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June 28, 2025 • 44 mins
Sean Brace and Sean Barnard talk all things NBA Draft! Who will the Sixers select at #3!? Will they trade!? WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN!?
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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Picks and roll handicapping the hardwood with Sixers insider Sean
Bernard and Sean.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
Brace then and not no no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, Donna.
The NBA draft is here. Hello, everybody, Shabry shar Bernard
with you talking about things NBA drafts and of course
with a focus on the seventy Sixers. Who will be

(00:28):
the guy that the Sixers will select at three? Will
they be picking at three?

Speaker 3 (00:33):
Hmm?

Speaker 2 (00:34):
We don't know. Could it potentially be the man by
the name of Ace Bailey? Is he completely off the
board at this point in time? Is it VJ. Edgecomb,
Is it Trey Johnson? Is it this sharpshooter from Duke
Kongkin Nipple? Is this somebody we haven't heard about? Co
Cooper Flag, Fani Kid tell everybody Shawbridge, San Bernard having

(00:56):
some fun. Of course, exciting day, man. I think about it, Sean,
about NBA draft the past years for the Sixers, and
you know, of course we went through all those seasons
where they tanked on purpose, so they stick out to
us a little bit more than others, you know. But man,
it's it's always an exciting time for your team, whether

(01:19):
it is the seventy six ers because they're going to
get a player that hopefully will have an impact, they
solid impact for a few seasons that you'll be cheering on.
Maybe if they're good enough, you'll buy a jersey. But
Tyree Smacksy is like one of the first examples that
pop into my head of like I was surprised and
thankful at the same time. Twenty first overall pick I
believe and he was a hell of a grab. You

(01:41):
got people on ESPN Seth Greenberg saying that the seventy
six ers need to trade d Well Embiid and build
the team around Tyree Smaxy from here on out. Malawak
was the guy that he was saying, go after get
rid of Embiid tonight, go after Malawac. Yeah, exactly. Yeah,
but these are the things they're being discussed anyway. It's
exciting time NBA Draft, NBA conversation as a whole. I

(02:04):
know it'll get you a hot and bothered. How you
doing today?

Speaker 4 (02:06):
Yeah, the NBA Draft is my favorite time of the year,
Sean Brace and now you touched on a little bit
of it there at the number one reason why for me,
it's just hope that for the player's perspective here, they've
worked their entire lives for this very moment. We'll see
the emotions, We'll see the excitement from an organizational standpoint
that this is your chance to change everything, that you
could get the guy that changes your entire franchise, and

(02:26):
there is just this element of hope in the air
that this could be the one, This could be the
dude that changes everything.

Speaker 3 (02:32):
And I love that from that perspective.

Speaker 4 (02:34):
So I get fired up to see the moment that
these guys have been working for to match with the
teams that will now be their path with the professionals.
And I do think that ultimately this is a solid
draft class this year. So it's nice that the Sixers
are back in the top of the mix. We have
a horse in the race for it, and I'm excited
to dive into each of bit.

Speaker 2 (02:49):
Yeah, I take it back to years past when the
seventy six ers did have a third overall pick when
they drafted Jerry Stackhouse in nineteen ninety five out of
the University of North Hairlina Joe Smith. I believe Maryland
Turp if I'm not mistaken, there went one overall. Antonio
mcdce two, and then Jerry stack Cause third overall by

(03:13):
the seventy six ers. Great draft with Shed Kevin Garant,
Garnett D Durant. Excuse me, Kevin Garnett fitth overall out
of high school. THEO Ratliffe was selected eighteenth overall in
that draft. Pretty good draft there. It's funny to go
revisit some of these days, these previous drafts with the
seventy six ers, Keith van Horn back in ninety seven,

(03:33):
second overall pick out of Utah, Larry Hughes, which is
a great conversation because the seventy six ers decided the
draft Larry Hughes instead of Paul Pierce, if I believe,
if I'm getting that correct, Dirk was drafted after as well,
but still Dirk was an unknown commodity to most. But

(03:53):
Paul Pierce was a stud in college and they didn't
draft him, if I believe, if I'm getting this right,
they didn't him because they already had somebody on the
team that played that position, something along those lines. And
of course that's not the way that you go about
business these days. So hopefully that won't be the case,
because I do know that the seventy six have a

(04:14):
few guards that are pretty good on this team this year,
So let's start there. Because Quentin Grimes, what's the latest
with them and how much does that play into their
decision process of drafting a potential guard at the top three,
if they decide to trade back top five picks, whatever
it may be. But just pulling the trigger tonight on
a guard, does it matter at all that you have MAXI,

(04:36):
you have McCain, You want to get Grimes back into
the mix. You have some pretty good guard play on
this team currently. Should that matter at all when it
comes to drafting a player tonight?

Speaker 3 (04:45):
Yeah?

Speaker 4 (04:45):
And an ideal world, you're obviously drafting a balanced team here,
but you can only take like you only get one
shot at this And I do think that the proper
approach and what has been adjusted in the eyes of
front offices is you would rather take the best player
available and figure out the rest from there. I did
want to bring up Quentin Grimes because there is some
news in regard to that in recent hours that the
Brooklyn Nets obviously wheeling and dealing a little bit in

(05:06):
the mix for some of these trades that have gone on.
They're up to five first round picks in this specific
draft taking place tonight, and I can't imagine that they
utilize all of them. They're the only real team that
is a threat to kind of snag Quentin Grimes from
the Sixers, but that's looking increasingly unlikely from the standpoint
of what these moves are doing from a salary cap
perspective for him. So we should be rooting for the
Brooklyn Nets to continue putting on or bringing in contracts

(05:29):
here because it harms their salary cap outlook, and that
all that really does from the Sixers perspective is cheapens
the price on Quentin Grimes.

Speaker 3 (05:36):
He will be back in the Sixers uniform.

Speaker 4 (05:37):
That Darryl Moray has been incredibly open about that, incredibly
expressive about that, and frankly, I don't think that he
would have made that trade with Caleb Martin on a
four year contract without that in mind. He's younger, he
fits this youth movement. He's still twenty four years old.
With that being said, I do think from a long
term perspective, he should be the guy looking over his
shoulder with the selection if it is VJ.

Speaker 3 (05:56):
Edgecombe, which is my assumption tonight. So it's not.

