the Pacers are still right
in this thing, and like right about as we were
gonna get like it was gonna flip totally to like,
you cannot blow this, Oklahoma City, You're the favorite, You're
at home in Game seven, Halliburn's.
Speaker 4 (02:38):
Out, you can't blow this.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
And then they didn't blow it. But we were like
three minutes away. It felt like from you know, I
think Oklahoma City had like a nine to zero run
and kind of ripped it open. If that round goes
the other way, if the Pacers just hit a couple
of threes and get a stop or two, I don't know.
We'll never know what would have happened. It sucks that
Tarrey's Halliburn the lasting image will have is of him
(03:02):
on the floor.
Speaker 4 (03:03):
In that way.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
There's so many images of Haliburn in these playoffs. We
got the choke image, we got the game winner in
Game one image, so many awesome moments, and it just
it's a terrible outcome both ways because we don't get
to see the payoff for the Cinderella Pacers thing, and
it kind of takes away from what it feels like
(03:24):
the thunder accomplished as like just an obvious not for me,
but an obvious asterisk. He sort of situation like, ah, well,
you know, the star got hurt. So you can just
smell the storyline coming where we kind of have to
talk down both sides of the equation.
Speaker 4 (03:40):
Now disagree the bumber to finish.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Disagree, Brian, I completely disagree with just the latter part
of what Brandon said. I don't take anything away from
the Thunder. The Thunder very well might have won that game.
They were in that game. Tyre's Halliburton had not been
that effective in the game. When he came back from
the right calf strain, he was to play well. But
I don't believe that there is any asterisk on this
(04:05):
team at all. I thought, and I want your take
on that, but I actually thought Brandon was going to
say now in an East that to me was entirely
up for grabs going into next year, and the Pacers
looking like they could be really confident Eastern Conference defending
champions and possibly the favorites to win that conference. Now
(04:28):
that's up in the air. We don't get to see
the follow up of this team that grew and figured
out who they were and came together and was so
competitive and started to develop like a real reputation and
a fan base. That's what I'm bummed I don't get
to see the next year. But Brian agree or disagree. Yeah,
I don't think Brandon Adderson is wrong and Chad Milman
(04:48):
is right.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
I don't think this is an asterisk. No, Look, it's
a bummer, right, because for me, it's like Oklahoma City
was the best team from start to finish, So them
winning the title, it's something that everyone should be okay with,
like they were the best team, but we were still
rob of what looked like it was going to be
a fantastic Game seven. I don't know if Indiana would
(05:12):
have won, but like I entertained the possibility when I
saw Tyre's Halliburton make two threes from like thirty plus
feet out and score nine points within seven minutes and
have the Pacers go on an early run, and it
was like, oh, we had been saying on buckets leading
up to this, like this is the one team on
the road in a Game seven where they're the most
(05:32):
defiant team in the NBA and you have to look
at them and be like, yeah, they have a real
shot here because they just don't care about how they're
perceived or they're underdogs, or they shouldn't be here and
all these different things like that's how they got here
to begin with.
Speaker 5 (05:44):
So to see it and like that was just disheartening.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
I just wish it ended differently because I think, you know,
for the sake of like just basketball in the NBA Finals,
like we were about to see something.
Speaker 5 (05:54):
Special, like a special finish.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Oklahoma City still might have won, that could have been
the case, but Tyre's Halliburton was like on a tear
early on and then he got hurt, like just on
that play. Three ruptured achilles in the playoffs, two to
star players. Which is another thing that we can potentially
get to because I have some I have some thoughts,
probably not a little bit of them on whether or not,
(06:16):
you know, this should affect how we look at NBA
seasons and whether or not they should be shortened. But ultimately,
like I thought, we were robbed of what would have
been a great finish, and Indiana, to Brandon's point, did
have like there was a window there in the third quarter,
but you know, they just didn't have enough. Ultimately, TJ.
McConnell could only take you.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
But so far, Meanwhile, within the span of twelve hours,
we all of a sudden have so much to talk
about regarding any early leans for potential title matchups, potential
Western Conference finals or Western Conference champions, Eastern Conference champions.
