(upbeat music) - Van Marnik just 4759 of the van, man, and it's Frank Gunning as a fella by the name of Michael Schwab who has 75,000 Twitter followers, okay? - Don't stump him. - Yeah, and he claims to be an Astros writer. He does write the Juicebox Journal, which is a sub-stack. He also says he's a Politico in USA Today alum. But yeah, he's got 75,000 Twitter followers and that was him on ESPN radio in Houston yesterday. So this isn't just some fly-by-night guy. - New. - It's also not like currently on the beat. - This is true. - But he did say, according to sources, the Astros have made Vlad Jr their number one target and he also did mention the Yankees in there as a potential suitor for Vladimir Guerrero Jr, who as people may know, has one more year of team control. It's having a pretty good season. OBS now back over 800,000, 10 home runs this season, but that might be the offensive profile. - Yup. - All right. Of these two teams who over the last decade have been kind of the defining teams of the American League, the Astros more than the Yankees, obviously. - Far more. - Tremendous success. Happening in Houston and there was a stretch earlier the season where you're like, oh, is it over for them? Will they be buyers? But they've had a really, really strong stretch, including I believe a seven game winning streak, which I believe they're still on. Yes, seven straight wins to get back to 500 are the Astros. And they also play in a division where there are no Yankees, there are no Orioles running away with it. They're four and a half back of the Mariners who have a great pitching step, but they can't, they can't hit. The Astros also have like some pending free agents and some interesting questions of themselves, not the Lisa, which is Alex Bragman. - But like, do you have a preference? If you had to deal with one of the Yankees or the Astros, is there one that's like less painful or one that you're more excited about potentially dealing with? - This is kind of mean, but because of how I feel about the player, I actually think it'd be better I would enjoy the experience in New York more. 'Cause I think that they, you heard like, just listen to the reaction of the ESPN radio host here. We've talked about this, that baseball is a super regional game. And if you're not super plugged into your team, I think people look at Vlad and they're like, oh, yeah, like 45 bombs, easy. You're gonna be just abusing that short port, why? Why would that be, what's happening? So I think that if he goes to the Astros, he hits a little lower in the lineup. He probably has some success. The team probably does pretty well and you go about your business. But I think there's a world where he kind of becomes the focal point of conversation in New York. Like, they're not gonna be mad at judge, they're not gonna be mad at Soto. So looking around, you might work, new guy in town that we just paid a ton in prospects for. I just, I'll be honest, like from a Yankees angst standpoint, I think I might enjoy that. - Yeah. - And it's not to say that he won't do exactly what he's doing here. They're just gonna go, they're gonna spend wherever he goes. And this includes Houston, they're gonna spend the first year and a half. And that's the only time they're gonna have until they have to pay him. And I realized front offices know this, but all the fans are gonna say, "Where's the power?" "Those are Vladies, kid. Where's the power?" So that is the thing, and actually, it should have trade come to fruition. That's the thing I can't wait to see. - It would be interesting to see if the thing that was obvious and clear to me. And I think many people within this market, that Vlad's a good player, but not a great one. And, you know, that was covered up by the fact that he was the cover boy for the most recent MLB of the show game. And, well, of course he should be there. And he's a good player. But yeah, not great. Clearly, that would become more part of the public understanding of who he was in either locale, but more specifically in the Bronx. Also, I mean, if we're talking about a trade of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., obviously, you're gonna want some ready-made players right now. But the idea is no team in contention that's trying to add is giving you guys that are currently producing for them at the Major League level. They're giving you probably prospects. - No, and not that Vlad carries the weight or the value that Soto did. But it's like, you're not getting, like, look at what they got in King, right? Like a super ready-made, this guy can step in and be great for you. You're not getting that piece from a team in season. That's an off-season type move, right? - Yep. Yeah, but you are potentially getting somebody at the tippy top of their prospect packing order. And somebody that in maybe another organization would already be in the Major League. And there's somebody actually for the New York Yankees who would be in the Major Leaks for them, maybe possibly if he didn't get hurt. I'll get to him in just a second, but- - Okay. - If we're just evaluating farm systems and what these two teams have at the prospect level, Astros are actually one of the farm systems, and this one. I'm gonna, everything I talk about when it comes to rankings and farm systems going forward will be MLB pipeline. - Okay. - And there's baseball America, there's baseball prospectus, and those are all publicly available. Rankings of players and systems, it doesn't mean squat to the teams actually making the moves because they all have their internal stuff, but I'm just using the publicly available stuff. Astros going into this