2025 NBA Draft Thread: Detroit Pick Edition

[Devilzsidewalk]

I am all in on Clayton jr if he is there.

Need elite shooters that can create for themselves on this squad.

I wouldnt be mad at Demin, Sorber or Fears either

I'm torn on WCJ vs Nique Clifford. Clayton is being comped to the likes of CJ McCollum while Clifford is being comped to Derrick White. The comps seem a tad generous given there's only a handful of guys with A.S. upside in the draft. But yeah, shooters/guys who can create for themselves is a high priority.

Clifford's numbers pop hard, but I struggle to ge excited about 5th year seniors. But then again, overthinking age is how you get guys like Andrew Nembhard dropping to the 2nd round.

[Slim Tubby]

My guy is Coward. Don’t know if he’ll ever be a star, but he’ll be a starter on a championship level team. I think his shooting, length, defense would be great as a third forward with Randle/McDaniels. And in a couple years, if we transition McDaniels to a PF, he’d be a great compliment as a starting SF. I like him a lot more than our current young back forwards/wings, and if we lose NAW and/or DDV we could really use his shooting. He may be the best shooter in the draft. That shot is smooth.

That said, he’ll likely be gone. And if he is, I’m good with Sorber/Beringer as an eventual Rudy replacement.

I've read some steam that OKC is targeting Coward at 15.

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[Devilzsidewalk]

He'd be more of a UDFA candidate than 2nd round pick for us (unless we acquire something late for some reason), but Randle and Naz would be the best possible sifus for Eric Dixon to learn from. He plays like Randle at .75x speed, and is almost the exact same measurements, just heavier. The skills look nba-ready, and that it's his conditioning that's holding him back. If Naz can teach him his conditioning tricks, you have a nice low-cost shot-creator bully in the pipeline for the post-Randle era.

[Nick K]

This is probably the first topic that I've ever disagreed with you on (and in time I could still be proven wrong). Conley is in serious decline and Dilly has not shown he's ready for 20-25 minutes a night on a Title contender.

That's a far cry from feeling like we have the PG position covered for me personally. Clayton Jr checks all the boxes as a player and provides us insurance/competition for Conley and Dilly. Hey! I could be wrong too.

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I hear you. Let me explain. Conley played most of last year with a badly damaged wrist. It really affected his play. No doubt it's near the end of the road for him. No way the Wolves him this year. He'll retire a Wolve. Dilly is making good progress on his shooting mechanics. He still regresses under game pressure but it's coming. He will be much better this year. the team loves him and so does Ant.
Now for Clayton, he's a very solid player but certainly not a PG at the NBA level. He's a solid guard. High floor but not a huge ceiling. He's 6'2" 190 lb, with a 6'4" wingspan. Not great. He's a nice solid player but look at all the guards we already have. Where is he going to play. They are not moving Conley or Dilly to bring this guy in.

This is such an important off-season. I've hated our mix all year. I'm so disappointed in Rudy I can't wait to move him for value. Randle was a bad fit since day one as a very poor defender and even a worse decision maker. He has some good points too but I just don't see him as the right fit for us. Rudy and Randle were exposed against OKC. Time to shake things up. I would have give both Rudy and Randle for KD if he would commit here but not to be.

Hope that makes some sense.

Solid take, Nick.

I'm just enamored with Clayton Jr's clutch genes and his contributions to team success. The guy is a winner.

And he can shoot.

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You know I love guys who can shoot. Especially if they are consistent.

[KGdaBom]

Read on Twitter

Unless he is injured, this is a big red flag to me

Missing your teams league finals to attend a ceremony is a HORRIBLE look. I'm assuming he has an agent and I can't imagine how his agent hasn't advised him against this course of action. Tankathon has him mocked at 22 and 18th on their big board. I could have sworn he was mocked lottery before. Maybe something has happened with him.

He had been struggling in the finals with his minutes being shrunk, but it’s a horrible look. I get walking across the draft stage is a once in a lifetime moment, but you don’t do this.

Rumor is he may go number 9 to the Raptors. I wonder if he already had a promise from them, so he wasn’t worried how it’d look if he left Germany.

College football players have been doing something similar for years skipping the bowl games. With this ridiculous NIL money can they still do that or is playing the bowl games tied into the NIL money?

[Nick K]

Read on Twitter

I want Sorber so bad. I usually leave Wolves draft night disappointed though.

