All Eyes on Jaden Ivey & Ausar Thompson!

All Eyes on Jaden Ivey & Ausar Thompson!

The rock never stops. Sorry, I got uh the kiddo in the background doing the dishes. It’s important that parents teach kids responsibility. Give them chores. So, I’m being a responsible dad. She’s doing the chores. They’re going to get a little water in the background. Other than that, other than that, I don’t know if y’all seen the recent Zachlo podcast. It’s on YouTube and podcast channels. uh and him and the other person that he was interviewing uh both of them long long-term NBA critics and analysts gave a list of their six most intriguing players in the NBA and both of them acknowledge Jaden Ivy and Assar Thompson at the top of their list in terms of intriguing players for next season. And it’s something I started thinking about. I was like, “Yo, uh, you know, I feel like I’ve been on the bandwagon for a while now, that both of them are special talents and that they’re going to be big time, but I think the NBA is beginning to come around and beginning to acknowledge what these two might be for these Detroit Pistons.” And I want to dive into that in this video. So, if you’re enjoying it, please smash the like button for me. It’s a little thing, but a big thing. Hit subscribe and the bell for notifications. It makes a big difference. It also lets the YouTube algorithm know you enjoy interactive live chats because that’s what this is. I respond to your chat questions and thoughts and I give some feedback. You know, if you say something crazy, I’m have to get on your top. But if it’s a good point, I’mma acknowledge it on my channel. All that’s to say is smash the like button. Let me just start off with saying sometimes I almost have to pinch myself and go back and view Jaden Ivy’s and Assara Thompson’s highlights from last season just to like did I really see what I thought I saw? Did they really look as good as talented as capable as almost unstoppable as I remember seeing them? Cuz sometimes you forget, you know, sometimes you you get busy watching other things. You know, I I’ve got a life. You have a life. And it’s easy to forget. How many Pistons fans forgot about Jay Nyvy maybe less than a month after his injury? Totally forgot that he had two gamewinners against the Toronto Raptors and Sacramento Kings, right? Everyone seemed to forget just how big of an impact he was making and the steps and the strides he was taking even though he was still trying to figure out how to play alongside of Kade Cunningham because remember Cade was injured his rookie year. Then the sophomore year it was the Monty Williams fiasco. So they never really got a chance to find their rhythm, their chemistry, figure out, okay, how are we going to do this together? And then here comes JB Biggerstaff. JB Biggerstaff comes in with a system, with a uh culture to imprint on this team, a foundation identity of what this team is going to be, and everybody began to fall in line. And with a lot of luck from the basketball guys, cuz God knows they deserved it. All of a sudden, everybody was healthy just about. And Jaden Ivy and Cade Cunningham were able to take off. Now, I think if you recount from the beginning of the season, the takeoff didn’t exactly merit a whole lot of wins at first, they actually had a really heavy uh beginning stretch of the season, right? A lot of contending teams, a lot of teams that were expected to win uh the NBA championship to be at the top of the playoff brackets. And so, it was rough early on, but you could still see the strides. You could still see despite Cade and Ivy not necessarily knowing how to play off of each other, still being able to take over for stretches of games, still being able to impose their will and show that they’ve got some considerable talent. And then we all know as the winter ensued, December rolls around and all of a sudden the Pistons get rolling. Eventually, Assar Thompson is cleared from the blood clots and they begin to work him in on minutes restrictions. He probably plays about 10 minutes a game for the first three, four weeks, which was tough as an onlooker because you begin to see his potential and you’re like, “Yo, man, if they could just put this all, okay, okay, we’ll trust JB. He’s figuring it out.” But you keep looking and wondering what it looks like with all them playing together. And we didn’t get a chance to see it before Ivy went down. But of course, as Ivy goes down, Assar Thompson begins to ascend. His minutes increase and the impact that he has on the defensive end. All of a sudden, begins to transform this team into a defensive identity that I would say it took JB staff a while to truly buy into. The reason why I said that, it wasn’t that he wasn’t preaching defensive principles and teaching them uh how to play as one, but they didn’t have the defensive talent that was going to be necessary to be able to elevate the defense in the way that he wanted. But eventually, Assar Thompson’s minutes begin to peak 20 plus minutes a game, begins to hit that 20 mark. And as it got to that 18 to 20 mark, all of a sudden the defense on this team, especially as he shifts into the starting lineup begins to be undeniable. The defense skyrockets. This team’s overall efficiency on both ends begins to increase and they go on a run. A run that would result in 44 wins. And now comes the off season. Now, I think it goes without saying we all believed that had Jaden Ivy been president in the playoffs, we probably beat the Knicks. I don’t think that there’s any of us who believe that the Ivy impact instead of Tim Hardway Jr. elevates this team. But something that I was thinking about was just how good Dennis Shruder looked on this team, but also acknowledging that Dennis Shruder was a replacement for Jaden Ivy, that he was necessary because Jaden Ivy had gotten hurt. What would it look like if from the beginning of the season we have Ivy and Assar Thompson? And this is where today’s conversation takes place. That Jaden Ivy and Assara Thompson are going to be playing a full season, are going to be playing alongside of each other from day one, from training camp, from offseason workouts, from preeason and the regular season. Day one, they will have the full collection of talent. Ethan, what’s good, man? Ivy would have provided more offense than either Timard Jr. or Beasley and better defense than Beasley for sure. Similar to Tim J. I actually think Jay Ivy has even better defense than Tim like significantly just because of the off uh not the offense because of the athletic difference between them. Jaden Ivy’s quickness, lateral mobility, lower center of gravity, leaping ability, speed, wingspan, all were far superior than Tim Hardaway Jr. Now you combine him alongside of Assar Thompson, I think everyone’s defense looks 10 times better because you saw the impact once Assar was in that starting lineup. All of a sudden, Tim Art Jr.’s defense looked better. Kate Cunningham’s defense looked better. Uh Jaylen Durren’s defense looked better. Imagine now you have a bigger, more athletic, longer, quicker Jaden Ivy. How much it elevates that collective defense. Timard Jr. puts his body on the line and takes charges. Those plays are why I put them in similar level, but I’m not m Yeah. No, he does do that. He also gets blown by for straight line drives. And I think that that’s something that I constantly saw that I would really frustrate me especially when Assar Thompson was available. Like I would say in December, January, February when JB Pickerstaff was still hesitant to try to close with Assar Thompson. He would close with Cade Cunningham, Malik Beasley, Tim Hardway Jr. and Cade would have to guard the other team’s best perimeter player while being our closer and he would go with the veteran leadership and shooting ability of Tim Art Jr. Malik Beasley, but it would come at a significant cost to our defense in trying to close, which made things hard on Jaylen Duran to be effective and even Tobias Harris. Now, the offense was a little bit more efficient because there was a little bit more spacing, but it still cost you on the other end. I think this season, the reason why the NBA has its eyes locked on Jaden Ivy and Assara Thompson is because they