(06:56):
Let's talk about the East for a minute. Halliburton probably
not going to play next year, Dame probably not going
to play next year, Giannis, who knows where is going
to be, But the Bucks are clearly diminished. Tatum probably
not going to play next year. The Celtics, they were
already going to change their roster last week, the Magic
(07:19):
make the trade with the Memphis Grizzlies for Baine, and
now all of a sudden, people are legitimately talking about
the Magic as being one of those teams that could
be the team to beat in the Eastern Conference. Obviously
Daris Garland coming back from his toe surgery will be better,
and that team was diminished in the playoffs. What do
(07:39):
we do here? How do we handicap the Eastern Conference
right now when the teams that could have had the
best chance to win are now playing without their best players.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
Yeah, the favorites going into yesterday, we had basically co favorites,
three co favorites. I've never quite seen that in the NBA.
That's not how the NBA rolls with three co favorites.
It was Calvs, it was Paid, it was Knicks, and
Jim Turvey and I on Buckets did a podcast on
already kind of a look ahead to next year's conference finals.
We disagreed that the Knicks were in the triumvert of favorites.
(08:09):
We feel like the Knicks, they're a coach right now, Like,
let's see what the Knicks put together first, who will
put them in the mix? I do think the Calves
are the correct favorites. I know that they came up
short this year. I know that they fell, But shouldn't
we think about them losing the Pacers a little differently
now a month later after how good the Pacers have been.
Maybe not so embarrassing for a one seed Calves to
(08:30):
lose to that Pacers team. To me, you know we're
gonna naturally look down the list and say, okay, well
the Magic they got their new star, they had their trade.
They're the next young team to make the leap. How
about the Pistons. You know they were right there with
the Knicks in the first round. Maybe they're the team
to make the leap. For me, I don't necessarily want
an incremental growth from one of the young teams. Maybe
(08:51):
it will just be that I'd almost rather take a
shot if I'm gonna, you know, play a future this
far out, I'd rather take a shot at a wrap
or a blank canvas nets roster of just like somebody
that's like, hey, you know what those guys are.
Speaker 4 (09:06):
The favorites talked about the blank canvas in the East.
We see that too.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
How about we just go make a big move, Let's
make a splash. We weren't really trying to win right now,
but this conference is eminently winnable. Let's let's put our
chips in and go make a move. And maybe that's
Devin Booker now that the Suns are in a rebuilding mode.
Maybe it is Giannis on a new team, maybe he
stays in the East, Janis on whatever team in the
East with not Dame Lillard's Achilles. I'm interested, Like, give
(09:32):
me anybody, literally, any teammate to Yanis. Then that's not
Kyle Kuzma, to be clear, a real teammate to Yannis.
I'm interested, Like I am less interested in those middle
tier teams kind of edging up into the gap. I'm
more interested in a longer shot team that just like
finds the star, makes the big move, smells the blood
in the water we're seeing and it's like, let's let's
(09:55):
take a shot here.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
I love that idea. Who do you think that? And
is like you just name raptors nets who of the
you know, middle the teams that could take the big leap,
is going to put themselves in the best position.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
So I was intrigued by the Nets. We talked about
this briefly after the game last night. Matt Moore at
Buckets things, that's not the Nets. You think the Nets
are a year away. They're saving up for a year
from now free agency.
Speaker 4 (10:24):
That can change.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
Maybe you kind of just shift your odds when there's
this big gap year.
Speaker 4 (10:30):
I'm gonna give them credit on that.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
So I'm going to go with the Raptors as a
team that quietly, from like February forward, was like a
top three to five defense in the NBA, even though
they were just kind of off the radar totally. They
just they have this weird mix of players that don't
make a lot of sense. I don't really feel like
we know what Messiah Jerry is doing building the team,
but the weird mix of players make for interesting trade targets.
(10:54):
Is it brandon Ingram, is it Emmanuel Quickly?
Speaker 4 (10:57):
Is it RJ? Barrett? Teams like these dudes.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
I don't really love these dudes, but teams do, and
that means okay, maybe that was the Kevin Durant package,
it wasn't Maybe that's the Jannis package Jonason, Toronto international player.
I'm intrigued. I think that's a real possibility there. The
jury's pulled off big moves before we saw the Cly
trade and then boom, they win a championship right after that.
(11:21):
So I do think there's some intrigue, some roster intrigue
of Okay, sub prect two or three of the guys
for a star. There's still a few other guys on
the roster there, and I don't really know what becomes
of the team, but I can imagine a bigger leap
rather than incremental one. So I'll say Raptors as just
like a shot in the dark team right now.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
All right, Brian. Yesterday Kevin Durant traded to the Rockets
and finding out well being interviewed on stage at Fanatics Fast,
which to me was just choice content forget. You just
never get. This is the day and age we're in,
(12:03):
though everything is filmed, everything in this event. You got
Kevin Durant on stage and in the middle of a question,
the interviewer is starting to hear fans yell Durant was
just traded to the Rockets, and that's how the news
is being broken. That's the world we're living in right now.
