The Draft Council: An NBA Draft Podcast From The Rights To Ricky Sanchez · Rights To Ricky Sanchez

NBA's Best Rookies So Far

·49 min·1 clip

Daniel Olinger and Ahmed Jama open by saying the season has finally given them real basketball. That first-week window matters because it is where takes either harden or disappear, and the episode leans into that urgency from the start. They also stop for the death of South Florida head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim on October 24th at 43, noting the complications from a procedure for an undisclosed illness without softening the fact of it. After that, the conversation returns to the rookies and the early-season board. Jay Huff becomes the clearest early breakout case because he has already carved out a strange little league path, with the Lakers, the Wizards, the Nuggets, and Summer League in the mix. The hosts point out that he dominated Summer League last year and has kept showing the kind of shooting that makes a big man matter quickly. About 30 minutes before they recorded, the Grizzlies gave Huff a standard NBA deal. That timing gives the conversation real stakes instead of abstract rank-ordering. The appeal of Huff is simple enough to state and specific enough to argue about. If he keeps making threes, he becomes more useful to the Grizzlies right now than the number nine pick. That leads into a broader question about how the Grizzlies should handle the frontcourt. The hosts sketch a big-man-by-committee approach, with matchup-based deployment doing the work of a fixed answer. They admit that is not the clean shape you prefer after taking a player at number nine. Even so, they say the Grizzlies may have to live there if they want to chase home-court position. The episode keeps the scouting lens sharp by shifting to VJ and asking how much pure conventional two he really is. The hosts think Gonzaga is a good test because it will demand more than casual athleticism, especially with Michael Ajayi and Dusty Stromer helping make life harder on the wing. They also want to see how much straight on-ball work VJ can handle, since the three is still part of the conversation around his role. Baylor enters as another real opponent with a strong start, which keeps the evaluation from drifting into empty projection. By the end, the show has tied early-season box scores, roster fit, and college matchups into one ongoing draft argument.

As heard by us

Early-season draft takes, Jay Huff buzz, and a measured look at Memphis' frontcourt.

The discussion starts by treating the early part of the season as a clean slate for fresh opinions, then shifts to a solemn tribute to South Florida head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim, who died on October 24 at 43 after complications during a procedure for an undisclosed illness.

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Why you'd press play

You get early-season take-setting, a Jay Huff detour, and a real Grizzlies big-man rotation debate.

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