season actually are one of the very few teams in Major League Baseball who had a farm system that was ranked lower than the Blue Jays pre-season, which, you know, that makes sense because they've been a winning organization and they've had to trade away prospects to continue to add at the deadline. This, though, from MLB.com's pre-season ranking article. The Astros could argue that system rankings don't matter. Since we expanded ours to include 30 organizations four years ago, they've never finished better than 27th. Yet have extended their streak of American League Championship Series appearances to seven, and seasons with at least one player getting a rookie of the year vote to five, but going into the season, they were the lone team in Major League Baseball without a top 100 prospect. Now that has changed. I just brought up the most recent rankings. They have a guy in the top 100. His name is Jacob Melton, he's number 70, he's at a double A. Now the difference between the Astros and the Yankees outside of just the overall organizational prospect rankings being very different, the Yankees have a big bright shining star. A guy that's already played in the Major Leagues. People may have heard of him. His name is Jason Dominguez. He's also known as the Martian. I always forget if it's the mutant or the Martian. He's the Martian. So he made his debut last season for the Yankees. He just like took the world by storm, hit like four home runs. He's a switch hitting out fielder who's got some power. I think he's got a 30 stolen base season in the minor leagues as well. And the Yankees fans were floored. They were like, this is the future. This is it. And he tore his UCL that that happened. He underwent Tommy John surgery and he was rehabbing in the minor leagues. And then his rehab assignment ended and he was optioned back to triple A where he continued to murder baseballs until most recently he suffered an oblique injury. Yeah. I posted a poll yesterday on Twitter as to whether people would be satisfied with the Martian Jason Dominguez as a return for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 64% of respondents said, no, I don't want Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the Bronx. But to me, again, again, if you're evaluating the charts, the medical charts of Jason Dominguez and you're satisfied enough that these are just two separate incidents. And he's not just like chronically prone to injury. You can sell me on a future that exists with a guy who's young, who's toolsy, who's a switch hitter, who does multiple things. He hits home runs. But if he doesn't hit home runs, he's going to steal bases. He's going to walk. He plays a position and needs center field. Don't tell that. He is one of the most notable prospects in the sport. To me, cool nickname. And it's probably going to be Jason Dominguez plus, right? Yeah, not a one for one. No. To me, that's as good as you're going to get. I would like to have a word with the 64% of people that voted in that poll because they're just flat out wrong. I can understand, well, I can understand it. I cannot put myself in the headspace of someone who just loves Vlad to an extent and that's their guy and the Yankees are the worst. And like, I can understand that. I just don't know how big a part of that person exists. If they're not 12 years old or 11 or what it is. The other thing about it is, I hate to break it to you guys, okay? But if it's not Vlad, they're just going to go get somebody else with that guy. Is that like if they have decided and who knows if they have, but if the Yankees have decided like, come hell or high water, we're improving this team this year at the deadline. Even if it costs the absolute best prospect we have in the system in Dominguez, a guy we've seen at the major league level, they're just going to give it to somebody else for something else of note. And then you don't have that thing. And guess what? If the Yankees be really, really good in your division for kind of forever because of Soto and some side in there, you know, who knows what happens. So that's the point I keep coming back to with it is that this isn't a team that's looking at Vlad and he perfectly fits their profile and they're in your division. And if you don't give them Vlad, they just go, okay, maybe we pivot and we get something lesser than no, the Yankees are going to add, they're going to be good. They're going to try to get back to the Yankees of it all. So the idea that you're going to hold your precious Vlad and let somebody else get that fine meats and cheeses just makes no sense to me. >> Yeah, it's very rare that you're looking at a deal like this and you can see the path towards somebody who's a prospect and not at the major leagues right now, but somebody that you can conceivably build your organization around. Like you can reset the timeline with somebody of similar prospect stature. Nobody was Vlad. >> No. >> And Vlad was a prospect. >> Jackson holiday was not Vlad. >> Yeah, but honestly, and we joked about the Jackson holiday trade, but that's not happening because the Orioles are not the Yankees and Jackson holiday, yeah, he's still very much a part of their plan. So is the Martian, but the Yankees are different than the Orioles. They don't, you know why? >> Well, that's the thing. They go, yeah, okay, if he's so good, we'll just give him $300 million eight years from now. >> Honestly, like, don't worry guys, if he's as good as you all think he is, he'll be back in pinstripes one day. >> Yeah, the other weird thing about this, and I know I've used it as a knock that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. plays