2025 Blazer Draft Prospects

[Norm2953]

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There is no way Philly would trade us PG + 3 for Grant/Simons without giving up 11

[Case2012]

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This guys story reminds me of Dame. No calls out of HS, worked his way up every year and shows our at the combine. It's clear watching him that he has that high iq, and relentless motor that wings need to be successful. He reminds me of Flagg because his motor and length is so crazy. Watch this interview and tell me he isnt special. That IT factor can't be understated when scouting, and Dame had the same thing. It really comes though in the interviews. I think he's gonna be a star someday, but probably for another team like OKC or Orlando if Schmitz has Demin tunnel vision.

The way he interviews, and breaks down film, plays, his assignments, etc. you'd think he was a coach. The only other guy I've seen interview this well is Damian Lillard. He played 6 games and has this level of understanding of the game, it's kind of unbelievable. This combination of athleticism, BBIQ, motor, shooting, length is extremely rare, We'd be crazy to pass on him.

[oldfishermen]

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This guys story reminds me of Dame. No calls out of HS, worked his way up every year and shows our at the combine. It's clear watching him that he has that high iq, and relentless motor that wings need to be successful. He reminds me of Flagg because his motor and length is so crazy. Watch this interview and tell me he isnt special. That IT factor can't be understated when scouting, and Dame had the same thing. It really comes though in the interviews. I think he's gonna be a star someday, but probably for another team like OKC or Orlando.

Long time Coward believer here

My ideal draft
#11, Coward
Second FRP somehow, Kalkbrenner/Clayton/Fleming/Gonzales, anyone of these players would add interesting value depth.

[Case2012]

For me our biggest weaknesses have been shooting and playmaking. If we Add Coward and WCJ we'll have the 2 best shooters in the NCAA last year.

I can't decide who i would rather take, Clifford or Coward. Every time I watch either I'm convinced they'd not only be perfect on the Blazers but also stars someday. They have such complete games and play very similar styles. They both do everything. Clifford is more polished but Coward has more potential with those measurements and consistent shooting stroke. They are both fantastic passers, play lock down defense. It's tough!!

[Village Idiot]

Sam Vecienie has posted his annual draft guide at The Athletic. I haven´t downloaded it yet but it has been really interesting in previous years. He doesn´t view this draft all that favorably.

As I’ve covered the draft and NBA as a whole, I’ve also started to adjust what I look for in players and the kinds of players who tend to be valuable to me as an evaluator. For instance, this year, you will not find a single player in my lottery who is under 6-foot-4 without shoes, with V.J. Edgecombe ending up as the smallest. In today’s NBA, it’s just exceptionally difficult to be small while providing value. Essentially, smaller lead creators need to either hit All-Star status or risk turning into bench players, as many of them are defensive liabilities. What I value is finding players who can dribble, pass, shoot and defend, all while doing so with positional size. Those are the guys in the modern NBA who have value. Can you achieve the responsibilities of your role on defense? Can you hit shots and force defenses to stay in rotation when you play off the ball? Can you create your own shot and threaten defenses? And can you process the game at a high enough level to make quick decisions, space the court off the ball and make high-level passing reads when you have the ball? Precious few players are going to achieve all of these tasks. But finding those skills is the baseline goal.

So, in that vein, this year there are certainly guys who I feel like I’m higher on than consensus, much like there are every year. Those players that I’m higher on are Kon Knueppel, Cedric Coward, Collin Murray-Boyles, Noah Penda and Ryan Kalkbrenner. The guys I’m probably a bit lower on than consensus? Jeremiah Fears, Egor Demin, Noa Essengue and Rasheer Fleming. If you notice a trend there, I hope it’s that I value high-level processors of the game with size and skill, while downgrading players who I think are interesting on-ball upside swings but have a lower chance to hit any sort of threshold with the ball in their hands.