(12:26):
That catapults the Rockets up the Eastern the Western Conference
behind the thunder Now and shortest odds over reaction.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
I mean, the Rockets already had in elite defense, and
now they're getting the one thing that they really needed
was a shot creator.
Speaker 5 (12:42):
I have my concerns.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
I have my concerns about Kevin Durant turning thirty seven
in September and potentially leading this team to the Western
Conference championship against what we just saw in Oklahoma City.
But it's very hard to repeat, especially now because the
long grueling seasons.
Speaker 5 (13:00):
Are even longer and more grueling.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
Because the game is just faster and Oklahoma City is
very young. But you're one injury away from things just
changing like that, as we've seen from other teams. I
don't think it's an overreaction to have Houston second. They
were the second seed, although many of us didn't believe
they would win in the first round because Golden State
on the other side had Steph Curry added Jimmy Butler,
(13:22):
still have Draymond Green, Steve Kerr, who's been an institution
there for many years, but now with Houston, it's like, Okay,
you're getting Kevin Durant to take on the Jalen Green role.
I think that Brandon's going to be.
Speaker 5 (13:34):
With me on this.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
I think that's a huge upgrade. The concern I think
is though health. Is Kevin Durant gonna play sixty two games,
seventy games, forty eight games? And can they get by
in the regular season if he's limited. That leads us
to Amen Thompson, who some of us believe is a
potential star, a potential All Star, and somebody who's gonna
(13:58):
get a lot of buzz for different diferent types of
awards and honors moving forward. Is this an opportunity for
him to assume that role in the event that Kevin
Durant can for eighty two games, which he probably won't
be able to, that's an unrealistic request.
Speaker 5 (14:12):
And also for Amen Thompson, can.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
He just develop more because he's only still in his
early to mid twenties, he's only a few years in
the league. He's had some injury stuff that he's had
to overcome, so the progress hasn't always been linear. But
he's somebody to look to and then this is the
thing that I like about Houston and with some of
the Eastern Conference teams that Brandon was talking about, you
have to look at when it pertains to futures, you
(14:34):
have to look at teams and how they're built from
a salary component. Because Houston has tradable contracts, they just
cast in two of them for this deal with Jalen
Green and with Dylan Brooks to be able to reach
that salary number that Kevin Durant has. So the same
thing could be said for Fred van Vliet, and they
still have all their young pieces. They didn't move any
(14:55):
one of them, So there's room for Houston to make
another move. And if they're going to be aggressive and
ambitious like this, there's reasons to think that it's not
going to stop here at Kevin Durant.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
So what do you think that starting line up for
Houston looks like? Is Fred van Vliet on the team?
Is it Reed Shepherd who is starting in place of
Fred Van Vliet. Who's who's starting in place of Jalen Green?
Is it Jabari Smith? Is it somebody else They've got,
like you said, so much young talent. Name me the
(15:27):
starting five for Houston Brandon, So.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
I was hoping going to Brian for that one on
top of Brian nambe the starting five for Houston.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
Too.
Speaker 4 (15:37):
Yeah, I don't.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
I think maybe that maybe the two is not currently
on the roster, And as much as we like Reach
Shepherd's potential, I don't know if I thrust him into
that role yet. I would look at Fred van Vliet.
Maybe I'm and Thompson just slides to the two for now,
and then you have Jabari Smith, Kevin Durant, and Alprin Shangoun.
But based on this question, Chad like, I don't think
(15:58):
the roster has done yet.
Speaker 5 (15:59):
I think Houston goes out and.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Does something else and adds somebody who's different to fill
that Jalen green spot in terms of like somebody who's
more of a defender, a catch and shoot guy, not
Kentavious Caldwell Pope, but conceptually somebody like that. Hell, if
I were them, I would be calling and I would
be calling Boston and being like, Hey, what do you
want for Derek White? Could we come? Could we actually
(16:22):
do like a Derek White sort of deal, because that
would make a lot of sense conceptually. That's the kind
of two guard that I would want somebody who can
shoot threes, somebody who could defend, and somebody who doesn't
need the ball a ton to be effective.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
So would you even bet Houston at two in the
Eastern Conference or do you think Golden State is a
better bet given how they played against them and what
this team could have done is steph hadn't been injured.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
Yeah, I think it's a tough spot with the Rockets
because I think that I think two things can be true.
