How to Make the NBA Jump with Tom Crean

Do you agree that that order is basically set in stone? And if there is a surprise in that top four, what’s it gonna be?

Tom Crean: I could definitely see a trade in there. I know it’s not common to trade the first pick, but unless you are absolutely sold on one player like AJ — I mean you could actually get another really good player or another good pick for maybe a year from now to go with the player that you ultimately want. So I wouldn’t be surprised if the team order changes. I don’t think the order would change, but it would not shock me. 

Darryn Peterson is so talented. He’s got such an ability to score. I think he’s gonna be an all-defensive team guy. AJ Dybantsa is gonna be an all-defensive team guy, but I think Darryn Peterson is one of those guys — he could lead the NBA in steals at some point. I mean he could be one of the leading scorers in the game and also lead it in steals. He’s so quick, he’s got wiggle, he can get to the rim, he can make free throws, he gets fouled.

Seth: Do you feel like his physical issues, his cramping issues, are the reason why Peterson’s not going at No. 1?

Crean: No, I think AJ Dybantsa at 6-foot-10 is such a unique player. I mean, look at this NBA Finals series: Obviously Jalen Brunson and Karl Anthony-Towns are doing a lot, but OG (Anunoby) and Mikal Bridges are doing a lot too, right? Those big wings are really, really hard to find. So that’s where I think Dybantsa has got the edge as a pick, because he can rise up and shoot over top of anybody. 

I didn’t think his defense was great, especially at the end of the year. Again, I think AJ could be a high-level defender, I mean an all-league guy early defensively because he’s got such great anticipation, can defend with either hand, can drop his shoulders, excellent anticipator. I mean it’s just such a unique draft. You look at those four and then we could go to a whole other four to six guys that, in any given year, would probably be in the top five without question.

Andy Katz: One of your high-value picks that you shared with us is a player we hadn’t really discussed in the last couple of shows, Seth: Bennett Stirtz. I want to get your opinion on him. Obviously, he’s had a meteoric rise in his basketball career. I mean, when you can shoot, you can shoot regardless of level, but Northwest Missouri State, Drake, Iowa?

Why do you think Bennett Stirtz will be such a high-value pick somewhere in that first round?

Crean: Sure. Such offensive quickness, whether it’s his feet, whether it’s his release, he does something. Josh Giddey is unbelievable at this with the Bulls. He gets that ball off his hip to the rim so quick. Keaton Wagler’s got a little bit of that, but so does Stirtz. 

Stirtz can make plays, he can make something out of nothing and he can get the ball off quick. He’s got an excellent stepback. He’s got range. I think he’s an outstanding passer. I think that that team, as you know, Andy and Seth, from covering them so much, they were not a high-possession team. They were not a high-throttle team. And he had to play 39, 40 minutes, those types of things. 

This may sound outlandish, but I believe it: I think his floor is Goran Drogić. I think his ceiling is Steve Nash level, I really do. Now I don’t think he’s gonna be Steve Nash right off the bat. I’m not saying that at all. But remember, Steve Nash left as a free agent from Dallas and went to Phoenix and then everything changed. So you never know when it’s gonna completely hit. 

But Bennett Stirtz is so quick, I think he’s adequate defensively without question. But that level of hand quickness, vision and foot quickness, not necessarily — I don’t want to say foot speed, which I think is fine — but he’s got foot quickness. And when you got that level of quickness, that level of ability to separate and get that shot off with that kind of range and you can see the floor — I think he’s gonna be fantastic.

Seth: Interesting position in this draft I think a lot of people are really focusing on: the point guard. It seems like the two guys at the top are Darius Acuff and Kingston Flemings. 

Who do you like between Acuff and Flemings? Do any of the point guards jump out at you as guys who could maybe get drafted lower than you think they’re worth?

Crean: Well, I love both of those guys for different reasons. Acuff’s body, he’s so strong. He’s gonna put people in the seats. He’s a high-level scorer. He can get to the rim, he can get fouled. I thought John Calipari and that staff did a fantastic job with him of getting his decision-making better — and he still had high turnover games. 

Talking to Chuck Martin the other day before another recent show, he said, in the matchups, they would really purposely try to keep Darius off a really high-level type of player that could create fouls for him, because they needed so much from him inside of the game.

