As the dust settles on the NBA draft, and as all of the your favorite college stars realize their dreams and join their new team, we sat down with one of the best basketball analysts in the business, Rashad Phillips. Rashad was a 2x MCC Player of the Year and Naismith winner for the University of Detroit Mercy. He scored 2319 total points in his career, and his #3 was retired by the Titans.
Now, he is one of the most informative, plugged in, insightful, and accurate basketball analysts on any level. He’s a must follow for all basketball fans on Twitter @RP3natural and his YouTube channel Rashad Phillips. Without further ado, let’s get to it.
(AP Photo | Gerry Broome)Zion, who else?
Pypeline: Rashad, good to hear from you, man. You had a pretty busy week, so we’re glad you could take time out of your schedule to talk with us a little bit.
Rashad Phillips: Yeah, for sure, for sure.
PL: Ok, I think legally we are required to ask you about Zion first.
RP: (laughing) Of course. Everybody wants to talk about that.
PL: Obviously, people love his athleticism and motor, and it seems like he has a great attitude. Are you worried about his jump shot?
RP: Yeah, it concerns me. There’s a lot left to be desired in regards to his jump shooting ability. He has a lot of other skills. He can beat people off the dribble, because he’s strong, fast, and powerful. But when you sag off a player like that, and we’ve watched that in the playoffs, you sag off great players and they can’t make shots, it’s detrimental to their team. We watched Giannis not be able to really make shots, and it hurt his team. So you look at Zion in that way where, if he’s going to be that next level player, you know once you get to the playoffs, those lack of skills, they get exposed. Right now, he doesn’t have the jump shot like I would like him to have. But you know, over time, hopefully that’s something that he’ll develop.
PL: Right. A lot of people have compared him to different players like Blake Griffin. However, Blake had a much better jump shot.
RP: Right.
PL: But it’s not that he can’t develop one.
RP: For sure.
(Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)Ja vs Zion?
PL: Who do you think has better long term success, Ja or Zion?
RP: For me, it’s Ja. I think it’s a no brainer there. You have to take in the injury factor as well. Zion is such a force of nature, and guys that play with that type of brute strength, play violent? I said the same thing about Derek Rose. Derek Rose is probably one of my favorite players ever. But I always watched Derek Rose and I said, “Man, he’s not going to play long. He’s not going to have a long career.” And people would ask me, “Why do you say that?” And I’d say, “He just plays so violent that I’m afraid that something’s just going to happen.”
And when I watch Zion, he plays really violent. He’s already blown out his shoe on national TV. So that just kind of scares me. When you look at Ja, he has a dynamic about him. Just being the point guard, knowing what he’s doing, he makes everybody better. With the way the game is going, it’s a point guard dominated, ball-handling league. I just think long term Ja will have more success. Not saying that Zion won’t have any success, because he will. But Ja Morant will have more success.
Atlanta on the Rise
PL: Who was the most high risk, high reward player drafted?
RP: High risk, high reward drafted player? I would probably say Cam Reddish. But not because of the high risk, more because of the high reward. He just possesses all the qualities you want in a basketball player. Ball handling, size, shooting, he just passes the eye test. For a team like Atlanta to get him that expedites his stardom. Because when you put Trae Young next to a guy like that, Trae Young makes everybody elevate their games. And that’s statistically proven.
You add Cam Reddish on that type of team, the reward will be really high. Hawks fans are going to be excited to just watch this team play. For the next five to six years, Atlanta is going to be one of the most watched teams. Especially next year, they’re going to have over $70 million in cap space. So they have these terrific young players, and then they’re gonna get a one free agent, and that’s gonna automatically put them in the top three teams in the East. It’s coming.
PL: Yeah, especially if Kawai leaves, the East is going to be wide open.
RP: Even if he stays, I’m not saying Atlanta will be the number one seed in the East, but they’ll be in the top four. You’ll have Toronto, Milwaukee are going to be one and two. And then that three and four, that’s a toss up. And I think Atlanta takes one of those spots.
PL: Hawk’s fans are going to be excited then?
RP: (laughing) Yeah, they should be. They got the right players in play.
Solid Value
PL: So you’re really high on Atlanta’s draft. What are some other teams that had great drafts?
RP: I think the Clippers did a terrific job. They got the big fella Mfiondu Kabengele out of Florida State. Actually, they got two Florida State kids. They also got Terance Mann. Both of those kids were ranked on my board. And they’re tremendous players. Both rugged, tough guys, and it seems like the Clippers are going with that toughness. It seems like that’s the identity that Doc Rivers is going for. Guys that are gonna compete. Grabbing those two guys right there, and then last year having Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Clippers are really in a position to make a push.