I think they are right to be the second favorite
in the West, but I don't think that necessarily makes
them betible at that spot either. Like they again, they
were the two seat already this year. But if you
took Houston and put them into the East, considering the
East picture we have talked about, they're the big favor,
(17:16):
like everybody wants a piece of Houston then, but that
would be Triuvia. Put the Lakers in the East as well,
and you got Luca and Lebron, that maybe would be truviy,
but the Warriors in the East. You could make that
case for a bunch of East teams. It's not the
East though, And in particular, you're gonna have to beat
the Thunder. Probably we do know that since twenty nineteen forward,
the defending NBA champions have not made the following conference finals.
Speaker 4 (17:40):
So maybe we should.
Speaker 3 (17:41):
Be betting Houston, because if it's not the Thunder, maybe
it's open. But for right now, the Thunder to me
are the team that we might have actually just seen
the worst version of this team to come over the
next few years. This is such a young Thunder squad.
Carusoe and Hartenstein are the veterans on this team, and
they're like around thirty, Like they're still fine and not
(18:02):
necessarily going anywhere. J Dubbs still young, getting better. Chat's
still young, not a great Finals should be getting better.
We saw both of those guys get better in series
and throughout the playoffs. Shay is still just kind of
in the entering his prime stage. Probably will still get
a little better. He still can clean up the handle
a little bit, clean up the passing. To me, I
(18:23):
can't invest in Houston futures right now because I do
think that the floor will keep them there in the
regular season, except that Durant will miss some time so
they'll move a little bit. But to me, it might
almost be that they're kind of buying down the price
in Oklahoma City a little bit. The gap from OKC
to Houston in the regular season may not be so huge,
(18:44):
but in a playoff series, it still was a pretty
wide gap. And to me, there's a lot of comparison
about these Thunder that just won the title to the
twenty fifteen Warriors. We saw what the Warriors became after that,
seventy three and nine after that, and they did not
win the title. The injuries happen, lebron happened, I understand,
(19:06):
but this might have been the bad version of the
Thunder compared to what still to come. So I think
that the Thunder might just be the team to be
in the in the West still, even though the Rockets
are the team that's gonna catch all the attention with
Durant on the roster now.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
All right, So the team's chasing who want to be
like the Thunder. They want to be like the Pacers.
They want to develop through the draft, they want to
get young players on good deals. Obviously the Mavericks one
of those teams. They blew everything up with Luca. They
get lucky. They've now got the opportunity to draft Cooper Flag.
He will be the number one overall pick. If you
(19:45):
had a scatter report for Cooper Flag, Brian or Brandon,
whoever would like to go first. I don't want to,
you know, I want to share the ball off between
you two. Do you have a comp do you have
an assessment based on past number one picks? Brandon will
start with you.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
I think that Cooper Flag is the clear number one
pick and also simultaneously, maybe not quite the generational guy
that he's being hyped as as this incredible next American MVP.
Speaker 4 (20:20):
Surefire superstar.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
I would love a world where Cooper Flag could be
my second guy on the team, and that might sound slanderous.
Speaker 4 (20:29):
He's awesome.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
He does so many things while the floor is incredibly high.
He's an awesome defender. He can score so many ways.
He's he can use both hands to finish. I don't
know if I'm quite there yet on the shot. I
think he needs to work on it a little bit.
I don't know if that will ever be a knockdown
skill for him. I don't know that I quite think
he is like a certainly not an A plus NBA athlete.
(20:50):
I think he's more of like a B minus NBA athlete.
I only it will hold him back. But I don't
know if I see superstar MVP athleticism, which in the NBA,
size and athleticism are going to rule the day, and
you can't develop those things, you either are or you
are not. To me, I look at him and I
see a guy that I like to camp. Here is
(21:12):
Andre Kirlenko from the Jazz a couple decades ago, who
sounds like a mean comp. I thought our Kielinka was awesome,
Like I had him Top three and MDB ballot one
year as just a jackknife. Do everything I can initiate
the offense. To me, that's Cooper's biggest talent for his
size is to be able to have the ball and
create for others with his size, with the scoring threat,
(21:33):
with his defense. It's the all around game. It's it's
maybe Franz Wagner, maybe Franz plus, it's maybe Gordon Hayward plus.
