NBA DRAFT: Are the Toronto Raptors in PRIME position to snap up a Draft night faller?

[00:00:00]On your Monday episode of Locked on Raptors, you've listened to me, a draft doofus, talk about the draft for months now. And today, we got a smart person on to tell me why I'm wrong about stuff.

[00:00:10]It's Tyler Metaf of Locked On NBA Draft and No Ceilings. All coming up on today's show.

[00:00:20]You are Locked On Raptors, your daily Toronto Raptors podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. your team every day.

[00:00:31]>> Hey, what's going on and welcome to another episode of Locked On Raptors. It is Monday, June the 15th, and I'm your host, your pal Shawn Woodley. Thanks for hanging as always. And today's show is brought to you by FanDuel, the biggest stage in world soccer is now here in it.

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[00:00:49]Visit FanDuel.com to get started. and we will get started talking draft with someone who knows what the hell they're talking about, which is a reprieve from what I've been doing here over the last couple of months, trying my best to understand the prospects and have some level of educated takes, but I can in no way replicate what the folks at No Ceilings do. And here is one of those folks. It's Tyler Metaf, who's uh generously offered some time up here in a very busy time of year to talk about why I'm wrong about so much stuff.

[00:01:18]Tyler, thanks so much for coming on the show. Thrilled to have you, man.

[00:01:22]>> I appreciate you having me on. Excited to be here. And that's the beautiful part about the draft is that you can be wrong about a million different things and evaluations because it's all kind of a crapshoot at the end of the day, but uh you know, we we appreciate informed guesses and informed swings and and all that kind of good stuff.

[00:01:38]>> My my all-time favorite uh really indignant draft night thing that took place, I've talked about on the show before, but I was apppoplelectic that the Raptors took Yonas Valenunis over Brandon Knight. uh which shows just how much all this doesn't matter. Uh so let's jump in here, Tyler. You know, I want to just kind of start broadly talking about the Raptors range at 19. I have kind of dubbed this the no wrong answers zone for the Raptors. I think there are a lot of different guys at various positions who figure to be available. I'm of the mind, too, that there are a lot of guards in this draft.

[00:02:12]You can argue there's like seven guards who could in theory go between five and 19. I just have a hard time thinking that seven of 15 teams in that range are going to take guards considering the way the the league is going. And so it feels like there might be one of those dudes available for the Raptors at 19. Beyond that, you know, they're always liable to reach on a guy. Though it feels as though this kind of falls off as a class in the sort of mid20s because of all the guys who went back to school and the sort of thinning out of the pool thanks to NIL. I'm curious like at 19, how would you be feeling if you were a Raptors fan? Do you feel pretty comfortable there's going to be someone there or is it kind of going to depend on who goes or doesn't go higher in the draft and you're hoping someone slips otherwise you know it could be a bit of a a rough collection of guys to choose from.

[00:02:58]>> Yeah. And obviously whenever you're picking that late it it always kind of depends on who goes before you. Um but in most years you're kind of like oh man there's like a 2% chance one of these guys could fall all the way to 19. Like we saw last year, it looked like Casper Yakon is falling um at Illinois where or coming out of Illinois, falling to Miami, and he was a guy that like personally I like top 10, but every year we see at least one of these guys tumble a little bit, but with how talented this first round looks. Now, the second round gets really gross pretty quickly, but there's a lot of talent in this first round. And even if just one or two guys, you know, kind of get quote unquote reached for, that bumps even more down.

[00:03:41]And like you were saying, there are so many point guards in this draft. They're not all going in the lottery. Whether it's uh whe whether it's a Bua Aorei or Leberon Phylon or Bennett Stirts or you know someone's falling a little bit not out of the first round but sure >> probably to the 20s um because we're continuously seeing the value of big point guards and not all of these guys are big point guards. So, between the plethora of guards, between the very limited wings and big men, I do think that if you're hoping that you get a point guard or like one of these really talented uh lead or combo guards, I think one of them should probably be there at 19 because I I expect some of these three and D wings or, you know, big men with both those classes being kind of underwhelming to get, you know, potentially reached quoteunquote reached for. um before that spot.

