Goeiedag, enchantée and welcome to this week's episode of Eight 2 Four presents: All-NBA Team of the Week. The Warriors have won the Championship, their fourth in 8 years. Steph finally got his Finals MVP and all's right with the world. The Celtics were a worthy contender but in the end they fell short. Whether they’re still missing a piece or they were just tired, I’ll leave their front office to sort that out. One thing I do know is that they were lacking depth in those final games, their role players and bench just didn’t show up when they were needed. Anyway, the Finals are over and we’re in the last few days of the NBA League year. But before we wrap up, there was the NBA Draft, with Paolo Banchero going to the Magic, Chet Holgren to OKC and Jabari Smith Jr to the Rockets. We’ll go into more detail later in the show. Then, on July 1st, we officially start the offseason and teams can start negotiating with their restricted free agents. From July 6th, trade season starts and the next day Summer League in Vegas starts. A lot to look forward to over the next few weeks, and we need to find some time to look back as well. But first, a lot has happened on draft day, and we’ve picked out 5 events for this week’s show. Get ready for your All-NBA Team of the Week!
PICK #1
Our first pick of the week is Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic. That’s right, Paolo was picked first by the Magic. Possibly the biggest surprise on draft night! Clearly Banchero is a great player and very worthy of being the number 1 pick, it’s just how it happened that was surprising. The Magic didn’t work him out and only had a couple of calls with Paolo. They played this card very close to their chest and for the longest time it seemed like they’d pick either Chet or Jabari and Paolo would fall to the Rockets. But it played out differently and I think the Magic have pissed off a few people in the process. Not in the least Jabari himself. He was expected to go number 1 for months and saw himself drop to 3. Having him next to Jalen Green, who has a chip on his shoulder too, in Houston, that will be fireworks next season!
Obviously, the Magic don’t need to justify their choices, except to their fans. And Paolo is a very easy sell to their fanbase. Of the three, he is probably the player who is most NBA ready, and will fit in nicely alongside Cole Anthony, Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs and of course Mo Bamba. I believe that Bamba and Banchero are a nice fit, where Jabari and Bamba would not be able to play together. Some other names on the Magic roster, just to complete the list: Bol Bol, Marquelle Fultz, Wendell Cart Jr, RJ Hampton, Terrence Ross (but I’m expecting him to be traded away next season), Jonathan Isaac. This is where it gets interesting. Isaac and Banchero are very similar players. Isaac hasn’t played in over 2 years and probably will miss training camp again this summer. Are the Magic making plans to move on from him now that they have Paolo?
The Orlando Magic have a nice roster, and hopefully in about 5 years they can surprise the Eastern Conference and get another Finals trip, just like they did with Shaq and Dwight. But of all the teams that have really tanked last season, I believe the Magic have the most work. They have a nice core, but Houston, Detroit and OKC have a brighter future, in my opinion. They have some pieces they can use to build more draft capital for the next few years, but that is exactly what they’ll be doing the next few years, drafting. This team will dwell for a while longer in the bottom regions of the NBA, so if you’re a Magic fan, hold on, because it could be a bumpy ride ahead.
PICK #2
Our second pick of the week is the New York Knicks’ draft night. No matter what franchise tries to take the crown of most strangely run, the Knicks always find their way to the top. Whether it’s the Timberwolves throwing draft picks at the Warriors to take Andrew Wiggins off their hands or the Kings missing the Playoffs year after year after year, the Knicks just manage to top it every single season. Just to give you an idea of what the last 20 years have looked like for Knicks fans. After losing the NBA Finals in ‘99 and Conference Finals in 2000, they were unable to string anything together. They’re up to their 14th coach with Thibodeau, only made it to the Playoffs 6 times and only once, accidentally, made it to the 2nd round. Besides Carmelo they couldn’t get any kind of superstar to the Garden, I mean, Linsanity is the highlight of the last 20 years, people are still talking about it now. Last year, with a new front office and another Playoff appearance it seemed like they had finally turned the corner. And then the draft happened.
The Knicks had pick 11. It is understandable that the front office didn’t see the talent there to pick someone, I won’t hold that against them. Personally, I wouldn’t have minded to see Jalen Duren on the Knicks, and he very briefly was, but sometimes the franchise experts just don’t see any fits at the level they’re picking. So, a trade was made with OKC. The Knicks flipped their pick 11 for 3 future firsts, all heavily protected and very unlikely to be any better than the 11 they had now. Anyway, that was still excusable, 3 is better than 1. Then, they flip a first rounder and 4 seconds to Charlotte for the 13th pick, Jalen Duren. All of a sudden, they seem geniuses, they had Duren and 2 future first round picks. But they were not done yet, so they called Detroit and offered Duren and the Kemba Walker contract for Milwaukee’s 2025 first round pick, likely to fall quite low as long as Giannis is on the roster there.
It all went so fast, it took me a few days to work it all out but it is not positive. The Knicks made a lot of moves, wasted a lot of picks just to get off the Kemba contract. They’re creating cap space, and people seem to think for Jalen Brunson. Now, Brunson is a good player but he doesn’t warrant all the effort the Knicks have made so far. I’m sort of expecting a massive rabbit to come out of New York soon, where they swap rosters with the Brooklyn Nets or bring in Donovan Mitchell or something similar. But the moves we’ve seen them make so far, with very little explanation coming out of Madison Square Garden, I’m worried that they don’t actually have a masterplan. Let’s see how they tackle the next few weeks.