I know I'm doing all the White comps. Here's my
other comp. What if you took Lebron James and all
the stuff that he's good at, all the rounded game
and all the ways of seeing the game, and then
you're stuck him in a lanky white teenager from Maine.
(21:56):
What if you did that. That's the comp That's what
Cooper Flag is and I mean all the good parts
of that, but the limiting part also, And I think
it's gonna be a very good player, but not necessarily
an MVP player to me.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
All Right, So, Brian, the Spurs are number two. Super
exciting team between Castle, dieron Fox Wenby when he's back,
they can draft. They're going to be able to draft
Dylan Harper, who a lot of people peg to be
an All Star. Flag and Harper are probably the two
prospects people are most excited about in this draft. Can
(22:33):
they turn themselves into an OKC team in the next
twelve to twenty four.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
Months, Well, if Victor won Monyam is healthy, I think
anything is possible kind of for that team. Speaking of
a team like Houston who has all their young guys,
Spurs have their young guys like they just drafted the
rookie of the year. After drafting the rookie of the year.
They have Stefan Castle, who we project is going to
be really good, who people want to compare to a
(22:58):
Drew Holliday type for example. And if he's that, that's
an enormous steal. That's an enormous win. That's someone who
you know could be a number three on a championship team.
We clearly all expect, if healthy, which is the key
Victor Webba Yama to be that number one. So it's
about filling out the rest of the roster and going
shopping with maybe a Keldon Johnson or a Devin Vessel
and trying to see what you can get for some
(23:19):
of those guys if you want to like trade up.
Oh and by the way, they have Daron Fox, who
presumably would be your number two because they landed him
last year. Dylan Harper is interesting. I wonder how he'd fit.
It does feel like it is trending that way. I
have my questions about the entire records experience last year,
just because not just not making the NCAA tournament with
(23:41):
you know, two of the top guys, but also like
I just feel like, if you're that.
Speaker 5 (23:46):
Good, should probably win a little bit more.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
Now, stats don't always translate, Like we have a lot
of examples of guys who aren't that productive in college
and end up being more productive in the pros, like
a Stefan Castle, like Russell Westbrook, like a zach Lavine.
But there are examples the other way where guys put
up big numbers in college, like a Ben Simmons, like
Markel Foltz, it doesn't really mean anything. And those are
two of the guys that people are probably scared of
(24:10):
as it pertains to these Rutgers guys. Ace Bailey being
the other one, and I think he scares more people
for obvious reasons. I think Harper feels like a safe
number two pick. I don't think I'm as high on
him as some of the others, Like I really like VJ. Edgecomb,
for example. He's somebody who's gonna be picked maybe right
after Harper. He's favored to go three, he might go fourth.
(24:31):
I think he's definitely a top five pick. He's a
guy that I'm really excited about. I like Trey Johnson
a lot, like there are other guys in this draft
that excite me more long term than Harper, But I
still think Harper is going to be really good. But
it feels like a safe number two overall pick. And
for the Spurs, I don't think they need to sort.
Speaker 5 (24:48):
Of reinvent the wheel here.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
I just think they need to hit on somebody to
continue to add to what they.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
Have, so you don't think trading out of that spot
if they're not convinced on Dylan Harper and trying to
get someone who is a veteran that has a contract
that plays to what fits within their construct is now
and getting future picks because they will be giving up
(25:16):
a number two overall pick is a better play. Oh.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
I would absolutely entertain moving number two if I'm the Spurs.