[00:04:37]>> Yeah, I think the the guard thing is particularly interesting for the Raptors, who I have been pounding the table for months now, like just screaming, "Please get more guard play on the team." I think you saw the way they played when they had their two guard lineups out there this year, and it was really impressive, especially with kind of what you can get away with with Scotty Barnes and Colin Murray Boils on your backline and they literally only had two guards to speak of. And so when one missed the playoffs and Emanuel Quickley, it was like, "Oh, wow. It'd be nice if there was another guy to backfill here, but there just wasn't. Um, and look, I I I think you could probably be pretty safe in in saying that, you know, if a Leberon Phylon or Ibuka Cororey is there for the Raptors at 19 and they're taken, they're not going to necessarily give you all the impact in year one that you got from, say, Colin Murray Boils, who was like a one of one. Guys don't do that as rookies very often outside of being drafted in the top couple of picks. So, you can't really expect that, especially from a guard, which is probably going to be a longer term development track. But, I want to ask you about Phylon in particular because he's the guy I've kind of zeroed in on as like the dream outcome for the Raptors. He's slight. He only weighed 176 pounds at the combine, one pound heavier than the year before.

[00:05:47]That seems a little concerning. Uh, small guards is just a harder road to walk in the NBA now than it ever has been. That said, like there is like a threshold of you're good enough at stuff even at that size where it can work and can play. And for me, Fon, I'll get into some of my bolder takes about him later on, but generally speaking, what is your view on him and and you know, based on kind of what you're hearing, what you sort of how you see the draft going, what are the chances he is there at 19?

[00:06:16]Because I feel like over time it seems more and more mock drafts are having him in the Raptors range and some actually just have the Raptors taking him. Yeah, he of these guards, he kind of feels like the one kind of caught in that no man's land between that second tier with like I Bua Cororey, Bennett Sts, and that top tier with Waggler, Mel Brown, Darov, Brain Burries, uh, Kingston Flemings. And then there's kind of Phylon like right in the middle where it's like, oh, like some people really love him. If he went like 9, 10, 11, 12, like in that like late lottery range, it wouldn't shock me if he fell to the 20s.

[00:06:51]It honestly wouldn't shock me. And he's been one of my trickier evals all year because like I I had him as like a fringe top 20 guy last year before he withdrew and went back to Alabama because like he was this defensive first dynamic slasher menace at the point of attack. Showed some really intriguing offball scoring flashes with on ball creation flashes. But he was playing next to Mark Sears who was a perennial all-American all SEC point guard. this year he took on that Mark Sears creation role and we wanted to see him like all right well you didn't really shoot it as a freshman can't you can you shoot it just okay as a sophomore and he shot the lights out like he was insane from behind the arc and it wasn't just spot-up stuff it was stepbacks it was pull-ups out of the pick and roll is creating stuff in isolation is hitting stuff off movement off the catch while also still getting downhill while also still taking on a major playmaking burden now the defense fell off completely But that's kind of to be expected when you're taking on that much of an offensive load. So, I would love for his kind of game to meet in the middle between the two years, see that defense come up a little bit, see that uh >> playing with blinders at time, come come down a little bit, get a little more free flowing in the offense.

[00:08:07]>> But one of the biggest things I continue to struggle with, it's like when we look at these playoffs, it's like, show me the point guards who are playing in the playoffs who are 175 pounds.

[00:08:16]>> Sure. like there aren't any. And like the one small guard who has gone deep into these playoffs is Jaylen Brunson who was who's incredibly smart, incredibly crafty, incredibly strong and >> he's like three Leberon phylons wide.

[00:08:30]>> Exactly. Yeah.

[00:08:31]>> So like, and I'm not trying to discount Leberon because he's a really good player. I really like him. I have him in like that French lottery range, but the league constantly tells us what they value and what works. And my my concern despite how good he is, despite how much he improved, despite how skilled he is, >> my concern is that just physically he's going to get targeted all the time.

