Former Gonzaga All-American Dan Dickau breaks down how Drew Timme benefits from teammates Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo as rookie in the NBA
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 Dan Dick out here for Gonzaga Nation.
00:02 Well, there's been some movement in the NBA in regards to a blockbuster trade that will
00:08 impact former Gonzaga Bulldog Drew Timmy.
00:12 I think it impacts him in a positive way, to be honest, not just in regards to what
00:17 the current roster makeup looks now, but in the future on and off the court stuff as well.
00:23 So that trade being the Damien Lillard trade from the Portland Trailblazers to the Milwaukee
00:29 Bucks where it was a three team deal.
00:32 Lillard obviously, as mentioned to the Bucks, the Blazers received Drew Holiday, DeAndre
00:37 Aiton, Tumani Kamara, and a couple of draft picks.
00:44 And then the Phoenix Suns were involved and they received Yusuf Nurkic, Grayson Allen,
00:50 Nasir Little, and Keon Johnson as part of the trade.
00:55 But obviously this being a Gonzaga centric podcast, we want to look at the impact for
01:02 Drew Timmy.
01:03 Well, when you look at it, it's a it's a positive because there are more players leaving
01:10 Milwaukee than the Bucks are receiving.
01:13 The Bucks only receive one player, that player being Damien Lillard.
01:18 So it opens up more possibilities in regards to full time roster spots with Milwaukee.
01:26 Many teams make or have the idea that do have some roster flexibility leading into training
01:33 camp, which starts in the next few days.
01:36 So that if a young player does open eyes, he can either be signed to a two way contract
01:42 which Drew Timmy is currently on, or maybe even upgrade all the way to a regular contract,
01:51 not just a training camp contract.
01:53 So good news, I think, in regards to the fact that he wasn't included in that trade and
02:01 that he now has essentially less guys to compete against that are viewed as part of a core
02:09 of what Milwaukee is looking forward going into the regular season.
02:12 They would not have signed him to a two way deal if they didn't think he was part of a
02:17 decent core, whether it's the Bucks or more than likely their G League team, the Hurd,
02:22 to really get a good look at and give him every opportunity to play minutes on the big
02:29 team and earn his way to a regular contract.
02:31 But the reason I really think this is a great trade for Drew Timmy is the fact that we already
02:37 knew he was going to be playing alongside, at least in training camp and in early season
02:44 opportunities with Giannis Antetokounmpo.
02:47 So he was going to be around him in training camp, he was going to practice with him.
02:50 He was going to see how one of the true best players in the NBA right now works on his
02:56 craft day in and day out.
02:59 That does nothing but help a young player in the NBA understand, see just how dedicated,
03:04 how hardworking some of these great, great players are.
03:07 And every indication that you hear is Giannis is exactly that, because he's improved from
03:12 the time he was an unknown as a draft pick to being an MVP, winning a championship, being
03:19 a max level contract type of guy, cornerstone face of a franchise.
03:24 So you're going to learn a lot from Giannis in that aspect.
03:31 The other thing I think that he can learn from Giannis is in the fact that his game,
03:36 Giannis' game speaking, is it wasn't tailor made ready to go for the NBA when he was drafted.
03:43 He had question marks about his jump shot.
03:45 He had question marks about a few other things in his game, his ball handling, maybe his
03:51 IQ.
03:52 I know the first two for certain were things that were questioned, but he has really worked
03:57 on it.
03:58 He's a knock down three point shooter, but he's worked at it to become serviceable from
04:04 distance and you have to honor him.
04:07 But the thing is about Giannis is he plays to his strengths and his strengths is constantly
04:14 in attack mode, attacking the defense, putting the ball on the deck, putting pressure on
04:19 his man to keep him in front, putting pressure on help side, whether or not they need to
04:23 fully commit and rotate, and then he's just such a good and willing teammate that he will
04:29 make the right pass at the right times.
04:30 The reason I say that is because a lot's been said about Drew Timmy's potential shortcomings
04:36 at the next level.
04:37 Can he shoot it from distance?
04:39 Will he be able to develop a corner three, any guard, all those kind of things.
04:45 Well, the thing I think that Drew can look towards Giannis at four and pick his brain,
04:53 ask his advice, really get some mentorship in regards to is how do you stay the process
04:59 and continue to be yourself and play your game, learn your game and the quirks and the
05:04 things that can work at that next level while I'm young in my career and I'm trying to navigate
05:10 the waters of a career.
05:12 So I think that's going to be a valuable one.
05:14 You know, a friend of mine, Ben Sullivan, was a coach with the Bucks for a stretch with
05:22 Giannis as one of the players.
05:25 And he said he's a tremendous work ethic guy, he's a tremendous teammate, he does all the
05:29 right things.
05:30 And so that's what you want to see a guy like have the ability to learn from, like for Drew
05:36 Timmy.
05:37 So I think that's a great pairing.
05:38 Now in regards to the Damian Lillard pairing coming to Milwaukee for Drew Timmy, it's another
05:44 example where he now has an opportunity to play with one of the premier guards in the
05:50 league at this time.
05:51 Seven time All-Star, had he made deeper postseason runs or been in a bigger media market, there
05:57 might have been a year or two that he would have had a legit conversation starter as an
06:02 MVP.
06:03 But that just wasn't the case because Portland's roster never was able to pair him with enough
06:07 to make deep playoff runs.
06:10 I think they did make one year to the Western Conference Finals, but never able to really
06:15 kind of get over the hump and really make Damian Lillard as big of a household name
06:21 as maybe I think he could have been or should be at this time.
06:25 Because I truly think Damian Lillard's one of the best players in the league right now,
06:29 and he has been for some time.
06:30 But playing in Portland and not on great teams and not on a crazy amount of national TV games,
06:37 he hasn't gotten the limelight that maybe some other guys like Kyrie Irving or others
06:44 have received.
06:45 But the reason I think it's another great pairing for Drew Timmy is because Damian Lillard's
06:54 work ethic, his attention to detail, his ability to continue to get better year after year
07:00 after year in the NBA.
07:02 He came in the league from a mid-major school, Weber State.
07:05 I believe he was the sixth pick in the NBA draft.
07:08 But he came in with a lot of doubt from outsiders.
07:12 But he knew who he was.
07:15 He knew his own skill set.
07:18 He knew what he wanted to become.
07:19 He knew how hard he was going to work.
07:21 He believed in himself, and the people around him believed in himself as well.
07:25 And now you see 10, 11 years later, one of the best players in the league.
07:30 And I think what Drew Timmy can learn from that is, granted, Drew isn't coming out of
07:36 college with a little fanfare like Damian Lillard may have come out of college with,
07:41 but with a lot of fanfare being one of Gonzaga's all-time greats, being a three-time All-American.
07:47 But the reason I say that is because Drew Timmy doesn't have a lot of fanfare in regards
07:52 to his game at the NBA level.
07:54 There's a lot of question marks out there about him.
07:58 And I think that's something where Damian Lillard and his leadership with the Bucs,
08:03 his mentorship, I think can do a really good job of hopefully taking Drew Timmy under his
08:09 wings, sharing the ropes with him, and really helping him to learn the NBA lifestyle, the
08:16 NBA game, the NBA as a whole quickly.
08:22 And so this trade, Lillard to the Bucs, again, I think is a good thing when you're looking
08:30 at it from a Gonzaga lens with Drew Timmy.
08:32 So for Gonzaga Nation, thanks for looking, watching, listening.
08:37 Be on the lookout for a lot more content because the season is right around the corner.