[NebWolvesFan]

Read on Twitter

I want Sorber so bad. I usually leave Wolves draft night disappointed though.

I'm a big fan as well. I feel like if he can just make it to San Antonio at 14, TC can trade 17/31 up to get him. Hopefully, the Queen dropping rumors or just that because I need Queen to go early to push Sorber down.

[KGdaBom]

My guy is Coward. Don’t know if he’ll ever be a star, but he’ll be a starter on a championship level team. I think his shooting, length, defense would be great as a third forward with Randle/McDaniels. And in a couple years, if we transition McDaniels to a PF, he’d be a great compliment as a starting SF. I like him a lot more than our current young back forwards/wings, and if we lose NAW and/or DDV we could really use his shooting. He may be the best shooter in the draft. That shot is smooth.

That said, he’ll likely be gone. And if he is, I’m good with Sorber/Beringer as an eventual Rudy replacement.

Coward only played 6 games this season so there must be some injury situation right? His numbers in his two full seasons are similar to this 6 game season. I'd have no problem with us drafting him.

[Slim Tubby]

Read on Twitter

I want Sorber so bad. I usually leave Wolves draft night disappointed though.

We could go so many different ways depending on what happens in front of us. Last year I pounded this board pandering for us to somehow grab TSJ. Maybe this is your year to be heard!

My preferences right now:

1. Clayton Jr - Shocking, huh...but who wouldn't want the next Brunson or Lillard?

2. Coward - Has he shown enough in college and do we have any minutes for him?

3. Queen - He's sliding a tad but unlikely to be there.

4. Sorber - Foot injuries for big guys always concern me.

5. Trade back...and select Walter Clayton Jr.

I sense a pattern developing here...

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[KGdaBom]

Missing your teams league finals to attend a ceremony is a HORRIBLE look. I'm assuming he has an agent and I can't imagine how his agent hasn't advised him against this course of action. Tankathon has him mocked at 22 and 18th on their big board. I could have sworn he was mocked lottery before. Maybe something has happened with him.

He had been struggling in the finals with his minutes being shrunk, but it’s a horrible look. I get walking across the draft stage is a once in a lifetime moment, but you don’t do this.

Rumor is he may go number 9 to the Raptors. I wonder if he already had a promise from them, so he wasn’t worried how it’d look if he left Germany.

College football players have been doing something similar for years skipping the bowl games. With this ridiculous NIL money can they still do that or is playing the bowl games tied into the NIL money?

In answer to my own question
Yes, college football players can potentially lose money by skipping games, particularly bowl games or other postseason contests, especially if they have NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) deals that stipulate participation. Players may also risk losing endorsement opportunities and future professional contracts if they are perceived as unwilling to play.
So one good thing comes from this idiotic NIL money.

[KGdaBom]

CBS has a mock draft all 30 FRPs. They give about 2 minutes of discussion to each pick, but there's a link so you can skip the discussion and quickly go through all the picks. I'll just say I'm happy with who they have us taking.

Watch on YouTube

[jpatrick]

My guy is Coward. Don’t know if he’ll ever be a star, but he’ll be a starter on a championship level team. I think his shooting, length, defense would be great as a third forward with Randle/McDaniels. And in a couple years, if we transition McDaniels to a PF, he’d be a great compliment as a starting SF. I like him a lot more than our current young back forwards/wings, and if we lose NAW and/or DDV we could really use his shooting. He may be the best shooter in the draft. That shot is smooth.

That said, he’ll likely be gone. And if he is, I’m good with Sorber/Beringer as an eventual Rudy replacement.

Coward only played 6 games this season so there must be some injury situation right? His numbers in his two full seasons are similar to this 6 game season. I'd have no problem with us drafting him.

Right shoulder injury. The NBA is a game of freaks. Freakier the better. He’s nearly 6’6” without shoes. With a more than 7’2” wingspan. He’s got a PF standing reach. So, that size/length, high BBIQ, and great shooter. Worst case in my mind is Robert Covington who was very much a winning type role player.

We saw in the playoffs how disruptive Jalen Williams could be defensively with similar size/length.