lightweight know they know. They know what those two are capable of. It’s not uh it’s not a big question mark. It’s not even uh I I’ll put it this way. They’re so talented. I think most analysts are afraid to say what they really think they can be because if they really factor in what they can be, this might be a team that can come out of the Eastern Conference depending upon its playoff positioning, right? Because we all know Cleveland gets hurt in the playoffs. It’s either Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, likely Garland, Evan Mobley, Jared Allen. one of their big four is going to get hurt. Sometimes two of them or more. And then you have the New York Knicks. We already showed them we can give them a run for their money and we’re that much better this year. You know, downtown Deuce had this uh uh uh recent video that he that he posted about Caris Levert being uh kind of the lynch pin of our off season and that he was going to be more impactful than Duncan Robinson. I actually began to second guess that. At first, I was like, I could see it. I could see it. I think he could be right there with him. But then all of a sudden, I I started remembering. I was like, “Wait a second.” A part of his argument was just how good Dennis Shruder looked, but Dennis Shruder was only necessary because Jaden Ivy got hurt. You see, the reality is as good as Caris is, there is no way that JB Baker staff should be putting the ball in Caris’s hands over Cade, over Ivy, over Assar Thompson and likely even over Jaylen Duran, especially because I’m factoring in Jaylen Duran and Jaden Ivy because they haven’t resigned extensions and are in contract years betting on themselves. They’re likely going to turn in one hell of an off season. Like they’re going to be working their behinds off in the lab. I expect to see them go into next season and look incredible. How many touches is Carist going to get? How many touches? just what can we expect his role to look like? Because it’s no longer Malik Beasley and Tim Hardway Jr. coming off screens needing a facilitator. It’s no longer Jaylen Durren needing somebody else to set him up. It’s no longer we need someone to take ball handling responsibilities off of Kade Cunningham. You’ve got now three other guys who have elite talent, who are in your starting lineup, who are a part of your team’s core and future, who are going to be ready to do just that. As good as Caris is, I don’t think his role is going to be as big as what we saw from Dennis Shruder last season. In fact, if I had to bet outside of Isaiah Stewart, I think Duncan Robinson might become one of our most important bench role players, at least for the first half of the season. And the main reason is because he fills a role that this team is already comfortable with, that they’ve had a lot of success with. the shooting that Malik Beasley was able to do, that Tim Marterway Jr. was able to do, he’s going to be able to come in and do in spades. Maybe not lead the league in three-point shots made or, you know, be one or two, right? Anthony Edwards kind of stole that from him right at the last game. But it’s to say that I don’t know. I’ll put it this way. It’s a seamless fit. It is a seamless fit. There is no question that Duncan Robinson can do exactly what those two did. And he’s 6’8. Probably has a little bit more ball skill in terms of getting downhill after the catch. They run him off the three-point line, putting the ball on the floor, push dribble, getting right in the lane. Even has some footwork to kind of play make, make the right read, finish at the rim, and he has greater positional size, which means that he can guard more up and down the line. He can switch that much more. Duncan Robinson may be our seventh man off the bench behind Isaiah Stewart. And then when you think about Ron Holland at 68 and his motor the culture that he adds to in terms of that toughness, physicality, intensity, ability to get out in transition, but most importantly defense, creating turnovers, getting on the glass. He’s likely, I would not be shocked if he ends up even circumventing Duncan Robinson, especially if his jump shot proves true. If what we saw throughout summer league ends up being the expectancy that we can have from Ron Holland in terms of three-point shooting and providing spacing for this upcoming season, he’s probably our seventh man off the bench, pushing Duncan Robinson down, pushing Caris Levert even further down. All that’s to say is this team is now reorienting around this core unit of Cade, Ivy, Assar, and Duran. But Ivy and Assar are what the league is really looking at. We saw what Jaylen Duran could do. And if I’m honest, I probably should have added Jaylen Duran to this list because they’re looking at him also. Who’s the real Jaylen Durren? the first half of the season, the second half of the season. Shoot, for me, I’m looking at who we saw in the playoffs. I see he has even more than what he’s shown in the playoffs. I’ve seen more in his past highlights, summer league, rookie year, than what he was able to show this past season in a more defined limited role. If Ivy, Assar, and Duran are in the lab and they come in this training camp blowing the doors off, this team could be absolutely special. Absolutely special. Get to some of these comments here. Uh, Casio, what’s good, man? I actually agree. Uh, the main issue with Ivy isn’t him as a player. It’s the idea of how to utilize him at the coaching and front office want him to be he’s likely he’s like Anthony Edwards a pure shooting guard not a point guard. I completely agree. I completely agree. I think in that starting lineup with Assar and Cade, you play Assar Thompson almost like a Andre Iguadala as a point forward and you allow him to get Cade and Ivy off the ball. You have that downhill attack potential while his ability to set up the offense. I think what I would love to see what I would love to see from this offense is that at the beginning of games we start with Assar Thompson that point forward. That’s what I would love to see. I would love to see that we start Assar Thompson as a point forward getting Kaden Ivy off the ball early and then as we begin to stagger guys, maybe Jaden Ivy comes out first. All right. Then all of a sudden, you allow Kade to have some more ball handling responsibilities and Assar tries to get downhill a little bit more. He becomes more of an aggressive scorer. And then you have Jaylen Duran kind of assert himself. Sar comes out, Ron comes in, maybe Cade goes out, Ivy comes in, Duncan comes in, and then now Ivy becomes a little bit more aggressive on the ball, right? setting up the offense a little bit more. Right? How they play with these substitutions will be really interesting. But what I foresee is that Assar will have the ability to unlock Kate and Ivy by allowing them to get off the ball early so they don’t expend as much energy early in games because we saw often especially early in the season when Kate had carries such a a load terms of ball handling responsibility and defense that he would become gassed at the back end of the game. But if you could take him off the ball early, now you have Cade being able to get wide open shots because other guys are playmaking for him. Whether it’s Ivy or Assar or Duran, he can get himself going without expending a lot of energy. And I think that that would bode well for the long-term potential of this team, especially as the season wears on. We know that it’s a marathon. We know it’s a marathon. We know guys get tired. They’re chasing guys off the three-point line. They’re trying to cover the, you know, weak side corner, flying out on shooters. It’s a lot of energy that they’re going to be putting out, especially on the defensive end. Being able to conserve energy is going to be huge. I think Assar Thompson helps with precisely that. And it falls in line perfectly with who Jaden Ivy is. Naturally, an offball shooter who can attack straight line drives. My best comparisons for him, Ray Allen and a young Eric Gordon. Explosive to the rim. That’s what’s up. Explosive to the rim. Great in transition. Really strong at the shooting guard position, but deep shooting range. They actually have a similar release