Speaker 4 (05:59):
Ideal that these guys are similar in the positional standpoint,
being a ton of guards and all that thing. But
it's not a problem that is impossible to overcome. And
at this point in the kind of two timelines where
you have the team now and then you have sort
of the future outlook, it's best just to take the
best talent and figure things out down the line.

Speaker 2 (06:15):
Yeah again, and that's what I would say about the
Holy Ace Balley nonsense. It's like dude who plays for
the same team their whole career. Like, I get it.
You want to get up to a good start. Sam
had a good take on Monday. The second contract is
the most important, understood, But like you're putting the cart
before the horse, bro And and this is professional hoops.
You know it's not as easy as you're making it
out to be. And oh, by the way, I didn't

(06:37):
think you were all that good. I know, Ah Balley
is a talented kid. I am high on him and
this draft. Don't get me wrong, somebody's going to get
themselves a hell of a player. But if it's not
connecting up here, Yeah, there's a million and one of
them in the league.

Speaker 4 (06:50):
And when we talk about like bus potential or guys
that do not live up to their expectations. This side
of things and the heart are what matter a whole
lot more than the basketball skills as far as guys
they're going to achieve that and reach that. And for Ace, like,
I want to continue to reinforce this because I've been
an Ace Belly guy. I continue to hear nothing but
nice things about him as an individual. Him is a person,
Him is a personality. Him is a teammate here. Well,

(07:12):
what is crystal clear is that there's he's taking very
bad advice and he just should not have the agency
representation that he elected to go.

Speaker 3 (07:19):
Down this path. I understand the relationship.

Speaker 4 (07:21):
Is he played on this AAU team for suref Cooper's dad,
who is representing him right now. He's just going about
this all the wrong ways and frankly, he's trusting somebody
that he should.

Speaker 2 (07:31):
Yeah, he's he's eighteen. Danire's nineteen on August thirteenth. I
just you know, it's a different day and age. And
if the rumors are true, he made ten plus million
dollars last year at Rutgers, through Nil, through Michael Rubin,
through everything involved wouldn't shock me if that is the case.
And because of look at where he is right now,
and that's the majority of that dick come from Reuben

(07:52):
from what I understood. Yeah, because the signing.

Speaker 4 (07:55):
Is a little from what I heard, fairly reliably, he
pulled in two million directly from Rutgers.

Speaker 2 (08:01):
Yeah, a lot was Ruben from the signing, and that's
what Ruben does because he gets these rookies that are
going to be top commodities over the years. Yeah, it
was a big chunk of change made from the fanatics
slash Reuben package from what I understood. So again, and
then two million from the nil from Rutgers. And then

(08:25):
did he have a shoe deal?

Speaker 4 (08:27):
I don't think so now that I've seen. He absolutely
will at some point. His real name is Arius, which
is just sick, so like you have to do something
with that. But so I don't believe he does currently.
I could be wrong on that, but he certainly will
at some point. Nike Wow already signed up. So I
guess for me critiquing the agency right here, the work

(08:47):
is being done on the back end, and I guess
I gotta tip my hat to that. I just don't
like the way that he's handled this whole.

Speaker 3 (08:52):
Pre draft process.

Speaker 2 (08:53):
According to Scarlett Nation back in November, Ace Bailey and
Dylan Harper are with Nike. Former five star recruits. Bail
and Harper have brought in some serious energy in that
excitement spilling over. Sponsorhilt Role announced on Thursday day, I've
signed endorsement deals with Nike. So there you go. That's
not chump change. So it doesn't surprise me that you
do get to that double digit million dollar figure if

(09:13):
you're getting two from Rutgers, the Ruben deal, because he
knows he's smart. You get those guys signed up early,
You get them in the back of the back of
your pocket for years to come, signing appearances, fanatics, fest,
you name it, and here we are. How'd you feel
like he handled the combine the or the uh the
interviews that he was doing was that wasn't at the combine?

(09:35):
Where was that? Just it was the NBA Draft. It
was the draft.

Speaker 4 (09:40):
So this is kind of like their walk through before
draft day and night that was in Brooklyn all that.
I honestly thought he handled it fine.

Speaker 3 (09:45):
Yesterday. I was cool with you. I mean, what do
you want him to say in these spots.

Speaker 2 (09:50):
Is, come on, what do you mean? What do I
want him to say? I want him to handle it differently. Again,
if I'm a team, that is definitely some red flags
the way he was answering that quiet.

Speaker 4 (10:00):
Also, I guess my point would be, I separate the
decision I heartily disagree with now that you're on that spot,
and just got a roll with it. I didn't have
any issue with anything he said with that. I'll control
what I control about basketball was pretty much the prepared
responses that he was relying on there. I think you
dig yourself a deeper hole if you're trying to explain
things or talk about I want to go to the
team that's best for me and diving deep into those conversations.

(10:23):
I thought he did just fine yesterday. What would you
have like to have heard Sean Brace?

Speaker 2 (10:27):
Yeah, well, again, he's the only one that answered the
questions like that. He's the only player out of everybody available.
It's like, I'm just going to concentrate on basketball and
just kept it like that, like dude, who do you
think you are?

Speaker 4 (10:39):
Well, he's the only guy being asked those questions because
of the way that he went about it.

Speaker 2 (10:43):
Correct. Yes, so I think that would have been a
good Again, that would have been a perfect opportunity to
clear everything. Hey, look and don't go into you don't
have to go into unbelievable detail. But what's being said
out there isn't you know I to hear from me?
Didn't come out of my mouth. I'm here right now.

(11:03):
What's the question? Answer those questions. I'm available to go
to anybody. I want to do whatever needs to be done. Look,
we came up with a pre draft process. This is
who I was going to work out for. We tried
to schedule. Some things didn't happen. So here I am
Draft night. I will be selected, and whoever drafts me,
they're gonna get an a plus player ready to go
from day one. Dude, give me some stock answers. Don't

(11:25):
be all stand offish like you know, and smug and arrogant.
That's what he is. He's a smug and arrogant dude.
Right now.

Speaker 3 (11:32):
Two parts of that for starters.

Speaker 4 (11:34):
That is a good response, just in general there, it's
also not what he's trying to achieve here is. I
still think the goal is not to be drafted at
third by the Sixers.