[MN7725]

My guy is Coward. Don’t know if he’ll ever be a star, but he’ll be a starter on a championship level team. I think his shooting, length, defense would be great as a third forward with Randle/McDaniels. And in a couple years, if we transition McDaniels to a PF, he’d be a great compliment as a starting SF. I like him a lot more than our current young back forwards/wings, and if we lose NAW and/or DDV we could really use his shooting. He may be the best shooter in the draft. That shot is smooth.

That said, he’ll likely be gone. And if he is, I’m good with Sorber/Beringer as an eventual Rudy replacement.

Coward only played 6 games this season so there must be some injury situation right? His numbers in his two full seasons are similar to this 6 game season. I'd have no problem with us drafting him.

Right shoulder injury. The NBA is a game of freaks. Freakier the better. He’s nearly 6’6” without shoes. With a more than 7’2” wingspan. He’s got a PF standing reach. So, that size/length, high BBIQ, and great shooter. Worst case in my mind is Robert Covington who was very much a winning type role player.

We saw in the playoffs how disruptive Jalen Williams could be defensively with similar size/length.

that's why i won't be surprised if Coward goes top 10, always seems like one of the wings with the right "measurables" goes higher than mocked, since those are the type of players that pretty much fit in any playoff rotation

whereas even good "C"s seem to be matchup dependent in playoff series

[BlacJacMac]

Read on Twitter

I want Sorber so bad. I usually leave Wolves draft night disappointed though.

I'm a big fan as well. I feel like if he can just make it to San Antonio at 14, TC can trade 17/31 up to get him. Hopefully, the Queen dropping rumors or just that because I need Queen to go early to push Sorber down.

I still feel like OKC is our biggest threat. Feels so much like a perfect Presti pick.

[BlacJacMac]

4. Sorber - Foot injuries for big guys always concern me.

It sounds like it was for a really bad case of turf toe. If that's the case, I'm much less worried than if it was the dreaded "mid-foot" injury that has derailed so many bigs.

[Slim Tubby]

4. Sorber - Foot injuries for big guys always concern me.

It sounds like it was for a really bad case of turf toe. If that's the case, I'm much less worries than if it was the dreaded "mid-foot" injury that has derailed so many bigs.

Thanks for the info...I hadn't read anything about the details of his injury.

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[moss_is_1]

Givony saying we're signaling we're open to trading the pick for future assets, depending who's available.

Makes sense if Sorber and all those guys are already gone. Get a future 1st, maybe another 2nd this season, since we likely won't have much PT for any of these guys as it is.

[jpatrick]

Givony saying we're signaling we're open to trading the pick for future assets, depending who's available.

Makes sense if Sorber and all those guys are already gone. Get a future 1st, maybe another 2nd this season, since we likely won't have much PT for any of these guys as it is.

By moving our first this year for a future first, also gives us a few million more under the second apron to try and sign some/all of NAW, Randle, Naz.

[MN7725]

Givony saying we're signaling we're open to trading the pick for future assets, depending who's available.

Makes sense if Sorber and all those guys are already gone. Get a future 1st, maybe another 2nd this season, since we likely won't have much PT for any of these guys as it is.

not surprising, I'm hoping that the future assets are being looked at as a way to upgrade PG position this upcoming season though

it would be mind boggling to run back some combo of Conley/DDV/NAW/Dillingham again

[KGdaBom]

My guy is Coward. Don’t know if he’ll ever be a star, but he’ll be a starter on a championship level team. I think his shooting, length, defense would be great as a third forward with Randle/McDaniels. And in a couple years, if we transition McDaniels to a PF, he’d be a great compliment as a starting SF. I like him a lot more than our current young back forwards/wings, and if we lose NAW and/or DDV we could really use his shooting. He may be the best shooter in the draft. That shot is smooth.

That said, he’ll likely be gone. And if he is, I’m good with Sorber/Beringer as an eventual Rudy replacement.

Coward only played 6 games this season so there must be some injury situation right? His numbers in his two full seasons are similar to this 6 game season. I'd have no problem with us drafting him.

Right shoulder injury. The NBA is a game of freaks. Freakier the better. He’s nearly 6’6” without shoes. With a more than 7’2” wingspan. He’s got a PF standing reach. So, that size/length, high BBIQ, and great shooter. Worst case in my mind is Robert Covington who was very much a winning type role player.

We saw in the playoffs how disruptive Jalen Williams could be defensively with similar size/length.

He's not my #1 choice, but I'm on board with the pick if that's who it is.