point, too, but deep shooting range with explosive athleticism, which is a rare combination. get some of these other comments here. I think Caris helps him do that. Yeah, but yes. And I just don’t know how many reps Caris is going to get, especially if Assara Thompson comes in and he begins to put it all together like whether or not Assara Thompson and and this goes to another point that I’ve been making cuz you know I’ve been on the Assar Thompson bandwagon since summer league, right before his draft. I was like Jarus Walker, Jarus Walker, Jarus Walker. They drafted him and I was like, I kind of mess with Troy Weaver. I’m gonna see what he talking about. And then I saw Assar and Summer League and I was like, oh, I get it. I missed it. That’s why y’all do what y’all do. That’s why. And it was clear SAR was a special talent. Since then, I’ve seen it. what Assar Thompson is going to be able to do if he puts everything together even without a jump shot. what he has already shown the ability to do. Get downhill, finish with either hand around the rim, over the rim, get out in transition, offensive rebounds, posting up, straight line drives, a little pullup jump shot in the paint from about 8 to 10 feet out, getting to the free throw line, weak side uh um dunker spot, even maybe a corner three or two. Assar Thompson is going to be somewhere around 14 to 16 points a game, probably somewhere around six to eight rebounds, four to five assists. That That’s what I’m forecasting. If you have that guy at 22 years old next season, likely first team all defense, I don’t see JB Bickerstaff or this front office saying take the ball out of his hands and give it to Caris Levert. I just don’t see that. Jayen Ivy comes in balling. How do they take the ball out of his hands to give it to Caris Levert? How did they take the ball out of Jaylen Duran’s hands if he’s doing his dribble handoff thing and he’s attacking the rim and he’s uh attacking his mismatches? God knows if he starts doing little pull up 10 to 15 foot face up jump shot. Allah Tim Duncan, right? Give him a little Allonzo Morning, you know, pull up jump shot. Not off the balance, but just kind of face up shoot over the top or attack the straight line, which I think he can more than do. More than do. How do you take the ball out of his hands to give to 30-year-old Carvert who’s on a two-year deal? I just don’t see that. I I don’t think his role is going to be that big. Ethan, uh I think we’ve upgraded with Duncan instead of Beasley. That doesn’t mean he’ll make 319 threes, but he won’t need to. Big facts. I think Duncan Robinson’s shooting ability, off ball, stand still, will have its own gravity. his ability to move without the ball. Um, I think it’s someone that Kate Cunningham will love to find. It’ll be that much easier because he’s 68 instead of 6’3. Now, it’s a lot easier to find him when he’s cutting to the basket or he’s curling off off of a screen or he back doors. It’s that much easier to find him and get him the ball, which Cade and Assar both love to do. Um, and Jaylen Durren running dribble handoffs, etc., right? because that dribble handoff was going to feel a whole lot like bam out of bio handing off to him. And so I completely foresee that action being seamless, a seamless transition. Duncan Robinson is going to fit in like a glove. Uh national media is higher on Duran than it seems like a lot of Detroit Pistons fans are. And and and I don’t I don’t know why. I don’t know why. I keep telling y’all he’s young. He’s figuring it out. I’ve said it many of times. If I was a 21 year old, you know, Adonis at 610 in the NBA with millions of dollars. I’m probably in Angel Reese’s DMs also. Like, what’s good? What’s good? I’m living my best life. I’m not saying I’m not locked in, but I’m also saying, you know, I got other things going on, which means that my progression is going to have its own, you know, it’s going to take its time. But make no mistake about it. I’ve said this over and over. In a contract year, players going to come to play. And both Jaylen Durren and Jayen Ivy are looking at this contract year. They have not been extended. And I’ve said this plenty of times. This was going to be the feather in Trajan Langden’s cap if he could resign Duran and Ivy collectively for under 50 million. I don’t think either of them think that they’re worth less than 30 a year, which means they may be in a prove it season. If I’m honest with you, I would be okay with Trajan Langden signing them both to around 60 total. I think that’s definitely worth their value for their age, their talent, what they’re potentially looking at next year. I’m also not mad at him saying, “Okay, show us. Show us.” If you start balling out, hey, you know what? We could be signing you throughout uh throughout the season. But I’ll say this though, if both of them ball out, they might be looking at 3540. Because if I’m someone like the Brooklyn Nets, if I’m someone like Charlotte, if I’m someone like, I don’t know, Boston or what’s what’s another team out there that’s desperate for a big man, desperate for a center, desperate for a lead scoring guard offball who can just knock down shots. create his own shot. Has the coonas to hit gamewinners with a S. Right? Those two are going to look extremely attractive. Young, athletic, hard to find. You can’t you can’t teach size and athleticism. You can’t. The Jaylen Durn and the Jaden Ivys don’t come around often. Some of these other questions here. Um, one thing about Ivy and Duran, they are real workers. Facts. Unlike those who fake offseason workouts. Shout uh, shout out from the Philippines. Having my lunch right now. Oh, what’s good? Hey, where where you at in the Philippines, man? I’ve been out there, man. I think we had this conversation before. Kesan City. That was that was my spot. It was dope. It was good to have you in the chat, Mike. Uh Ethan, they expect every center to play like Ben Wallace. That’s just not who Darren is. Facts. And if I’m honest with you, like as much as I love what Ben is doing. Okay. From the southern part of Ah, okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. I see you. I see you. I see you. Some of the best food I ever had out there, man. Been a fan since 88. That’s what’s up, man. That’s what’s up. That’s what’s up. You know, one of the things that I mean, I think I think Andre Drummond got pulled into the Ben Wallace, you know, uh, memory of a lot of Detroit Pistons fans. Um, I actually think most Detroit Piston fans don’t support, uh, Jaylen Duran because he doesn’t look like Miles Turner. They’ve had to watch Miles Turner in the uh playoffs and watching him in the regular season knock down threes and looked pretty unstoppable against us. And granted, Jaylen Duran struggled defensively against him, but most defenses struggled against Miles Turner shooting volume threes from the center position. And that’s just a reality. But I think what they lost sight of and and some of this I have to put on Jaylen Durren’s you know responsibility that he wasn’t consistent first half of the season he struggled mightily not to mention struggling in that Monty Williams here. Now I know pretty much everybody did but that’s still struggle and so it’s hard to convince people I still have talent. I’m still capable. I I’m I’m still that dude when you’re not consistently showing it. Now, the second half of last season, he definitely took off. Jaylen Duran took his big leaps and in the playoffs, he showed out. He probably had one of the best showings against the Knicks front line of Mitchell Robinson and Carl Anthony Towns of any big of any big man in the playoffs. I think he outperformed Jared Allen to an extent. Evan Mobley, he was able to control the boards and the interior play. He made it essential that they go big because Duran was just able to beast out on the boards, offensive glass, defensive glass, and he could create his own shot to an extent. So, when you think about Jaylen Duran’s impact by the playoffs, all of a sudden you begin to realize there’s a reason why everyone’s eyes is focused on this young Pistons core. Ivy Assar really at the core of it. Because even though I look, I love Jaylen Durren. I’m gonna be honest. I’m not going to say I’m not going