Justin Verrier

So I would think we can count on them to be worse.

Memphis, without Jaron Jackson Jr., will definitely be worse.

Brooklyn, honestly, just getting started as far as what they're capable of tanking-wise.

So there is like a real sweet spot here where, and we should say, if you're not familiar with pick protections, basically all this means is the only way the Pacers keep the pick is if it's between the fifth and the ninth pick in the draft, like a very delicate needle to thread.

And I think what's even weirder, because we've seen complicated pick protections before, something I've never seen before is if it does end up protected and the Pacers keep their pick this year, it kicks into an unprotected first five years from now to the Clippers.

I've never heard of anything even remotely on that timeline before with protection.

I mean, I don't think it's going to be enforced very strongly because how can like there's so much murky gray area between why guys are sitting and when and for how long.

And like, I don't even know how you legislate that stuff because we've seen the league try and it just doesn't work very well.

And with a team like the Pacers, again, they're so heavily incentivized to be as bad as possible to try to keep this pick.

I don't think they're going to be good enough to be in that, you know, the 10 plus range in terms of the odds.

I should say, I think I, in explaining it, flipped it in terms of what causes the Pacers to keep the pick.

They need to be bad.

Like they need to be as bad as they possibly can.

Will that happen to a satisfying degree?

I don't know, but I applaud their willingness to,

to not get cute with the two timeline stuff, to not try to say like, oh, we're just going to draft a young player and put all our eggs in our own unprotected pick.

Like try to have your cake and eat it too.

Try to get a Vita Zubats, as you said, JV, and potentially get a pick in that sweet spot where you're able to add someone of real value to your team.

Zoo is just as good and balanced a five as they were going to be able to find by next season.

Playing any part of the market, trade, draft, whatever for agency, he's already such an excellent positional defender.