Speaker 2 (11:41):
The goal is to no, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
I'm talking what you don't think that this is just
a I don't think this is just a Sixers related deal, right, No, no, no.

Speaker 3 (11:49):
It's certainly not.

Speaker 4 (11:49):
But my point would being if he steps up on
the stand and then says that exact quote there, you
kind of undermine what you've just trying to, you know,
stacked the cards in your favor from a draft position.
Like again, I disagree with this decision wholeheartedly that he
should have approached this from the start of I want
to be drafted to whatever team invested me and whatever
team believes in me. Now that he's gone down this path,

(12:10):
I kind of think like it's part for the course.
It's what I expected, and honestly a tat above what
I expected from him that yesterday. So if his goal
was to increase his draft stock and open himself up
for all those teams, that's a great response.

Speaker 3 (12:22):
I just don't think that's what he wanted to do.

Speaker 4 (12:24):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (12:24):
Again, he probably is going to end up at six
with the Washington Wizards or Brooklyn.

Speaker 3 (12:30):
I think Brooklyn is. I have a feeling about Brooklyn,
and there could.

Speaker 2 (12:36):
Be potential other teams that would want to trade up
and target them. Okay, the seventy six ers. You're not
comfortable there, Let's go ahead and move up. Let's find
a way to get Ace Bailey again if I'm a
team right now, the way he has handled everything, and
then all the way up into that opportunity sitting on
the podium where he's smug at eighteen years old, like
I'm the man when you ain't done shit, like dude,

(12:58):
let's go here. Manuckers sucked last year. You know you
guys should have absolutely made the tournament and you did not.
How come I heard about Ben Simmons left and right
when he didn't make the tournament for LSU and he
was the number one overall pick and everybody through that
in his face. Yet Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey are
just getting off Scott Free court according to everybody that's

(13:21):
on television these days.

Speaker 3 (13:22):
Yeah, no, I agree with that point.

Speaker 4 (13:24):
And it's I still haven't heard like an acceptable answer
from anybody in the Rutgers kind of vicinity of like
why was that? I mean, I've I watched them plenty myself,
and I can tell you that, like I don't know
their coach.

Speaker 2 (13:34):
You went to see them live didn't.

Speaker 4 (13:35):
You did, And I will say that changed some of
my feelings on this whole nil era as far as
how professionalized things were. And clearly they're making their money
back on their investments in these guys, with parking and
concessions and tickets and all this stuff.

Speaker 3 (13:49):
I was like, wow, this has increased a couple levels.

Speaker 2 (13:51):
Now.

Speaker 3 (13:51):
Mind you, I would have never gone and seen.

Speaker 4 (13:53):
A Rutgers basketball game in person if Ace Bailey and
Dylan Harper weren't there. So I get how this all
comes together with that, but yes, like I haven't heard
an acceptable answer for why that is the case there
that the reality is they did not elevate the roster
around them.

Speaker 3 (14:06):
Rutgers have never been a strong.

Speaker 4 (14:08):
Basketball program, but they also have never been like this
often the roster around them.

Speaker 2 (14:12):
You got two top three potential picks in the NBA draft,
get out the way.

Speaker 3 (14:17):
You're right, I don't have it was a dead roster
outside of them.

Speaker 2 (14:24):
Well, again, I don't think they needed a roster. You
got two players two out of the five go in there.
It's college oops. Maybe they need better coaching. I think
they get there with you.

Speaker 4 (14:34):
Yeah, I think that is definitely true, and I will
I will note like again, with all due respect, he
seems like a nice guy.

Speaker 3 (14:39):
The Rockers coach.

Speaker 4 (14:40):
It's a different skill set when you're coaching Dyan Harper
and Ace Balley for just running normal college basketball sets
and that kind of thing. It felt a lot of
just doing and a scoll figure it out. And he's
a defensive minded coach. I've heard plenty of that about them.
They were okay defensively, They've been like a slower paced
team through the years and under his tenure. I just
don't think it was the perfect blend here, and they
went for the big splash names rather than actually building

(15:01):
out a roster with Maybe that money could have been
better used for.

Speaker 2 (15:04):
Does a Spelly get booed when he plays in Philadelphia? Yeah?

Speaker 3 (15:07):
I think he will, and I think he should.

Speaker 2 (15:08):
Good me too, lead charge on that.

Speaker 4 (15:11):
I've been like an Ace Balley guy since the draft.
Pick a line this way, I've turned heel like I'm
an anti ast Balley guy.

Speaker 3 (15:18):
Moving forward.

Speaker 2 (15:18):
There's a couple of you guys. Mark Henry Junior was
a big as Spelly guy. Yeah, well he ain't getting picked.

Speaker 4 (15:26):
No, I'm out. I've seen enough like from pure talent perspective.
If you were to get a bought in version of
Ace Balley, who's willing to fill a role for the
first couple of years and then see that role continually
scale up. That's the perfect guy for this Sixers team.
But that guy does not exist. He does not want
to fill that role. He does not want to be
that guy, and there are too many red flags too
ignore that at this point. So I'm out on the
ash Baalley experience and he will be a Sixers villain

(15:48):
to me.

Speaker 2 (15:48):
Well, VJ. Edgecombe, come on down? Is that the guy tonight?

Speaker 3 (15:53):
That is the guy tonight?

Speaker 4 (15:54):
I think it's probably I would put it at this
point a seventy five percent chance they draft VJ.

Speaker 3 (15:58):
Edge Combs straight up.

Speaker 4 (15:59):
A twenty five percent chance the Sixers trade down and
try and pick up a couple other things, maybe Brooklyn,
maybe New Orleans, something like that. But I do think
more likely than not when this draft ultimately occurs, that
when the third pick goes down, VJ. Edgecum will be
selected by the Sixiers, And I don't want him to
be viewed in the eyes of Sixers fan. There's a
consolation prized by any means, this dude is good. This

(16:20):
dude is a real deal talent and a guy that
will help the sixers. I think there's gonna be a
little bit of a reaction similar to last year with McCain,
where people were like, doesn't matter, he's not gonna make
an impact, and then all of a sudden they see
him play a little bit and it's like, oh there
is something here. B Jadge Combs athleticism will pop, his
work ethic will pop. And for all the character concerns
that we brought up with Ace Bailey, he's on the
polar opposite end of the equation. You will not find

(16:41):
anybody to say a bad word about VJ.

