Patrick: Boozer a ‘great pick’ for Grizzlies
Dan Patrick and the Danettes discuss the 2026 NBA Draft, explaining why Duke's Cameron Boozer is a safe pick that can become a building block for the Memphis Grizzlies.
Video Transcript
So in case you're wondering if, last night's draft did anything to the title odds, the Spurs are, now tied with the Thunder for the best odds at plus 145, and then it goes down to the Nuggets.
Now this is Western Conference here.
Spurs and Thunder, then it's the Nuggets, then it's the Timberwolves, and then Lakers, far down at five.
The, odds to win the Eastern Conference, the Celtics are still the favorite, the Knicks close behind, then it's the Heat, then it's the Pistons, and then it's the Pacers.
But you're looking at a draft and a deep draft, and I think anybody who got drafted in the top 15 probably expects to be getting minutes this upcoming season.
And some of these players are gonna be leaned on to be more than just a, a role player.
Like Boozer's going in, and Boozer's already got a chip on his shoulder.
I don't know if I've ever remembered a time when the player of the year in college basketball was getting less attention than Boozer did last night or leading up to the draft.
There wasn't a lot of publicity, and I think it centered around, well, he might be kinda like his father.
Well, his father had a good career.
Like if you say he's gonna play 12 years in the NBA and be a respectable player in the NBA, I, I'm signing up for that.
I mean, we look at every draft pick, it feels like, and go, "Okay, all right, I get that one."
I mean, that's not the way it works in reality.
Like every pick in the NFL draft at first round, yep, all right, you know, they needed that.
But they don't all work out.
We know that.
But with Boozer, I don't think anybody has more of a proof of, you know, concept here.
To say, "You know, I kinda did this at a really high level at Duke.
S- you know, points, rebounds, and assis- I led Duke in points, rebounds, and assists."
Like there's r- less risk with him.
Now I, I think Dabansi has, you know, a wonderful ceiling, great talent.
Peterson, still question marks, but you know, he's, he's a pure scorer.
But you start to look You know, I love Wilson out of North Carolina.
I mean, there were Acuff.
There's, there's a lot of these, kids and you go, "Boy, if they play like they did in college..." Well, that's not the way it works.
It's, it's rare when you go, man, it's seamless from, you know, his freshman year to first year in the NBA.
But Boozer feels like he's 25.
I think the problem is he doesn't have highlights.
Man, do we love some highlights, 'cause then we can get excited about somebody.
Boozer is kinda like the, poor man's Tim Duncan, you know?
It's like, all right, yeah, all right, not Sky- you know, Skywalker here, and all right, nice bounce pass.
oh, good pass, yeah.
Oh, that's a crisp jump shot there.
That kind of the, you know, feeling you get with Boozer.
Yeah, Paul.
Yeah, the coverage last night, a lot of phrases like he's a known quantity, he's a safe draft pick.
They didn't talk about like potential or- No first team All NBA.
I was thinking of an NFL comp for Cameron Boozer.
Remember when Chris Long out of Virginia was the number one pick of the draft?
And like- Yeah smart pick, football family, safe pick, no doubts.
It felt like that.
Yeah, but that was because his dad's a Hall of Famer and, I mean, Chris turned out to be a really good player.
he wasn't gonna be a good, as good as his dad, and we also said, "Well, but he's coming out of Virginia."
I mean, Boozer's coming out of Duke, and I was just surpr- I mean, nobody was really fawning all over him.
I think Memphis got a great pick here, and he has that attitude of, "I should have been the number one pick in the draft."
Peterson going to Utah said, "I should have been the number one player in the draft."
Good.
You guys will have ample opportunity to prove just how good you are because that's why you ended up with the teams you ended up with.
Yes, Dylan.
Yeah, I feel like we're so obsessed with potential and prospects over like taking a guy who has a higher floor and p- maybe a lower ceiling, but like he's probably the most, you know, proven player in the draft.
There's just not that potential for highlights and stuff like that.
Well, we're, we're in a, a highlight culture.
Like we, we can, we should be able to sum up somebody in 60 seconds instead of the totality of an entire season.
Now, in the tournament, I mean, there were times when I didn't think that Boozer was great, but I have to look at the entire season.
You lead Duke in rebounds, assists, and points?
you know, that's rarefied air coming out of that program.
But it's, you know, it kinda goes back to, and if you're old enough to remember Gilligan's Island, it's Mary Ann and Ginger.
Like there's a lot of prospects who are Ginger.
She's hot and, man, I'm falling in love.
Meanwhile, Mary Ann's gonna be there.
You know, you get a lifetime guarantee with Mary Ann.
You know, she might not be as gorgeous as Ginger, but you know what?
She doesn't have the drama, you know?
Not, not high maintenance.
She's just gonna be there.
And maybe this will probably be the only time that Boozer's ever compared to Mary Ann- from Gilligan.
Colin Coward is gonna be proud of me- Oh that I made this comparison.
So jealous of that comp
