Welcome to the “Casual Fan” section of The Show Notes! This is where I talk about sports. Certain aspects of what you read here, such as the depth of the analysis and amount of objectivity, will vary depending on a number of different factors. I promise to always be entertaining, though. If you like this, check out my show!
The only thing worse than a stuffy nose is a stuffy nose in the summertime. It’s sunny and hot, and you’re supposed to be out there living life. Instead, you’re breathing out of your mouth, knee-deep in Kleenex, wishing for the sweet release of death. Unfortunately, that’s my current predicament. On the bright side, the sports calendar is absolutely loaded. Tonight alone, we’ve got World Cup action, baseball, WNBA, and the reason we’re all gathered here, the NBA Draft!
Admittedly, my passion for the NBA isn’t what it used to be. Basketball was my first love, and the NBA was the foundation for that. I would live and die with each and every game, every transaction, every piece of news. Now, I forgot the draft was tonight until last night. I’m not entirely sure what has caused this shift, but I’d like to see if I can rekindle those old feelings. What better starting spot than the unofficial first chapter of next season?
So join me as I learn about the newest generation to carry the league, blow my nose, and also check in on other various sporting events throughout the evening!
7:49 pm (ET)- Panama and Croatia are tied 0-0 at the half, I’ve got a Kleenex in each nostril as that’s the only thing that’s quelling my intense urge to sneeze, and we are still 11 minutes away from the Wizards officially being on the clock. The green room invitees are being introduced, and it’s a great reminder of how old I am. I remember reading about 17-year-olds Kobe Bryant and Jermaine O’Neal being drafted when I was 7, and thinking 17 sounded so far away. I’d venture to guess the majority of these guys were not born yet when I turned 17.
7:56 pm (ET) - Another reminder of my age: Carlos Boozer, whose entire career from college on I witnessed, is here with his son, potential top-3 pick Cameron. The first two things that come to mind when I think of Carlos: the painted-on hair incident and tricking a blind man.
8:03 pm (ET) - I’m not sure if I really need pyrotechnics and the action movie voiceover guy, but okay. Here comes Adam Silver to get this thing rolling.
8:05 pm (ET) - After a rain delay, Shohei Ohtani is leading off for the Dodgers against the Twins. Also, the Washington Wizards are officially on the clock. Once again, I don’t think they should get the full 5 minutes to make their pick. They have had plenty of time since winning the draft lottery.
8:12 pm (ET) - No real surprise here as the Wizards select AJ Dybantsa out of BYU. Jay Bilas reminded us that he was the first freshman to lead the nation in scoring in 25 years (Jason Conley out of the SoCon’s VMI). Assuming Anthony Davis is healthy, a big assumption, the Wizards frontcourt of AD, Alex Sarr, and Dybantsa is intriguing. Sarr looked much better last year after a rookie season of being mostly lost and missing shots. When you throw in Trae Young and Kyshawn George, this is a team that you could definitely see making the postseason. Shohei drew a walk, by the way.
8:16 pm (ET) - The Utah Jazz are on the clock, and Mookie Betts is at the plate with 2 on and 1 out. I remember the aforementioned Conley from his showdowns with the College of Charleston and The Citadel. Turns out, VMI also played Charleston Southern that year. He ended up transferring to Mizzou, which was probably only slightly less strange than VMI. Betts lost an ABS challenge to strike out, but Tommy Edman drove in a run.
8:20 pm (ET) - The Jazz select Darryn Peterson out of Kansas. Weird freshman season there. Looked incredible for the most part…when he played. Spent a lot of time either cramping or asking coach Bill Self to sub him out of the game. He blamed the whole ordeal on creatine. I’m a little skeptical because it seems like someone would have figured that out much sooner, but hey. Croatia has scored against Panama during our baseball/draft hiatus. Panama will be eliminated if this score holds. The Grizzlies are on the clock.
