00:00But with the 24th overall selection, the pick is now in.
00:05Orlando at number 25 overall takes Jace Richardson from Michigan State.
00:13Oh, by the way, Jace's father, Jason, played two years of his lengthy NBA career with the Magic.
00:20His father played in East Lansing.
00:23Jace Richardson played for Tom Izzo this past year at MSU.
00:27And now heads to Orlando with that 25th overall selection.
00:31Kev, directly to you.
00:33This was the prospect, perhaps, that you were highest on compared to anybody else in terms of those draft evaluators.
00:40So what do you make of the Magic at 25th overall getting Jace Richardson?
00:45A plus, plus, plus, plus, plus.
00:47You've got to be kidding me.
00:48All Orlando has done, it feels like, year over year, just draft guys that are great at defense.
00:54Yet, it's left them incapable of having a good offense.
01:00In comes one of the best offensive players in the class.
01:04The 41% from three, never discussed enough.
01:08He is one of the best shooters in the class.
01:10His elite free throw percentage backs that up.
01:13Tom Izzo probably thought that the legacy player was going to be in East Lansing for a while.
01:19And as the season continued, he realized he was the best player on that basketball team.
01:24Was playing over 30 minutes a game, down the back stretch, scoring 17 a night, not turning it over, chipping in on the rebounds, and being a good defender for Sparty.
01:36While carrying their best offensive rating of any player on the team, over a 130 for Michigan State.
01:43As I watched Jace Richardson and compared him to other freshman guards, like Trey Johnson, I say, Jace is better at getting to the paint.
01:52When I compare him to Jeremiah Fears, I say, Jace is better at shooting.
01:58By a lot.
01:59And yet, for some reason, I am on this island for the player that led the Big Ten in box score plus minus.
02:07So, all of the advanced metrics backed it up as well.
02:12Great genes with his father being a legitimately good NBA player for over a decade.
02:19Fine.
02:20I'll be the high man.
02:21I'll bank on Jace Richardson all day long.
02:26I thought the eighth best player in this class, Tom, just went 25th overall.
02:30You know, I wanted Ben to throw to me first, so I could just go A, A, A, A, A plus pick across the board.
02:39Honestly, he should be their first guard off the bench.
02:44Suggs Bain, Franz Wagner, Paula Bencaro, Wendell Carter, Mo Wagner coming off the bench.
02:51I don't think it should be Anthony.
02:52Like, Anthony Black's going to be in the conversation, but if you want to slot Jace into the one or two guard off the bench, that should be his role.
02:59I think it's a great pick.
03:00They need the scoring.
03:02They went out and got Bain.
03:03Like, that's what we talked about.
03:04They needed some scoring.
03:06They were dead last in the league in 3.0 percentage, 3 per game, etc., etc.
03:09So, getting a proven score that can come off the bench and bring some juice, I love it.
03:15It's a great pick.
03:15Now, the odds were already out of control for the Magic coming into this week.
03:20They were 1,300 to win the NBA title, if I remember correctly.
03:24Those odds are crazy.
03:26So, we may not like the odds, but I think the move is great.
03:29Yeah, I fully agree.
03:31I will say, you know, I thought that maybe the books overreacted to the lack of green room invite.
03:37Instead, they got it 100% bang on.
03:4024.5, minus 135 to the over, goes pick 25.
03:46And, again, if you are Orlando, you've got to be excited.
03:49I will say, you know, someone who really enjoys betting drafts and is having not a great night in that market,
03:55but Jace is someone who I wasn't seeing mocked in the lead-up, you know, at, oh, 20, 18.
04:03Right.
04:03He was consistently going to, it felt like, Orlando at 25.
04:07I just thought all of this seemingly was an overreaction to the lack of green room invite.
04:13Ben, that turned out not to be the case.
04:16I just do not understand how this league, which usually values the NBA legacy,
04:22not that it's why Dylan Harper went too, but they immediately popped, you know, Ron Harper up there.
04:27Jace Richardson didn't get that same love around the league.
