2025 NBA Draft Prospects

[2weekswithpay]

The college basketball season starts today. Cooper Flagg and VJ Edgecombe both play today. This draft is expected to be much better than the previous one and the Bulls will hopefully keep their top 10 protected pick.

What prospects are you paying attention to?

[Chi town]

Flagg and Ace are both franchise cornerstones. Ace a true #1. Flagg a winner and MVP Glue Guy with incredible competitiveness. Not a first option type of guy.

Lots of shooting in this draft with McNeeley, Knueppel, Tre, Riley.

Some strong talent at C in Rocco. Malauch from Duke has some elite tools and measurements.

Will be fun to see who rises. Top tier talent. Franchise changing talent if you draft the right guy.
Think all of these guys could be true #1s…

Ace, Harper, Traore, VJ, Saraf

[MrSparkle]

Is this the Spurs forum?

[Jcool0]

The knock on Flagg is he isn't a big time scorer. Will be interesting to see how he translates at Duke.

[Muzbar]

At this stage I think I'd prefer Airious "Ace" Bailey (yes his actual name is Airious, how could you pass that up?) Over Cooper Flagg, this team needs an alpha scorer in the worst way. I like Edgecombe and Maluach too.

Picking up Harper or Traore with Giddey in the mix would be weird and probably wouldn't fit, but you can fix that problem another time.

[TheSuzerain]

Flagg seems like easy #1.

Bailey/Traore in next tier.

Early days though.

[Rose2Boozer]

This is going to be a fun college basketball season. NIL is definitely a game changer. Now as far as prospects, I'm going to watch a lot of Derik Queen(Maryland), Derrion Reid(Alabama), Donnie Freeman(Syracuse), and Egor Demin(BYU).

[Jcool0]

At this stage I think I'd prefer Airious "Ace" Bailey (yes his actual name is Airious, how could you pass that up?) Over Cooper Flagg, this team needs an alpha scorer in the worst way. I like Edgecombe and Maluach too.

Picking up Harper or Traore with Giddey in the mix would be weird and probably wouldn't fit, but you can fix that problem another time.

Zack is an alpha scorer and look at what that has amounted to. Bulls need a #1 guy in whatever form that comes in. Flagg last night had 18 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.

[Muzbar]

At this stage I think I'd prefer Airious "Ace" Bailey (yes his actual name is Airious, how could you pass that up?) Over Cooper Flagg, this team needs an alpha scorer in the worst way. I like Edgecombe and Maluach too.

Picking up Harper or Traore with Giddey in the mix would be weird and probably wouldn't fit, but you can fix that problem another time.

Zack is an alpha scorer and look at what that has amounted to. Bulls need a #1 guy in whatever form that comes in. Flagg last night had 18 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.

Zach isn't an alpha scorer, he's a scorer who lacks bball IQ. An alpha scorer, to me, is a guy who can take over games and carry his team on his back. DeMar was more of an alpha scorer than Zach, but he was 35.

I think Ace could definitely be a number 1 guy, I'm not super sold on Flagg just yet.

[Jcool0]

At this stage I think I'd prefer Airious "Ace" Bailey (yes his actual name is Airious, how could you pass that up?) Over Cooper Flagg, this team needs an alpha scorer in the worst way. I like Edgecombe and Maluach too.

Picking up Harper or Traore with Giddey in the mix would be weird and probably wouldn't fit, but you can fix that problem another time.

Zack is an alpha scorer and look at what that has amounted to. Bulls need a #1 guy in whatever form that comes in. Flagg last night had 18 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.

Zach isn't an alpha scorer, he's a scorer who lacks bball IQ. An alpha scorer, to me, is a guy who can take over games and carry his team on his back. DeMar was more of an alpha scorer than Zach, but he was 35.

I think Ace could definitely be a number 1 guy, I'm not super sold on Flagg just yet.

You said Alpha scoere not alpha + IQ + whatever else you are including. Also how do you know Ace is all those things? He has played in 1 preseason college game he had 25 points, they blew a 13 point lead and lost.