8:25 pm (ET)- Cam Boozer is headed to Memphis. He probably would have been the #1 overall pick in 2001. Highly skilled, but not exciting to watch. A poor man’s Tim Duncan. Curious to see what that Memphis team looks like next season. It seems like the panel is too, because they’re only mentioning Zach Edey. I wonder what they know about Ja Morant and where he’ll be. Other than the strip club, of course.
8:28 pm (ET) - Carlos Boozer is chewing the hell out of his gum. The Bulls are on the clock.
8:30 pm (ET) - Caleb Wilson is headed to Chicago. Kinda feels like he was forgotten after getting hurt, but he had North Carolina looking like a contender when he was healthy. Reminded me a little bit of Kevin Garnett. Nice frontcourt developing for the Bulls. Matas Buzelis had a very good 2nd-year, and they just acquired Nic Claxton in the Julius Randle trade. The Clippers are on the clock. I will be stunned if it’s not Darius Acuff Jr. This is quite possibly my only prediction of the night.
8:35 pm (ET) - C Chuckie Robinson is at the plate for the Dodgers, and he’s showing bunt. Shohei is on deck.
8:36 pm (ET) - Well, I am stunned. The Clippers select Keaton Wagler. Was not a top-100 recruit, but after just a season of college hoops, he’s the 5th pick. Quite the rise. He is a smooth player who can shoot it, but needs to get stronger. I also can’t tell if he’s chill or passive. Shohei just chased a terrible pick out of the zone. Croatia still leads Panama 1-0 in the 80th minute. The Nets are on the clock.
8:42 pm (ET) - The Nets pick Mikel Brown Jr. out of Louisville. I guess this is why I’m not a GM. Didn’t really jump off the screen at me, not that I watched a ton of Louisville games. Part of that could be a back problem he struggled with. Did give NC State 45 points. Jay Bilas seems to like him, and I like Jay.
8:46 pm (ET) - Dodgers gave up a solo shot while we were gone. Croatia is still leading in the 88th minute.
8:48 pm (ET) - The Kings select Darius Acuff Jr. Absolutely explosive scorer. Can he defend? Some of those issues were effort-related. Also had a toe issue. He needs to at least get to a point where he’s not going to be hunted. I hate that he’s going to Sacramento, because that organization is a mess. He was the first SEC player to lead the conference in scoring and assists in the same season since Pete Maravich. Pistol Pete put up 44.5 ppg in his season, and did so without a 3-point line. Not bad! The Hawks are on the clock.
8:52 pm (ET) - Free kick for Panama with 3 minutes left in stoppage time…and nothing comes of it. Andy Pages is batting for the Dodgers. He’s had a fantastic season so far, but flies out to left for the first out of the 3rd inning.
8:55 pm (ET) - Panama takes their time with a throw-in, and the match, and their World Cup hopes, are over. The Hawks select Kingston Flemings out of Houston. A much better defender at the 1 than they are used to in Atlanta. I’ve considered pulling for the Hawks now that they’ve moved on from Trae Young to see if that reinvigorates my NBA fandom. Jalen Johnson is a hell of a player, and I wasn’t expecting the leap Nickeil Walker-Alexander made. Also, Quin Snyder cracks me up. The Dallas Mavericks are on the clock.
9:00 pm (ET) - The Mavericks just hired Dusty May to be their head coach. This is a guy who’s active on Indeed. He looks like a former manager I had back when I was in real estate.
9:01 pm (ET)- Dallas drafts May’s former Michigan player Morez Johnson Jr. Remember when Rick Pitino tried to build Kentucky North with the Celtics?
9:03 pm (ET) - The panel is talking about Pitino! More proof that I should be making millions for this. Anyways, Morez’s family is incredibly proud, and he seems like a nice kid. I will be pulling for him to be better than Ron Mercer!
9:06 pm (ET) - The Dodgers and Twins are now tied at 2 in the bottom of the 3rd. Justin Wrobleski just gave up a bomb that looked like a 3-run homer, but my prayers pushed it foul. The Bucks are on the clock.
