Episode #20
Is the 2023 Draft Class a Failure?
Send us Fan Mail Victor Wembanyama got the extension. Almost everybody else from the 2023 NBA Draft did not and that single fact sent us down a rabbit hole. We rewind the class with Chip Williams and try to separate what’s actually changed on the court from what’s changed in the NBA’s financial system. The short version: the new CBA, the first apron, and the second apron have made “paying the wrong guy” far more painful, and teams are reacting by waiting, squeezing leverage, and leaning into restricted free agency. We talk through the top of the board with real opinions, not hindsight victory laps: Wembanyama as a tier-zero prospect, Brandon Miller’s scoring value, Scoot Henderson’s rough development path, and why Amen Thompson’s scalability can make him worth the gamble even if the jumper never becomes pretty. From there we get into front-office reality: contenders can’t keep everyone, timelines matter, and extensions are no longer the default move when flexibility might be the difference between a deep run and a hard cap. Then we hit the messy teams where fit and money collide. Detroit’s cluster of non-shooters raises hard questions about Ausar Thompson, Ron Holland, and what a Jalen Duren contract could look like. Orlando’s guard puzzle puts Anthony Black under a microscope, especially with shooting at a premium. We also make the “overpay vs disaster” argument with guys like Cason Wallace and the mid-to-late draft archetypes that help teams win: defense, effort, and role clarity. If you like NBA Draft analysis, contract extension debates, and how the apron era is reshaping roster building, hit play. Subscribe, share the show with a friend who loves cap talk, and leave a review with your 2023 redraft top five.
