Sacramento Kings NBA draft preview with James Ham (Live from Cabo!)
we’re going to ask is James ham to pull up James ham in the building what’s up everybody come on James ham Hello friends Jam what’s up dude um it’s hot so I decided to come up in the air conditioning and hang out for a little while smart move I was wondering if you’re gonna Flex on us and be on the beach um no I mean I don’t think you guys can see but the the beach is right behind me Maybe not maybe not you were sending me your draft takes and I was like I hope you’re doing this on the beach and you were literally doing it on the beach yeah I was by the pool uh watching stuff on my phone yes yes how much tape have you been grinding since you got to Cabo this weekend a lot of tape you know like Everyone likes to relax in their own way um you know I certainly I I’ve been trying to uh trudge through the first Harry Potter book I told Kyle I was going to try to read it while I was down here um I’m like 47% in so I’m doing okay but then then it’s like I gotta hide from the Sun and uh so I sit under an umbrella I go out in the water for a little while I come back and sit under the umbrella some more bring the laptop laptop out and just start grinding some tape uh so yeah I I definitely kind of Deep dive on on McCain and uh maybe Ron Holland a couple others yeah you said Ron Holland reminded you a little bit of Andrew Wiggins yeah so I’m always um like I I I’ve talked about this I like to look at the way people move right when I’m watching film it’s a lot of how I I not judge what a player is gonna be but kind of get a player comp yeah um I see a little bit of Andrew Wiggins and a little bit of Jeff Green in in Ron Hollands um they’re narrow with the their stance which and their inline players they’re they’re not guys that move side to side a whole bunch um I really like him and I think he’s going be uh a super fun player he’s just going to take a little while because he’s so young um but you know the athleticism is there I think when you get somebody like this and you’re into your program you’re probably going to try to widen his stance especially when he’s uh when he’s playing defense but even like on his three-point shots his feet are super close together and so that just means that it’s a lot of upper body it’s a lot of arm motion as opposed of using his legs uh to sort of shoot so I I’m intrigued I’m intrigued to see what they kind of do with him when he gets to the next level he is a you know a guy who went and played as a barely 18-year-old against grown men in the in the g-league for the g-league ignite and uh so he’s intriguing to me I I think McCain is intriguing to me as well uh like I got a little bit of Derek white in him he’s got uh you know that kind of you know I even like he looks like he could be another Jones brother um you know just kind of a below the rim but really smart edgy point guard uh his assist numbers weren’t spectacular but he certainly wasn’t asked to do that and and has a lot of those skills as well you have a favorite Prospect for the Kings do you think that they you’d like them to take a 13 if they do make that pick yeah I don’t know you know like I think this draft in particular is so wide open I I don’t mind staying at 13 see who falls um you know we know the Kings brought in Ron Holland for a look we know they brought in McCain for a look they they’ve brought in a couple others uh was it Tristan D Silva uh like some of these guys are at least intriguing and like what we’ve talked about before this draft is so wide open that players that are mocked at number five could be there at 13 players that um that are mocked at number 25 could be your pick and I don’t think anyone’s going to think twice that’s just kind of the nature of this particular draft and uh I think the kings are pretty wide open about who they would they would look at uh James ham joining us typically on this show from 10 to but down in Cabo this week grinding grinding tape I got to say him having a 1320 mic out there Cabo he’s legit our Cabo correspondent right now it’s incredible I am James ham from Cabo flipflops on the ground in Cabo James ham um Jesse and I are both leaning more toward the Kings making a pick tonight than trading it are you there yet um no I think everything is still wide open that’s that’s kind of how I would look at at this this uh this draft I I think that if they have to make a pick at 13 they will but their hope is to improve the roster and the biggest way to improve the roster is probably using that 13th pick along with some of your veterans to go get the player today because after today it becomes really difficult because you don’t have a 25 you don’t have it 26 and even your 27 first round pick has an asteris next to it that you may or may not be able to trade so it does make it more difficult ult after today um but like who knows like this is this is a pretty wideopen draft and I think that we’re seeing a lot of things happening already that kind of just are are like major head scratchers I think um it’s a little bit like the Brandon iuk situation that we talk about so much that if the 49ers would have just paid Brandon iuk 25 million in the beginning of Summer they would have been just fine and now the price keeps going up um I think by waiting and trying to get a deal closer to to actual draft day and the Kings kind of have to do that they can’t trade their pick in advance um but by waiting we just saw what happened yesterday the mckel bridges thing um it really might upset the apple cart completely uh and just like change the value of everybody in the league so to quote Kenny carway yesterday’s price is not today’s price and and that’s very possible yikes yeah that’s tough two first round picks for Kyle kumma it is no have to be M it is like that’s but that’s just that that feels like the new going rate for a for a player who’s going to start and be a key part of your team like if you’re Washington and we had Sean Cunningham your your uh podcast partner at the Kings beat podcast uh we had him on earlier and he made the point you know that it’s circumstantial What A team’s going to want in a in a trade but I think if you’re Washington and the Kings come to you with number 13 and Kevin