If I'm the Spurs and I want to get ambitious
and really look at the Western Conference, like, Okay, we
have Victor Wembanyama. We can go to war with him
and de Aaron Fox and Stefan Castle and everything else
we have, Like, yeah, I would entertain moving off of
number two. Frankly, I thought that if Yiannis was on
the table, that's something that they can dangle in front
(25:42):
of Hookey and be like, hey, Giannis Wenby, Darren Fox,
Stefan Castle, if he survives that trade, like the Spurs
still have draft picks to play with. So yeah, I
would definitely entertain moving off number two if if there's
a package worthy, especially because there are things that they
can do now that Victor woman Yama is still on
(26:03):
his rookie contract and is not going to hit an
extension until that kicks in a couple of years from now,
so they have time to take in some salary, some
big salary before Wemby ends up getting his inevitable MAX extension.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
All right, well, look, you mentioned the magic player who's
sort of the folk rum on which all this is
going to turn, And that's as Bailey, who has been
weird and animatic and making demands of teams when he
has been the guy of those three players at the
top of the board who people had the most questions about,
(26:38):
has not visited anybody yet most people expected him to
be the consensus number three. Now people thinking that it
may be VJ. Edgecombe, and that kN K. Nipple is
the guy who could go four. Trey Johnson you mentioned him,
could go five, and a lot of people now starting
to mock he's Bailey going sixth to Washington? And because
(27:03):
is it this guy's game, is it this guy's attitude,
is it the way he's managing the process? I know
his father is intimately involved, and how Dad's always fucked
things up. So, like Brandon, if you're making a bet
on who the number three pick is gonna be Do
we look at all this as a smoke screen? Are
we off Ace Bailey going to the sixers?
Speaker 3 (27:25):
I don't think it's a smoke screen. I think Ace
Bailey thinks it's all very real. I think Ace Bailey
seems to want to fall out of the top five
and get to a spot where he can get a
few more shots up. This is the guy just wants
to shoot some jumpers, right. He just wants to just
go be a hooper. This is a hooper at heart,
and he wants to hoop with the wizards who need
(27:46):
a hooper. He wants to hoop with the nuts, who
we just talked about as a blank slate. That sounds
more appealing to me if I just want can I
be Cam Thomas?
Speaker 4 (27:54):
Great, I'll get twenty.
Speaker 3 (27:56):
Points a game like he might become a pretty interesting
Rookie Year sort of pick if he falls to one
of those teams. Rookie of Year odds are up right now,
by the way, at one book already Cooper flag opened
at minus four hundred to be the Rookie of the Year.
That is yeah, Brian's face does it all. That's an
absurd number of over confidence in Cooper Flag. I'll give
you a Rutgers hot take here. I watch a lot
(28:18):
of Rutgers ball this year. Obviously you need to because
both Harper and Bailey, and I was like, man, I'm
out on Bailey. Bailey's not good. This is not my
style of guy. Here's my Ruckers hot take. I think
Dylan Harper if you could give me odds right now
on to win an MVP someday, I will fade Cooper
Flags odds and I would bet Dylan Harper's odds. I
(28:39):
think Dylan Harper has a higher ceiling of MVP level
of a James Harden type player of the way we
choose MVPs these days, of what he would do. What's
weird is that, after all my watching of Rutgers and
all my hating of Ace Bailey and the style of
playery is like a Wiggins type player, an MPJ Harrison Barnes.
Speaker 4 (29:01):
Who are these guys? They're all like.
Speaker 3 (29:03):
Top three recruits that sucked for an entire NBA career
and then eventually we're like, well, you kind of became
a pretty solid fourth role player on a winning team
after we paid you three hundred million dollars to develop
into that, and you're like, well, I guess I'm not
the number one player. Maybe I should rebound and defend
a little bit. And you eventually became that. But was
(29:23):
it on your initial team that drafted you? Was it
in our initial investment of one hundred million dollars?
Speaker 2 (29:27):
Not?
Speaker 4 (29:28):
Really?
Speaker 3 (29:29):
All that said, those are good players, those are players
on champions. Wiggins won a championship, NBJA won a championship.
A different sort of player, Aaron Gordon was a number
one in Orlando, then went to Denver and became a
different version and became a champion. And this guy that
we love, I think, to me, I really like j Edgecum,
(29:50):
I really like con K Nipple. Shooting guards are only
so valuable. Ace Bailey's upside of what he could be
if that jumper is is wet as it looks, if
I think there's some defensive upside and potential there. We
saw him make some nice blocks and steal some playmaking.
I personally, after all that, still have Bailey top four
(30:12):
on my draft board. Even though I don't even like
the idea of what he is. I think he's a
perfect fit in Philadelphia. They need a shooter with size
VJ and Kahn are shooting guards. This is a Cooper
Flag size player in Ace Bailey, and I'll come back
all around. I will be looking to invest in the
(30:33):
sixers at three. Still drafting Ace Bailey. I'm not gonna
do it yet because this is effectively number one pick.
We know one and two, and we've seen the odds
swing wildly in like twenty four hours before the draft.
Darryl Moury don't care what you think about it. Darryl
Moury doesn't care if you canceled your workouts. Daryl Moury's
gonna do whatever he feels like it. And if he
(30:55):
feels like you're the guy his team wants to have,
he's gonna draft you and let you figure it out later.