I don´t agree with a lot of his assessments, but these tiers and ranking are great as a discussion point:


RK. TIER PLAYER POS. AGE HT. WING
1 1 Duke Cooper Flagg Wing 18 6′8″ 7′0″
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2 2 Rutgers Dylan Harper Guard 19 6′5″ 6′11″
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3 3 Duke Kon Knueppel Wing 19 6′5″ 6′6″
4 3 Baylor VJ Edgecombe Guard 19 6′4″ 6′8″
5 3 Texas Tre Johnson Wing 19 6′5″ 6′10″
6 3 Rutgers Ace Bailey Wing 18 6′8″ 7′1″
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7 4 Illinois Kasparas Jakucionis Guard 18 6′5″ 6′8″
8 4 South Carolina Collin Murray-Boyles Forward 19 6′7″ 7′1″
9 4 Arizona Carter Bryant Wing 19 6′7″ 7′0″
10 4 Washington State Cedric Coward Wing 21 6′5″ 7′2″
11 4 Maryland Derik Queen Big 20 6′9″ 7′1″
12 4 Duke Khaman Maluach Big 18 7′1″ 7′7″
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13 5 Michigan Danny Wolf Big 20 6′11″ 7′2″
14 5 Georgetown Thomas Sorber Big 19 6′9″ 7′6″
15 5 Noah Penda Wing 20 6′7″ 7′0″
16 5 Noa Essengue Big 18 6′9″ —
17 5 Michigan State Jase Richardson Guard 19 6′1″ 6′6″
18 5 Oklahoma Jeremiah Fears Guard 18 6′3″ 6′5″
19 5 Joan Beringer Big 18 6′9″ —
20 5 Florida Walter Clayton Jr. Guard 22 6′2″ 6′4″
21 5 Connecticut Liam McNeeley Wing 19 6′7″ 6′9″
22 5 Nolan Traore Guard 18 6′3″ 6′8″
23 5 Colorado State Nique Clifford Wing 23 6′5″ 6′8″
24 5 Illinois Will Riley Wing 19 6′8″ 6′9″
25 5 BYU Egor Demin Guard 19 6′8″ 6′10″
26 5 Creighton Ryan Kalkbrenner Big 23 7′1″ 7′6″
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27 6 Arkansas Adou Thiero Wing 20 6′6″ 7′0″
28 6 Ben Saraf Guard 19 6′6″ —
29 6 Hugo Gonzalez Wing 19 6′6″ —
30 6 Georgia Asa Newell Big 19 6′9″ 6′11″
31 6 Stanford Maxime Raynaud Big 22 7′0″ 7′1″
32 6 Marquette Kam Jones Guard 23 6′3″ 6′6″
33 6 St. Joseph's Rasheer Fleming Big 20 6′8″ 7′5″
34 6 North Carolina Drake Powell Wing 19 6′5″ 7′0″
35 6 Wisconsin John Tonje Wing 24 6′5″ 6′9″
36 6 Duke Tyrese Proctor Guard 21 6′4″ 6′7″
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37 7 Alex Toohey Wing 20 6′8″ 6′11″
38 7 Duke Sion James Guard 22 6′5″ 6′7″
39 7 Florida Alijah Martin Guard 23 6′2″ 6′8″
40 7 Auburn Johni Broome Big 22 6′9″ 7′0″
41 7 Penn State Yanic Konan Niederhauser Big 22 6′11″ 7′3″
42 7 Bogoljub Markovic Big 19 6′11″ 7′0″
43 7 Nebraska Brice Williams Wing 23 6′5″ 6′11″
44 7 Tennessee Chaz Lanier Guard 23 6′4″ 6′9″
45 7 Northwestern Brooks Barnhizer Wing 23 6′5″ 6′11″
46 7 Georgetown Micah Peavy Wing 23 6′6″ 6′7″
47 7 VCU Max Shulga Guard 22 6′4″ 6′6″
48 7 Hansen Yang Big 19 7′1″ 7′3″
49 7 Kentucky Koby Brea Wing 22 6′6″ 6′5″
50 7 Rocco Zikarsky Big 18 7′3″ 7′5″
51 7 Michigan Vladislav Goldin Big 23 7′0″ 7′5″
52 7 Wake Forest Hunter Sallis Guard 22 6′4″ 6′10″
53 7 Nevada Kobe Sanders Wing 22 6′7″ 6′8″
54 7 Florida State Jamir Watkins Wing 23 6′5″ 6′11″
55 8 Lachlan Olbrich Big 21 6′9″ 6′11″
56 8 Louisville Chucky Hepburn Guard 22 6′1″ 6′5″
57 8 Gonzaga Ryan Nembhard Guard 22 5′11″ 6′2″
58 8 St. John's RJ Luis Wing 22 6′6″ 6′11″
59 8 Tennessee Jahmai Mashack Guard 22 6′5″ 6′8″
60 8 Alabama Mark Sears Guard 23 5′11″ 6′2″
61 8 Auburn Dylan Cardwell Big 23 6′10″ 7′1″
62 8 Clemson Viktor Lakhin Big 23 6′10″ 7′2″
63 8 Arizona Caleb Love Guard 23 6′2″ 6′9″
64 8 Clemson Chase Hunter Guard 24 6′2″ 6′9″
65 8 West Virginia Javon Small Guard 22 6′1″ 6′5″
66 8 Iowa Payton Sandfort Wing 22 6′6″ 6′8″
67 8 Villanova Eric Dixon Big 24 6′8″ 7′0″
68 8 Oklahoma Jalon Moore Wing 22 6′6″ 6′10″
69 8 Tennessee Igor Milicic Jr. Big 22 6′9″ 6′11″
70 8 Izan Almansa Big 19 6′9″ 7′1″
71 8 Dink Pate Wing 19 6′6″ 6′10″
72 8 Missouri Tamar Bates Wing 22 6′4″ 6′10″
73 8 Alabama Grant Nelson Big 23 6′10″ 7′0″
74 8 Kentucky Jaxson Robinson Wing 22 6′5″ 6′11″
75 8 Kentucky Amari Williams Big 23 6′11″ 7′6″
76 8 UCLA Kobe Johnson Wing 22 6′5″ 6′8″
77 8 Florida Will Richard Wing 22 6′3″ 6′10″
78 8 Kentucky Lamont Butler Guard 22 6′1″ 6′6″
79 8 Yale John Poulakides Wing 22 6′5″ 6′9″
80 8 St. John's Kadary Richmond Guard 23 6′4″ 6′10″
81 8 Mississippi State Cameron Matthews Wing 23 6′6″ 6′11″
82 8 Iowa State Keshon Gilbert Guard 21 6′3″ 6′6″
83 8 Baylor Norchad Omier Big 23 6′6″ 7′0″
84 8 North Dakota State Jacksen Moni Big 22 6′9″ 6′11″
85 8 Belmont Jonathan Pierre Wing 22 6′8″ 7′0″
86 8 Dayton Nate Santos Wing 23 6′6″ 6′8″
87 8 Iowa State Curtis Jones Guard 23 6′3″ 6′8″
88 8 Isaac Nogues Wing 21 6′5″ 6′10″
89 8 Butler Jahmyl Telfort Wing 23 6′5″ 7′1″
90 8 Missouri Caleb Grill Guard 24 6′2″ 6′8″
91 8 Texas Tech Chance McMillian Guard 24 6′2″ 6′5″
92 8 Mississippi Sean Pedulla Guard 22 6′1″ 6′2″
93 8 Creighton Jamiya Neal Wing 22 6′4″ 6′9″
94 8 Kansas Zeke Mayo Guard 22 6′2″ 6′4″
95 8 Texas Arthur Kaluma Wing 23 6′6″ 7′1″
96 8 North Carolina RJ Davis Guard 23 5′11″ 6′4″
97 8 Miami (Fla.) Matthew Cleveland Wing 22 6′4″ 7′0″
98 8 Auburn Miles Kelly Guard 22 6′4″ 6′8″
99 8 Arkansas Johnell Davis Guard 23 6′3″ 6′8″
100 8 Butler Patrick McCaffery Wing 25 6′8″ 6′9″