first base and he only has 10 home runs and he's only got an OPS of 800. And boy, the bar for offense at that position is much higher than that. And then National League, that might be true. The American League, it's not. >> Nope. >> It's very, very weird. Like Josh Naylor's having an incredible season. >> And losing his mind after hitting homers by the way. >> Yeah, him and Salvador Perez who's been mostly a DH, those guys are killing it. You can very easily make the argument that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is the third, or maybe at worst, the fourth best first baseman in the American League right now. And the Yankees, the Astros, the Astros were clinging to Jose O'Brien, who they just kept optioning and paid him a quadrillion dollars and he was cook, cook, cook, like those two teams actually have needs at that position. It's very bizarre because first baseman, like, guys, the easiest kind of position to fill, right? >> Off the scrappy. >> Daniel Vogel. >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> Okay, maybe not. >> They'll hit 40 home runs for you, but it's actually weirdly this season in the American League amongst a couple of contenders actually position a need. >> What happened to baseball? >> Yeah. >> I loved just first baseman, just spitting chon, hitting bombs all over the place. This also goes to the point I've made with Vlad is that, you know, I don't think it -- you know, I don't feel sorry for him or anything along those lines, but so much of the conversation we've had about him would feel so different if he was part of a competent lineup and just having these hits with guys occasionally on base or in moments that mattered. And I know he's been part of the runners in scoring position of it all, but you play in that Yankees lineup, you just get more looks that way. And if he keeps performing this way, it's kind of a double-edged sword because he's going to perform better than he did here just because of the opportunities available to him, but because we've all finally come to grips of what the player is, they'll have to do that there in New York or Houston if that's where he is. >> So there's two counters to trading Vlad this season. One is that you're waving the white flag if you're this front office and you're saying, please fire me, because we're really bad and we're doing a bad job. And the second is, well, as much as this team might need a hard rebuild, there's no way they're doing that because they want to win, if they understand that there's just no path to contention in 2024, in 2025, they feel that they can figure it out. >> Whatever, yeah. >> They can figure it out and get back to contention in 2025. You've traded for Jason Dominguez, he's part of your team as soon as he's healthy this season. >> Totally. >> And he's one of the center points of your offense in 2025. >> Yeah, this isn't grabbing a bunch of guys at low A and weight in 100 years from now. >> Exactly. All right, so in this market, we're very much looking at a guy that is extension eligible when it comes to the National Hockey League and Mitch Marner obviously. And yeah, he's had a great career so far, near 100-point guy. >> One day. >> In Edmonton, they got a guy who won a heart trophy and was part of a team that went all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final, who was also due in extension. >> Seems maybe worth more. >> Leon Drey's title. We heard Frank Seravelli with the report that there was conversations, I mean, he's mentioned during the Stanley Cup final, I don't know if he meant that explicitly as the games were being played. >> You're allowed to talk to the, I don't for the life of me understand this. The agents allowed to talk and then keep it to himself, right? You can have framework discussions with everyone, everyone acts like they pull dry cycle off the ice at practice like, hey Leon, we got to talk to you about this contract stuff. I think it's very plausible that you talk to an agent about some vague framework with the understanding that, yeah, none of this is getting done until the cup finals. >> Well, and also the front office of nothing to do while the playoffs are underway. >> Just be nervous. >> Yeah, exactly. >> Yeah, so maybe that wasn't so good at it. >> Anyways, here's the headline of the Edmonton Journal after yesterday's Leon Drey's title media availability. >> Give it to me. Drey's title plays it cool. Maybe too cool on future with the Edmonton Oilers, here is Leon Drey's title addressing his potential extension in Edmonton. >> It's the ultimate elephant in the room, so I have to ask your contract situation this summer, which is at your preference to sign an extension and what factors are you kind of considering as you go about that decision? >> Obviously, I'm going to sit down with my agents here and talk to the Oilers and see what their plan is, see what our plan is, and just go from there. >> Do you have any sort of timeline on when that would be, is that something you want to accomplish this summer, or would you be willing to take it? >> I don't have an answer to that for you. Obviously, I haven't had any time to really think about it. It wasn't on my mind a lot lately. So it's just something that it's going to take a little bit of time to figure out what I want, what the Oilers want, what everyone wants, and then go from there and figure some out. >> Sorry. Is it Edmonton first and then you'll view whatever happens down the road after that, or is it open? >> I mean, Edmonton has the only chance to sign me. So I guess they are first, but yeah, we'll see again, I'll leave it at that. Obviously, I love