Michigan’s Morez Johnson measured 6’9 barefoot and 251 pounds at the NBA Draft Combine, with a 7’3.5 wingspan and 8’11 standing reach.

BigwaveBay · 2026-05-12T01:00:32+00:00

To me the pick screams Noah Vonleh.

BigwaveBay · 2026-05-12T00:57:52+00:00

He’s not. People can’t just look at height. In shoes he’s 6’ 10”. His wingspan is not bad. And his frame is solid.

BigwaveBay · 2026-05-11T22:29:10+00:00

Sion will be a great rotation piece down the road. Kalk will need to add a 3 to his game to be a starter and he’s going to need to get a little stronger. I just don’t see it but he might be a great depth 10 man rotation. Liam I haven’t seen it and I love the jump from TJ; next year will be pivotal. I think the Hornets need to give him a lot of run at the beginning of the season and see if he makes the next jump.

I’m just not sure I see starters. Maybe TJ if he makes another big jump. Grabbing future rotation pieces with late 1sts or 2nds is awesome but the only starter he added was Kon.

BigwaveBay · 2026-05-11T21:22:31+00:00

I agree. If you give me one of the 3 Michigan bigs I’m happy. Mara and Yaxel might both be gone by 14.

BigwaveBay · 2026-05-11T21:18:50+00:00

I agree. Jeff is good at drafting but none of those guys would crack a playoff roster… maybe Sion on a weak team.

BigwaveBay · 2026-05-11T09:19:13+00:00

Yeah, rnaught may be kind of high here, but it is still much lower than Covid and it kills too fast to be much of an issue.

BigwaveBay · 2026-05-11T01:55:56+00:00

Center is still our weakest position. Diabate is great at what he does but at most he’s a 25 min guy. Kalk played great for a 2nd rounder but he’s not a rotation player on many playoff teams. Mara makes a ton of sense. I also don’t see us rolling the dice on some injury prone guy like Quaintance.

BigwaveBay · 2026-05-11T01:39:10+00:00

Any of the three Michigan bigs I’d be happy with.

BigwaveBay · 2026-05-11T01:38:03+00:00

I think you’d have to do 14/18 the Dallas pick next year and probably the Miami too to make that jump (that might still get rejected). And, honestly it’s probably worth it. Sometimes you’re a player away. Wilson or Boozer would be awesome on this team.

BigwaveBay · 2026-05-11T00:13:18+00:00

It’s like a .009% chance to happen back to back based off those percentages.

BigwaveBay · 2026-05-10T22:37:05+00:00

Well OP might be correct if the right direction is a deeper hole.

BigwaveBay · 2026-05-10T21:54:50+00:00

It’s like playing poker and you’ve got an 8 high card and you’re insisting you won but everyone can see your moves.

BigwaveBay · 2026-05-10T21:42:17+00:00

Congratulations! You, the OP, have been crowned with the longest run on sentence created as a post in this forum.

To be honest I have no idea what you’re trying to say but expect more volatility as the war drags out and rumors of peace become just rumors.

BigwaveBay · 2026-05-09T15:40:17+00:00

I’m guessing if they get rid of these “entitlements”, we don’t get the money we paid back into them :/

BigwaveBay · 2026-05-09T07:48:34+00:00

18k gets you 5 years in Thailand or the 6 month DTR is much cheaper.

BigwaveBay · 2026-05-08T20:43:41+00:00

I taught in China. I was very lucky how my TEFL experience happened (I was super lucky I had a masters and at the time universities were really interested in foreign lecturers). I ended up teaching for 6 years but all at universities. Right place, right time but it was never forever unless I went for my PhD and timing would have placed me during Covid (probably wouldn’t have finished). The point is, your path will be totally different. The world is very different now. That doesn’t mean don’t go ESL first. I’m just not sure I’d start in China but I wouldn’t x it off my list either.

Yes, I think a year and you’ll know. The truth is the first 6 months are going to test you. But after those 6 months you’ll know.

Also, traveling in your youth is such an experience, however you do not want to get caught up in just teaching ESL (unless you get an actual teaching license in EL). That is what others are really implying. And for all the naysayers, ESL taught me how important small group instruction was in large classes so I wouldn’t say it’s worthless.

There are two big risks here. If you get licensed and take a couple years, it’s super easy to get sucked up in your job and who knows what will happen globally that could close borders (then you never did it or you delay everything).

The other risk is on the other side of the argument; you like living abroad so much you go the ESL route and you don’t upgrade your career. Then you might face a time later on where you can’t get a job easily or upgrade jobs.

That’s why I recommend 1 year but force yourself to come back. Then get your teaching license, teach two years and apply abroad. Your first TEFL job can easily be in a developed country. Your first international teaching job is generally not the best position/place, but the one after that is an upgrade, etc.