Speaker 3 (16:43):
Edge Coman. I do think he's gonna fit really nicely
here in Phildolph.

Speaker 2 (16:46):
Had some good games last year. Only one season at
Baylor as a freshman, so extremely young. What is he
pushing the or pushing the tape? But at eighteen as
what nineteen? He's nineteen years old from the Bahamas, Come
on down, love it love the Bahamas, all right? So VJ.
Edgecombe should be the guy at three. Everyone tells me

(17:06):
this is a two man draft. It's locked in Cooper Flag,
Dylan Harper. So Mark hevery Junior brought this up yesterday.
I thought this is a really good take because you
know there are again I don't whether there are rumors
or now we know how Darryl Mory operates. If this
dude can fetch something crazy, it would not shock me

(17:26):
that he says, you know what, let's trade back and
let's go ahead and get some pieces and maybe a
player I don't know, just let's just play the game
that they're going to trade out of that pick and
move back. It would not shock me if that is
the case that Darryl Moury does. But Mark had a
take where he was saying, you know what, man, that
would concern me, that would frustrate me, concern me. And

(17:46):
I'm not trying to put words in his mouth. I'm
pretty sure that he said it would be the wrong
way to go about it. Because because it's a two horse,
two player draft at the start that we know lock
Stock and Barrel are going one and two. Now Darryl
Mourray has the first pick, like essentially this is his draft.
He sets the tone. Go in there and oh, by

(18:07):
the way, never had a lottery pick, like if there's never,
if there's been one time that maybe I'm not saying
force it, but you need to find a player that
you think will produce and turn into a guy that
will be able to contribute for years to come. It's now,
and again I think that maybe falls under the category
of the under the umbrella of forcing it to a point.

(18:29):
But man like last year was a disaster, and you
do eventually have to face an ownership that deals with
season ticket holders. The season ticket fan or the seventy
six er fan is disgusted. You got John Crux saying
that he's you know, he's boycotting the team, Like this
isn't a good time to be a seventy six Ers fan.

(18:51):
And I do believe that Darryl Moray is on the
hot seat. He'd better be. Although I do like Darryl
Moury and I do like his picks from years past,
but I'm so sorry when you don't produce, that's all
it matters. So he better go out there and draft
the player tonight. I am not down with trading back
if we're picks and for everything that you're able to
put together, and like, unless it's you know, the player

(19:13):
that maybe has fallen, then I can get down with it.
But if the Sixers trade back, What would that mean
to you?

Speaker 3 (19:19):
Yeah, it depends where.

Speaker 4 (19:20):
Like I'm pretty bullheaded on I want to get a
top ten talent in this draft they dropped to eight.
If they dropped to six, I'm not gonna be up
in arms, especially especially if they pick up future draft
picks or an impact player. We're talking about getting herb
Jones from the Pelicans and dropping down to seven. You
can pretty easily talk talk me into that. For me now, granted,
if they're trading out entirely or dropping out significantly, I
am against that because you have to get something to

(19:41):
build off here, and when you look ahead to the
free agent market or the cap situation with the six
Ers team, there's not a ton of directions in which
they can go. So now is your chance to add
an impact player. Now, you guys both hit on points
that I really agreed with. I was listening on my
drive home yesterday for starters who hardly agree with Mark
on these stands of there's no way there's not one
guy that Darryl Moray hasn't fallen in love with that

(20:02):
he's had all this time, Like you know where the
board sits. The Cooper Flagg ain't gonna be there, Dylan
Harper isn't gonna be there. Who is your guy? And
I have to imagine that Darryl has had this much
time to do whatever interviews, watch whatever film, talk to
as many people as he needs to talk to to
come to that conclusion. I will note there's been a
little bit of Trey Johnson push in recent days. I
think that is more speculation than anything based in anything,

(20:23):
but didn't want to throw that in the mix.

Speaker 2 (20:25):
Now.

Speaker 4 (20:25):
I'm more on your side of things as far as
the Daryl Murray hot seat that I think like it's
rare in sports that a season goes as the disastrous
as the Sixers was last year, and that there is
not a guy that catches or has to fall on
the sword there. Now, granted you've made the case they
cleaned out plenty of in house personnel, from the PR
people to the health people, to all those things, and
maybe that is where the blame fell. But the bottom

(20:47):
line is Darryl mory' is the guy that constructed this roster.
He's the guy that sold this plan and it went
as poorly as possible. So I get the Joel embiid
is a problem that he inherited from a health stad point.

Speaker 3 (20:57):
But the reality is they're picking third.

Speaker 4 (20:59):
In the draft for a based on how last year went,
so there has to be some level of change. And
I do think that this is a high pressure season
that he and the team are entering.

Speaker 2 (21:07):
I agree with everything, Like there's not a definite answer,
Like he could be Josh Harris, could be in love
with Daryl Morey and and there's a lot to like.

Speaker 4 (21:17):
But he's done a good job overall, Like I still
think that's important.

Speaker 2 (21:21):
And he went out there and made some decisions and
brought in Paul George trying to run it back like
that's That's another reason why I start to feel like
this could potentially be trade back time, because what will
be different no matter who you draft tonight, how much
playing time are they getting next year?

Speaker 1 (21:39):
Uh?

Speaker 4 (21:39):
And not not a ton I mean they're gonna be
an impact player like vj Adcom. If that's the pick,
I would probably guess he's a twenty five per minute
type of type of guy.

Speaker 3 (21:48):
Okay, I think so.

Speaker 2 (21:49):
That's a little bit more than what I would hope
you're right. I would hope you're right, But I wasn't
even pegging that much, but go ahead.

Speaker 4 (21:56):
But I mean even with that point, like like the Sixers,
outlook this year is not going to be dependent on
Trey Johnson or VJ Edge comber, Ace Palley, Like the
outlook is how healthy is Joel Embiid, Ken, Jared McCain what.

Speaker 3 (22:06):
He provided last year?

Speaker 2 (22:07):
Is that real?

Speaker 3 (22:08):
Or was this a small sample size? Ken, Paul George
bounce back.