So I think Darryl Moury might after all that, still
think Ace is the guy. And if we can get
like he's a four hundred plus four hundred odds now,
if I can get like a past five six hundred,
the ten to one on okay, we've all decided it's VJ.
(31:15):
Let me swerve the way I bet the draft is swerving.
I'll bet on uncertainty. I still think Aces and play
at three, all right?
Speaker 1 (31:22):
Well, you also just gave me a hot take here
about what's going to happen with Ace Bailey and where
he best belongs and also who has the higher upsides
as VP candidates in the future. Brian, I know you
have a hot take, and I'm actually incredibly interested in
it because the player you're talking about not only represents
(31:45):
the college where my younger son is about to go,
so we paid a lot of attention to this kid,
but also he is mocked to be going to the
team that I love the most, the Chicago Bulls. Give
me your hot take.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
Okay, who is are we talking about Derek Queen specifically?
Speaker 5 (32:05):
Is that what we're talking about? Yes, just to make sure.
Speaker 2 (32:07):
Yeah, Derek Queen, who right now is in New York
City obviously get ready for the draft. I'm very intrigued
by his game. I think he's gonna be either one
of the best players in this draft or somebody who's
out of the league in like five six years. So
the problem is with centers who can score, which he can.
(32:29):
He is one of the better offensive games for a
big man in this draft. Teams can't always figure out
what to do with these guys we saw.
Speaker 5 (32:39):
I remember vividly.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
This is ten years ago, but jialil okafor happened right.
This is somebody who came into the league. He was
a bucket down low. He can score on anybody. And
then three years later, after being a Rookie of the
Year contender, was getting traded with Nick Stauskis for a
second round pick and Trevor Booker to the nets where
he just sat and didn't nothing for the duration of
(33:02):
a few months before just flatlining the rest of his
career and we've barely seen him since. I think he
made a cameo with like the Fort Wayne team in
the G League this year, and he's been in the
G League. He played I think for the Nigeria national team,
like lot's really happened there. I think with Derek Queen,
though I don't know if he's alprin Shngun two point zero.
(33:24):
I don't know if he's a better version of that,
but he can be something. He needs to go to
the right team. This is something we don't talk about
enough with draft picks. These guys have to go to
the right environments. Often I worry about anyone who's.
Speaker 5 (33:37):
Going to Washington for example.
Speaker 2 (33:39):
No disrespect to anyone who roots for the Wizards, and
I do think they have some players like I like
Bala Kulabali, I like Alex Sar, But the right guy
has to go there. And I think with Derek Queen,
if he goes to like the Chicago Bulls, for example,
I would like to see them move Nko, that's gonna
be the case because it's like, all right, what are
we doing If you have both of them there and
(34:01):
Derek Queen's backing up the Kolavucevich like that doesn't make
a lot of sense. And also do I trust the
Chicago Bulls in terms of development no offense, I mean,
they haven't had a great track record as of late.
They look like they're about to pay Josh getting a
lot of money too, so we'll see what that happens there.
But with Derrek Queen, I think he needs to be
in an environment where he his offensive game is embraced.
Don't try to make him just the pick and roll guy.
(34:23):
He's somebody who can do things with the ball. I
think there's some playmaking potential in there, even at the
next level. But he's somebody who can create. And I
for a big man, and I do wonder is he
going to be pigeonholed as somebody who plays eighteen minutes
a game and is like a fantasy stud gets like
twelve and six and then go sit down. Or is
(34:44):
he somebody that is going to be nurtured and developed,
probably like an alprin Shngoun and see his offensive game
like actually gets at the next level. So I don't
know if Chicago's the right environment unless you're telling me, hey,
the Kolovich can go somewhere else, or can he go
to a different type Brandon NASA's head vigorously, or can
he go to another team Like I know Charlotte is
(35:06):
a weird landing spot. I do think Charlotte might have
the right coach finally, but they still have to get
the right mix of players. Like I have questions about
LaMelo Ball, I have questions about Brandon Miller, and I
bring them up because Charlotte could sneakily be a trade
back candidate. So do they go back in the top
ten and maybe get the Derek Queen if they're because
the Mark Williams thing happened, and it's like, are they
(35:29):
going to try to move off Mark Williams again because
he was almost a Laker that one time that we
seemingly all forgot. So I think Derek Queen could either
be really good or just somebody who's just shoved out
the league. Because teams can't figure out what to do
with an offensive minded center anymore. Unless they can shoot
threes at a great rate or can just get like
(35:49):
seven eight assists per game or something along those lines,
they'll like almost have to be special. And I think
there's room for somebody who can create their own offense
on the interior, scoring the post, so to speak, but
could also be a little bit of a hub, even
if it's just for stretches of a game.