being an Euler more than anything. So yeah, I'll leave it at that. >> Okay. Freak it warranted? >> A little. I mean, he tried to get the car back on the rails at the very end. I think part of this is the problem with just his demeanor. Is there's no way he can add that addendum at the end being himself without it coming across? It's like, oh, yeah, and you guys want to hear this. So like being an Euler sick, I guess. >> I do think there is like everybody's different, right? Like you hear Mitch Marner say something, you take it one way, you hear Leon Dries, you should take it another. But much to the true living of it all, I mean, he could have said, I don't want to be anywhere than in Edmonton, he didn't say that. And it was the, it was the, oh, right. Yeah, sorry, I forgot to mention being an Euler's good. So yeah, but the difference between the true living and the dry saddle is that like obviously true living's not signing Mitch Marner to an extension. >> Yeah. >> And obviously he's at least exploring the idea of trade. I thought obviously that Leon Dries would be on the verge of re-signing an extension in Edmonton. And there will be no negotiating, right? Like the idea that this is some complicated contract to figure out, it's, it's not that it's overly complicated, but it's the specter of McDavid lingering and it's dry saddle wanting to ring the bell as high as he possibly can, but it's understanding that there's a guy on the team that you need to be beneath who's up one year after you. Like that's the thing I kind of- >> But he doesn't need to be beneath him now, like he's going to be above him for a year. >> Yeah, for a year. There's no world where he signs it 12 or even no, 1249 just to be below McDavid, but, and if it's a term deal, then obviously it surpasses Matthews, you would assume. So I guess that's your parameters, but I think that's the part of it that does make it difficult. Also, try to remember who it was who told us this. Maybe it was Frank earlier this week, but somebody throwing out the possibility of like, oh, that German over owner in San Jose, maybe he wants to go there now. That's, I don't know, for a guy who is quite frankly pissy about losing as he gets from time to time. I can't imagine he'd be signing up for that, but that's not nothing like an actual team of there being some lingering smoke around him. >> Yeah. >> Hey, they got a first overall pick and maybe to make another big trade this summer, all of a sudden it's a way more attractive destination. I am floored and yeah, panic definitely warranted in Edmonton. I don't think it means he's gone. I still think the most likely thing that happens is the hockey thing and he just takes his banger and he re-signs, yada, yada, yada, I do think that's still the most likely. But he didn't do a whole lot to put any one at ease in that and I don't think he cares to quite honestly. >> No, he clearly doesn't care to because if he did, he would. >> Yeah. >> Or, or he doesn't plan on re-signing like there's two things, it's like either he's Leon Drysado who doesn't care what you think and doesn't care if you're going to get all antsy and upset and nervous about the potential of him departing in free agency or he's just frankly not interested in being in Edmonton, Euler beyond 24/25. >> But okay, so unless there's a world where he, and if he tells the team this, I would imagine that would get out pretty quickly. But unless there's a world where he explicitly says, I'm not coming back, they have no choice but to let this play out. >> Like the idea that they look at Conor McDavid and say, hey, Leon's got a 10 team, no trade list. Let's go see what we could go for him. And even if he says, honestly, I'm John Tavaresing and I'm going to, I'm going back to Manhattan. I'm going to Germany. >> I don't think you have a choice but to say this is it. This is ticking time bomb on this one season and hopefully we can change his mind. >> And what would that do, I mean, what would that do to McDavid? Like I genuinely could talk to myself into both scenarios where it almost makes him feel like he's left holds in the bag and he has to stay. I still think it's more likely than not that he just resigns and plays the majority, if not his entire career there, Conor I'm talking about. But how does the dry side of the situation and how it plays out affect McDavid? They're going to be in the aftermath of it in this exact position one year from now trying to have this conversation with McDavid. And to want to talk about a deal where there's no negotiation, that's the one. >> But there's none in this one either. Like what, is there a walkaway number for the others? Maybe this is disrespectful. Like Leon's like I want 20%, give me 17.6, which is 20% of 88 million. >> The oil is like sorry, man. >> Yes, I don't think it's sorry man. I think it's like, okay, you know what, then you got it, if you want to be an oiler, like you got to play ball. I think it's them like then you go through the season and you, it's a little bit of cat mode. >> Conor can get more than that because the cap will be up and get 20% the new cap number when he's up. >> I would what I would give because you all remember the retroactive cyberbullying we did of Conor McDavid to walk his contract back by about a half a million dollars per season. I'd be dying to see what the, what the specter of that conversation would be. But yeah, I think, I don't think there's a walkaway number to where they say, ah, we're good. We're going to trade you. But there is a walkaway number to where they say, no, we don't need to put pen to paper right now on it. >> I do. >> Yeah, I don't. >> Well, I also, I don't think he's asking for 20%. There's no world where he's getting it. So he can ask for whatever he wants, but there's no world where he's getting it. >> Yeah. But could I see him getting like 15 God, I don't know, I 15's hard when the, when the next guys at 13 to five or 13 five can't remember exactly what Matthew's is that 15 stuff to see. I can 14. I can see. >> How many selling up finals is awesome? Matthew's played in. >> I'd be zero. >> I mean, same numbers. >> Strike title, quite frankly. >> Yeah. >> You saw them. >> They have the same number of heart trophies. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> No, no, I don't. 14 is not a number that I go, you're ridiculous. He's not getting 14. No, I think 14's very much in the cards. I think once you surpass that though, then it becomes a like, okay, well, I'm cool here, Jets here. You're getting $2 million more than anyone else in the league. And I think the other part of it is that, you know, I know McDavid's up, but McKinnon is signed. Matthew's assigned. Like, who's the next guy? I think that is something that teams, it's not the first thing they think about when they do their business regarding this. But it's like, how bad is this deal going to look when they're, again, Connors up? So it kind of negates the point. But there's not another one of these guys coming, like, Bard isn't due for a deal of any magnitude any time soon or any of these guys really. So that's the other thing that I think does play into it. I think 14 is, if he wants 14, I think they could do that deal Monday. If it's 15 plus or even, quite frankly, more than 14, I think that's where the Oilers say, okay, come on. Yeah, I'll work with this a little here, Leon. Maybe. Um, again, like, even if he indicates- Oh, and they have to sign up a Bouchard who's an RFA. Yeah. Even if he indicates that I'm going to test free agency and maybe, you know, things being equal, it might prefer to be somewhere else. I don't think they have any choice but to play one year at a time with him, the final year of his deal. No, nonetheless, they're getting like both Hughes brothers from the Devils or something. Correct. All right. Uh, I want to get to this out, Michael's AI thing, but I don't think we have time right now. We'll try to fit it on, fit it in later on in the show. All right. When we come back, Raptors have a fella that was named after both Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. Lofty expectations. Yeah. Uh, they selected him at number 19. We'll talk to Michael Grange, uh, sports on its own next as the fan morning show continues Ben and his friend, Gunning Sportsnet 590, the fan. Unrivaled insight, analysis and opinions on all things, Blue Jays, Blair and Barker, be sure to subscribe and download the show on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Fan morning show sportsnet 590, the fan, Ben and his friend, Gunning, let's get right into our insider brought to you by Don Valley, North Lexus where you can expect excellence online and in the showroom, visit Don Valley, North Lexus dot com. So the Raptors drafted a fella at 19 that's named after Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. Unfortunately, we can't say the same about our next guest who is Michael because I think just, uh, I don't know, I don't know necessarily how old you are Grange, but I don't think that's possible. It's Michael Grange, sports that's own. How's it going? Um, you're right. I could not be named after Kobe Bryant. Yes. I love the cards. No, or Michael. Maybe Michael Angelo? I don't know. Yeah, maybe. That's a little bit more of the will of the, uh, the, uh, I'm good. I'm good. How are you guys doing? Doing very well. So what's a Jacobi Walter? Um, you know, I think he's an interesting player. He was, uh, projected to go a little higher than, um, than the Raptors had him. And I think that's one of the reasons he never worked out for Toronto. So he was, I think all those consensus mock drafts of which I have no idea if they have any meaning whatsoever, but they have him around 13 when he kind of gathered all the, uh, sort of the more credible ones and averaged it. And, uh, so I, you know, Bobby Webster was, I think he was pretty sincere saying they were happy that he was available at, um, 19, he's, uh, a shooting guard who has good size for the position. He's six, five. He's got good length, you know, with the six, ten wingspan, um, has shown the ability to shoot the ball well, um, and, you know, has a, I guess there's a couple of things in his background that kind of maybe jump out a little bit. I mean, one being, he chose to go to Baylor in the first place, which is, you know, it's, uh, it's a kind of school you go to if you're pretty serious about basketball and you're not afraid of competition. It's, it's, um, you know, it's not somewhere you go and get put on a pedestal and showcase. It's where you got to go and kind of earn your, earn your, earn your minutes and earn your position and, um, you know, you're going to be hard, coach hard and all of that kind of thing. So I think that's, that's, they, they've put out some really good players recently and, um, you know, he's a guy who grew up playing football in Texas and only kind of concentrated on a basketball full time when he got to high school and that kind of shows in sort of the intensity he plays with and, and the physicality he plays with. I think of all the, you know, the one number that jumps out to me is he got the free throw line over five times a game, which for a shooting guard in college is pretty amazing and, uh, kind of speaks to, you know, his willingness to, uh, to