[00:08:55]>> Yeah. I mean, it's a I think a worthwhile concern for me. I've kind of reckoned it that like if he's there at 19, it's totally worth the gamble for the Raptors on size. And again, you know, I've kind of thrown this around with Scotty and Colin Marie Boilles being the basis of the team. Like I think they'll let you get away with a little bit more than your your standard sort of defensive basis would, you know, is there a limit to that? It might be 176 pounds. It just might be. But yeah, I I am uh again, I got more on Learon Phylon that I want to throw at you a little bit later on. There's another guy who I want to talk about coming up the other side here who didn't seem like he was likely to drop, but you know, he didn't get invited in the first wave of invites to the combine, and there's some stuff about him maybe sliding down boards. We're gonna talk about Yakel Lindborg, who is kind of Raptorscoded in the way he plays and the way he's shaped, but is he going to be there? And if he is, is it a the right move for the Raptors to take someone who's very, very old? We'll get to him coming up in just one sec.

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[00:10:37]France does this all the time. Don't make these bonus bet picks for France games. They never score. But if you're looking at like Germany's group and saying, I think they can go and run over some team in their group and score five, six goals in a game. Maybe that's the game you throw your token on for and you can have a great time watching the World Cup, making extra money when those goals go in. From the opening whistle to the final kick, but there'll be goals on FanDuel. Visit fanduel.com to get started now. And today's show is brought to you by Rouette. The NHL finals, the cup finals going on. It's here where every shift matters and every moment is intense and everything comes down to execution where the pressure is at its highest. That and just like athletes, you must be ready to perform when the puck drops. A lot of guys want that same sense of readiness and confidence in their own lives, too. That's where Rouette comes in. Rouette offers modern performance focused treatments designed to help you be ready when it matters.

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[00:12:11]And just quick heads up, you can check out the Lockdown Raptors everyday club right now. Link in the description of the podcast lockdown.supcast.com.

[00:12:17]Five bucks a month, 50 bucks for the year. Add free episodes of the show every single day. You don't got to listen to me bumble through ad copy.

[00:12:23]It's uninterrupted, baby. Uh, and you also get access to our locked on networkwide discord server uh, which is a great place. Come talk sports, including the World Cup among friends from, uh, across the globe who listen to lockdown shows just like you. All right, Tyler, let's, uh, jump into Yel Lindborg, who I haven't really devoted a whole lot of time to because I just assumed he's going in the lottery. Some team, maybe a team that's kind of closer to contention, maybe the Thunder are just going to snap that dude up and he's going to go play helpful winning minutes right away. but he didn't get the invite to the to the uh draft recording this on Wednesday by the way and so things could change by then for sure but wasn't in the initial wave of invites to the green room on draft night and there is some stuff Sam Vassini was talking a little about this just kind of the the interview stuff not maybe being super sterling with Yakel Lindaborg uh what are you hearing about him is there a real chance he falls into the Raptors range and if he is there do you think he's worth it for a Raptors team that sure loves to load up on these big long wings. And I I think he would actually be like a pretty awesome fit if they want to just lean into the Scotty at the five thing and have Yakel Scotty and and Colin Marie Boils ruin other offense's days for the next handful of years.

[00:13:34]>> He's a really fun player. Um because like at UAB he was big-time defensive playmaker, like great defensive metrics, not so sound with the consistency, but then was just like the hub of everything on offense. at Michigan, he scaled way back on offense, played way more of a complimentary role, fit in when needed, took over when needed. Um, we we saw the shooting improve, we saw the passing improve, we saw the decision-m improve, and then we also saw him improve tremendously on the defensive end in terms of doing the little things, executing every single possession. And I mean, anytime you get like a 69, 250 pound dude picking up opposing point guards 90 feet, >> it's kind of fun. And, you know, he's a guy who's switching everything at the point of attack. So statistically, he had one of the most dominant seasons we've seen in quite some time. Like there really isn't a hole in his game if you're just looking at it from an analytical profile. The problem is is that he's 24. Uh like he's going to be a super old rookie and the NBA, regardless of how good he is, regardless of where you think he should go, the NBA constantly tells us what they value and it is not old rookies. So, I I've never thought even though like his numbers suggest he should probably be like a top 10 guy, I've never once thought that he's going to go top 10 uh purely because of the age and and it sucks to boil it down and have it be just that base level of kind of a decision, but the NBA tells us what they value and it's not guys like that. So, >> I do think a lot of like the maturity stuff has kind of gotten overblown. um like he's not toxic, he's not a locker room cancer, he's not anything like that. He's just I think just a little immature. Um and like his background and upbringing has been well documented and there are some really really good stories that have been told on that. Um it if if you're interested in those, but I I I do think he's a guy who needs a lot of structure, who needs probably established vets and culture in place to wherever he goes. But he has the skills to impact winning in basically any area that you need. So, when we're looking at 19 and who's going to be be available there, I don't think it's outlandish that Yaxel's there. And if he is, it has nothing to do with his ability. Um, it's kind of almost purely based on age. And I it wouldn't shock me if the Raptors are looking at one of those kind of like bigger forwards like Yaxel or Alen Graves or Kareem Lopez, guys in that mold.