hder I I and uh Chris dwarte yeah I don’t I don’t know if that if and then you’re looking at the Mel Bridges deal and you’re like hey they got all that for male Bridges it’s also too like how actively like AC try are they trying to even trade kman right right which is why it’s it’s kind of circumstantial for sure but to me it’s just I don’t know that I’m less confident now that 13 and some players is going to get anything substantial done um again I mean I think it is circumstantial every team has a different need and if you’re the Washington Wizards you kind of know you’re in trouble like you didn’t build a team that that is is there for long-term success and I don’t think that they can get better than the 13th pick in this year’s draft so again if they want to wait and then maybe get a future pick um you just don’t know how those things look down the road I mean it’s one thing to get a future you know Utah Jazz pick right but then what if Utah gets good all of a sudden and that Pi’s not not a great pick anymore so I think the the number 13 has a lot of value because I don’t think a lot of teams above them are looking to trade unless they’re looking for like crushing home run trades right and I don’t think the value is there I don’t think the value is there at number four number eight or we’ve heard Houston dangling number three like that doesn’t those picks at 11 12 million bucks a pop like they don’t have a lot of value to me if I’m looking to build a team but the number 13 pick if you miss on that pick it’s only a $5 million investment in year one and and six million in year two it’s not this huge uh monstrous like contract that you’re taking on that could hinder you for a young player that you’re going to have to sit there and wait and wait and wait for to develop um so I think that there are going to be players uh that teams fall in love with I think there are there always is and at number 13 I think there’s going to be a ton of value I still think this is the move where you can strike and get better quickly and it’s the way that you can also package picks going forward you can trade the 13th but also your 2027 2029 and 2031 if you were on an Allin deal um it it but if after today that pick becomes less valuable automatically the player becomes less valuable than the pick was because now it’s not somebody that someone was going out and getting um and uh and then after today it really does you’re you’re kind of in a holding pattern because you don’t have anything to offer anybody for 2025 or 2026 if you’re trading uh only 27 29 30 uh 31 James ham typically a host on the Insiders on vacation but kind enough to join us uh from his his uh Loft site two it’s a two-bedroom Suite uh our friends you know again I’ve said this uh if you people always say this about people with boats don’t buy a boat get a friend with a boat don’t buy a time share get a friend with a time share that is that is my uh method here and the our friends have time shares and last year it was like it was a monsterous three bedroom place today I mean we’re literally third story looking over the entire ocean the beach and the pool area it’s pretty pretty nice and you’re grinding Ron Holland G League tape unbelievable this guy uh would you use the 13th pick it’s it’s now being reported that the Nets are interested in trading cam Johnson and Dorian finny Smith would you use the 13th pick to acquire one or both of those guys it’s tough um I like I like cam Johnson but I think we all look at cam Johnson and think that he’s much younger than he is for some reason and so that’s for me Dory andin Smith same thing I I think what dor infin Smith 3132 uh cam Johnson’s like 28 now he kind of is what he is right and he and he’s not that great um I don’t think he’s an upgrade he’s more athletic than Harrison Barnes but I don’t think he’s an upgrade over Harrison Barnes and he certainly hasn’t strung together like four consecutive 82 game Seasons like Harrison Barnes so it’s tough I I would understand that trade and he’s a budget guy um I would do it as long as it’s not damaging too much and I would want more than cam Johnson uh for like 13 and herder I don’t think that that would work um I I would want you know considerably more uh back from them maybe if you could work a deal where you got both of them yeah that would make sense um and sort of have like a a you know nice little combo of forwards there that are different than last year’s com a combination of forwards but um I kind of I feel bad for Jordy Fernandez he took that job and now it’s like fire sa that was that was the first thing I thought of last night when I saw bridg I like oh no poor Jordy poor Jordy is the Kings feel any sense of urgency because like um the Rockets yesterday were kind of positioning themselves to make a deal like I think it was W said for Kevin Durant and all that and then the warri have been linked to Paul Georgia like you think the Kings feel any sense of urgency because the teams behind them could possibly taking steps up yeah I think they should feel a sense of urgency because they weren’t good enough last year and they didn’t make the playoffs um is number one uh but number two because there are teams around them and the problem that you have if you’re a team like the Kings is that you build a team of you know 24 to 26 year olds and then the next year they’re 25 to 27 year olds and the next year they’re 26 to 28 year olds and so you’re always kind of chasing that type of player that brand of player and that age of player to fit into your system and that while you’re doing that a team like the Houston Rockets is out there you know tanking getting spectacular top tier picks and good drafts they’re amassing all this talent but they’re also going around and making Trad to acquire picks because it took them a you know certain way to get bad and then while they were bad they had already amassed a bunch of assets and they’ve used some of those assets to you know take top five players but then on top of that they still have more assets and you know again it’s kind of like how the Knicks just built their squad which is one of the most impressive builds ever because you took like a diminished value player in uh Jaylen Brunson you overpaid him by