PICK #3
Our third pick of the week is Chet Holmgren and the Oklahoma City Thunder U21 squad. After the draft, OKC now has 8 players on their roster that are 21 or under. And these are not just add-ons to the roster, some of these guys are looking at some serious minutes. Guys like Josh Giddey, Chet Holmgren, Tre Mann, Poku, Ousmane Dieng, Robinson-Earl, all guys that will either claim a spot in the starting five or demand a spot in the rotation at the very least. Chaperoned by 23 year old veterans, like SGA and Lu Dort, this roster has pretty much everything it needs to grow into a Western Conference Powerhouse over the next few years.
OKC has everything they need, they have a superstar in SGA. They have a fantastic point guard in Giddey, they have a powerful wing defender in Dort and now they have a versatile big with Chet. But more importantly, they have time. This team does not need to perform straightaway, they have time to grow together, take their lumps and naturally evolve into the next NBA dynasty. And because they have such a treasure chest of picks, they don’t HAVE to tank next year. I mean, knowing Sam Presti, they probably will, but they don’t need to. Surely they can try to make the Playoffs and Presti can package about 20 picks together to get that number 1 pick next season, either Victor Wembanyama or Scoot Henderson.
Not that long ago, a lot of people were wondering if Presti could repeat his stunt from the early 2010’s when he drafted Durant, Westbrook, Harden, Ibaka and they went all the way to the NBA Finals. He had plenty of draft picks to give it a red hot go, and it didn’t take long. I’m confident to say that OKC already has what it needs to do it. And, more importantly, they have options in case they don't believe it themselves. SGA and Dort could be flipped in more draft stock and some other quality players in case their contracts become too heavy too early in the piece. We’re witnessing the birth of a future dynasty, and I’m really excited about it.
PICK #4
Our fourth pick of the week is the quietly successful draft of the New Orleans Pelicans and the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers walked away with 3 new players: Benedict Mathurin, who was one of my personal favourites after watching him during March Madness, Andrew Nembhard, who was Chet Holmgren’s point guard in college and Kendall Brown, who was supposed to be a late first rounder but had dropped all the way to 48. Judging the Pacers’ moves, they are all-in on their young core and have surrounded Tyrese Haliburton and Chris Duarte with more talent. This is likely the nail in the coffin for Malcolm Brogdon as well, who they could flip for some interesting pieces too, but maybe not Russell Westbrook.
The Pelicans had a similar draft. With Dyson Daniels at 8, they picked the best player available at that time. The young Australian made a great impression in his year playing for the G-League Ignite and will be a fantastic alongside CJ McCollum or as his back-up. And with EJ Liddell and Karlo Matkovic, they picked two solid players with an immense upside in the second round. Three guys they can fit around their already impressive young core with Zion, Ingram, Herb Jones and Alvarado, who was incredible in the Playoffs. Considering they snuck into the Playoffs last season and Zion is set to return stronger than ever, these guys have it made in the shade.
To me those two teams are some under the radar winners in the draft. Some other winners we haven’t touched on yet are the Pistons, who managed to add 2 solid pieces with Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren, the Spurs have a great addition in Jeremy Sochan and the Grizzlies did what they did last season, trade up to secure their guy. And, as usual, there are some teams who made some strange moves, like the Kings, who passed on Ivey without even trying to trade the pick and get some extra pieces. Keegan Murray is a great prospect but Keegan Murray and something else would have been even better. Obviously, the Knicks made some strange moves and they dragged the Hornets with them who traded Jalen Duren, even though they needed a big. They managed to sort of fix it by drafting Mark Williams a bit later on, but why make it hard on yourself for no reason. The draft is one of my favourite moments of the season and I can’t wait until next year!
PICK #5
Our fifth pick of the week is Damian Lillard of the Portland Trailblazers. A lot is happening in Portland, not all of it makes sense, but one thing is for sure, it is all to keep Damian Lillard happy. When Dame pulled the plug last season to get surgery, the Blazers decided to tank. They dropped out of the Play-In race and managed to get the 7th pick in the lottery. CJ McCollum was traded away and with Josh Hart, they got a wonderful player that fits perfectly next to Dame. Hopefully they make fast work of extending his contract. Anfernee Simons emerged as a great point guard who could run the second unit once Dame returns and he would be in the running for Sixth Man, for sure.
Then, just before the draft, the Blazers announced that they’re trading for Jerami Grant for next to nothing, they just had to send a first rounder to Detroit. Grant, an athletic wing, could be the second star Dame has been looking for, to compete for a spot in the Playoffs. And with the 7th pick in the draft, the Blazers selected the guy who potentially has the biggest upside in the draft, only we haven’t seen him play competitively since 2021, when he was in high school. It’s hard to say how he will fare in the NBA, and how much time he will need to adjust but if he can get going, Shaedon Sharpe is an incredible player.
The Blazers are working hard to keep Dame happy, and then, out of nowhere, Dame posted a picture of him and KD in Blazers outfit on his Instagram. Safe to say that NBA Twitter had a meltdown over this. It’s a public secret that the Nets are having issues resigning Kyrie and not doing so could be pissing off KD. He might be ready to pack up and leave Brooklyn for a new adventure. And if that is not somewhere with Kyrie, then why not in Portland with Dame? Or can the Blazers perform a miracle and bring both KD and Kyrie to the City of Roses? Ah, the beauty of pondering on some crazy NBA conspiracies. It must be trade season soon!
This is our All-NBA team of the Week. Please share our podcast and give us 5 stars. If you have any questions, you can contact the show on eight2fouroffice@gmail.com. Thank you for listening, ballers out!
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