engage physically as he, you know, when he puts the ball before and stuff, but you know, a couple of maybe a little bit of red flags too. And, and there's, you know, there's a reason he went 19, but, um, you know, I think if you want to emphasize the positive, there's the look seems like the kind of prospect that could turn into an NBA player. Yeah, the football thing is interesting and like maybe it's just cause I have like the Jaylen sucks of it all dancing around in my brain, but I, it's just like a, I do love having that in the, uh, in the background there. Do you think we can read anything into the direction the Raptors are taking? I mean, this is a 19th pick and a draft that quite frankly is, is not expected to be particularly deep or good. Is there any way to read one way or another? I mean, maybe there were some, you know, there's always an upperclassman available that is maybe a little more polished can help you a little more now. Is there anything to read into which way the Raptors are going because of that selection? No, I don't think so. I mean, it's a good question, but, um, I think, you know, I, I think the one comment that, that Bobby made and which kind of applies in this case is well, first of all, I mean, he came up, which said, look, we don't have enough talent to be picky about need. Couldn't believe we said that as bluntly as he did. Yeah, we need everything. Um, but, you know, the other side of it is, is, you know, he said, a two-way player, a Raptor type two-way player, and, and, um, you know, I think that's something that, that, uh, Toronto's gotten away from a little bit and, and certainly, you know, we know firsthand how important it is to have, you know, all the players in your rotation be at least competent defensively. And, you know, that's, you know, team that won a title, that was very much the case. And, um, you know, competent, excellent. And then, you know, certainly, if you look at Boston winning a title, uh, just last week, you know, that, that formula is pretty good, right? If you, if you have everyone on the floor who can hold their own defensively or better, um, you know, that, that, that kind of gets you to a certain level, and I think if you look at the Raptors lineup, I mean, that's, that's something that's, you know, they're a little suspect with right now, um, and then just, you know, you know, who knows what's going to happen with, with Gary Trent, Jr., um, you know, so there's, so there may be a little bit of that. But a lot of shooting and the ability to defend, um, you know, by, you know, a pretty, pretty important position is a good reason to take a guy if he's there. Could have Rob Dillingham, who went, uh, number eight to the Spurs ever so bravely and then sent to the Timberwolves for 2031 unprotected first rounder and a 2030 swap, which is top one protected. I know the Raptors they moved on and they were accepting of whatever fate, uh, beheld them after having that pick be top six protected and it dropping to eight, but did that hit you in any way? The fact that that was Dillingham was so coveted and I get it 2030 31 that's forever from now, but that's a nice asset to have at least in trade and incoming years for the Spurs who are obviously going to be closer to contention than the Raptors are. Yeah, I mean, that was, uh, that was interesting. I think there's a bunch of different ways you can read that. One is this draft is just not that good. Right? Like if new San Antonio was, uh, you know, was pretty comfortable to trade out of it. You know, they already had, uh, you know, they picked up a player, you know, they had the fourth pick. So they already had, um, you know, their, their prize for he, so to speak. And, you know, if somebody was that eight, um, that they really, really believed in, I'm sure they wouldn't have traded it. But, um, you know, I think, I think it's, it's really good business by San Antonio and that's the other team in a soda that has traded away all their picks, right? And, um, you know, and it's desperate to find an ad talent that can kind of grow with fancy ad words and that they can afford under, uh, the salary cap, so, um, you know, eight years, seven years away, seven years is a long time away, I guess. And, and, you know, there really are an out team. So, um, yeah, you can kind of look out of either way and, and yeah, would, would, in a perfect world would, um, you know, if that was, was the Raptors pick or the Raptors pick six, I guess, and we're able to, to make a similar type move. I mean, you know, I'm a long-term thinker and I think I do think that having a top one for protected 20, 30 picked Minnesota and it unprotected 31, I mean, that's, those are going to be pretty valuable assets. And, uh, you know, I think for Minnesota, for, for San Antonio, you've, you've got lemonama who'll be, got right in the middle of his prime then, and then you're going to integrate to, uh, you know, I'm just going to go around. On the limb and say Minnesota probably won't be as good eight years from now or seven years from now. Yeah, I think there's a reasonable possibility that, you know, I don't think Anthony Edwards is going to play the entire career in Minnesota. What? Um, yeah. So, uh, yeah. So, I mean, yeah, I mean, I think it's, it's interesting and it's a good point you bring up, but, but, um, when you look at the stage, the Raptors are at, um, not, uh, keeping their pick this year, I think it is a setback for sure. Because, uh, you know, other factors, um, you know, there's some determined tanking going on already in the Eastern Conference, especially. And we come up with a name for it. Uh, fell her flag