[00:16:03]>> Yeah. I mean, I think it's wild. He's 14 months younger than Scotty Barnes who is going into his sixth NBA season next year. That that kind of hurt my brain.

[00:16:12]But I mean, there's an argument to be made that like you're trying to optimize this Scotty window. You have Colin Murray Boils on a rookie scale deal providing the value it looks like he's going to provide for the next three years at basically no money. Like if you want to get a guy in the door who can help you right now, there might not be a better option on the table. And yeah, I think you know, we've talked about this plenty on this show, sort of how do you build with Scotty and Colin Murray Boils? And I think tripling down on guys of that size with the sort of multifaceted skill sets is not the worst way to go about it. Um, can I ask you about Sorry, go ahead. Yeah.

[00:16:44]>> Yeah. Sorry to interrupt you, but just building off that same kind of thought process is like with the with this first and second apron era like we team building is hard. Like it is really limited. I still cannot believe that the players agreed to this, but it is incredibly limited. And if you're like a playoff team and you can get one of these older guys who's gonna be >> almost through their prime >> on a rookie deal where you're paying them practically nothing.

[00:17:10]>> I think guys like Yaxel Lunderberg, Bennett Sturge, I think these, you know, older guys who may not have quite as much potential upside and room for growth, but you know, they rock right away and can contribute in a rotation for pennies. I think I think it's going to be really interesting to see if we start to see a shift and teams start valuing those kind of players a little more. Not like top five, top 10 more, but like in the in the teams a little more.

[00:17:34]>> Yeah. I mean, it's kind of the exact opposite of the idea of a finon where it might take a few years for him to kind of, you know, find his spot in the league, right? Um, can I ask you about Kareem Lopez? I've done a lot of digging on all the guys in this draft basically except for Kareem Lopez because I I think somewhere around Timothy Luwahu Cabaro I just kind of swore off trying to understand international prospects and I just that's not my bag. I don't get it. Um but uh Kareem Lopez gets kicked around. He is a wing. He is someone that you just suggested might be kind of the sort of uh flavor that the Raptors tend to go for. Uh what's his deal? Like I, you know, every time I read about him or kind of hear a podcast about him, it's kind of just like this unenthused. Yeah, he's kind of just like fine at everything and not great at anything. What's the like the the elevator pitch on Kareem Lopez?

[00:18:21]>> I'm probably not the guy to give it unfortunately. Like I I I have him like in like the early 20s like sure good size, some encouraging athletic stuff, but like not an overwhelming athlete.

[00:18:32]>> He's an okay shooter, not a great one.

[00:18:34]He's an okay connective passer, not a great one. okay off ball scorer, not a great one. Okay, defender, not a great one. And >> he's fine. He like he kind of gives me like Ge Santos vibes.

[00:18:46]>> So like when people have him in like the top 10, I don't get it. Uh but like once you get into like the late teens, early 20s and you kind of have a guy that size with the potential and you know if you're buying into a couple areas of his game really growing and taking a leap in the next couple years, >> I get taking the swing. Um because like it gets pretty thin in that in that range right after that. So like physically that's probably the best selling point of like man this is a big wing who can theoretically do a bunch of different things out there and can he grow into like a Ruy Hachimura type of player. Um I don't know. I I I'm a little less enthused on him >> that that the elevator pitch doesn't have to be like a good pitch. It could just be uh you know your quick pitch on him that we get in an elevator chat and yeah I'm fine after that quick chat.