[Muzbar]

Zack is an alpha scorer and look at what that has amounted to. Bulls need a #1 guy in whatever form that comes in. Flagg last night had 18 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.

Zach isn't an alpha scorer, he's a scorer who lacks bball IQ. An alpha scorer, to me, is a guy who can take over games and carry his team on his back. DeMar was more of an alpha scorer than Zach, but he was 35.

I think Ace could definitely be a number 1 guy, I'm not super sold on Flagg just yet.

You said Alpha scoere not alpha + IQ + whatever else you are including. Also how do you know Ace is all those things? He has played in 1 preseason college game he had 25 points, they blew a 13 point lead and lost.

I defined the difference (IMO) between a scorer and an alpha scorer, the alpha scorer has all those traits I mentioned whereas a scorer lacks some of these traits which holds them back from affecting the game.

I don't know Ace is all of those things, but he has the traits, no one knows what a player will or won't be, but I have a gut feeling that Ace will be better (IMO) than Zach in the long run. Which is what the Bulls should be thinking about.

This is just my opinion, I'm certainly not some talent scout expert.

[Jcool0]

Zach isn't an alpha scorer, he's a scorer who lacks bball IQ. An alpha scorer, to me, is a guy who can take over games and carry his team on his back. DeMar was more of an alpha scorer than Zach, but he was 35.

I think Ace could definitely be a number 1 guy, I'm not super sold on Flagg just yet.

You said Alpha scoere not alpha + IQ + whatever else you are including. Also how do you know Ace is all those things? He has played in 1 preseason college game he had 25 points, they blew a 13 point lead and lost.

I defined the difference (IMO) between a scorer and an alpha scorer, the alpha scorer has all those traits I mentioned whereas a scorer lacks some of these traits which holds them back from affecting the game.

I don't know Ace is all of those things, but he has the traits, no one knows what a player will or won't be, but I have a gut feeling that Ace will be better (IMO) than Zach in the long run. Which is what the Bulls should be thinking about.

This is just my opinion, I'm certainly not some talent scout expert.

Zach is an alpha scorer. He is one of the 5-10 best scorers in the NBA. He lacks an overall game that would make him a #1 player. Which only what maybe 10 players in the NBA can do. Probably more like 5-6 true #1 guys. Is Ace one of those guys? I would almost guarantee no. It really rare when one comes along. He will probably be a top 3 pick in this draft. As far a Flagg his major strength is he does what is needed to win. Will that translate to the NBA? Good chance. Its almost impossible to be a #1 guy and not score in the 22+ ppg range. So if he doesn't do that, he will be a 2nd trier star. But we will see how this all shakes up during the season. If he is scoring more in the 12-15 range for Duke and Ace is in the 18-20 range i can see a scenario where he passes Flagg. But as of right now Flagg is the clear #1.

[Muzbar]

You said Alpha scoere not alpha + IQ + whatever else you are including. Also how do you know Ace is all those things? He has played in 1 preseason college game he had 25 points, they blew a 13 point lead and lost.

I defined the difference (IMO) between a scorer and an alpha scorer, the alpha scorer has all those traits I mentioned whereas a scorer lacks some of these traits which holds them back from affecting the game.

I don't know Ace is all of those things, but he has the traits, no one knows what a player will or won't be, but I have a gut feeling that Ace will be better (IMO) than Zach in the long run. Which is what the Bulls should be thinking about.

This is just my opinion, I'm certainly not some talent scout expert.

