hey chad, can i ask one favor of you, don't quit entirely. Come around when you get free time and share a post or two. Nobody needs full time, just maybe a post a month or two. You know you can't quit us anyways. lol
I hear you Eric. I'll do my best. There's some health issues at play here so no promises. But you're right. I love the draft. Just want to really set fair expectations for everyone.
Bittersweet to hear. I was so excited when you came back on the scene with NBA Big Board. I always appreciated your attitude when it came to draft evaluation. A lot of draft analysis seems very snooty and jocky. Like their opinion is an indisputable fact when it comes to evaluating prosects and it would get somewhat aggressive or offended if they were questioned. I get it, I get in sports arguments all the time, but you seemed above that. You always seems to have an open mindedness and kindness in this. You make it known that your rankings are based on what the insiders are telling you. You let the reader know your "crushes" and biases (betting on KU prospects has been a fools errand, jk Embiid give ya something!), but I never felt like that alters your work. I have followed NBA draft coverage since I was 11 in 96, when I was convinced that John Wallace was going to be the best player in that draft, and through all of years and competitors, you were always the best of them. I'm hopeful Rafael has taken a lot from you and will continue to provide great content, but you will be missed! All the best in your future endeavors!
This comment really touched me. You captured what I’ve been trying to do these past 20 years. I know that at times I’ve failed at it, but the goal was to be “humble in my truths” if you will. The draft is unpredictable because of so many factors. You’re going to be wrong a lot. And I just wanted to be up front about it and at the same time provide as much information for both myself and the readers to make educated guesses about things. And I really never wanted to disparage a player. If you are on my Board you are one of the greatest young basketball players on the planet. They’re all great. We are just talking degrees now. The fact that you have felt that means so much. And don’t worry about Rafael. One of the reasons I wanted to work with him was that he’s the same way. He’s humble. But he really puts in the work. I wanted that brand to continue and I think he’ll be awesome. Thank you for taking the time to write and to notice and for your loyalty for all of these years.
You always made it fun! Fun to look back and laugh at your mistakes and look forward hopefully to what is in the future to the hopeless fans! I hope your look forward to the future is as bright as we look at the futures of our teams on draft night! All the best.
Best of luck to you, Chad! Been a reader for 20 yrs now and am grateful for all the work and passion you poured into scouting.. the scouting is my favorite part of being an NBA fan and you've been at the core of that for a long time! I'd also like to thank you for recruiting Rafael and handing him the reins vs just shutting things down entirely. Hope we'll get to see you back on the pod / substack here and there!!
Thank you Jack. For staying with me for 20 plus years and for taking the time to write. It means a lot. I put a ton of work into building this platform and when it became clear that I wasn’t going to be able to personally do it anymore I really wanted it to keep going. The community here is really cool. And I really believe Rafael is the right guy for the job. I hope you and O are both with him for the next 20.
I hope you find the balance you need - and Rafael is a great heir to the throne.
My big question/worry as a subscriber is: where is the league intel going? I admire Rafael's work as a scout and introducing us to all these kids. But "what does our scout think" is a separate question from "how does the industry regard these kids". I hope some of the league-adjacent people like Hollinger etc don't leave the orbit of the pod.
Rafael is special - but I want for the "league view" to not get short shrift.
Thanks. That’s a great question and a valid concern. I’m offloading some of my contacts to Rafael. Some (though not all) have agreed to keep working with Rafael and he has been cultivating an impressive group of contacts himself on his own. I think Rafael understands that’s a big appeal of the newsletter to some of our readers and he’s going to make sure that’s part of his analaysis and ranking when I leave.
I've been appreciating your work since the Sportstalk Days., followed you to ESPN insider, and subscribed here because you've produced so much content I've appreciated over the years. I think you were seminal in changing how the draft was covered and for a draft junkie like me finally having someone writing the deep dive content I enjoy was great, great stuff. Good luck on what comes next! And, as a longtime Pistons fan, on behalf of Pistons Nation, I forgive Darkogate once and for all. :)
Wow Paul. That means a lot -- both the VERY long term support. I stated SportsTALK with Jason Peery in 1996! As well as forgiving me for falling in love with Darko. I know it hurt Pistons sports fans. I appreciate the forgiveness.
Good luck Chad...I got on and stayed on board because of you. Have been following you from your early days at ESPN....Hope your health is ok...Really wish you would have stuck around until the combine and the draft because of all the work you already put in....You and Mel Kiper(NFL draft) for me are the 2 Draft Gurus....period.
Thanks Andy. I appreciate all the interactions we've had and your support. I really wanted to stay on through the draft, but some pressing health issues forced me to move up the time table unfortunately. I'm sorry I'm leaving before it. It will be hard for me to miss it, but there's some stuff I just have to take care of.
Chad, really appreciated your work and wish you all the best, will miss your insights and spirit. Also, I would have subscribed to a Rafael run service so the transition works out.
hey chad, can i ask one favor of you, don't quit entirely. Come around when you get free time and share a post or two. Nobody needs full time, just maybe a post a month or two. You know you can't quit us anyways. lol
I hear you Eric. I'll do my best. There's some health issues at play here so no promises. But you're right. I love the draft. Just want to really set fair expectations for everyone.
Wish you all the best, Chad. Surprise us once in a while but take care of yourself.