[00:19:37]None of my business. is I don't need to go dig into Kareem Lopez anymore. If the Raptors take them, I'll do it. But um yeah, it does not seem like my bag.

[00:19:44]Anyway, we'll come back, Tyler. I want to get into uh some of my firmst held takes about this draft. Again, I'm a draft doofus and I want to run them by you and you can confirm whether they're doofus takes or not. We'll do that to close things out in just one sec.

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[00:21:12]All right, wrapping things up here with some rapidfire deeply held takes on my end that I am going to serve up to Tyler so he can swap them down like prime to Kenbe Matumbo. And if not, great. I feel awesome about myself. Uh because you know what the hell you're talking about once again. All right, my first one for you. We talked about Leberon Filon earlier, Tyler. Um, I've been kicking around the sort of rankings of the guards, you know, in the sort of after the top four range, and I have come to the conclusion I think Learon Phylon will be number two for me in this group behind only Kingston Flemings. I think Flemings I just kind of feel like is the best two-way bet. And I, you know, there's something about Houston guys that I really believe in. We might talk about Kristen Knack Jr. in just a second. Um, but like I'm terrified of Waggler against NBA physicality. I'm terrified of Auff because he's probably going to the Kings. I'm terrified of really most of these guys for some reason or another. And I just think Phylon to me like the the isolation scoring numbers, the rim stuff despite being small, the three-point shooting. I think there's probably better defense than we saw this past year to tap into as you alluded to, like he played in his first year playing next to Mark Sears. I I I just kind of feel like I have the fewest red flags, understanding that the size thing might be the biggest glaring red flag of all of them, but I just kind of feel like he's the best basketball player outside of Kingston Flemings from this bunch. How stupid is that to say?

[00:22:37]>> I I wouldn't say stupid. It's a little spicy. Um >> I personally I I have him like at the end of that list of the top guys. Okay.

[00:22:46]>> Um I I have Michael Brown as my point guard one. Um >> forgot about him. Yeah, I have him the third right behind Phylon. But yes, >> but like I mean when you look at the numbers, when you look at the film, like it learon Phylon put up just did insane stuff this year and if he improved that much um in one year in college, what's to say there isn't yet another leap coming? Um I I I think to hit that kind of level, the playmaking needs to get a lot better. Um he's he's a really good passer whereas like >> guys right in front of him twoman game kind of stuff. He he's accurate. He reads the defense fine but he's not overly manipulative. He doesn't really move defenders. There's not a whole lot of creativity. Not a whole lot of risk takingaking. Not a whole lot of like finding guys who are more than one pass away like a lot of the other guys do. So I think that's for me on the offensive end. That's the big separator between him and Katon and Mel and Auff.

[00:23:40]>> That's totally fair. Uh, I will take spicy, not stupid as a win in my books.

[00:23:46]All right. Another guy who I find to be fascinating, who I'm just so not into, though I I totally get like the athletic uh argument in favor of him. Tell me why Jaden Quaintance isn't just Matise Thybel.

[00:24:00]>> Uh, because he's gigantic.

[00:24:02]>> I guess he's bigger. Just Okay. He's big Matis Thyel, >> right? But I big Matise Thyel's a problem. Uh, >> yeah, I guess that's fair. Yeah. Okay, maybe this is stupid.

[00:24:14]>> The trick is >> I think the offense is really, really, really bad with him and I think it could be bad to the point that it just doesn't work.

[00:24:21]>> Yeah, there's some passing stuff that could get unlocked that like if you're really all in on him, I think you're hoping he's like Celtics um version of Robert Williams. Okay. where like the def like when he's healthy, the defense is insane. And like he he has like a very very good shot of being the best def defender from this class, >> but he's got to be healthy. And the medicals sound questionable. Um I I I haven't gotten over the moon reactions to them. Uh, nothing confirmed or anything like that yet, but >> there are a lot of questions on that and th that's that's always scary with guys that young. But in in terms of the kid, in terms of the the defender, the upside, there's a lot to love there >> if big if if the medicals check out.