is good side for flag. I think, uh, John Hollager. Yeah. With the flag. I'm just raised the flag. Yeah. There's a, there's a couple of them. And the, you know, the reason that year becomes a big tank year is, is not, is never because there's one guy, um, you know, tanking for one player, oh, you know, it doesn't make a ton of sense. But, um, you know, if you're going to put yourself in that position and there's three or four or five guys who all look like they're going to be really good players, um, and maybe stars, then it's almost like a camp mess. And so you've got Brooklyn doing it with, you know, Washington's doing it. Um, Charlotte's obviously going to be doing it, um, Detroit is doing it, Detroit is going to try not to do it, but probably, well, I know what's going to happen there. Yeah. So, so it's already, you know, and then you look at the Raptors who I think as long as they're healthy will be 10, 15 went better than they are. They were last year. Um, you know, so they're already kind of bordering on a play in team and, and, uh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, so I think, I think Toronto keeping their pick this year and either adding a player or doing something like that, like San Antonio did, uh, would have been better. I would agree. Uh, I, I'm not going to ask a question about what I'm about to say, but I do just need to share this comment. Uh, with JJ Redick, a lot of people feeling like, I don't know, maybe he jumped the line to get that Lakers head coaching job and then Cooper flag being this at Duke. I think he just has a chance to be like one of our all time hated number one draft picks here. That's a foil. I'm just excited for that. Now, the question I have for you, that has nothing to do with that, Grage, Zach Eddy goes at nine. What does this say about his NBA prospects? Is it more telling again of just the draft and do we have any insight at all on or do you just have a belief of whether the Grizzlies will allow him to be part of Paris should Canada basketball want him there? Yeah, that's interesting. Um, you know, I'm going to go and roll the former Raptors. Um, former CEO of Canada basketball, he's a advisor with the Grizzlies. Um, and you know, he, it's interesting. I mean, he would have had some say, I think in that pick, uh, just because Glenn would have had a lot, you know, probably he's probably would have seen Zach play and practice more than almost anybody just, uh, you know, watching him, uh, with, you know, behind the scenes with the national teams and the men age group teams. So, uh, you know, I'll talk to Glenn and see how much insight he had. You know, I don't think he's the guy that makes a call on that stuff, but I'm sure he's gets consulted. Um, and yeah, so we'll have to wait and see whether the Grizzlies are going to say, yeah, go ahead, you know, Miss Summer League and go, go, go to the Olympics. Um, you know, there's just no way to know if that's the case. Um, I think what's really interesting is, is that the Grizzlies did take him so high. I mean, when you get taken in the middle of the lottery, well, yeah, you're still an important piece, but, but you know, taking being taken night overall, like your team is invested in you. Yeah. They really want you to, uh, succeed and, and if he doesn't succeed or doesn't get an opportunity, it's going to look really bad. And, um, so I think that's amazing for Edie. Um, I think what's interesting is, is, you know, Steven Adams, who played the last couple of seasons in Memphis, was really good for them when they were really good before he got hurt and then he's been traded to Houston. You know, it's funny of all the competition comparisons that I've kind of, I've tumbled over regarding, uh, Zach Edie, you know, Steven Adams wasn't necessarily one of them, but it makes it, now I go, yeah, no, he is a pretty good, uh, bad cop comparison. And, you know, so they know how to work with, um, a big physical center who's, you know, very limited in terms of, I was going to shoot the ball of space at the floor. Um, and, you know, the one thing I come up with is imagine Zach Edie, uh, setting screens for John Moran, you know, three feet at the top of the, of the three-point line. Like, I mean, nobody's getting around that screen, you know, and, uh, and, uh, you know, all of a sudden, you have a faster player in the world with, uh, with a runway. I mean, it's, it's pretty terrifying, so, so I think it's, it's a, it's a great situation. And, you know, they, they need a center, right? Like they traded away, Steven Adams, you can start. Um, they traded away Xavier O'Thoneman at the, at the deadline last year. Um, you know, they like to play, um, uh, DJ Jackson at, um, you know, they like to play him at four, um, a lot. So, um, I think for Zach, it's a good situation. I was surprised to argue that he went nine. I thought he would be in play, at least, like getting closer to the Raptors pick in nineteen. Yeah, I'm really surprised. And, and I mean, Zach's, you know, I think it speaks to a couple of things. One, this is not really that strong draft and I, and I've talked to the NBA people kind of mid season and it was the first time that Zach got mentioned as a lottery pick and, and, you know, that was sort of the interpretation was like, wow, there's just not a lot of, of high end talent here, um, which is no comment on Zach. It's just, it's just the way, you know, it was expressed to me. But I think what's also happened is, um, I think the way the, the league was officiated in the second half of the year started, kind of probably helped his cause a little bit. Like it does seem to be their kind of