9:08 pm (ET) - Milwaukee picks G Brayden Burries out of Arizona. The Bucks now have him, Ryan Rollins, and Tyler Herro in the backcourt rotation. He started last season slowly, but got much better as the season went on.
9:12 pm (ET) - The Warriors are picking at #11. They also picked 11th in 1996. In that draft, they selected big man Todd Fuller out of NC State. I know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but I was 100% right about him, even as a 7-year-old. They picked him ahead of Kobe, Peja, Steve Nash, and Jermaine O’Neal! I can’t believe it’s the 30th anniversary of that historic draft.
9:16 pm (ET) - Yaxel Lendeborg is the pick for the Warriors. A really nice story about how his mom stayed on him to keep believing in himself. She’d call him to make sure he was watching the draft and tell him that he was going to be up there one day. And here he is. A win-now player for a team that is trying to keep the window open for Steph.
9:21 pm (ET) - They’re talking to Yaxel and his mom, and I’m struggling not to get emotional myself. I love sports so much! The Thunder are on the clock.
9:22 pm (ET) - The giant Aday Mara is headed to Oklahoma City. Another Michigan pick. No wonder Dusty left. 7’3”. This feels a hell of a lot like a “Chet needs help with Wemby” pick. He wasn’t super impressive to me, but maybe that’s because of the Wolverines’ balanced attack. I certainly trust the Thunder more than I trust myself when it comes to these things. He’s from the same city in Spain as my old Newberry teammate Sami Badawi.
9:27 pm (ET) - The Dodgers scored 3 in the top of the 4th to take a 5-2 lead. We await the Heat, who will be picking for the Bucks as part of the Giannis trade. Also, the Colombia-Congo match.
9:32 pm (ET) - Nate Ament, out of Tennessee, is headed to the Bucks. Played hurt at the end of the year. Seems to be a theme, and I wonder how much of a role year-round hoops out of the womb played. Bucks owner Jimmy Haslam went to Tennessee, and this was the rumored pick. Ament was decent, but this is more based on potential than production.
9:37 pm (ET) - It’s really stupid Ament has to wear the Heat hat when we all know that he’s not going there. The Hornets are on the clock.
9:38 pm (ET) - Oh, a trade! The dumbass Giannis trade is announced. No shit. The Hornets select Hannes Steinbach out of Washington and Germany, aka the Detlef Schrempf route. The name killed Adam Silver. Steinbach’s dad played with Dirk in Germany. He’s on the couch next to Hannes and makes Hannes, who is 6’10, look my size (not 6’10”). Here he is next to a horse. Hannes put up 18.5 ppg and 11.8 rpg last season.
9:47 pm (ET) - The Bulls pick G Dailyn Swain out of Texas. Did it all for a good Longhorns team last season. ESPN had him mocked at 23, so a decent jump. They also say he’s an explosive athlete with good defensive potential who is sort of a project that needs to improve as a shooter.
9:50 pm (ET) - Memphis is back on the clock. Dybantsa is being interviewed on the panel. Self-assured kid. This is a good thing.
9:53 pm (ET) - Memphis picks Bennett Stirtz out of Iowa. God bless him, but I’m going to have to see it to believe it. But Shams just said they’re trading him to the Thunder, so maybe I should just shut up and believe it. Now, the Thunder are on the clock again, but to pick for Memphis because they just switched spots for some reason.
9:57 pm (ET) - Dodgers up 6-2 after 6. Freddie Freeman is on fire. 3-4 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI.
10:01 pm (ET) - Memphis will be getting Ebuka Okorie out of Stanford. Set a freshman scoring record in the ACC with 23.2 ppg. This is news to me. Just 6’1”, but allegedly very quick. I am realizing that I know the most about players no further west than Texas. Even with Stanford being in the ACC, I just wasn’t going to watch. Also, that conference isn’t what it was.
