Pelicans: Zion Williamson Is Needed for New Orleans Says Rashad Phillips

Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: When I look at Zion Williamson I look at high risk and high reward. To me he’s more like a Blake Griffin or a Julius Randle. Do you see more LeBron in his skillset or Blake and Julius like I’ve mentioned.

Rashad Phillips: You know what? The same. I feel the same thing. You know, I said on Twitter that he reminds me a lot of Julius Randle. Who is already with the Pelicans but he’s more of a super juiced version of him. I mean, they both are left handed. They play that bully ball, strong, and very athletic. There’s some things that Zion does better obviously. He jumps higher, a little bit better defender and shot blocker. I’m not buying into the LeBron hype or Patrick Ewing hype. But I do think that this kid from a marketability standpoint I think that’s there but as far as basketball skillset I think LeBron was way ahead of the time. I think Patrick Ewing for the center position was ahead of his time as well. So, I don’t think Zion is quite there from a basketball skill standpoint. But from a marketable standpoint he is up there.

Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: Rashad Phillips on the line on Scoop B radio, talking NBA Draft. As much as people are paying attention to Zion Williamson. Obviously guys like Ja Morant stands out. He told Yahoo sports recently that “he’s not a point guard but a point God” [Morant]. That bravado reminds me so much of Cam Newton, when he said that he wasn’t a black quarterback but he was just a quarterback. When you look at Ja Morant. Do you like him? What do you expect from him in the NBA on the next level?

Rashad Phillips: Yeah. Well when you look at Ja Morant. What I see is a dynamic point guard and when I use the word dynamic. I use that affectional. A lot of those, in the NBA but a few that we’ve had have made an impact in the league. So when you look at what he brings to the table. Here’s a guy that’s terrific passer, fantastic vision, he has a fill for the game like no other, and his ability to change pace, change speed, his athletic perilous all those things are what makes him Dynamic. On top of that he’s a pretty good scorer and loves to win. So that’s what I love about the kid and wherever he ends up. He going to bring that type of attitude and passion. That winning atmosphere from day one. It takes a lot to win games on the major level especially as a point guard. The supporting cast at the high major schools. So you have to do a lot of carrying. You have to score a lot, assists, rebounding, block shots you have to do a little bit of everything. He’s had two years to be able to kind of nourish that skillset and attributes. So I think he’ll be bring that to the NBA.

Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: Why would RJ Barrett be a good fit for the New York Knicks?

Rashad Phillips: When you look at RJ Barrett the kid. I think he’s built for the big stage. I think he likes to play on the high stage. I think he loves to play under the lights, the popcorn smell I like to say. I think New York is the perfect place for a guy like that. New York is not for everybody. But there’s a few players in this draft that can play in front of those type of people and have an impact. I think RJ Barrett is one of the few that can handle New York.

Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: Rashad Phillips on the line with Scoop B radio, talking NBA Draft. A guy who I fell in love with on the court and is such an anomaly in today’s NBA is  UCF’s Tacko Fall. 7’6 Center who went toe to toe with Duke. I didn’t know who he was until Duke. Somebody sent a text message saying “There’s this 7’6 dude that’s yamming on everybody”

Rashad Phillips: Well I’ve been very familiar with him, obviously I live in Orlando near UCF so I see a lot of him all the time. He’s a fantastic kid on and off the court.
Brandon Robinson: I talked to Ray Allen this February. He sees the NBA going back to the fundamentals of the big man. Maybe not like Shaq and Hakeem Olajuwon. We were spoiled in the 90’s with a glut of big man who could run over and stop over anybody. You have guys who are “tweeners” like Joel Embiid of the 76ers and Karl Anthony-Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Would Tacko Fall be a unicorn in today’s NBA?

Rashad Phillips: Yeah I think he’d be a unicorn because he’s 7’6 but not only that though. Let me give him some credit. He’s terrific, agile around the basket, he’s totally better than what people think. He’s a big guy, but he’s very lean guy. Terrific touch around the basketball. I know some people would say that’s that cliché but he can actually shot the ball, pass, and rebound. The only thing that I have with him is if he can keep up the pace of the NBA game because it’s so fast. It goes 0 to 60. For a guy that’s long, 7’6 180-90 IBS can he go off that quick 0 to 60 in a flash. Maybe he can check those boxes off the list if given the opportunity.

Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: Cam Reddish was projected to be a top 5 pick in the preseason. Looking at a merit of mock drafts, I’ve seen him drop all the way to 11th to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Is it because of Zion and RJ Barrett effect? Why do people not know where the consensus will be for him in the NBA draft.
Rashad Phillips: Yeah. I think any team would be making a mistake if he drops that far. You got to look at the whole situation. I think a lot of times the general public and media. We get so caught up on looking at the box scores after every game. We just want to look at the box scores. What I like to do is dig into the tape. Dig into the person. So I did some digging into the tape and some real digging into who he is as a person. I talked to some people in the DMV area and what I saw was a kid. That has been so good for so long. Then it was more of a shock because remember that he was the first to sign to Duke. He signed before RJ and Zion. So here’s a kid who went in thinking he was going to be the number one guy. Then in a month he was moved down to the third option and fourth option. So you have to understand to deal with that and get used to that situation. It would be hard for an 18 or 19 year old. But when you look at him as a basketball player. He has some Tracy McGrady type attributes. 6’9 can shoot it has terrific touch. He can defend. So I just think that if any teams pass on him, I think he’s one of the players in this year’s draft that’ll make them pay for it.

Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: Wow. Who could you compare that to in recent years like a Kyle Kuzma? That made people pay, who would you see as Cam Reddish’ situation being like in the long term.

Rashad Phillips: I think John Collins of the Atlanta Hawks made people pay, this was a kid from Wake Forest. 6’11 can do it all very athletic can run the floor. He averaged 19[Points] and 9[Rebounds] this year. I think he went 18th in the draft so I think Cam Reddish will pay the same way that John Collins. John Collins might have been the best pick in that draft. Jayson Tatum had a down year. Kuzma’ great but is up and down. But you look at John Collins and this kid is on the rise, playing with a great point guard who’s making his life easier but that’s how I see Cam Reddish and he’ll make people pay if you let him slide all the way down.