Speaker 4 (22:11):
Those are the factors that are going to be more
prevalent to what is this season outcome here, So I
think that should be kept in mind from all Siciers
fans perspective. But there's also like the two timelines thing,
like you would ideally like to get a guy that
can grow with Maxian McCain moving forward, potentially Grimes as well.
But there is this post era after Joel Embiid that
all of a sudden doesn't look as bleak. They are
moving in that direction and have taken some steps to

(22:33):
progress that process. So that's probably the other side of
things to keep in mind.

Speaker 2 (22:37):
All Right, we have some comments coming in from the
peanut gallery. Let me get this. I got Ryan beef Coyle,
you know him, you love him? He said, these guys
are booing. Ace Balley when he comes to Philly. Never change, boys.
I think everybody's booing him right. Like the word that
we have gathered over the past couple of weeks is

(22:58):
he doesn't want to play in Philadelphia. Yeah, I don't
think say that that fit and all that, that's fine,
oh the fit. No no, no, no, no, no, you
don't get to say that about this city, about this franchise,
about this team, and then like, ah, you know what,
it's all good. Philly loves me. I'm a hooper. No, no, no, no,
that's not how it works, never has and it's never

(23:19):
going to work like that in the city. We're always
gonna have that chip on our shoulder, that aggression. That's
what makes Philly Philly. If you don't want to play here,
you're gonna hear about it. And that doesn't matter if
it's basketball, it doesn't matter if it's baseball. We got
plenty of We got plenty of examples in every league
we can go back on in players not wanting to
come here, and they've heard it. So he's not the

(23:39):
first and he won't be the last. You're damn right,
a'ce Bailey, Philly's taking us personally, and I put my
hand in the air, and like I said, when he
stepped up on that podium just two days ago, I'm like,
all right, this is the first time I get to
hear from Ace Bailey. And then he's smug and he's
arrogant and didn't want to answer any questions about anything. Nah,

(24:01):
just can train on basketball, all right, dude, He's gonna
get schooled real fast, man. The league ain't that easy.

Speaker 4 (24:08):
Yeah, I don't think Ace Bailey is cognizant or aware
of the enemies that he's kind of created here that
I don't think he sort of has the touch or
the feel that like this does impact, Like people are
gonna be mad about this. I don't think the two
and two have connected with his head or in his
camp here. That I do think that he'll be a
sixer is like, I mean, there's two directions this goes right,
Like if Ace Bailey ends up a stud and is

(24:30):
tearing up the NBA, the frustration immediately shifts to, like, sixers,
why didn't you just take him anyway? Like this dude
was here the whole time. If he's like average or
not good, then all of a sudden, it's like kind
of you can pile on him a little bit. So
I don't think this will be like a long term
like he's a villain forever. But I do think like
rookie season, when things are starting out, that there will
be boozing the crowd.

Speaker 2 (24:50):
Oh yeah, and then we're gonna take the under on
those props on DraftKings Sports.

Speaker 3 (24:54):
Yeah that's for damn sure. All right.

Speaker 2 (24:56):
Yeah, look, man, I'm getting all hot and bothered about
the seventy six ers here. I'm when on June twenty fifth,
I haven't cared about the seventy six ers this much
since the start of last year.

Speaker 3 (25:06):
I mean it's a good thing.

Speaker 4 (25:08):
Yeah, no, this is and I will not like I
still like want to make a separator of like the
Ace Bailey's camp. I get he has to wear this all,
but like like his teammates went to his birthday party,
I'll put that like gays Bailey is like liked by
his teammates there, Like this is not full of bo callahan.

Speaker 2 (25:24):
That's that's my that's my issue. It's like, dude, you know,
you had an opportunity to just get out there and
I'm I'm not sitting here saying I wanted an answer
that I would be, you know, deemed satisfactory. I'm not
telling you that, but I just wanted a little bit. Okay,
this is the first time after all this Ace Bailey hype,
all this conversation, not even just sixers related, you know,

(25:47):
just people that are like somewhat in tune with the
NBA Draft. You're the front center this week, oh Ace Bailey.
And then that's how he's operating, Like, dude, you you
are definitely making some enemies out there. People are definitely
gonna be pulling against you, not just in Philadelphia. So
we'll see how it plays out. And again, he's not
the first one to come into the NBA draft arrogant.

(26:08):
He's a top five pick. Kids, you know, kids, got
a world of potential. But there have been a lot
of players before him, a lot of players after him
that bring that key word in there and don't deliver
on any of the promises either. So we'll see, and
especially when they end up in an organization like the
Washington Wizards.

Speaker 3 (26:24):
Good luck, bro, you are Charlotte Hornets, like man, Charlotte Hornets. Yeah,
what's your goal? Is here?

Speaker 4 (26:29):
The last one that I want to note on Ason,
I heard Sam's point about the second contract. He's absolutely right,
like that's the most valuable thing in sports.

Speaker 3 (26:36):
But what I think is really short.

Speaker 4 (26:38):
Sighted from Ace's camp is it's incredibly rare in general
for wings in particular to make a day one impact.
That just like the way that these guys games progress,
the guards in big men are both able to make
more of an immediate impact. Like when you look at
the track record a guy like Paul George, Paul George
evers seven point nine points per game as a rookie,
played less than twenty minutes per game. Kawhi Leonard was
a three and D role player for the first couple

(27:00):
season of his career. Jason Tatum was a dude who
played a low usage role until a couple seasons into
his career. And obviously these guys have grown into some
of the premier wings in basketball, but it takes some time.
I don't think going to a spot where you get
to shoot the ball twenty times a game is that
much of like an advantage here. And I also like,
like I've seen Kelly Oubre average twenty points per game

(27:21):
for the Hornets and be on a veteran's minimum last year.

Speaker 3 (27:23):
I've also seen.

Speaker 4 (27:24):
Jonathan kaminga like barely have a role for the Golden
State Warriors and get paid because of it. So like,
while it's true you got to stack the coins and
put yourself in the best spot for that second contract,
I don't think that just means putting up statistics.

Speaker 2 (27:37):
Well, said Sean Bernard, all over it. A couple of
other comments, sorry Johnson checking in. Never never seen someone
want to be a Wizard so bad. Yeah, unbelievable, unbelievable.
They were even saying if the Wizards had the number
one overall pick Cooper Flag go back to college for real.