10:08 pm (ET) - The Hornets select PG Christian Anderson out of Texas Tech. I was quite literally just reading how he was a late riser and surprise green room invitee. Bilas called him the best pick-and-roll playmaker in the draft class. I’d badly like the Hornets to move on from Lamelo Ball, so maybe this is a step in that direction. He was leaps and bounds better last season as a sophomore.
10:11 pm (ET) - Shams is here talking about the trades. He’s a very awkward man. Dodgers have runners on the corners for the legendary Chuckie Robinson. Another bunt attempt because he simply cannot hit, and he drives in his first run since his rookie season back in 2022. The Raptors are on the clock.
10:14 pm (ET) - Toronto selects F Allen Graves out of Santa Clara. WCC 6th Man of the Year for Herb Sendek. They made it to the tournament and almost took down Kentucky. Pretty sure I picked them to win that one. Legler thinks he can be in the rotation immediately, but needs to get his shot off quicker. Very versatile, and they love that in Toronto.
10:18 pm (ET) - The Spurs are on the clock. They need a point guard who doesn’t have his head up his ass. Oh, and a power forward. This is a very good panel. I don’t know who this one guy is, but Andraya Carter, Tim Legler, and Jay Bilas know their stuff. And, of course, Malika Andrews is their go-to moderator.
10:21 pm (ET) - Jayden Quaintance out of Kentucky is the pick. Only played 4 games there before tearing his ACL, but they say he looked good in his workouts. He was at Arizona State for a year before that, where he was okay. Big guy, so fits that power forward need.
10:24 pm (ET) - Wrobleski has really settled in for the Dodgers. He’s through 7 innings now. In WNBA action, the Liberty lead the Aces 19-17 after the 1st quarter. I imagine things will pick up. Colombia and Congo have made it to the first hydration break scoreless.
10:29 pm (ET) - Memphis really likes this draft as they trade with the Pistons to make this selection and take Karim Lopez out of Mexico. Fran Fraschilla loves him. Says he should have been a lottery pick. He looks like a giant Bad Bunny and put up 13/7/3 against the Jazz in an exhibition game when he was 17. Shout out to former Lowgator and Mexico basketball legend Victor Avila.
10:35 pm (ET) - Labaron Philon Jr. has Harry Potter glasses on. He and his family are all smiles. Turns out it’s because they had heard from the 76ers that they were selecting him out of Alabama. Glad he’s away from notorious scumbag Nate Oats. Seems like decent value to get a (hopefully) solid backup for Tyrese Maxey here.
10:39 pm (ET) - Free kick for Colombia in the 39th minute amounts to nothing. The lid is still on the basket for the Aces as they trail 28-21 with 6 minutes to go in the 2nd quarter. And the Dodgers have brought out Edgardo Henriquez to pitch the 8th, and he delivers a 1-2-3 inning. The Hawks are on the clock.
10:43 pm (ET) - The Hawks pick big man Zuby Ejiofor out of St. John’s. The panel is raving about his defensive ability, effort, and passing for his size. Atlanta is winning me over. The Knicks are on the clock, so all conversation is over.
10:45 pm (ET) - The Knicks are trading this pick to the Lakers in another silly 1-spot swap. The guy I didn’t know is Bobby Marks, a former NBA front office guy and cap expert.
10:47 pm (ET) - Alex Call solo HR to make it 8-2. Chuckie Robinson is on a heater, going 2-4 tonight. The most hits he’s had in an entire season is 9. World Series legend Miguel Rojas hits a laser of an RBI double, followed by an Andy Pages RBI single. 10-2 Dodgers with 1 out.
10:50 pm (ET) - Cameron Carr out of Baylor is headed to LA. Son of Chris Carr, who you know from the Minnesota Timberwolves, and finishing 2nd to Kobe Bryant in that dunk contest. Cameron is, as you would imagine, explosive and can shoot it. Both things the Lakers need.