[Butter]

Watch on YouTube

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This guys story reminds me of Dame. No calls out of HS, worked his way up every year and shows our at the combine. It's clear watching him that he has that high iq, and relentless motor that wings need to be successful. He reminds me of Flagg because his motor and length is so crazy. Watch this interview and tell me he isnt special. That IT factor can't be understated when scouting, and Dame had the same thing. It really comes though in the interviews. I think he's gonna be a star someday, but probably for another team like OKC or Orlando.

Long time Coward believer here

My ideal draft
#11, Coward
Second FRP somehow, Kalkbrenner/Clayton/Fleming/Gonzales, anyone of these players would add interesting value depth.

I am all in on Coward. Some pundits say 11 is a small reach, but he's mature, and he can SHOOT.

If they could pick up a 2nd first and get him at 16, great, but even if they get another pick in the mid teens, I don't think he'll drop that far.

[zzaj]

I'm in the camp of...outside of the top couple of picks, this is an overall weaker draft, and I am pretty open to whomever the Blazers select. At 11 the chances of getting a role playing starter or solid bench production player are what is to be expected. My personal faves change just about every day. Currently liking Clifford again. Yesterday it was Coward. The day before that Essengue.

My personal feeling is that the Blazers will be looking to replace/upgrade one or two of Banton, Walker and potentially Murray with this draft.