Speaker 4 (27:57):
Like seriously, I thought, like when the draft was shaken out,
like the Sixers would be this desired location because look
at these other teams, But it seems like Ace Bailey
taking the opposite approach here.

Speaker 2 (28:07):
I just think you look at McCain, you look at Maxi,
and it should probably excite you. Like there's two Drath picks.
Those guys were studs, very odd and you know, again, Philadelphia,
we love our teams here. So whatever. Moving on, Bruce
love that apparently New Orleans is really interested in Bailey.
Would you trade down to six if New Orleans included

(28:28):
someone like Trey Murphy and a dial sham Baart.

Speaker 4 (28:31):
Short answer, Yes, absolutely there. That is a team in
particular that has my attention.

Speaker 2 (28:37):
There.

Speaker 4 (28:37):
The finances are a little bit tough to get to
Trey Murphy. And the biggest concern, like this is a
critique you can throw at Daryl Morey, is that there's
player options for Kelly Ubray, for Andre Drummond and Eric Gordon,
which essentially means these guys control their destiny. I find
it hard to believe that they would opt in under
the premise of them being sent down to New Orleans,
which is kind of what would have to happen in
this case. You could potentially move some other pieces if

(28:58):
you want to bring in the Paul George conmerce of
that kind of thing. I don't see them going to
that extent, although there's been some rumors with Utah. But
point being here, this is just in a vacuum looking
at this type of move. You can drop to get
trade Murphy or Herb Jones and still make a selection.

Speaker 3 (29:11):
You sign me up for that ten times out of.

Speaker 2 (29:13):
Ten, Well, just trade Paul George and we're gonna win
the NBA Championships. So we know how that works. Let's
make it happen anyway they possibly could. Yeah, Kid, speaking
of trades, talk to me about what's going on in
Boston and is there anything real with Jalen Brown potentially
being moved Regardless of the seventy six years I have,
I just don't understand. I get the persingis true, holiday,

(29:34):
but it's got to stop there. They cleared a ton
of money, Jalen Brown being discussed. Tatum's out next year? What.

Speaker 4 (29:41):
Yeah, They've cut their payroll basically in half over these
past forty eight hours there, and that was the goal.
This was the like, more so than ever before, across
the NBA, we're going to see financially driven trades. That's
just the effects of the new CBA that's been put
in place, and we're finally seeing them kind of brought
to the surface. That now is sort of the inflex point,
I would say, where these effects are being brought in.
The Celtics knew this was the case coming into the offseason.

(30:04):
They basically made the decision last year that we just
won the NBA championship, let's just kick it down the line,
pay everyone and figure things out next summer. There were
already these big decisions looming, and then Jason Tatum tore
his achilles and that basically forced the hands. So these
are both financially driven decisions. I honestly think they did
pretty well on both trades there. Like I think Anthony

(30:26):
Simons is like a pretty good player and a guy
that like financially puts them in a much more advantageous position.
And I think Niang is gonna splash threes for that
team as much as people are, you know, not as
fired up about that, it seems there, So I get
why they did it.

Speaker 3 (30:40):
I do think it stops here.

Speaker 4 (30:41):
If you blow them away with a Jaln Brown offer,
I could see it happening, because let's not forget while
they won the championship two seasons ago, there was a
whole lot of the noise of ken Jason Tatum and
Jalen Brown played together before that, and I get that
winning is the best deodorant. But if there is any
thoughts here are these two are long term pieces. Tatum's
the guy and Brown's not, so this could be the
opportunity to cash out and start from scratch next season.

Speaker 2 (31:04):
Niang isn't that bad of a three point shooter. Thirty
thirty nine percent career average. All right, you know, like,
is he hitting the clutch shot? Though? Can you bank
on George Niang hitting that shot when you need that
clutch three pointer into the game? Uh? Make you know,
like yeah, sure, catch and shoot if he's in the corner.

(31:27):
All right, regular season January March, okay, But when it
comes to playoff time, is Georges Niang really a guy
that you want on the floor.

Speaker 4 (31:37):
If the Celtics season is decided on a George Dang
three point attempt, I think there's bigger problems in itself
right there. I think he's gonna be an excellent regular
season filler that a guy that just you know, splashes
three is and fits their identity. I think he will
be a part of like the postseason rotation. But we
don't even know how hard the Celtics gonna go next season,
Like there is a world where they try and just

(31:58):
do a one season tank put themselves in this position.
I think the East is too bad to really have
any sort of movement in that. But if they trade
Brown and really go young, you can talk yourself into that.
And then with Tatum like no clear timeline, I don't
see it ultimately working out this way, but I would
guarantee that that thought has at least crossed their mind.

Speaker 2 (32:16):
Give me a percentage on Jalen Brown being traded.

Speaker 3 (32:18):
Here twenty really, yeah.

Speaker 2 (32:23):
Dude, Julian Ello is gonna be on the show today.
I just feel like if Boston moves a guy like
Jalen Brown, no matter the return, that that fan base
is gonna riot.

Speaker 4 (32:34):
I mean, I don't think it happens. Like I still
at eight percent that it doesn't here. I think there
is a little bit something too, Like again, we've all
forgotten because they won an NBA championship and it's been
kumbayas since that point, but there was some like legitimate
like back and forth of is can Tatum and Brown
win together? Is like are these guys their skill sets
to like too repetitive playing next to each other and

(32:56):
all that side of things. So with Tatum on the sideline,
Tatum has been in incredibly expressed when every single opportunity
gets to be like Boston is my home. I'm so
appreciative of the history of this franchise. I want to
represent the Boston Celtics hasn't exactly gotten that with Jalen Brown,
and he still mostly said the right things in those opportunities.
But like if the relationship were to fracture, this is
kind of the spot where you can get your get

(33:17):
off point and then you can really build forward with
Tatum moving forward.

Speaker 2 (33:21):
All right, we're often running NBA drafts. Sham said a
couple of weeks ago that this is going to be
the craziest offseason in NBA history. We were off to
a pretty decent start right now. Yeah, I mean this
season just ended.

Speaker 4 (33:35):
Yeah two days ago or three days ago at this point,
So yeah, it is crazy.