10:57 pm (ET) - The Knicks pick Sergio de Larrea, a 6’6” guard out of Spain. Fran loves him, too. Fran says he can handle the ball some and is an excellent shooter. It’s unclear when he’ll come over to the NBA. Chris Cenac Jr., out of Houston, looks sick that he hasn’t been picked yet.
10:59 pm (ET) - Max Muncy joins the hit party with a 2-run double. Dodgers up 12-2 with Alex Call back up at the plate for the 2nd time this inning. He was looking to join current Dodgers announcer Erik Karros as the only players in team history to homer twice in the same inning, but Call grounded out. Erik, your legacy is safe.
11:02 pm (ET) - The Nuggets are on the clock. Colombia and Congo are still in a scoreless tie at the half. The Liberty are up 42-33 on the Aces at the half. With the Dodgers game also coming to an end, perhaps I can ease into the end of the draft.
11:04 pm (ET) - Denver selects C Tarris Reed Jr. out of UConn. ESPN mocked that one correctly. He had a ridiculous 31-point, 27-rebound game against Furman in this year’s NCAA Tournament. This pick is headed to San Antonio, who clearly believe they need more bulk around Wemby. I agree!
11:07 pm (ET) - The Celtics are on the clock, and our panel is discussing the Jaylen Brown situation. I’m not sure how they work around this, and, as a hater, I’m pleased. This man is done playing second fiddle. Imagine if they just committed to punting on the year like we all thought they were going to do.
11:10 pm (ET) - Boston mercifully picks Chris Cenac Jr. I was very concerned. He needs some development, but did get better as the season went on. He played for Kelvin Sampson, so you know he can and will defend. He wasn’t mesmerizing offensively, but you see the potential with his shot, size, and athleticism. Not a great frame for putting on weight, but that’s the only real concern. Young and a development pick. Bilas says he’s a lottery talent.
11:14 pm (ET) - At this point of the first round, I feel like I could make some decent picks. You’re basically swinging for the fences here. I can do that. The Nets are on the clock. They got this pick in the Julius Randle trade. Give me a call!
11:17 pm (ET) - Brooklyn picks Joshua Jefferson out of Iowa State. He wasn’t invited to the green room, but is sitting in the stands, so he will get to shake Adam Silver’s hand. A good all-around player for a power forward-sized guy. His injury in the NCAA Tournament cost Iowa State a legitimate shot at a deep tourney run as Tennessee knocked them out in the Sweet 16. Now, they would have had to play eventual champion Michigan in the Elite 8, but still.
11:22 pm (ET) - Still no score in the 60th minute of Colombia and Congo. The Aces are still struggling to get the deficit under 7 midway through the 3rd. The Cavaliers are on the clock.
11:24 pm (ET) - This pick is on the way to the Kings. Thoughts and prayers to the selection, UConn’s Alex Karaban. I can’t believe he’s finally out of college. A rare 2-time national champion. Almost made it 3 this year. 151 career games. My goodness.
11:28 pm (ET) - Dallas picks Koa Peat with the final selection of the evening. I kept hearing about this kid, especially after he gave Florida 30/7/5 in his very first game, but whenever I watched him, he was merely okay. Which is no crime, and Arizona had a lot of talent, but still. Listen to me. It’s the end of the first round. You draft the kid who gave Florida 30/7/5 in his first collegiate game. This pick is headed to Phoenix, which, if Google is correct, is also in Arizona.
Okay, we did it! I enjoy the hell out of these. They’re a great writing endurance exercise and also make me pay attention instead of doomscrolling. Now, will this lead to me falling back in love with the NBA? That remains to be seen, but I’m optimistic! I’m probably just sick of the Lakers’ front office! Maybe it’ll do me some good to zoom out and pay attention to the league as a whole. Who knows? Whatever, I’m tired! I’ll see you Thursday morning for Screen Shots! Colombia and Congo are still 0-0 in the 73rd minute! Thanks for reading!