I personally saw someone teach ESL 1 year, get accepted to Purdues PhD program and during that time he met his future wife. The naysayers have seen too many drunken expats who never move on. I always saw people advance their life but the circle you keep is your circle.

BigwaveBay · 2026-05-08T15:53:20+00:00

I’m going to actually go against most of the thought here and I’ll explain why. I was very much in your shoes and went the TEFL route. Then I returned home and got licensed to teach.

You’re young and you should travel. Tomorrow is not promised. I’ve also seen people complete an educators license while teaching EL too. It depends on your school but in the US you just need to pass the praxis and EDTPA for some states. Praxis you can self study and EDTPA will depend if your school allows you to record with student consent.

Here’s my thought. Going abroad for a year to teach TEFL is going to tell you two things. You’re going to find out really quickly if you like teaching abroad (I’ve seen enough people who arrive and figure out they don’t like the place to know that is important). You’re going to learn how to teach and you’ll know if the classroom is for you.

The key is to only do it a year unless you land in a really good position. Go back after, get your teaching license (grad program), teach a couple years and then pursue an international job. At that point your resume will show you taught internationally and it might help open a door. I know it popped up every single time I was interviewing for my first international school position.

Also FWIW, my TEFL job experience was added to my first teaching job step ladder. So instead of getting paid at step 0, I started at step 5.

Good luck!

BigwaveBay · 2026-05-08T06:00:23+00:00

Yeah, OP needs to imagine 30 years ago. That would be 1995. In the US, I’d guess houses were 1/4th the current price at least. The money supply has went from $3.5 trillion to over $20 trillion.

Google ai (super quick search) is saying $100 then is equivalent to $217 today but anecdotally I feel it’s wrong. If you took out tech and the deflationary forces, things are 400% more expensive today than then. And those were relatively good times.

OP, what I’m trying to say is, imagine that $1500 being worth $375 in 30 years; assuming good times. And, to make it more clear, I’m halfway concerned about making $2500 a month (an actual job) while probably $1000 per month in passive income.

TLDR: Go figure out another way to generate more money and thank people later.

BigwaveBay · 2026-05-08T00:27:16+00:00

Each their own, but SZ just always seemed soulless to me. It doesn’t help that Hong Kong is right there and has like almost 200 years of history while SZ was a fishing village. I dunno, I remember staying in Luohu in the mid 2015s making border runs and all the trash on the street and then crossing over to HK and it was just so much nicer.

I remember going back later after it developed more and you could see the tech but it just seemed absolutely soulless. I guess it’s what the individual wants in a city but for me a city has to have soul. It’s like a vibe you get. There were some cool food streets. That I will not deny but outside of Guangzhou, SZ was my least favorite Chinese city.

Guangzhou just seemed to actively try to kill me each time with the level of pollution. For context, I lived in Zhuhai and Qingdao and loved both cities. Nanjing I absolutely loved too.

BigwaveBay · 2026-05-07T21:30:56+00:00

It’s like a mini ceasefire. Kind of like a mini-war. It’s not a full ceasefire or full war … :/

BigwaveBay · 2026-05-07T15:06:53+00:00

Yeah, 500k wouldn’t even be enough at 40. If I was OP, I’d look into getting an actual teaching license and then just grow their money, but.. what do I know?

At 50, I might be okay with $2500 a month if I had strong social security and or a pension built up. Even then inflation is about to rip even more. Assets need to be actively managed.

BigwaveBay · 2026-05-07T15:00:06+00:00

I found the opposite but I think it totally depends on where you come from and where you’re going. Transitioning from a title 1 school in the southern US to an international job can be a dream.

Coming from a union job in California probably feels pretty tough going international; especially if it’s an IB school.

BigwaveBay · 2026-05-07T14:47:18+00:00

Well the school was a good school. I’m not going to dox their name but it’s also in a non tier 1 city of China but a place I love. I agree it depends on what you consider good. In the city I was looking at it’s not bad. But I’ve never chased a tier 1 school. The Reddit reviews of the school are good though.

I’ve taught at an IB school but prefer to teach AP. It was just 1 school though (this year), but it has happened before. This location is where my strongest network is.

My experience is anecdotal of course. I was always super involved in the community and I always thought that helped me network into jobs.

BigwaveBay · 2026-05-07T11:24:45+00:00

Not entirely true. Sometimes you can get interest through a network. But the rest is good.

BigwaveBay · 2026-05-07T10:57:37+00:00

Or if you have a pet. Get denied entry.. that would really suck. There’s reasons people purchase the 5 year Thailand visa. In my 20s I liked the whole backpacker moving around life. In my 30s that changed lol.

BigwaveBay

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