And then the second half, they would start to move him into matchups and he said it always ticked the kid off. The kid always wanted to be guarding a better player. I think Darius’ defense has got a little ways to go. I think he’s got to become — I think the awareness off the ball, the awareness to react is gonna be important. I think he can get beat off the dribble too early, but I think all those things are achievable. 

And then you look at Kingston Flemings, the one thing he does better than anybody in this draft is get by you. I mean he gets by you. So now you start putting how physical — obviously the playoffs are a little different with the physicality — but Kingston Flemings can back up, he can get by you, he doesn’t need a ball screen, he can navigate, he can get to the rim, he’s got a very good pull-up, he can shoot the three. 

Watching Darius Acuff for years when he was playing at IMG, with us living in Sarasota and being involved in some camps with Kingston and just watching in person that level of burst — and then you see what Kelvin Samson did with him in building some strength and getting him more confidence. I think it comes down to if Kingston can do a better job early without the ball and then moving the ball.

I think whoever gets Darius, they’re gonna have to understand he wants the ball in his hands and they’re gonna have to make — there’s gonna be some adjustments for both. But I think you’ve got to have better defense, bigger defensive guards around Darius. I think if you’ve got Kingston and you’ve got some big wings, guards that can shoot it, I think he’s perfect.

Andy: Let’s stay on the point guards for a moment here. I’m just curious what you think of Braden Smith, because he leaves college basketball as the all-time assist leader. When I was in Chicago interviewing players, I don’t know if there was a more confident player in his ability than Braden Smith. He is flat out the best passer in this draft. He’s got the numbers to back it up.

Now, whether or not that can translate to the next level, that’s the big question. He’s knocked down the hurdles relative to his size in his career thus far. 

What are your thoughts on whether or not Braden Smith, (A) Will get drafted and (B) His potential to last in the league?

Crean: I think he’s 10 years plus in the league, and I don’t know him personally. My time in Indiana did not pass, with really knowing him, but I think it’s it’s 10 years plus. I think it’ll be early. You know, best-case scenario for him is to get to a team that needs him to be the second point guard early. It may be a situation where he’s the third and he’s spending some time in the G League.

But I think what you see is what you get, in the sense that he’s gonna make shots, he’s gonna make pull-ups, he’s as good as you said, Andy, with the passing, he’s as good of a pick-and-roll, pocket passer, hit the roll, hit the lob guy as there is in basketball, and he’s been that way for a couple of years. I think Smith’s got tenacity. One reason I think he’ll last for so long is he brings confidence to everybody that’s around him. 

Now, I do think there’s some things, even at his size and his maturity as a player, he can get better at. He can get better with his footwork on his jump shot, he can get better with his range. He cannot fade sometimes as early as he fades on his shot, and I think he can be a better shooter. I thought Matt Painter did a really good job of improving some of that in him this year. 

But I think he goes in the second round, probably mid to late. If he doesn’t go in the draft, I think he’d have guaranteed money within probably two days. But I think he will. I think he’ll get a good contract and it’s almost, like I said, if he can go be a second point guard — and maybe he’s good enough to start 20, 25games — great. If not, I think he works his way up and I think he’s in that league a long, long time.

Seth: Tom, we asked you to give us some of your second round sleepers, which is always interesting. You see what Jalen Brunson is doing with the Knicks. He’ll be the patron saint of second rounders for a while. Before that, it was Draymond Green. But they’re always high-value players who fall to the second round for whatever reason. Largely, I think, because scouts and NBA teams get a little bit too focused on what guys can not do as opposed to what they can do. So you gave us a list of guys who can definitely do some things: 

Emanuel Sharp, Trevon Brazile, Ryan Conwell, Lajae Jones and Tyler Bilodeau. If you had to pick one guy on that list who’s the next Jalen Brunson, who would you pick and why?

Crean: I don’t know if I’d go with Jalen Brunson, because they’re different. They’re different than him. I think Emanuel Sharp — I think every one of those guys is gonna play. Tyler Bilodeau is a phenomenal shooter. I mean phenomenal. And I think he’s a good enough athlete. I think he’s a smart enough defender. I think he moves without the ball. But I mean, his ball when he misses — more often than not, they look like they’re going in. A lot of times in evaluation, you can’t just study the makes. You gotta really look at the misses, right? Because you’ve got to see where they’re at. And so many times he’s right in the center of the rim. So I think he’s fantastic.

