Photo: Getty Images
June 20, 2022
In 2017 the Boston Celtics held the number one pick in the NBA Draft. The Celtics traded that pick to Philadelphia, who had the number three overall pick. The Sixers wanted guard Markelle Fultz and in order to make sure Boston and the LA Lakers didn't take Fultz, they sent Boston their number three overall pick and another future number one pick in either 2018 or 2019. Fultz went first and the Lakers took Lonzo Ball and Boston chose Jayson Tatum, who the Celtics wanted all along.
Which brings us to Thursday night's 2022 NBA Draft. The Orlando Magic have the first selection but might the team be open to the idea of trading the pick. Many mock drafts and NBA Draft analysts think the Magic have Jabari Smith atop their board. Smith, Chet Holmgren and Paolo Banchero all can make their case to be the top pick but none of the three are labeled as "next great superstar" and all have aspects of their game that must improve to be impact players.
Jabari Smith might be able to step in and average 17 and 10 and be a great addition with Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs and the other pieces the Magic have. He would make the team better and time will tell if he becomes a star. But if the Magic feel he is the best choice would they be open to making a deal if someone is in love with Holmgren and wants the top spot? Could the Magic move down a spot or two and pick up a pick, like Boston did in 2017 and still get the player they want?
Oklahoma City has the second pick in Thursday night's draft. The Thunder are said to have a strong interest in Holmgren. The question is how strong is that interest? What OKC feels like Holmgren is special? If you are the Magic, part of your due diligence for this draft is not just on the players but also on what other teams are thinking. The Thunder have 34 draft picks in the next six years. They own potentially five first round picks in the 2023 draft. If you are the Magic, why not move down to two and pick up a future one and get the player you appear to want?
At some point, Jeff Weltman will have to make that decision and he may stay at one and pick Smith. They may take Holmgren. But if you can get the guy you want and still pick up an asset, why not make the deal?...
An even 200 passing touchdowns and over 25,000 passing yards was gathered Friday night at UCF. McKenzie Milton's Mission Control group held an event Friday night and among the former UCF players in attendance included three of the greatest QBs to play at the school in Milton, Blake Bortles and Daunte Culpepper. I was fortunate to be part of the night serving as MC and got to share some stories about those three playcallers and others and also interviewing a few of the former players on hand. Culpepper has made few appearances in recent years but he appeared to really enjoy the night and meeting other former players from different eras and the many fans on hand. Bortles may be done playing but looks happy and has become more engaged and shared some great stories from his UCF days during the night. I have said many times that Daunte Culpepper is the greatest I have ever seen at UCF. Regardless of UCF's opponent in the days Culpepper played he was the best athlete on the field. He was one of those players you knew you were lucky to have. I have talked about this before and still believe Culepper needs to be more involved at the place he really helped build. The foundation of UCF football includes many but few are as impactful as Culpepper. Bortles blossomed into a polished pro-style QB who led UCF to its first major bowl game and he did it with talent around him while he was a calming presence. I still believe Blake's NFL career got stuck because he had continuous turnover when it came to coaches. He played with a subpar offensive line, most of his career. As for Milton, the story is known and his future will be without football. McKenzie is about to become a father and he has other business opportunities before a career in coaching, if that's what he wants to do. But for one night, three special players shared a room and all shared their special place in UCF history...
Matthew Fitzpatrick won a thrilling US Open when Will Zalatoris putt to force a playoff rolled by the hole by inches. After the tournament had a leaderboard that looked more like a Korn Ferry event, some of the game's best took over the top 10 by Sunday. Fitzpatrick joins a special group who have won the US Amatuer and the US Open and both wins coming on the same course, the Country Club at Brookline. Zalatoris has yet to win a PGA event but he might be the most consistent player at the majors in the last two-plus years. He has six top-8 finishes in his last eight majors. This season Zalatoris finished sixth at the Masters, was runner-up at the PGA Championship and now at the US Open...
Wimbledon begins today. It's the third of four majors in tennis. Anyone know where the men played last week on the tour? Anyone know where they will play after Wimbledon? Do you know where the PGA Tour stop is this week? But if I said, which major is left in golf? Most of you would know the Open Championship(British Open) is still to come. What's the point? The point is, like I said late last week on the radio show, all the noise and all the attention everyone has given to the LIV golf series, it really still comes down to the majors. Some of you watch golf when it's not a major. Most of you don't. In tennis, very few people can name a tennis tournament that is not a major but they can likely tell you what the four majors in tennis are. Whether or not the majors adjust policies and ultimately ban or make it difficult for LIV players to play in majors is something still to see. But all the noise will quiet down and until a major is missing several big names because of their affiliation with LIV, I am not sure we will really care...
Nuggets: The Lightning are 2-0 to the Avalanche and just lost 7-0 in game two. Maybe the Lightning have Colorado right where they want them. Tampa Bay trailed the Rangers 2-0 in the conference finals but this one might be different. But maybe not. Tampa Bay just needs to hold court at home and even up the series and make it a best-two-of-three. Do I think that will happen? No, I don't. But until the Lightning are officially eliminated, I wouldn't count them out...One person who was recently asked to join a "directive"(one of those group of donors at a school that basically create a pot of cash to buy players while disguising it as NIL) at a school in the south told me he listened to the pitch and couldn't help but laugh. He has given money to his alma mater and says he will continue to do so and gives money to the school and athletic department. But he said he can't understand why some of his rich friends want to get into the business of paying recruits with the hope they become stars. He said one of his friends, who has given a large amount to their collective, said one of the recruits the team is welcoming to campus has already asked for an advance on the money is supposed to get in the fall. The new player wanted to buy a new car, in addition to the first car someone else in the directive got for him...Passed by one of those pop tents on a street corner selling fireworks in advance of the Fourth of July holiday weekend. It was one of those places that had a hanging sign that said " We got the good stuff!". That's good to know because I'd hate for someone to get the "not so good stuff" before standing on his driveway believing he is rivaling Disney with a fireworks show and assuming his neighbors are impressed without knowing how much his neighbors hate him...
Final note: Americans spend on average over $1.2B a year on fireworks. The US Census says Missouri spends the most on fireworks followed by Nebraska and Kansas.