to say he’s easy to replace, but of the three, he’s likely the easiest. The easiest because as dynamic as I think he is, I think you can get away with a cheaper, less dynamic big and still be extremely competitive. Assar Thompson, unless you’re getting his brother Amen Thompson, I don’t think that there’s another talent who can do what he does in the NBA. During majorly improved his stock with his play during the playoffs, facts, Ethan, facts. Um, I think what he did in the playoffs, uh, was finally waking people up to what I’ve been saying he has in him, but he got locked in. And I’m gonna be honest, Assar Thompson unlocked a lot of his game. A lot of his game. He was able to play in that dunker spot so that when Jaylen Duran attacked his man and a help defender came, he could throw that lob right over the top to Assar Thompson. Also, Assar Thompson kept offensive rebounds live that even if he didn’t get get it, Jaylen Durren might have got it. or the attention that Assar Thompson uh uh garnered from the defense opened things up for Jaylen Duran. So, I think that those two really had great chemistry, but more than anything, Assar Thompson’s ability to control the perimeter defense and ensure that players couldn’t get those straight line drives that they were getting against Tim Hardaway Jr. and Malik Beasley scoring right over the top of them. I think helped to insulate Jaylen Dur and give him that extra second he needed to make those rotations on time. Instead of being a second behind and guys being able to get to the cup, now he was on time if not early and able to deter them from the rim uh either with verticality, jumping straight up or just getting a straight up block. Sarah Thompson did major major benefits for Jaylen Duran’s game. And then there’s Jay Nivy. Jay Nivy probably was the only player that I saw when Kade Cunningham struggled he was able to put his foot on the gas and buoy our offense. Ray Floyd, what’s good, my man? Jayen really uh have to show he is the guy next to Kade. Um Jaden, you mean? Yeah. Uh I really hope they are working out together. Kate and Jaden don’t really seem like they hang out, you know? I’m gonna be honest. I agree. I agree. But then again, neither do Jaylen Brown and Jason Tatum. If I’m honest with you, do we really think Draymond Green and Stephen Curry hang out? Great chemistry on the floor. Do they hang out? So, I don’t know if that’s necessary. When we saw John Wall and Bradley Bill, they were very different personalities. Weren’t necessarily best friends, but they figured out how to make it work. Jaden is so busy with his child making factory right now. Hey, I don’t bl Yo, bro. Mike, you give me $10 million a year. If I got $10 million a year, I’m having about 17 18 I’m about to have an empire, bro. You give me 10 million a year, bro. Bro, what? Why not? Why not? Yeah, you too, right? move in. Auntie, I can move in. You know what I’m saying? Mother-in-law. You know, I always laugh at those families who have like a mansion and only like three people living in them with a with a with a whole bunch of maids. How you got more servants than you got family members? That don’t make sense. You let me You give that to me. I got a six-bedroom house. Everybody got their own bathroom room, right? I ain’t I ain’t sharing a bathroom. I got a lounge. I got a den, man cave, study. I got all the space I need, bro. Basketball court in the back. Maybe it’s an indoor. Who knows? Probably isn’t. It It may not be an indoor. I’d love it to be, right? You give me that much money, I’m I’m having a whole grip of them. Whole grip of them, bro. Whole grip. A grip of them. facts. Let’s rival Elon. Hey, somebody else needs to besides Elon. You feel me? Uh, Casio. Casio, what’s good, my man? Um, to be frank, Scotty and Jordan never hung out outside of practice and games. that that I think now that it’s established, it is established. It’s Kade’s team. Remember Kade was out Ivy’s rookie year. He was the lead guard, the engine of the offense. It was hard to tell him when Cade comes back, this guy’s better than you, and you were a number four pick. Okay, he was number one, I’m number four. Ivy was literally considered to be a potential number one pick. Yeah, it was clear he had other guys that were better. Apollo was better. Okay, Cadet, okay, got it. But Ivy was right there because of his potential. So, it’s one of those things it’s like you kind of got to show me. You You got to show me before you say that you and that’s and that’s kind of what you want. You want somebody with that level of confidence. But at this point, Kate Cunningham AllNBA, third team, AllNBA, Allstar, led them into the playoffs. Ivy, I think, can accept more readily, especially looking at the success, the success that this team had last year. Your parents had 17 kids. Yo, that’s what’s up, Ethan. Yo, you blessed, bro. You blessed. You blessed, man. A large family means a lot more people you could bring together um that you could work together with that are invested in one another. I believe in big families. I believe in them. Let me see. Yeah, I think I think Ivy is going to have an easier time falling back behind Kade. And I actually think his game is more predicated to playing off ball, allowing someone else to set him up. I think when he does that, you’re going to see Jaden Ivy become that much more efficient of a scorer. He was already efficient last season before the injury, but I think that you enhance his role, especially when he slides into the role that Tim Hardaway Jr. had, the offball shooter, dribble handoff, uh, pin down screens, right? You just run him off the ball. Allah Ray Allen or Eric Gordon and let him shoot with range. He’s got really good range, solid base where he gets a lot of balance on his threes. And because of his threat to attack the rim, guys lay off him. Guys really don’t know. They’re kind of a pick your poison. Lay off too much, he’s knocking down the three. If I get too close, he’s by me in one dribble and he’s at the rim. Ivy is that level of a lead attacker. And something I even thought to myself when I was watching Ivy attack the rim. I said, “If Assar Thompson could ever get his footwork and ball handling down to be able to I what I really think it is, he just has to learn how to consistently drop his hips to stay balanced when he’s trying to get downhill. He has a habit of being up a little bit too high. Even though he’s able to spin off of guys, take a little bump, raise up over them. But I think if Assar Thompson comes back a little bit stronger and he’s got his rhythm down, his footwork, his ball handling into training camp, I think he’s going to have no problem blowing by his defender. He’ll have no problem getting to the rim and finishing. And I think that combined with his playmaking and facilitating abilities, it’s really going to be a defensive pick your poison between Cade, Ivy, Assar, and Duran because each of them are going to have the ability to create their own shot, create for others, right? And they are a matchup problem. And I think that that’s where I’ve say I’ve been saying this for a while. That’s where JBstaff is going to have to really queue in on is how do you develop an offensive system where each guy is able to fall into their roles, right? Jayen Durren is doing the dribble handoff thing at the top of the key. Okay. So now maybe Assar Thompson goes into the dunker spot. Tobias Harris in the weak side corner providing spacing. Ivy and Cade are coming to the ball from the wings. Okay, Assar is running the point forward position. You drop Duran down. Tobias is in a corner. You have Ivy Cade uh coming off screens, running through to the opposite side, catching screens from Harris or from Jaylen Jaylen Duran, flying up to the wing or curling it, coming back in, assar finding him over the top, right? like there’s so many different uh sets that they can be running that should unlock each of them. But really, it’s going to call for buying that guys don’t mind deferring to one another and staying aggressive. If they put it all together, it’s going to be nasty. And that’s why the league is watching Detroit. They’re literally watching. They’re like, “Yo, they won 44 wins and they only had Assar for half