I love Conwell and I love Sharp. Because I think you can put them in, they can come off the bench, they can create offense, they can create shots, they can play in the break. I think Emanuel Sharp especially can get up and get after you and create havoc. I think those guys are gonna play as game changers. I really do. And I think they’re gonna make an impact. 

Now, the one guy that I think is gonna go in the first round, but could fall to the second — and I’m telling you, he will be an absolute steal, even if he’s a late first rounder — is Sergio de Larrea from Valencia. He looks like Bogdan Bogdanović. I mean he’s 20, high release, excellent shooter, playing real, high-level quality minutes in a great league. He’s a cutter, moves without the ball. You look at him and you see a guy that looks thin, and then you watch him play and you see how tough he is. And he’s got that wiry strength. 

So I think the second round — I mean, it’s gonna be fantastic. I think the late first is still really good. And then another guy that I think is gonna have an impact is Trevon Brazile because he’s been in college for a long time. He’s getting better and better. Been at Missouri, been with Eric Musselman at Arkansas, been with John Calipari at Arkansas, and has improved every year. Maybe he didn’t come into college thinking he was going to be there that long, but every year has benefited him in some way. He can shoot the ball better. He’s got better shot selection. He can cut now. He’s become a better defender. He’s a big-time rebounder. 

If you play for John Calipari, you’re not only going to go to the offensive glass, but you’re going to get way better rebounding the ball with two hands. That’s a big thing. I mean, Andy was around the UConn program for so long — Jim Calhoun was unbelievable at teaching guys to defend with both hands and rebound with two hands. That’s a very underrated skill, especially when you get to the NBA because of how many 50-50s there are, because of how athletic people are. So I like the second round for a lot of guys, and again, I think we’re gonna see some steals at the end of the first.

Andy: Tom, you coached two of the best players in college basketball in the respective eras: Dwyane Wade at Marquette — you guys go to a Final Four — Anthony Edwards at Georgia. But it doesn’t always work that if you’re this great college player, even if you’re a high pick, that you’re then gonna translate into this great NBA player. 

What was it about Dwyane Wade and Anthony Edwards that you saw translate that may end up translating for this year’s projected top four picks?

Crean: Well, they were both very fortunate. Dwyane was older than Anthony, but they were both very fortunate to get into the right programs when they got drafted. And I think that is huge for AJ. I think AJ needs to be in a culture program where the head coach and the main assistants are driving the improvement train. The veterans are hard workers. There’s extra work that’s involved if he gets into a situation and it gets established that, yeah, you’re really important to us, but we’re gonna coach you hard, you’re gonna work hard, and you’re gonna be a part of the process, not just the solution. 

For Dwyane, he got that going with Pat Riley and Stan Van Gundy. I think Anthony going to Minnesota was paramount because he got into a good group. Ricky Rubio was the veteran for him. That was one of the most underrated parts of Anthony’s career to this point, because Ricky was so good with him. He was so good. Anthony was headstrong and Anthony knew how to play and had athleticism. He made a lot of growth in that one year with us, because he really had to learn how to practice. He had to learn some of the professional qualities, but also realize, as good as I am, I’ve got to make everybody else better. And I thought Ricky Rubio really taught him a lot that first year about point guard. Ryan Saunders was his coach for a while and then Chris Finch. I think that’s paramount. 

But I think the biggest thing is — do you have a motor? Are you a self-starter? Okay? That means that you’re in the gym at different times of the day. I mean it’s a commitment level. Most of the guys I’ve had that have been highly successful were just like that: OG Anunoby is a twice-a-day guy in the offseason. Victor Oladipo, phenomenal at that. Nick Claxton learned that. It’s really not that complicated. If you have the talent and you have the motor and you have that athletic upside that those guys had, and you have a work ethic and you are open-minded to getting better — That is one of the most underappreciated traits of players. I think it’s gonna trickle more and more into high school now because of the money that kids are coming into college making. It’s so easy to think that where you landed is enough to get you where you want to go. 

All the pros that we’ve had, wherever they started in college, they were definitely better when they left — but they really, truly understood they were nowhere near where they had to be. And I think those are the common denominators. Another big common denominator in being a great teammate is: Do you have empathy? Not just the sound bite, not just for the camera, not just some fake sympathy, but do you have real empathy for other people and can you laugh at yourself? I’ve never had a pro that went into the NBA feeling that they were privileged. Now, they might have been really talented, but they didn’t go in there feeling that they were privileged. And I think that is a monumental thing that’s bigger than ever now because of the money kids are making in college.