I also really like the Chicago Bulls, too. I like the Cobe White pick. And the Daniel Gafford pick. Then you combine those two picks this year with Wendell Carter Jr. pick last year, and then the year before Lauri Markkanen. With Zack Levine, the Bullls are gonna be tremendous now. They did a fantastic job in their draft as well. Those are two teams that really stand out to me with how they drafted.
(Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)Nassir Little
PL: What did you think about Nassir Little dropping?
RP: The Portland Trail Blazers got better by getting Nassir at 25. There were only a few spots of people like myself that were really high on him. And he landed in a great position. At 25, to go to a playoff team, we’re going to watch Nassir really compete in the playoffs. Out of all of the rookies, I think he’s in the best position to showcase his skills deeper into the playoffs because Portland needed that third guy. Nurkic got hurt and Portland didn’t really have that third guy.
Drafting Nassir Little, a kid that’s already shown us that he can produce without having a lot of touches. And that’s what you need when you’re with Portland. Because they have two dominant guards, so you’re not going to get a lot of shots. You’re going to have to get a lot of transition points. You’re going to have to defend and block shots. That’s what Little specializes in.
When playoff time comes, we’re going to be watching Nassir be the third leading scorer on that Portland team. He’s going to have a huge impact on that team in the playoffs. Just watch. He landed with the right team, the right organization, and the right fit. At the end of the day, it’s all about fit. Yes, he lost a couple of dollars because he slid, but he’ll make that money back with his production. So out of all the rookies, he may have the biggest impact, because he went to a playoff team. With a lot of the rookies, their season is going to be over, and Nassir’s is going to just be starting.
PL: A blessing in disguise.
RP: Yes, yes.
Late Value
PL: Were there any other players, maybe after the Top 15, that were you really liked?
RP: For me, it was Daniel Gafford. He was a tremendous pick by the Bulls. He was my diamond in the rough. I also like what the Miami Heat did. They got KZ Okpala from Stanford. Obviously, they got Tyler Herro in the lottery, but the KZ Okpala was a great pick. Brooklyn did a great job of grabbing Jaylen Hands in the 50s. A lot of times, people don’t understand. There’s gold all the way through the draft. You just have to do your homework.
Brooklyn seems to have gotten it right by getting a guy like Jaylen Hands. Here’s a kid that led the Pac-12 in assists, 6’3”, very dynamic, good defender, plays the passing lanes really well. He could be one of those guys that we look back on in a couple of years and say wow, he was like pick 56 or whatever he was, and he turned out to be a really good NBA player. So the Brooklyn Nets get a Jedi salute from me by grabbing Jaylen Hands. That was a great pick.
(Photo: Matt Stamey / USA TODAY Sports)The Fred VanVleet Award
PL: All right, here we go, the Fred Van Fleet award. The undrafted player that’ll have success in the league.
RP: I’m going with Fletcher Magee. He’s with Milwaukee. And if he sticks, I think he becomes the JJ Redick of that team. What Milwaukee lacked in the playoffs was evident. It was clear. Everybody could see it. You didn’t even have to be a basketball savant to see what they lacked. They lacked jump shooters. You know obviously, Khris Middleton could knock down shots, and Brook Lopez caught fire, but outside of that they just really lacked that dead on three point shooter. JJ Redick brings a different dynamic for the 76ers with his jump shooting. Fletcher Magee could bring that same type of jump shooting to the Milwaukee Bucks. He’s the greatest 3-point shooter the NCAA has ever had. So why wouldn’t you find a roster spot for a guy that has that type of resume? Especially when the biggest weakness of your team is jump shooting.
PL: Right. Long term, you can’t rely on Lopez knocking those shots down.
RP: Nah, you can’t. You can’t rely on that. He did a good job of catching fire. But you still can’t rely on it. You can rely on Fletcher Magee to give you those shots.
I like Mike Daum, as well. Mike Daum has been invited to the Portland Trail Blazers’ summer league. So Portland has done a terrific job. They drafted Nassir Little at 25, and they invited Mike Daum to their summer league. Daum could make that team, as well. He was one of the top 3 most dominant college players over the last two years. And Portland gets him on their summer league team. Somebody in Portland’s scouting department is doing a terrific job of finding the gold.
PL: Doing their homework.
RP: They’re doing their homework.
The Pels Flying High
PL: Last one – what draft night trade do you think worked out best for a team?
RP: I would say the Pelicans. They gave up the 4th pick, but they got more players and more picks. The Pelicans did a terrific job. David Griffin came right into work, worked his magic, and I think the Pelicans are destined to do something special. They’re about two years away from really being a playoff team. A consistent playoff team. They got a lot of bang for their buck there. They did a terrific job in the draft.
PL: All right, sounds good. Lots of great insight. Appreciate all of the knowledge, Rashad. Until next time!
RP: Good talking to you. Take care.