a season and Ivy for another half of the season.” And really, they only had Duran for half the season cuz he didn’t wake up until the second half of the season. He didn’t get unlocked until the second half of the season. So, what do we do? What do we do with that? My big thing is I just hope Detroit Piston fans are watching. I hope the Detroit Piston fans are watching because if everyone else, it’d be a shame that Zack Low is the one to put y’all on and say, “Yo, man. Hey, they’re they’re they’re they’re two of the most interesting players that I’m looking at for for next season, and y’all out here trying to trade them for Cam Thomas. Crazy, right? Crazy. Um, let me see. Uh, but even in all the team gatherings of pictures, they are never next to next to each other. They That’s true. No disrespect to their brotherhood, but they don’t really be hanging out. That’s very true. Um, I think that they can figure it out, though. And I think that that’s what they’ll be looking at. They will be looking at that. Can they figure it out? And remember, winning solves most of that. If you’re winning and playing well together, the chemistry is good enough. It’s good enough. Scotty and Michael, they weren’t buddy buddy. They were winning on the court. They respected each other. On the court, they had chemistry. on the court. They knew their roles with one another. And I think if Ivy can accept his role next to Cade, if he can accept his role next to Cade, which is a high level role. I don’t think it’s a reduction at all. But if he can Oh, he’s going to get that 3540. Point of attack defender, off ball shooter, on the move, kick out, straight line drives. attacking, taking over when Kate is tired or out, maybe he’s getting doubled and trapped. If he can be efficient and effective in maximizing his role next to him, Allah Joe Dumar is next to Isaiah Thomas. If he can be that, he’s getting 35, maybe 40 next year. Let me see. Uh, yeah, that’s why he’s not hanging out with K. Um, I’m not trying to sound weird. I just noticed that. No, no. I think I think that’s a great observation. I think that is a great observation, right? Um, and remember SAR 69. Yo, I when I seen him in person and I’m walking by him in the doorway of the coffee shop and I’m looking up, his family was like already 6’2, right? Somewhere in there. There was it was like it was like a whole bunch of them. was like I want to say so it came I came to realize he had a basketball camp out here. I didn’t even know the best publicity even though I heard the camp did really well but not the best publicity. Um because I actually know people who uh are like really close with his uh family. I work with some people who uh who uh I guess their mom used to babysit him and his brother and stuff like that. All that to say um cuz they get like uh they got offered tickets and whatnot to the games. That’s how I found out. Uh, but I walk by him, come in the doorway, and I see his family. It’s like a little entourage, maybe around like five people. Uh, and they’re probably coming back from the camp. They looked a little tired or whatnot. He’s probably taking a whole bunch of pictures all day, stuff like that. Either way, he comes in the doorway. I see, you know, 6’2, 61, you know, and then all of a sudden, I see this tall dude. I’m like, who is this? This dude’s easily 67. Easily. Easily 67. could also easily be 68 69 69 in shoes. 67 and 3/4 without shoes like like that’s how he looked. That’s how he looked over 67 without shoes with shoes. 68 and change either. Hey. Hey. Straight up. I stood next to Kobe. I stood next to Paul Gassaul. I stood next to Derek Fischer. I stood next to Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond, Iguadala. I I had friends with the Golden State Warriors back in the day. I’ve been back in the locker room. I’ve stood around NBA players, right? I’ve traveled around. I’m about six feet 61 on a good day, right? The right pair of Nikes. I’m hitting that 61. You know, I got the LeBron’s on with the extra cushion. Your boy is 61. When I stood next to him, dudes was easily looking like he’s 6’8. Easily. Easily. if he’s not. But I would be curious what he looks like because he already looked like he was taller than Kade last season. And we all know that Cade is minimum 66 without shoes if not maybe 67 cuz we’ve seen Kade next to other guys who are measured at that height. Sar Thompson could easily be 6’8. And then he begins to reshape how we think of this team. If he can be the future four of this team, right? If he if he comes if it comes out of training camp this coming year and they’re like, “Yo, Assar is 68, 69, is he our future four? he gets up to about 235 pounds, which I think he could easily because he was playing at 225 230 pounds this past season. If he puts on five pounds of muscle and now he’s 68 and change, Thompson could easily be and I may have to do a video on this that Assar Thompson might be our power forward of the future. He just might and that would be a scary thing for the NB. I keep telling y’all the NBA is is watching. They’re hoping that it becomes a numbers crunch salary-wise. They are hoping they’re hoping desperately that the Detroit Pistons decide to get off of one of those guys cuz they everyone’s lining up. Everyone is lining up. Ivasar Duran are players for an NBA Finals team. They are starters for an NBA Finals team. Assar came into the league at what was it 200? His brother was at 215 pounds. Assar was at around 220. I’ll look it up right now. Ask me. Shoot. I playing around. Hold on. Hold on now. Hold on now. You ain’t just going to say when. Call it out. Let me I’ll pull it up. Got receipts, bro. Love receipts. Love receipts. Google this. A man at 67. Have you seen Assar next to Amen? Assaar is bigger than Aman Thompson. He’s bigger. Let’s go like this. Here we go. Draft combine. Let’s go like this. Yep. That’s the draft. Here we go. See? So, he came in at both of them came in 65 and 3/4 barefoot. So, they’re standing around 67, both around 67 with a 7 foot wingspan. 2018 pounds. As a rookie. as a rookie. as a rookie. So, let me So, let me uh uh drop a little game on you. Let Let me drop a little game on you. Um muscle weighs more than fat. So, as the Assar Thompson is putting on muscle usually in the legs, this is where they first kind of recommend um players develop their legs, their their base. than their core, not necessarily arms, right? But back, core, legs, uh, you’re developing strength that’s also adding to your overall body’s weight. Your overall body’s weight. If Assar Thompson added, let’s say, just three pounds of muscle between his rookie year and sophomore year, he’s up to 221, maybe 222. He adds another three pounds of muscle between his rookie year and sophomore year. He’s at 225, 227. Let’s say he adds another three this off season. He’s over 230 pounds, right? It it it doesn’t take much. It doesn’t take much. Sar Thompson is 6’8, 230 lbs this year. That’s a monster, bro. That’s a monster with his athleticism, his quickness, his ball handling, passing ability, ability to downhill out in transition. He’s going to remind us, if I’m honest, of a young LeBron in transition, his speed, power, explosiveness. It’s going to be legit. It’s going to be legit. And and and I’m not even capping. I’m I’m not even trying to just hype. If you saw how many times he ripped guys at half court, I wish somebody would uh do a video of just Assar Thompson steals, even just on ball steals. How many times he’s locking guys up, turning them, turning them, knocking the ball away, deflecting the ball out of their hands, and then just breakaway speed. When he gets out in transition with the ball, no one’s even chasing him. Imagine if he’s up to 230 pounds. 