[00:25:08]>> That's fair. Uh, I I think I'd be pretty unenthused if the Raptors took him, but he's such a Raptorscoded guy that I would not be in any way surprised if he went there. Um, a guy who I think I'd probably higher than basically anyone and mostly it's just like vibes based and because he does cool dunks while also taking 30 foot threes is Cameron Carr. Um, I don't, you know, it seems like he's he had a great combine. He graded out super well. It seemed like he was kind of rising towards the lottery.

[00:25:35]Maybe that softened a little bit in the sort of mock drafts you see now. Don't think he was in that initial wave of invites to the green room either, if I'm not mistaken. Uh, tell me why Cameron Carr isn't like a top 10 prospect and someone who you should probably take ahead a lot of these guards who have like a pretty bad bottom falling out potential. I I I get it. He's slight.

[00:25:54]He's maybe not the greatest on ball defender, but uh have you seen him throw down dunks? It's pretty cool, man.

[00:26:00]>> He's he's got serious bounce and isn't afraid of contact or defenders at the rim. Like he's willing to at least try to go through guys uh physically. Is he capable of it?

[00:26:10]>> That's a different conversation. Um, but like he legit athlete, awesome length, big- time defensive playmaker, nasty shooter from outside. I I love Cam Car like >> Cool, >> but he's railin and like you're not really probably getting any on ball stuff with him. But if you're looking for like a 3 and wing, he is by far the best because the 3D archetype in this class is bad and by far the best. So, like if you're a team looking for that, you just take him because you know he's going to be a sniper from outside. You know he's got bounce getting downhill and you know that he can be super disruptive on defense regardless of how how much he gives up physically. He's going to fight. He's going to compete.

[00:26:52]He's going to be a terror on that end of the floor. So, he feels like a classic just just don't overthink it kind of guy.

[00:26:58]>> Right. Yeah. To me, I just envisioning him like cutting baseline while Scotty Barnes has it on the short roll and just like throwing down cool lobs off cuts.

[00:27:08]It's uh something I want to spend the next 5 to seven to 10 years watching very badly. Two more quick ones for you.

[00:27:15]Uh Joshua Jefferson has been a bit of my muse on this show. I I am a sucker for a cool forward who's kind of slow and does sick passes. It's it's very much a vice of mine. Um, my thing with him is I feel like he's the most likely of anyone in that sort of 20 to 30 range to instantly join a good team and just be playing in the playoffs next year. Like I think if he joins the Spurs, oh my god, what a perfect player to play next to WBY. Like I I just am a very very Joshua Jefferson pill and feel like he's just going to be a guaranteed good NBA helpful player.

[00:27:49]Um, am I off base on this one? Is he simply just too slow? Uh, so I I'm kind of against consensus with Josh Jefferson where I don't get it. Um, I I've really struggled with him. I sure and I I kind of get the intrigue because guys who are that big with that, you know, with those ball skills, they're they're fun.

[00:28:08]They're also an archetype that I just always struggle with. And it's like, all right, I'm going to buy in on this guy this year and then they suck. And I'm like, oh, this guy's going to suck. The last five have sucked and then he's good. So, it's like, all right, wonderful. Um, >> yep.

[00:28:20]>> I really worry about the athleticism.

[00:28:21]like he's a bad athlete and I I I think his defensive like metrics are really misleading and I I think he's a lot worse on that end of the floor. The shot has to kind of be real for him. I love some of the passing stuff. The ball security gets kind of funky and inconsistent and erratic. So, um most people agree with you and kind of have him in like the 20s range. I'm a little lower. I you know not much but like early second round I I I see the value but I I >> he's someone I've I've struggled with.

[00:28:55]>> You are not going to talk me off my position. Uh but I appreciate and understand you are probably way more informed and uh you know reliable on this than I would be. Uh last one I have for you here. A guy who's like kind of the polar opposite crazy athlete. Does he know how to play basketball? Who knows? Chris Sak Jr. who I think there's some, you know, scuttlebutt that the Raptors are into. Not terribly surprising. They could use a theoretical stretch big man, I think, for the long haul with Scotty and CMBB as the the core of the team. Um, he really does look lost a lot of the time. And I guess for me, the way I'm coping, the way I'm talking myself into it is everything you hear about him, it sounds like he wants to be good. It sounds like he's not trying to be like be bad at basketball on purpose. He went to Houston because he wanted to get coached hard. I know even Kelvin Samson is like, "Yeah, he might be good someday. We'll see." Not terribly ringing endorsements, but I can't quit the belief that Chris Senak Jr. could just be like a really nice uh like the way I've likened him is what if Kel Wear cared about basketball? Um that it seems like it probably will blow up in my face, but I I can't quit Chris Jr.