Speaker 3 (33:38):
And again it is CBA driven. That is the why
of this is that.

Speaker 4 (33:41):
A lot of teams are in some tough financial decisions
ye self inflicted, mind you is this is sort of
intensible intentional to create a little bit of more parody
within the league and teams making more difficult to build.
These teams like the Celtics in itself as an example here,
this is an organization that I think the NBA should
be rewarding in the way that it's homegrown. They went
about it the right way. They drafted Jalen Brown, they

(34:01):
drafted Jason Tatum. They have some key pieces there, but
it doesn't exactly work like that from the money standpoint,
So yeah, there will be a lot of turnover still coming.

Speaker 2 (34:10):
Yeah. I did see that they were talking about this
on ESPN this morning that the general manager, I want
to say, from the Denver Nuggets was like, yeah, we're
one injury away from having a trade joker.

Speaker 4 (34:19):
And it was yeah, insane that he said that, like
he offered that, like he that was like in his monologue,
he's like, we're being very conscious. The original question was
phrased like, are you offering Yokic an extension which he's
eligible this offseason, and his reply was like, we're for
sure going to offer it.

Speaker 3 (34:33):
I'm not one hundred percent.

Speaker 4 (34:34):
Sure that he's gonna take it, and we have to
be very mindful about what positions we put ourselves because
we're one injury away from being forced with making a
really tough decision that I never want to even consider,
and that would be trading Nicola Jokich. I'm just like, like,
why would you even offer that, Like you couldn't beat
that information out of me if I was in issues, well.

Speaker 2 (34:54):
Said, I agree with you one hundred percent. I didn't
even see it, So I'm glad we just stumbled into it,
but I I did. What I took away from it
was just how tough it is right now financially for
these teams. They have to be so careful with how
they go about it. And to be honest with you,
I didn't even take the quote on the bottom line
of the crawl like you just said there, that's interesting.

(35:16):
I have to go back and listen to that audio
read up a little bit more. My take was like
he was just being honest with the assessment of Yeah,
like if we don't win, a player gets hurt, Joker
could say I want out.

Speaker 3 (35:28):
That was my.

Speaker 2 (35:29):
Takeaway from just reading the quote on the bottom of
the screen. Interesting.

Speaker 3 (35:34):
Yeah, he's right about the overall point.

Speaker 4 (35:36):
But again, like you just didn't have to say it, man,
and again, like I encourage you to watch the video,
he straight up offers it like he like slid it
in like midway through his reply, and I was like
watching the first time, just like like there was just
no need for him to go out and say that.
So it is like a true point that GMS it's
tougher than ever to manage things, and that's why we're
seeing a lot of these trades that like like in

(35:56):
the Drew Holliday trade here, basically the biggest reward is
that Simon's is lest year is remaining on his deal.
And while like you can make the cases of talent
and Drew, I guess they want to lead into that
defensive identity down there in Portland.

Speaker 3 (36:07):
Like that's the why we're gonna see.

Speaker 4 (36:08):
Way more of the why of trades being made purely
based on the contract that has attached these guys' names
and not as them as talents.

Speaker 2 (36:15):
All Right, we're gonna see anybody big. Is there gonna
be anything that shakes the earth tonight as far as
a trade potential? You know, something leading to down the
way we're all trying to you know, like like wind
Horse where we're like, wait, pay attention. Is there anything
that's gonna shock us tonight? In your opinion?

Speaker 3 (36:34):
I think certainly. I think there are probably multiple shocking moments.

Speaker 4 (36:37):
I think the Oklahoma City Thunder trade up, there's been
a lot of smoke about that. So you know, a
couple of days removed from winning an NBA championship that
they're probably climbing into the top ten and making some
sort of trade there. It wouldn't surprise me if we
see like a legitimate Ace Bailey slide to where he drops,
like notably here. I think Jeremiah Fears is a guy
that's gonna go far higher than he's been talked about largely,
and I think he probably sneaks into the top five

(36:58):
of that conversation here. And I probably think that there
will be a couple of trades that are just puzzling
that we don't know the full why for them when
it happens at the time. So I expect this to
be the full launch point of what you mentioned could
be the craziest NBA offseason of all time.

Speaker 2 (37:11):
Let's go all right, and then give me one player
that potentially will be out of the top ten that
you're putting your seal of approval on that you know what,
no matter where they end up, watch out for this
guy next year in years to come. Is there's somebody
that you think at the back end of the draft
that should we should be paying attention to.

Speaker 4 (37:30):
I Thinknie Clifford would be my answer to that as
far as a guy that I think, regardless of where
he lands, he's gonna find out a way. Coming from
Colorado State, he's on the older side. I think he's
twenty four already, might even be twenty five. But a
good athlete, good defender, can do a little bit of everything.
He's just good at basketball, can connective, pass, can shoot
the three. Well, that's a guy that I think is
a smart, high IQ guy that wherever he lands, he's
going to find a way to cover rollout for himself.

(37:52):
You can kind of see him mocked anywhere between like
fourteen and twenty five ish type of range. There, you're
gonna be walking to a day one high level role player.
I would be to invest in bet in Nee Clifford
if I was in a spots in an organization.

Speaker 2 (38:04):
All right, and uh tell you what. Down in Dallas
they got something going right now. There was something said
earlier today that got my attention because you want to
talk about pressure for a number one overall pick that's
not there in Dallas for Cooper Flag, he has he's
got players around him, Anthony Davis, of course, Kyrie he's

(38:25):
got a pretty good head coach, and Jason Kidd, right,
Klay Thompson, like he's got players. He's going into a
spot where he can breathe like a hell of a
lot easier than it was at Duke.

Speaker 4 (38:35):
In my opinion, yeah, I mean top thirty general manager,
a guy that you know steers them in the right
direction constantly. With Nico Harrison there, it's gonna be an
interesting year in down there in Dallas. They're just such
a theoretical team. Like even when you mentioned Kyrie, we'll
see when he even plays or if he even plays
this year and how soon that is, Like they're gonna
have to bring a guard. He's coming off the injury

(38:55):
as well. Anthony Davis is a guy that has the
injury concerned. It's like we he obviously will see or
how many games he's on the floor for. So in theory,
that team is gonna be tough, it's gonna be a contender,
but like it is a very theoretical team in the
same way.