68 with his 38 to 40 inch vertical. It’s a wrap, bro. It’s a wrap. I get to some of these uh comments here before I hop off this thing. Uh let me see. Uh Ivy is either hooping or doing family life facts. She has no time to hang out with Kate. You know, I agree with that, too. When you got kids like that, and probably Kate is in a similar space, right? He’s got a kid. He’s got a wifey. It is what it is, you know. As long as they got chemistry on the court. Ray Floyd, uh, let me see. I already went on that comment. Um, let me see. Ed Robinson, at what point was Ivy ever mocked to go number one in that draft? Plenty. Uh, I would say that he was always in the conversation. He was always in the conversation. and he was on the fringes, but he was in the conversation. In that draft, you had Paulo and Cadet who were at the top of the conversation. But then Ivy was always right outside. Always right outside. They were looking at his talent, his speed, his explosiveness, and they were like, “Yo, this dude could be something special.” Trying to remember, uh, there was one other guy, this one other guy who went before him. Y’all remember his name? the guy who went before him. Keegan Murray was in that draft. Was Was it Keegan Murray? Who went to Sacramento? JD Dub was in that draft, but there was somebody else who went before. Let me go like this. Pull it up. Draft. Bow. See, I love pulling this stuff up because it just it just refreshes my memory because you know your boy forgets. Appreciate y’all asking me about it, right? Gives me an opportunity to look at it. Jabari Smith Jr. That’s right. Jabari Smith Jr. was cold in college at Albert. He was cold, bro. He was cold. Facts. He was, bro. Bro, he was absolutely him in college. If he was able to shoot with the same frequency and efficiency that he did in college in the pros already, he’d probably be allNBA already. He would have been probably, if not an all-star, close to an all-star considering all the injuries this past season. I wouldn’t have been shocked if he if he didn’t break through the all-star. I actually think Jabari Smith is going to make a jump this year. I think he’s going to make a leap next to Kevin Durant who whom he’s already worked out with, right? I remember he had that summer he was working out next to Kevin Durant trying to get that um creating his own shot off the ball, working on his little handle pull up, you know, you see it building. You see it developing even though it wasn’t dropping with with the same regularity. You see him working. He’s working and and and you have that muscle memory. You always remember yourself as being that dude who could knock down shots. You never forget that. So it doesn’t take much to get you back in that mode. And the more you keep working on it, the more you keep developing your game, the more you keep drilling and developing the the u the uh uh uh complimentary skills, you know, the footwork, the base, saying Jabari was going number one. Nah, I I heard some people saying Jabari could. I thought that was kind of fluff. I thought there was a clear difference between Paulo and Jabari, but there was conversation. In fact, what was interesting was Keegan Murray going before um Jaden Ivy. That that was the real but it was more so because at the time Sacramento had De’arren Fox and they had I think No, they didn’t have Malik Monk yet. I think that’s when they got Malik Monk that year, but they had uh was it was it Kevin Herder? They had those guard positions filled, but they definitely had uh De’ar Fox uh running that point position. So, it was like, “Yeah, we don’t need to go with um Jaden Ivy.” All right. All that’s to say is that’s how Jaden Ivy falls to the Detroit Pistons at five, but he was definitely in that conversation. Let me see. Uh some of these on the comments. Y’all always be having great points on here. Um bro, it’s crazy that both Ivy and Matine are in contract years and they’ll both be starting shooting guards on their teams. True. I think Matin had a great showing in the finals and he had flashes throughout the playoffs. Even though if I’m honest, he also had flashes of being just as bad. Like he was up and down. He had amaz like great games where you’re like, “Oh my goodness, could this guy be like highlevel number one scoring option type of or at least closing scoring option? I’m trying to think of player of his caliber who look like a great scorer even if they’re not your number one scorer. I guess they call him a sixth man. Like if you can’t consistently score at a high level and you don’t do other things, you become a sixman. And I think that that’s what he’s going to have to fight against this year. He’s going to have a year to prove it. But I I don’t think that they’re in the same boot because when you look at it, or I should say in the same boat, not at the same boot. Getting old here. Um Jay Ivys was starting from day one. And aside from the uh Monty Williams fiasco in his second year, which he figured out by the end of the season, oh, he’s a starter. Ivy has always been a starter. Matine has not always been a starter. In fact, he struggled to really hold on to a starting spot. Uh because he doesn’t play defense well enough or consistently enough. He doesn’t do enough other things outside of score. Playmaking for others, um rebounding, defense, moving without the ball. Doesn’t necessarily make players better. He’s just absolutely elite at getting to the rim and the free throw line and creating his own shot. So, I think that’s something that um he’ll have opportunity to show this year. Is he more than an off-bench scorer? When was he coming off the bench last year, Ed? When was Ivy coming off the bench last year? No, it it didn’t unfold live in the draft. Uh uh I’m I’m looking at these comments here. I’ll read it out loud for everybody, but let me let me go through. Okay, S was at 218 pounds. Google lists Amen at 66 at 67, saw at 66. That doesn’t make sense when they came in at the same height. But you’re saying Aman Thompson grew more. Have you seen them next to each other? Assar Thompson is clearly higher. 218 pounds as a rookie doesn’t mean he stayed at that weight as from his rookie weight. Um it it literally says 218 pounds. Uh so you’re assuming he’s No, I said he’s 225 plus now at not then. Now they were clowning Google for it. Although Amen was giving Assar some crap, too. Yeah, he was. I love their riv I I love their twin rivalry. I love it. Absolutely love it. Broadick, what’s good? Exactly. Outside media has been trying to create Ivy trades constantly. The Hey, the league can’t wait to get their hands on Jaden Ivy. They they are you have to understand the Detroit Pistons young core are the league’s favorite to have an opportunity for their favorite teams to try to snag. Those are the favorite guys for them to create random mocks for their team to try to grab. They would love to get a Jaylen Duran, a Jaden Ivy, a Sar Thompson, but I think they’ve already kind of accepted they’re not going to get a Sar Thompson. So, now they’re hoping for Jaden Ivy or Jaylen Duran. I don’t think they get either. Let me see. Uh, another head cannon story. Not sure what that means. Uh, Ray Floyd Asar was crazy his rookie season. Uh, he just needs a camp. He lost time, but I see him going crazy next season. I do, too. Ethan, Jabari Smith went third. Yep. Fourth. Yep. They were saying Jabari is number one. Nope. Sorry, man. Paulo was always better than him coming out of high school. He was rated above him. Uh, I think that they were creating ESPN created that narrative of Jabari potentially going above Cet and uh, Apollo as kind of like trying to develop uh, drama leading up to the draft. But I thought it was clear clear people who really followed the draft saw a clear distinction between Jabari Smith Jr. and Paulo Ben Carroll. The shot creation ability or the defensive acumen of a Cadet Homegrren. Um, it was it was clear. It was clear. Uh, let me see. I think Ivy uh made it known that he wasn’t interested in going to the Kings and wanted to go to Detroit. That’s true. Because he also had uh family um in Detroit. Ray Floyd, I just hope we’ll be able to afford our core. I think we will make it work because I think worst case scenario, we can also rely on that we drafted well, right? Like I think um what’s his name? Chaz Laneir is going to be a player for us along with Marcus Sasser and Ron Holland who are on rookie deals still. We still got Isaiah Stewart. Bobby Clement I think after another year uh is going to be that much better. I think he’s a guy that almost like a Trey L. If you if you watch Trey Trey L’s ascension, he was a really heady IQ player who did a lot of things well, but he had to grow into his body, grow into his game, and