Zach is an alpha scorer. He is one of the 5-10 best scorers in the NBA. He lacks an overall game that would make him a #1 player. Which only what maybe 10 players in the NBA can do. Probably more like 5-6 true #1 guys. Is Ace one of those guys? I would almost guarantee no. It really rare when one comes along. He will probably be a top 3 pick in this draft. As far a Flagg his major strength is he does what is needed to win. Will that translate to the NBA? Good chance. Its almost impossible to be a #1 guy and not score in the 22+ ppg range. So if he doesn't do that, he will be a 2nd trier star. But we will see how this all shakes up during the season. If he is scoring more in the 12-15 range for Duke and Ace is in the 18-20 range i can see a scenario where he passes Flagg. But as of right now Flagg is the clear #1.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on Zach, I think he lacks sufficient ball handling and Bball IQ to be an alpha scorer or no. 1 option.

So you can almost guarantee that Ace Bailey isn't going to be a star player based off 1 preseason game? That's interesting.

I'm not saying I wouldn't want Flagg, just that I think Ace Bailey may be the better scorer out of the 2 and that he's my preferred option (ATM) over Flagg. Of course Flagg is the clear no. 1 after one game played, he was hyped coming in, but so was Shabazz Muhammed.

It's a long season. It's going to be fun.

[Chi town]

I do think Flagg could be a #1 playing uptempo with a good PG in a system like ours. His D would really shine and his offense with pace.

[Donkedave]

This is going to be a fun college basketball season. NIL is definitely a game changer. Now as far as prospects, I'm going to watch a lot of Derik Queen(Maryland), Derrion Reid(Alabama), Donnie Freeman(Syracuse), and Egor Demin(BYU).

Queen 6’10 - 22, 20, 1, 2blk good start✅
Reid - didn’t get much going solid on boards it seems
Freeman 6’9 - 10, 10, 1 solid start
Demon 6’9 - 18, 4, 11 + 4 stls ✅✅ (6’9 SG?)

Other freshman that off to a good start- keeping my eye on

Asa Newell 6’11 PF
26P, 11R, 3blks

Will Riley 6’8 SF
31p, 7r, 3a on 96.4% TS 10/13fg

Tre Johnson 6’6 SG
29p, 5r, 4a, 2 stl + 1blk 50%fg

Kon Knueppel 6’7 SG
22p, 4r, 2a, 57%fg

Just a few more I’ve put on this list but have many saved on my watch list so far

[Rose2Boozer]

This is going to be a fun college basketball season. NIL is definitely a game changer. Now as far as prospects, I'm going to watch a lot of Derik Queen(Maryland), Derrion Reid(Alabama), Donnie Freeman(Syracuse), and Egor Demin(BYU).

Queen 6’10 - 22, 20, 1, 2blk good start✅
Reid - didn’t get much going solid on boards it seems
Freeman 6’9 - 10, 10, 1 solid start
Demon 6’9 - 18, 4, 11 + 4 stls ✅✅ (6’9 SG?)

Other freshman that off to a good start- keeping my eye on

Asa Newell 6’11 PF
26P, 11R, 3blks

Will Riley 6’8 SF
31p, 7r, 3a on 96.4% TS 10/13fg

Tre Johnson 6’6 SG
29p, 5r, 4a, 2 stl + 1blk 50%fg

Kon Knueppel 6’7 SG
22p, 4r, 2a, 57%fg

Just a few more I’ve put on this list but have many saved on my watch list so far

I would slot Demin at the three and be cool with it. Dude has it all and BYU is the perfect place to showcase his talent. It seems like a lot of the prospects who chose teams where they could fully display their talents had solid games. On the other hand, I love Isiah Evans' game, but I hate the fact that he chose Duke. That team has too many mouths to feed. It's only been one game but that kid should have one eye on the portal.

[Jstock12]

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[Chi town]

Will Riley such a fun watch.

If Tre can show two way play he will go top 8

[patryk7754]

Cooper Flagg is the clear-cut number one. He should be a senior in HS and can be playing in the NBA right now. Ace Bailey would be a great addition as well and might be the second best player coming out. Unfortunately, its unlikely we are in position to pick either of them.

Some more realistic guys I like...
Georgia's Center: Somto Cyril
Ohio State's Guard: John Mobley Jr.
Duke's Center: khaman maluach

[LateNight]

How is no one in here talking about VJ Edgecombe?