Speaker 2 (39:09):
Paul George doesn't get traded tonight.

Speaker 3 (39:11):
Right, I don't think so. I don't think so.

Speaker 4 (39:13):
I would put that less than the Jaln Brown percentage.
But there's been a couple of rumors and a little
bit of buzz that has popped on the timeline.

Speaker 2 (39:19):
Joel andb doesn't get traded tonight.

Speaker 3 (39:21):
Right, Absolutely, not to that one.

Speaker 4 (39:23):
And like the same thing that I'll voice it's Paul
George is a more minimized version of this with with Joelle,
you're gonna have to pay to get off from at
this point, Like what team when we bring up these
financial circumstances we're just talking about, are gonna sign sign
on to pay this dude's seventy million dollars four years
from now? I just don't see another organization jumping at
that chance. And from a Darryl Morry perspective, he's all

(39:44):
about value, he's all about maximizing. You're trading a dude
to add his low point and you're just not gonna
recoup remotely close to fair value there. Like the best
version of what Joel Embiide could be is so much
higher than what the best possible trade return would be
that I just don't think it makes any sense for
many three.

Speaker 2 (40:00):
I'd sign you as my general manager. I like where
you're at on that one. Finally, Jared McCain, chance he
gets traded tonight.

Speaker 4 (40:08):
The only way I would see it happening was be
if they're trying to move up to get to that
second pick for Dylan Harper, but to that same breath,
like if the Spurs think it's a weird fit with
Harper as another guard, why would they be interested in
Jad McCain. So I don't really see it happening with
Jad McCain in particular here. I think that he should
and will be a member of the Sixers moving forward,
at least in the short term. Here, there's pretty much

(40:29):
no circumstance where I'd be willing to trade McCain.

Speaker 3 (40:31):
And while I don't think.

Speaker 4 (40:32):
The Sixers share quite that same sentiment as if you
read between the lines, there's still a lot more promaxy
stuff than pro McCain from an organizational phrasing thing.

Speaker 3 (40:40):
There.

Speaker 4 (40:41):
I believe what I saw last year that I think
that is legitimate. I think that's here to stay, and
that's a guy won't being a long term part of
the Sixers.

Speaker 2 (40:47):
Trust Mark Henry Jr. As well, And he loved Jared McCain.
So yeah, you know he's playing out. He's panning out
right now. Love can't wait see him back out there.
All right. Finally we'll end on this, John joh John
checking in. The rumors were never confirmed. Ace never said
those words himself. Totally agree, Jah jah jah. That's why
I said he had an opportunity to handle everything that

(41:10):
has been said when he was at the podium just
two days ago, and he chose not to, and he
wanted to be smug, wanted to keep it moving, didn't
want to get into it. Like I'm over it, dude,
I'm over it. And you can think what you want
and people can trust their own eyeballs and their own
gut instincts and whatever you want. This isn't the first
time we've heard stuff that didn't come out of a
player's mouth. But that was my exact point, Like, hey man,

(41:33):
this was a moment where you could say those words
never were said by me. You never heard those come
from me. This is what the truth is, and we
didn't get that. So I'm out on Ace Bailey. I'm
gonna boodh a hell out of that kid.

Speaker 4 (41:44):
Forever and even beyond words like we can't evaluate actions here.
It's fact that he's the only American prospect that did
not work out for a single NBA team. It's fact
that he canceled the workout with the Sixeries that for short,
the Sixeries had a hotel, book, had dinner, reserme, had
breakfast plans, had a workout, scheduled and the night before that,
Aspeley said, actually I'm not coming like that's not normal

(42:06):
practice there. So while like I think at times it
gets piled on with Ace that there is a little
bit more of a frustration with him than probably is
the actuality, the bottom line is those things still that occur.

Speaker 2 (42:18):
Yeah, great stuff, Sean dialed in. You're gonna be doing
what tonight? You're live with DraftKings. Where can we find you?
Can we watch it? Is it just reading you what
he got? Yeah?

Speaker 4 (42:27):
I'll be writing right in today, so there'll be some
stuff coming out on socials, but I'll be doing live
draft grades for the blog on DraftKings, So shout out
to DK network. I'll have live grades for every single
pick of the first round. Hopefully squeeze it in some
extra content draft related so I'll be all over the
place on their website. So check out dknetwork dot com.

Speaker 2 (42:44):
Boom, nice work, Sean, great stuff as usual. Oh final one,
give me one potential overseas the European player who should
we be paying attention to?

Speaker 4 (42:52):
Noah Essingay is the guy that's gonna be probably the
biggest confusing mark for this that he seems to be
making somewhat of a push into the top ten, top fifteen.
I don't fully see it with him, to be honest,
but Toronto is a popular name. He just left his
overseas team to be a part of the draft prospect
of our process here. I'll note that because his teammate
Ben Saraff is not and I frankly like Sarah is
a much better prospect. But Essenay is six', nine moves very.

(43:15):
Well he's a, lengthy switchable you, know the.

Speaker 3 (43:17):
Guy that you can buy into.

Speaker 4 (43:18):
Here he will probably be the First european off the
board and likely has played his way into the top,
ten a rapid riser in recent.

Speaker 2 (43:24):
Weeks, see we're just throwing stuff. Out look At sean's on. It.
Man we didn't discuss. This he's on. It i'm telling
you right. Now one thing hit me the other, DAY i,
go how come there's a million in ONE nfl mock.
DRAFTS nfl mock, experts draft. Experts but when it comes
to THE, nba, man and few were out there to choose.
From Sean bnard's gonna be on a television screen coming
soon over these next few. DRAFTS i promise you that

(43:46):
great Stuff sean you'll be on my computer today over
there AT Dk network and then of course recapping it
all tomorrow and a daily ticket looking forward to. That
enjoy the, draft my. FRIEND i appreciate.

Speaker 3 (43:57):
It i'm, excited all.

Speaker 2 (43:58):
Right good. Stuff as always a if you miss anything
AT Foxphl gambler dot, com don't touch that. Style coming,
up we got a jampack day of. PROGRAMMING u let's
see here six o'clock swinging and ding it followed By
football Is king at seven o'clock With ryanbefcoyle And nick.
McLay keep it locked right here to The.

Speaker 1 (44:16):
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