he kind of had this slow, steady ascension. But if you look at the player who Trey LZ is today, guys are like, “Hell yeah, I want that guy.” 610, can with defensive versatility, can rebound and knock down threes, moves well without the ball, can play make from the top of the key, passes, like he does so many things skill-wise, he just kept getting better. I think Bobby Clement has a similar trajectory. Um, even though I think Bobby Clement might be more small forward than he is power forward. I think he’s he’s more of a 34 than a Trey L four five, but I think he has a similar trajectory of just continuing to get better. Um, that’s the alarm. Mommy, can you turn off the oven? I think your sweet potato should be ready. Yeah. Let me get to these last comments here. Uh, let me see. So, you mean to tell me Jay and Ivy never came off the bench behind Killian Hayes? Last season, bro. Last season, bro. Last season. Yeah. All right. Turn it off, mommy. Uh, y’all are talking different years. Yeah. No, that’s I, you know, I respect people trying to figure it out. We all here for the conversation, right? That’s what this live is. We get to have a live conversation. Andrew Love. Uh, what is All right. All right. Just turn it off, mommy. Just turn it off. Kids, you you just a character. Would you like to come on and say and say hi? No. Okay. If you want to be heard, that’s for sure. I’m just saying. I’m just saying. It’s funny out here. It’s funny out here. Andrew Love, what’s good, man? Um, what is the love affair with Ivy? A mid player. Oh, man. You know, if you think he’s a mid player, I think that’s a personal opinion, but I tell you what I’mma do. I’mma jot this down. Andrew Love says Jaden Ivy is a mid player. So next year when he takes off, the dude who’s betting on himself shot 40% from three last year. Looked like he was on the verge of a breakout in his contract year. When he takes off and he’s getting over 20 points in a game, he’s balling out for us next year. I want that same energy. Come on back with it. Come on back with it. Let me see. Ed Robinson. So ESPN, CBS, Bleacher Report, and Fox all banded together to create the same lie about Smith going number one. Dude, go to YouTube, bro. First of all, if you go to ESPN, CBS, Bleacher Report, and Fox for draft information, you’re already behind the eightball, bro. Those are the those are the networks who don’t put out information on the draft until right before the draft. You’ve got so many guys who are on par with the draft from November tracking these guys coming in out of high school. Go check out one of my favorite draft analysts. Uh pull them up for you right here. Um the Barlo brothers. Uh let me pull them up for you. Let me see. locked on. Uh yeah, draft draft junkie. Uh let me see. Let me see. Uh yeah, NBA draft consultant. Uh let me see. NBA big board. Yes, NBA draft. Raphael Barlo and James Barlo. You got that’s that’s my favorite source for the draft. also like um Hoop Intellect. I like I like him as well, but these are guys who follow the draft with these guys coming out of high school. That’s when they’re talking about these guys. They’re talking about these guys way before the draft. So, if you’re following a media outlet who doesn’t start talking about the draft until May, June, bro, that’s that’s not that’s not I wouldn’t say a credible source. I would say that it’s kind of just a mainstream. They kind of have their own narratives. Um, let me see. What is the the love affair? What say? What’s the love affair with Sasser that gets no minutes for three coaches? He’s at the end of the bench player. He didn’t get no minutes as a rookie. He was balling out as a rookie. You might have forgot he was balling out as rookie. Balling out. last year was just a role and systems thing. But if you want to see a love affair, hey, go Google his highlights. YouTube it. Tell me what you think. You look at his highlights. See what he does. Tell me what you think. And uh Ethan the brother statement was that he was always he has he was always a starter. Look at the majority, bro. Jay Nivy has started. I love I I don’t mind pulling up your seats, bro. I don’t mind pulling up receipts. I don’t mind saying if I’m wrong either. It’s just it’s just it’s just a basketball conversation. Last season, Jay Na’vi played started 30 out of 30 games. Ed he started all 30 that he played last season. 30 out of 30. The year before that, I think this was the year that you were talking about with Killian Hayes, he started 61 out of 77 games. 61 out of 77. That’s only 16 games he didn’t start out of the 77 he played. The year before that, he started 73 out of 74 games. How do you presume he hasn’t always been a starter, bro? He’s consistently the overwhelming majority of the time starting. It is what it is. I don’t mind the receipts. I don’t mind the receipts. Uh let me see. Uh it’s crazy that you have to consider how to pay the players you drafted. That’s a design flaw in the salary cap rules. I think so too. I think that that gets fixed in the next um uh collective bargaining agreement, the next CBA. I think that gets fixed. I think I think fans want to see that fixed. I think the league wants to see that fixed. I think there’s a lot of motivation to fix that. Um and I think it happens because I don’t think teams I don’t think the league wants to see young teams broken up because they draft well, develop well, and they win together and they’re worth a lot. Nobody wants to see that, right? That that’s just that’s just not good uh business for the league. It’s just not. Let me see. Uh let’s see. It’s crazy. Yeah. Uh Andrew Love 17 points again. 17 points again is a mid player. A game? You mean 17 points a game is a mid player? uh point to other players averaging 17 points, 40% from three. Show me show me the other players in the league that are averaging that 17 points per game or more. Just just start there. Count them out. Tell me which ones of them are mid players. I guarantee you pretty much all of them are either fringe all star or allst star averaging over 17 points per game. Overwhelming majority. If you’re averaging over 17 points a game, you are considered a fringe allar or all-star player. That’s just facts. That’s just facts. You either made the All-Star game, you’ve already made an All-Star game, or you were in consideration for making the All-Star game that year. I’ll let you look cuz I know you’re going to say some. I’ll be right here for you. Oh, hell no. Broadre, that’s what I be saying to myself sometimes. Oh, hell no. What y’all talking about regarding that Ivy comment? Who’s Ivy Comet? Mine are his. Uh, let me see. Them guys not real scouts. What are you talking about? The Barlo brothers are not real scouts. What are you talking about? Locked on. Them dudes is following from literally in the gym with these guys. If you actually listen to Go listen to their channel, bro. Listen to their channel, bro. These guys are in the gym. They are at these tournaments. They are at these work. They are there. They are there watching these guys literally. So basically other YouTubers that bro I’m a YouTuber technically. I mean I mean some other guys do it for like a career like they pay their bills for it. I don’t pay my bills from this. So maybe I’m not a YouTuber, but it’s to say some YouTubers have some great content. Great content. Great content, bro. Okay. Now, now you’re just being like mixing. You’re trying to be exact. No, he did not start 100%. Always. Okay. I got to get to the bottom of these. Uh let me see. I got to catch up on these comments. Uh, are we hoping Sasser can become what Cam Thomas is? Yes, I think Sasser has an edge as a better defender. I think so, too. I’ve seen Sasser try to be a dog on defense. He competes there. Also think he’s a better passer than uh Cam Thomas. And I don’t think he has the same physicality to create his own shot, but I think he plays extremely well off ball. His shot is pure. His three-point shooting is pure. I think he’s a great contributor off the bench. I think he could be number nine in our rotation, 10 at the worst, but I think he’s in the rotation regularly. Uh, let me see. What are you talking about? So, basically just proved he was not always a starter. Oh my