everyone’s eyes and then he ends up living up to that contract and then you keep bringing in players that don’t really move the needle but once they’re in your system they do and Devan chenzo and and um you know all of Josh Hart all these guys that they brought in so I I think it’s really interesting how they’ve been able to sort of amass talent but at the same time they had traded a bunch of guys away to get a bunch of first round picks they had taken a couple of B bad contracts on to get first round picks and next thing you know they’ve got the ability to go hand somebody four first round picks for Mel Bridges and the Kings just don’t have that opportunity Kenny carway in the building for the handoff Kenny uh James is joining us from your time share not my time share at all this is Jame I James what do I I always love to hear from James H what are you doing what are we doing here can I explain my angle on this first okay I James is always down to help however he’s like at whatever he’s got I’m going to the Moon I got a 5G thing I got you I’ll be on yeah and so I didn’t want to reach out and be like hey can you hop on because I knew he’d say yes yeah but I told him if you want to jump on open invite it’s your show right right hop on whenever look look at the guy weour right nowour this guy is in Paradise right now3 1320 cribs right now might take you outside he textt me he text me some thoughts on some draft prospects yeah and I jokingly I was like I hope you’re sending me these from a beach and literally was oh man come on man’s come on man am hey we cooking right now we are incredible if you would like to see James setup head over to youtube.com ESPN 1320 and you can drop a comment let him know what you think so so I I want to ask both you guys everybody here yeah and James too because he sent you some thoughts about some draft prospects or whatever James you think they’re drafting for themselves today I I think it’s going to come down to the wire but to be honest with you I don’t think they are I think that the the pressure for them to improve now is there and I honestly believe that this is the moment that they can take advantage of that and so I would expect them to actually try to make some sort of move and figure something out I think so I I the Knicks have kind of made me feel like this is this is this is the time we we’re not it’s not time for you know uh what he flexibility moving forward and all this it’s like this is it this it’s not maybe it’s not a championship time or I’m not saying that but this is the time to cash in on your on your draft pick and any little contracts and assets that you have the Nick overpaid a little bit you could say for Mel Bridge think the Kings would be willing to do something like that I feel like that’s not been their bag really I think they should be willing to do something like that it’s got to be the right player I think I don’t think it’s U like Kyle kozma whose value went up today I think it’s it’s probably Brandon Ingram whose value went up and that’s the guy that I would you know if you really want to swing for the fences figure out a way it’s probably have to be a three- team deal but figure out a way to get uh Ingram into your program and then I think that that’s a home run move and then you’d have to lock him up and pay the big money the big thing about Ingram is he’s only on a one-year deal where Bridges is on like one of those ridiculous $20 million deal a year deal so um he definitely would be someone that I think that you would have to probably invest at least two first round picks this year and at least one more and maybe something more than that in addition to players and uh and then again you got to find the right two teams to work with because I don’t think there’s a way to just do a straight swap with with uh the Pelicans Kenny I want to ask you this question because J Jesse and I have talked about this a couple times talking about the watch party tonight yes out of Tom’s watch bar what’s the move that could happen where the Vibes would be the worst the worst Zine okay not for me but I’m just you’d be all I’m reading the room and there would be a lot of moaning and groaning and oh man oh I don’t like that it bect what’s the move that would make the Vibes the highest I was about to say Brandon Ingram but K’s my mic too but I I’ll go my first guess Brandon Ingram Brandon Ingram would be the biggest swing for sure yeah I would say it would probably be um the Ingram move would be like you know cheers I think the kosma would be like okay solid clap I think the LaVine deal would be like oh like tough like oh but someone in the chat uh Jabar I don’t know about anyone else but me they Draft Zack Edy I’m leaving are we are we at time I’m gone hey I’m so in on Zach I’m gone you would be psyched to go down at the parking garage Kenny your Courtside Kenny you get to see this seven foot 18 guy walk onto the court I thought you know I thought about I thought about that I try not to say something like that because who who knows who knows but I I’m just not and if they draft him I’m tweeting it at him every single day until he responds I’m just not I’m not in at 13 like if you had the3d pick or if you had him in a second round or something like that yeah take a chance but at 13 I’m not interested in Zach yeah yeah if you trade it back maybe if you trade it back maybe but yeah that’s a tough one I think Zack Ed for me is worst case than ever no matter what in the first round even if they trade back yes like he’s just a backup big was gonna play 10 minutes like that was our move that was our move think of the social media content so tall that’s a good point though he’s never gonna start yeah think think of the think of the things that you’ll see walking into golden one where it’s like the life-size cut out of Zack Ed and you can take a photo could take a picture next to big the hand is and here’s his shoe size and all theu shoe size put your foot where Zack Ed footprint is yeah uh James appreciate you so much for hopping on from Cabo man go enjoy the rest of your vacation and we’ll see you on Monday see you guys see you James
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1 comment
Wait why don’t the kings have a 2025 and 2026 pick?