[00:30:05]despite all of the tape being kind of nasty to watch.

[00:30:09]Yeah, you're if you're in on on Chris Senk, it's all because of the physical tools and you're buying in on the person. The the intel with him is great.

[00:30:18]Like we we just go watch any literally any Houston game and you will see snippets of the coaching staff reaming him out and showing him film and like coaching him really hard, but he's always receptive to it. He's always like locked in. He's always engaged. He's always like, "Yes." Yeah. Like and like wanting to wanting to be better. Um, and like you can that is way more than a lot of guys. So like having that as just like a personality that's really encouraging and gives me a little more confidence that he's at least not going to like flat out fail. Um, >> but having the athleticism that he does and being as poor of and as poor of a defender as he was is insane. And even going back to high school, like he's never been a big block or steel guy. And >> it makes no sense to me because like he he's big, he's fluid, he's explosive, and yet he never blocks anything. And it drives me absolutely insane. Even in that like Houston system where they have like their bigs flying around all over the place and blocking shots all over the like you can't get like two blocks a game. Like what are we doing? Um so like he's a good rebounder. I buy the shot long term. Doesn't pass. Doesn't dribble. Doesn't do isn't disruptive on defense. Has a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot of work to do.

[00:31:42]>> But the foundation and the person is really encouraging.

[00:31:46]>> Yeah. I don't think I've ever been more in on a prospect who knows less where to stand on the floor. Usually like the knows where to stand test is one of my like first things and it'll be disqualifying if you don't know where to stand. Boy, does he not know where to stand. But I again, there's something about a guy who just like wants to get yelled at by Kelvin Samson that I simply must believe in. Uh, and maybe having Jamal shed around a former Houston guy as well can help with that. Uh, Tyler, this was awesome. Thank you so much for taking the time. I know it's a crazy busy time of year for you. Where can people check out all of your excellent, excellent work?

[00:32:17]>> No, I appreciate that. Uh, yeah, and you can follow my stuff at teammaf11. Um, no sealings.com. We just dropped our draft guide. Um, >> it's so good. Oh my god, I appreciate that. So, like 100 prospects, 80,000 words, incredible graphics, uh, strengths, weaknesses, comps, full writeups, all that good stuff. Uh, you can find that over at no sealings NBA.com, No Ceilings podcast, No Ceilings YouTube, No Ceilings on Socials. We also just dropped a mockdraft simulator and obviously the lockdown NBA draft show with No Ceilings where we're going Monday through Friday all season long. So, um, yeah, any of those.

[00:32:53]>> Yeah, there's so much out there. It's all great. Everyone go check out No Ceilings and Tyler's work. It's fantastic. And uh enjoy the draft, man.

[00:32:59]Should be a lot of fun. And uh we're going to leave it there. Follow, subscribe, rate, review, tell a friend, join the Discord link in the description of the podcast. Always free to join the Locked On Raptors Discord. You can also join the Lockdown Networkwide Discord and get ad free episodes of the show every day for just low price of five bucks a month or 50 bucks for the year, which is like a 17% savings if you want to go annual. That's very nice of you to do. Uh, and we will be back again on Tuesday with our 10-year locked anniversary show where we are going to draft the best transactions the Toronto Raptors have made in the last 10 years.

[00:33:30]Had a lot of fun on that one. It's already in the can because I'm on vacation, baby. But, uh, this is coming from the past. Uh, look forward to Tuesday's show where we do that and celebrate 10 years of this podcast network, which is kind of nuts. Either way, thank you oh so much for for checking out the show and telling friend and all that good stuff. And thanks to Tyler for hopping on. We'll talk to you soon. Bye-bye.

[00:33:50]I'm damned.