Corey Kispert drawing trade interest

Players who have been selected that high at 22 years or older have not, for the most part, gone on to productive NBA careers. There have been 30 players who have been at least 22 on the day of the draft selected over the last 15 years. Of those, roughly three have become reliable starter-level players (Buddy Hield, Cam Johnson and Kelly Olynyk). Taurean Prince has consistently been a rotation player over his career. Corey Kispert, Obi Toppin and Jaime Jaquez Jr. seem to be on their way to getting there. The rest is a mixed bag. -via New York Times / May 30, 2024

Tom Thibodeau would not stop repeating the same three words: Corey f—ing Kispert. Kispert, the Washington Wizards sharpshooter, had just walked all over Thibodeau’s New York Knicks in the first half of a late-season game in 2023. A player averaging 11 points entering the night had already dropped 20 through two quarters. With the Knicks down eight at the half, their head coach barged into the locker room. “Corey f—ing Kispert!” Thibodeau bellowed. “Corey f—ing Kispert! Corey f—ing Kispert.” He kept going, revving himself up. “He said it like five times. … Every one just progressively got louder,” Josh Hart recalled. Then Thibodeau reached his breaking point. “How does Corey Kispert,” he crescendoed, “turn into Michael Jordan?!” -via The Athletic / April 22, 2024

Chase Hughes: Corey Kispert says his improvement getting to the rim and finishing there changed “everything” in his game and how defenses guarded him: “It’s a cool thing as a player to feel like you have a little bit more respect from the defense, it’s validation.” -via Twitter @ChaseHughesNBCS / April 15, 2024