kind of at least allowing the league to be a little bit more physical. I think the fact that, you know, when you look at who, which teams did advance or have advanced the last couple of years of class, you know, you're going to have to go through some big guys, um, that matters. Been a sort of success with two bigs, probably matters. And then, but I think the real thing that helped Zach Edie is when teams get to know him, um, he's a very serious guy. Yeah. Like he really, really is, he's not a guy who stumbled into playing basketball because well, I'm this big. I might as well, what else am I going to do? Maybe I make some money. Um, you know, he's a kid who, as we all know now, he really wanted to be an athlete. He loves baseball, he loves hockey. He wanted to be really, really good at something basketball came into his life and it was the perfect avenue for him. And, um, you know, he's, he's a grown up, like he's competitive. He's tough. He doesn't mind being big. He doesn't mind being playing hard and physical and using his size. He's not kind of shying away from any of that. And, uh, you know, and I think he's got a really, really professional approach to his own development. And, you know, and I think so you combine that kind of outlook, you know, growth mindset, I guess he would call it with his obvious abilities. And that kind of gives you comfort that some of his shortcomings can get either, um, you know, softened or, you know, you can kind of configure out some workarounds with him. Yeah. Would I love to seeing him, uh, patrolling the trauma, at least blue line, seven inches taller than sedane or chara? That would have been, that would have been cool. And I've just seen video I've been pitching like that coming over the top. That's a lot of arm coming at you. Anyways, uh, so the, the second round, uh, is, is a day after the first round for the first time in NBA history. It's today and the Raptors have the first pick of the second round. So that's good. All eyes on Bronnie James. Do you have any sense of where this is going today? Um, I, I'll be, I'll be really shocked that the Raptors use the 31st pick on Bronnie James. I'll say that much. It's not because, you know, I, I'm not one of those guys who think there's no way that guy's going to play in the NBA. I mean, he's first of all, he's going to get every chance, but also because, you know, before he nearly died playing basketball, he, uh, you know, he was considered a top, you know, first round pick, first round prospect. So, you know, he still got great, uh, measurable. He's still incredibly athletic and, you know, I think by all accounts has a lot of secondary attributes that should allow him to, you know, even if the name wasn't James would, would allow him to kind of, uh, navigate his way in the league. So, um, but to take him at 31, you have to be so certain that he's going to turn into a legitimate NBA player because if you use that pick, which is quite valuable for a bunch of different reasons and, you know, he, he ends up struggling. You know, he's going to be wherever he goes, he's going to be a focal point. Uh, in almost every city he goes to, and it's going to be kind of a regular, updated thing on, you know, NBA today in Sports Center. Uh, how does that was probably doing? Is he struggling? Why is he not struggling? He's like that. And, and, you know, unless you're, he's going to really going to deliver and you're confident he's going to deliver, it just seems like there's just a little bit too much downside risk to use. You know, if you're picking 50 tests where the Lakers are picking, sure, why not take the player? I mean, anything after say 35, 38 is kind of a flyer. Um, but, you know, the first pick in the second round is in a lot of ways more valuable than, you know, say you're 25 through 30 picks in the first round. Um, just because it's more flexibility in terms of how you can sign the player. Um, you know, it's just, you're not, he doesn't automatically have to appear in your salary cap. And, you know, there's, you've, there's just different mechanisms within the CBA that make that player more a little, that take a little more valuable. So, um, like Andrew Nemhard is, you know, like that was the 31st pick in the draft, but that's why I'm not mistaken. So, you know, it's, it's a pretty nice spot. And then a lot of times, uh, players and agents if they have the juice will have their player cycle out of the last four or five, six of the first round to make sure they're at the top of the second round just because it offers a little more optionality. So, um, yeah, I mean, I'm pretty sure John and Jim Brown is going to get drafted, but perhaps taking that 31 is, would be pretty bold. Dang. That would have been fun. Uh, we'll see. And this front office has never been bold before, Grange, as you know. So anything can happen. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. That would be in the range of anything. Uh, Michael, always a pleasure. Thank you. Thanks guys. Take care. You too. I'm going to be in the show. I'm going to be in the show. I'm going to be in the show. I'm going to be in the show. I'm going to be in the show. I'm going to be in the show. I'm going to be in the show. I'm going to be in the show. I'm going to be in the show. I'm going to be in the show. I'm going to be in the show. I'm going to be in the show. I'm going to be in the show. I'm going to be in the show. I'm going to be in the show. I'm going to be in the show. I'm going to be in the show. I'm going to be in the show. I'm going to be in the show. I'm going to be in the show. 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