Jim

New episode out previewing summer league with @ByVarunShankar Sorry for the audio issues on my end. Had a blast recording this episode though and I think you guys will still really enjoy it! Thanks to Varun for hopping on the pod. open.spotify.com/episode/26bW5q…

I really liked what I saw from Jonathan Pierre in those last few summer league games. He impressed me a lot and I think he’s worth keeping around in some capacity.

Wanted to clarify my thoughts I like the Whitmore trade. He can REALLY score. Just saying he has some huge holes in his game that need time to improve (passing, shot selection, off-ball D). There are real concerns But I liked Cam pre-draft and still think he has a ton of talent

3P% is one of the least translatable stats from a player’s summer league to their rookie season. Jamir’s shooting could be better than we expect next year. Really hope that’s the case because his defense is so good. Could be a second round steal.

This is definitely a narrative that’s out there but we really don’t have a case of this happening to a team yet. The Thunder just extended Shai, J Dub and Chet after winning the Finals

Been going back and watching some Cam Whitmore games from last season and I have a lot of concerns For what we gave up I like the swing because he does have talent, but like there’s also a reason he was available for two 2nd rounders He’s a pretty massive project at this point

As the use of full court ball pressure has increased around the NBA, it’s pretty valuable to have a big that can handle the ball Opposing big men are not going to press up full court, so using Sarr like this is an easy way to break pressure and get into your offense quickly

Great defensive possession from Tre here. Really good ball pressure from him and then good awareness and positioning off the ball to help force a turnover. Tre’s defense still has a long way to go but I think he was better than I expected in summer league.

I watched a ton of college basketball last year and Robbie Hummel was the best play by play analyst I heard. He’s really good at this and I’m excited to have him covering the NBA now.

Great pickup for the Suns. I’ve been a fan of Goodwin ever since his stint here with the Wizards. I just think he’s a solid NBA player and this fills a need for the Suns with his point of attack defense.

Watching this Jazz-Wizards summer league game that I missed and Cody Williams has definitely made a leap. Still don’t see any star upside but he looks so much more confident in his shot and has been pretty good attacking closeouts. Looks a lot stronger than he was last year too.

This is pretty spot on lol Absolutely loved the Kings draft. Nique was a lottery level prospect for me and Raynaud was a top 25 guy on my board. But I hated basically everything else they did and I don’t really understand their direction right now

I would have loved for Smart to stick around in DC and be a mentor, but he probably wanted to go somewhere he could win. By listening to Smart’s preferences, this reflects well on the Wizards FO to other agents and vets across the league. That kind of stuff matters long term.

PG: Clayton Jr. SG: Coward SF: Flagg PF: Queen C: Wemby Bench: Filipowski, Topic, Sorber

I honestly don’t know how Jamir Watkins blocked this shot. He started his closeout from inside the lane lol Insane ground coverage

Took some time off this app during my vacation, but I’m back now and I have 3 Wizards summer league games to catch up on. Time to watch Jamir Watkins play some defense let’s go

His handle is so much better than last year. Looks like a completely different player

11 assists to just 1 turnover today for Kam Jones. Had a 3.1 A/TO ratio in college last year. Insane playmaker while also never turning it over. He’s going to be a good backup guard at least. Might be more than that too.

Couldn’t watch the game tonight because I’m on vacation and seems like I picked a good one to miss lol But we will be rewatching at some point for my guy Jamir Watkins