as you said probably the front leader or front runner at this point as the number one pick in the 2028 draft

yeah i think it's just because he's he's so young but like he's doing the things that you know, before him, Cam Boozer and Cooper Flag did where he's just, you know, his sort of like pathway to Durham is just him traveling around the globe, competing in winning tournaments as like the best player on the team and getting like the tournament MVP award.

So like, mvp at the uh adidas adidas next gen you know uh in spring this year then he plays with team usa at the fiba u17 world cup they dominate in that event he's the you know he's the mvp he's the best player at it the in during this process he commits to duke um even though he's not in durham for a lot of sort of like off-season workouts because he's playing he's he's abroad with barcelona and he's playing with uh with team usa but came from what was a pretty loaded Barcelona development system.

One of his teammates with the Barca junior team, Sayan Keita, he'll be playing at UNC this season.

Now, he's eligible for the 2027 draft, and he's someone whose name we'll certainly talk about.

I'm going to forgive me because I will butcher this guy's last name, but he's from Serbia.

Nikola... who is also probably in the conversation for the number one pick in 2028 and he is looking to do a similar sort of like two-year uh you know college commitment program in the united states there was a rumor you know looked like maybe he was headed to ucla for a period of time basically he and jbb were the two best guys at fiba u17 tournament this summer but If Boomshay Boomshay, if there's anything sort of like, I would say like, you know, a little bit up for debate about him.

He almost was this year.

Yes

...

but they're not like the run jump phenoms that a guy like Caleb Wilson is.

Um, so maybe, maybe that, maybe that does get, maybe it can suffer for Boozer to become like a top eight player in the world barring just like, um, his sort of like processing and feel for the game being like as good if not better than we, than we think they're going to be and his, his shooting just being on a, on like another level and, and the, the ball handling going up a level.

But I would just say like his un- his strength, his shooting touch, his understanding of angles, his ability to make passes in all kinds of dis- different situations, pick and roll, post, transition, head to heads, outlets, like all that sort of situations where he gets two on the ball, like I think he's gonna, he has the chance to be like a really good hub of offense in part because like he's a, he's a matchup nightmare for defenses 'cause he can just, can, you know, he can attack, uh, you know, larger guys off the dribble or he can, he can try to post up and bully ball smaller guys.

And then just like the shooting too, like everywhere on the court for him is, is a green light.

And I think even in summer league you've seen him flashing like the mid-range scoring game that we saw not a ton of at Duke.

... d- or I'm, I'm shocked, or I can't believe they had the cojones to do something like that, but you agreed with it.

So what do you think is the fit for Caleb Wilson, and what are your thoughts on him as a prospect?

Yeah, Memphis, Chicago, Duke, UNC, the Blues Brothers, right? You know, for all the copywriters and headline writers out there.

The headlines sometimes just really present themselves.

But, look, Wilson, I mean, he's awesome.

I love his competitiveness.

I love his team first nature.

It seems like he was one of the best sort of like personalities and interviews coming into the draft process.

Rep number 10004.

Uh-huh.

Like, he's just there dunking it.

It's like, whoa.

It's like, okay, I know he had a, the red carpet got rolled out, but that was still pretty darn impressive, you know, just in terms of, like, decisive play and the ab- the physicality, the ability to actually, um, pull it off.

I agree with you, like, a lot.

When I close, when I, like, think about his, like, archetypal play on offense this season, it is these short rolls.

And it's these short rolls that often have, like, because he was playing, frequently playing, like, the four for Washington, they've got a non-shooting five in the dunker spot.

Mm-hmm.

Mm

... you know, once upon a time, where it's not just, like, pure, you know, one five high, high ball screen spread pick and roll, um, where you're seeing him flow off of handoffs and down screens and flare screens into some of these two-on-one type scenarios that John is really good at creating in, in the half court.

Um, but to me, uh, from, just from the outside looking in, like, this guy's coming in to be, like, uh, in what, what, what I think is a pretty coveted role, which is, like, the designated shooter in this offense.

And you just go back over the couple of seasons of John's career.

This is something I mentioned in the piece.

[lips smack] But they have at least, like, one of these guys, McCain.

You could...

And you got another year of him, yeah.

Mm-hmm

... uh, that then led to, you know, Kobe White was all of a sudden just wide open.

But I thought early on it was his drives and his rim pressure that, that really started to, like, loosen things up.

He created a corner three for Grant Williams.

On one of the drives, he went in and missed the shot, but then Ryan Kolbrenner was right there for a put back, and that was a huge part of Charlotte's success in this game, right, was the second chance opportunities, the, the offensive reboundsA lot of that was Moussa Diabate, uh, who, who also deserves a shout-out.

Seemed like he was playing through some kind of the injury down the stretch of this game.

But, uh-

Mm-hmm.

Yeah

... prints good offense everywhere he goes.

Uh, and we'll see how the playoffs go.

Obviously, that-that's gotta be said.

But man, having him, his size, his play-making, the drives, the, the deep shooting off the dribble, uh, what he can do for a, a Jared Allen type.

Like the Hornets played the Cavs in one of the first games where it was right after the deadline, and one of the first games that Harden played with them.

And you could just see the vision immediately with what James was gonna do for, for Jared Allen.

Mm-hmm

What would you say to a Knicks fan that is worried about a Thanksgiving Eve loss to the Hornets at the end of a road trip? Basically, what does it look like when it's looked the best in Charlotte on the court?

Yeah, when it's looked the best, I mean, really the first probably week and a half of the season when LaMelo Ball was healthy and playing at a high level, then he goes down with the ankle injury, which is a chronic concern with him.

And he's been back, not playing in back-to-backs, which is why he sat out Sunday at Atlanta.

Yeah.

But he has not also looked quite himself since right before the injury and certainly right after the injury, since he's returned to the lineup.

He's not been the sort of all-star caliber player that people were hoping for, expecting to see, especially after a good start.

But when he is healthy on the court, even if he's sort of not at 100%, he does command well.

Your thoughts on the Knicks and their title chances and what they've been able to build.