goodness. Are people really watching the Pistons? No, they’re not. No, they’re not. No, they’re not really watching the Pistons. I I think I think it’s cool. I think I think some people watch with their own lens. Sometimes people don’t even play basketball, bro. Sometimes they just watch the 10-minute highlights, which I gather it’s it’s hard not to. It’s hard not to watch those 10-minute highlights. You know, people got things to do. And there’s people like me. I like to watch the game live. I got NBA league pass. I pay for that so I can go back and watch the game the next day and get underneath the surface um and really take a look at uh what the team is doing. I’ll break it down, rewind, see how plays developed, uh see how guys are developing certain skills in certain areas that I know that they’re trying to improve upon. Like I’m usually watching most the games twice before I comment on them throughout the regular season, you know, and I have my own background in coaching, personal training, athletic development, you know, I just have my own expertise, and I would call it expertise because I’ve been I’ve been paid to coach, train, and play basketball. Um, I’m blessed to have been able to do that. I just like coming on here and talking basketball with y’all. Let me get to the last of these comments here. Uh, so by this logic, Cam Thomas is a fringe allar. God, I said go and look at the players who have averaged 17 points a game or more. I guarantee you 90% of them 90% of them who have averaged better than 17 points a game are fringe all star or all stars. But I’ll tell you this much, Cam Thomas most certainly has the potential to be an all-star. You put Cam Thomas, let’s say, on a veteran team somewhere on a veteran team that just needs a shooting guard, come in and get buckets and they go to the playoffs as a starting shooting guard averaging. I mean, if he’s on a veteran team that needs him to score at that shooting guard position, I think he can average over 20 points a game easy. And if his team is winning, if his team is winning, he’s easily talked about as a fringe all-star. Jordan Pool, I don’t even think he I’m not sure if he averaged over 17. He probably did last year. Probably did. But he was even talked about as a fringe all-star this past season. He averaged 20 points, three three rebounds, four and a half assists. Right. Jaden Ivy averaged, let me see, last season, 17 points, four rebounds, four assists. Look at Cam Thomas. He probably didn’t do anywhere near the assist, but let’s just take a look because I’m curious. Thomas, Cam Thomas only 3.8 assists, but he averaged 24 points a game. God damn, that’s a bucket. Of course, being in Brooklyn, you’re not going to get much uh respect for that, but that’s pretty damn good. That’s pretty damn good. I think Cam Thomas just needs to get next to a bigger defensive-minded guard. I would I wouldn’t have mind actually seeing Cam Thomas in uh or Orlando if they wanted a cheaper option instead of uh Desmond Bane, but I think Desmond Bane is more proven in terms of um playoff success. But I think Cam Thomas can produce similarly. He won’t have that uh facilitating ability that I think Bane has developed. Uh but I think he could have been amazing between uh Jaylen Suggs, um France Vagner, Paulo Bankroll. I think he could have been great. But yeah, yeah, Cam Thomas is an absolute bucket. Let me see. Uh, seem. All right, I’m I’m going to do five more minutes, get to know some of these comments, and then I got to jump off. Uh, so Sasser is near 25 points per game score. What? Sasser, I know what you’re talking about, bro. Uh, Andrew Love Sasser doesn’t have Cam talent. Oh, you’re talking about can Sasser be Well, I mean, here’s the thing. If you’re looking at Sasser coming off the bench in the role that is going to be available between Cam Thomas and Marcus Sasser, I think Marcus Sasser can give you, which was the point that he was making that Marcus Sasser can give you what Cam Thomas would do for this roster, but just far cheaper and he gives you more defense. I also think Marcus Sasser is a better passer. So, I think he fills in more holes and more needs outside of just pure scoring. But Cam Thomas is kind of bucket. Um I think he finds himself someplace next year where he’s able to prove himself to. You know, imagine him if he was on the Clippers. If he was on the Clippers, bro. Bro, if he was on the Clippers, it. it. Also wouldn’t mind seeing if he uh got over there to uh Houston. He got over to Houston. Uh, let me see. Andrew Love, uh, oh, actually skip Hunter. Uh, I listened to all Pistons Talk. Uh, Cool Deuce, etc. And watched all but one game. That’s what’s up. That’s what’s up, man. Yeah, I like I like to go back and watch different games, too. Um, NBA League pass helps in that regard. Watch every P’s game. I don’t watch highlights. I called. If I not on the court, the defense and team will be better. They got better as soon as he wasn’t playing. Did you also factor that that’s when Assar Thompson got entered in to the lineup that Assar Thompson was on a minutes restriction and the whole defense as a whole was terrible before he came back. Yeah. So maybe that had something to do with their defense. Not just that Ivy’s a bad defender or you think he’s a bad defender. I think he’s a better defender than Malik Beasley and Tim Hardway Jr. both of them. Yeah, I think things are going to change this year. Cam Thomas is a fringe allstar uh and would be if he wasn’t just a one-trick pony or if he was doing this on a winning team facts. I think so, too. I got to respect someone speaking Detroit basketball past minute. I know, bro. What am I doing? Uh Jordan Pool was horrible. They was talking about the trade being bad. Uh Jordan Pull actually I think he’s gonna ball out for New Orleans next year. Um listen, someone mentioned Jordan Pool as a French allstar. I’m out, man. He actually was. He actually was last season. He was talked about as a French allstar. He was talked about. I didn’t think he was going to make it. I didn’t think he should, but he was talked about. Uh Cam won’t change his game uh for what this team needs. I don’t want them to sign him personally. I don’t either. I don’t either. I has one of the worst defensive ratings. I’ll leave it with this, Mr. love. Uh, your defensive rating is highly predicated upon who you are playing with collectively. The impact that you are having defensively has also to do with the rest of the roster you are playing with on the court. If you’re playing with Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jaylen Duran throughout the first half of the season, your defense is not going to be good. Period. Collectively, it’s not going to be good. And considering that Jay Nivy is not exactly considered to be first team all defense, which he doesn’t have to be, it might speak to that rating, but it’s far less to do with his individual acumen, especially when I’m watching him at the point of attack last season and guards don’t even attack him. Point guards don’t even attack him. They just immediately pass, get off, get off the ball with Jay Nivy guarding you and they just wait to pick on Tim Hardway Jr. or Malik Beasley. That’s how most teams played us last season. Looking to pick on one of those two. But hey, I got to get off. This has been a long live. I didn’t think it was going to go this long at all. It’s your man 100 Grand Ross with the Rock Never Stops. Appreciate all y’all for tapping in. This was fun. Um, I’m going to do a future video on can Assar Thompson be our starting power forward for the future. Whether he grew or not, whether he grew or not, whether he’s just 67 or he’s maybe 6’8 or 69, I want to see him stand next to Tobias Harris next year. I want to see him stand next to Tobias Harris next year. All right. Hey, Jay Na’vi’s defense is solid facts. Savant, man. Where was you at this whole time, man? I was looking for you, man. Could have used you in the chat, but holl at me for the next one, though. It’s going to be a good discussion. Can Assar Thompson be our starting power forward of the future? Get at me in the comments section. Like, subscribe, hit the bell for notifications, and I’m going get at y’all next time. Peace y’all.