Bittersweet to hear. I was so excited when you came back on the scene with NBA Big Board. I always appreciated your attitude when it came to draft evaluation. A lot of draft analysis seems very snooty and jocky. Like their opinion is an indisputable fact when it comes to evaluating prosects and it would get somewhat aggressive or offended if they were questioned. I get it, I get in sports arguments all the time, but you seemed above that. You always seems to have an open mindedness and kindness in this. You make it known that your rankings are based on what the insiders are telling you. You let the reader know your "crushes" and biases (betting on KU prospects has been a fools errand, jk Embiid give ya something!), but I never felt like that alters your work. I have followed NBA draft coverage since I was 11 in 96, when I was convinced that John Wallace was going to be the best player in that draft, and through all of years and competitors, you were always the best of them. I'm hopeful Rafael has taken a lot from you and will continue to provide great content, but you will be missed! All the best in your future endeavors!
This comment really touched me. You captured what I’ve been trying to do these past 20 years. I know that at times I’ve failed at it, but the goal was to be “humble in my truths” if you will. The draft is unpredictable because of so many factors. You’re going to be wrong a lot. And I just wanted to be up front about it and at the same time provide as much information for both myself and the readers to make educated guesses about things. And I really never wanted to disparage a player. If you are on my Board you are one of the greatest young basketball players on the planet. They’re all great. We are just talking degrees now. The fact that you have felt that means so much. And don’t worry about Rafael. One of the reasons I wanted to work with him was that he’s the same way. He’s humble. But he really puts in the work. I wanted that brand to continue and I think he’ll be awesome. Thank you for taking the time to write and to notice and for your loyalty for all of these years.
You always made it fun! Fun to look back and laugh at your mistakes and look forward hopefully to what is in the future to the hopeless fans! I hope your look forward to the future is as bright as we look at the futures of our teams on draft night! All the best.
Best of luck to you, Chad! Been a reader for 20 yrs now and am grateful for all the work and passion you poured into scouting.. the scouting is my favorite part of being an NBA fan and you've been at the core of that for a long time! I'd also like to thank you for recruiting Rafael and handing him the reins vs just shutting things down entirely. Hope we'll get to see you back on the pod / substack here and there!!
Thank you Jack. For staying with me for 20 plus years and for taking the time to write. It means a lot. I put a ton of work into building this platform and when it became clear that I wasn’t going to be able to personally do it anymore I really wanted it to keep going. The community here is really cool. And I really believe Rafael is the right guy for the job. I hope you and O are both with him for the next 20.
I hope you find the balance you need - and Rafael is a great heir to the throne.
My big question/worry as a subscriber is: where is the league intel going? I admire Rafael's work as a scout and introducing us to all these kids. But "what does our scout think" is a separate question from "how does the industry regard these kids". I hope some of the league-adjacent people like Hollinger etc don't leave the orbit of the pod.
Rafael is special - but I want for the "league view" to not get short shrift.
Thanks. That’s a great question and a valid concern. I’m offloading some of my contacts to Rafael. Some (though not all) have agreed to keep working with Rafael and he has been cultivating an impressive group of contacts himself on his own. I think Rafael understands that’s a big appeal of the newsletter to some of our readers and he’s going to make sure that’s part of his analaysis and ranking when I leave.
I've been appreciating your work since the Sportstalk Days., followed you to ESPN insider, and subscribed here because you've produced so much content I've appreciated over the years. I think you were seminal in changing how the draft was covered and for a draft junkie like me finally having someone writing the deep dive content I enjoy was great, great stuff. Good luck on what comes next! And, as a longtime Pistons fan, on behalf of Pistons Nation, I forgive Darkogate once and for all. :)
Wow Paul. That means a lot -- both the VERY long term support. I stated SportsTALK with Jason Peery in 1996! As well as forgiving me for falling in love with Darko. I know it hurt Pistons sports fans. I appreciate the forgiveness.
at least you didn't convince joe to take pavel :)
Good luck Chad...I got on and stayed on board because of you. Have been following you from your early days at ESPN....Hope your health is ok...Really wish you would have stuck around until the combine and the draft because of all the work you already put in....You and Mel Kiper(NFL draft) for me are the 2 Draft Gurus....period.
Thanks Andy. I appreciate all the interactions we've had and your support. I really wanted to stay on through the draft, but some pressing health issues forced me to move up the time table unfortunately. I'm sorry I'm leaving before it. It will be hard for me to miss it, but there's some stuff I just have to take care of.
Best wishes, Chad. Good luck, Rafael.
Thanks Tom. Means a lot coming from you. Really appreciate your support. Great luck with your newsletter as well!
Chad, really appreciated your work and wish you all the best, will miss your insights and spirit. Also, I would have subscribed to a Rafael run service so the transition works out.
So glad to hear that. Rafael is awesome
Thank you Chad for all the great content over the years! You are truly the goat 🐐!
Mahalo 🏝🤙
- Derek Anderson
Thank you Derek. Have love interacting with you on these comment boards!
Same here Chad!!
You'll be missed Chad!
Thanks Art. I'll be around doing stuff through the Tournament! And who knows, maybe even guest appearance before the draft.
Very unfortunate news. No Chad = no big board podcast.
Oh, there will be a Big Board podcast. Rafael has some really cool stuff planned. It will keep going and I think it's gonna thrive.
Acts 16:31, 1 Corinthians 15:1-8, 1 Peter 1:17-21, Revelation 22:18-19