Speaker 1 (36:04):
All right, Brian, you mentioned Charlotte potentially trading back, which
would be sort of a bold prediction for Draft night.
Brand And I'm going to give you the last word.
Give me your bold predictions for NBA Draft Night.
Speaker 3 (36:18):
I'm gonna give you a bold bet that you can
make right now for NBA Draft Night. We light at
the top with the Kevin Durant trade. In that trade,
the Phoenix Suns traded away Kevin Durant. They got back
some guys I don't really like very much, but they
also got back at draft pick. They got the number
ten pick, and the Sons have not had a number
ten pick. Have the Suns been paying attention to the
(36:40):
guys being drafted in the top ten? To have the
scouts even been like ready for who might be that
guy in the top ten? You know who's guy that
the Sons do know a lot about. Matt Ishbiah, the
owner that likes to be involved, played a little basketball
in college with Jason Richardson. You want a championship with
Jason Richardson. Jason Richardson is the father of Jace Richardson.
(37:02):
Perhaps we know that about him. Jace Richardson to be
the number ten pick. I bet it in the Action
app last night forty to one odds. Do I think
he should be the number ten pick? Probably not, but
I think it's in range. I have Jace Lottery on
my board that's in arrange well enough. Maybe the scouts
aren't totally ready yet, or maybe Madishpia is ready and
(37:24):
he's like, you know what, we're starting over, but we're
starting over with my guy, my guy from MSU, the
Michigan State Heritage pick. Maybe he took number ten with
full intention to put the stamp on and bring in Jace.
That's my bold prediction, forty to one or best number
you can find.
Speaker 1 (37:40):
I love that, Brian, I lied. I'll give you the
last word. Do you have a lot? Do you have
as bold a prediction as Brandon does?
Speaker 2 (37:50):
Unfortunately about forty to one, But I think I do
think like I'm intrigued at a potential shakeup in the
top five. Where I looked at your my Afears at
plus three hundred and common Malo Watch at plus three
fifty to go into the top five, because if Ace
Bailey is going to legitimately fall, because there are still
some books who think he's going to go in the
(38:11):
top five, and I know that Bill Simmons and Ryan
Rosseillo keep talking about Utah potentially liking Ace Bailey.
Speaker 5 (38:18):
I think there's a reason for that.
Speaker 2 (38:20):
But if Ace Bailey does fall out of the top five,
you're gonna need guys to rise on the board. Jeremiah
Fears is somebody who reportedly has been killing his draft workouts.
Who is somebody who is a very athletic guard. I
have questions about the jump shot, but those type of
dudes tend to rise up in the draft. Malo Watch
(38:40):
also is seven foot two and looks like he's gonna
be able to knock down threes at some point consistently,
along with being a rim protector. That's modern day NBA
basketball from the center position. We just saw Chet Holmgren
in that finals being a version of that. Those are
the two guys that I would look at in terms
of potentially crashing the party in the top five. Mala
(39:01):
Watch from Duke was one guy that I especially like.
He scared the hell out of me as somebody who's
Puerto Rican in the World Cup and in the Olympics
because he was on South Sudan and I was like, man,
I hope they don't play him a lot. They did not,
and he's gonna be the face of that program for
a long long time. But those two guys, I think
either one of them have the potential to rise into
(39:22):
the top five if something just sort of freaky happens
early on in the draft.
Speaker 1 (39:28):
All right, Brandon Anderson, Brian fin Seka, listen to Buckets, everyone,
because this stuff was great. You'll get more of it
on Buckets. The Favorites will be back with our next
episode Thursday on the Action of Work YouTube page, download, Spotify,
Apple pods wherever you get your pods. Rate review, subscribed,
leave us five stars, shay whatever you want, feedback as
a gift until next time. I Love you. Action Network
(39:58):
reminds you please gambler responsibly. If you or someone you
care about has a gambling problem, help is available twenty
four to seven at one eight hundred Gambler
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Chad Millman
Simon Hunter
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