My hope is that Queen or Fears is not available and BPA on the board at 11. I think Queen's game is fun, and he could be very good in the right context...and Fears in 4 years could be a Top 3 player in this draft, but I don't think Queen is a good fit next to Clingan (whom I view as a better longterm starter than Queen) and Fears is a one position player that is a long way away from adding serious value at PG on both sides of the ball.

In the Blazers' range(ish) I like in no particular order:

Bryant
McNeeley
Kasparas
Clifford
Sorber
Fleming
Essengue
Wolf
Coward
WCjr
Kalkbrenner

My hope too is that the Blazers could add a second pick to grab a player in the 20s. I'd be fine with any of these players being on the team.

[BlazersBroncos]

The perfect follow-up is Walter Clayton Jr. If we flip Simons to Orlando for pick 16, we can grab WCJ—floor of Pritchard/VanVleet

A floor of FVV is a wild. Even a floor of Pritchard is pretty optimistic.

WCJ has a floor of a guy like Tyler Johnson - a small combo guard who can shoot but doesnt overcome his size, doesnt improve his floor generalship and is targeted on defense.

I think the middle outcome is someone like Jameer Nelson (Or even Cole Anthony) with FVV as the ceiling (Jamal Murray is another interesting ceiling comp - a bit closer is size to WCJ as well).

Even a Jameer caliber career would be a great value if we were able to take him in the 20s.

My hope is Noa and WCJ, our pick returned and a Ayton for Vuc swap (Shore up 3PT shooting w/ Simons traded).

[Walton1one]

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More undrafted guys and a couple of 2nd round guys like: Toohey, maybe Cardwell?

Toohey is ranked #37 by Vecneie
Mashack #59
Cardwell #61
Kaluma #95

[Case2012]

Clearly we're watching a different guy because I see a Dame lite player in WCJ. He looks like Pritchard NOW. I could say well wait until how he does in the league but scoring is easier in the NBA and he dropped a 30 point game in the final 4, so he can play on big stages. He won the championship game with a block. You can compare people with their skills and size and also how they do in big games and WCJ shows up for those games so that puts him up there with Pritchard for me. It would not shock me if he took the starting job from Scoot next year if we traded Simons and actually drafted him. He's a 4 year guy, was the best player on a championship team, he's NBA ready.

Regardless of who you compare him to he's the best shooter in the draft and we're in need of a shooter. He needs to be a blazer.

[BlazersBroncos]

Dame could get to the FT line at will in college. 6.2, 7.0, 8.0 FTA from Soph through Senior season. WCJ has shown nowhere near the ability to get to the rim.

Again, I like him. I like his toughness and frame, a bigger framed shooter is such a breath of fresh air vs the soft and skinny Simons. I like that he can play on and off ball. Think his STOCK numbers are interesting and may indicate a better defender than his 6'4 WS seems to imply (0.5 BPG is pretty wild for a 6'3 guard in a good conference - and his college career he averaged 0.5 which shows its not an anomaly). I like that he plays aggressive and seems to really believe in himself.

But every prospect outside generational guys has warts. One of the things that Dame did REALLY well is get to the rim and the line, WCJ isnt close to him there. If WCJ had averaged the FTr that Dame did he would be looked at as a totally different prospect.

I think he is a better prospect by a good margin than Clifford for example (Old master-of-none types worry me - see alot of Chris Duarte in him).

[zzaj]

For those looking for a good discussion about WCjr's strengths and weaknesses, I found this convo pretty insightful:

https://youtu.be/2chyjJa2yaM?si=yYrAEtMoc-zVn3fg

[dckingsfan]

I'm in the camp of...outside of the top couple of picks, this is an overall weaker draft, and I am pretty open to whomever the Blazers select. At 11 the chances of getting a role playing starter or solid bench production player are what is to be expected. My personal faves change just about every day. Currently liking Clifford again. Yesterday it was Coward. The day before that Essengue.

My personal feeling is that the Blazers will be looking to replace/upgrade one or two of Banton, Walker and potentially Murray with this draft.

My hope is that Queen or Fears is not available and BPA on the board at 11. I think Queen's game is fun, and he could be very good in the right context...and Fears in 4 years could be a Top 3 player in this draft, but I don't think Queen is a good fit next to Clingan (whom I view as a better longterm starter than Queen) and Fears is a one position player that is a long way away from adding serious value at PG on both sides of the ball.

In the Blazers' range(ish) I like in no particular order:

Bryant
McNeeley
Kasparas
Clifford
Sorber
Fleming
Essengue
Wolf
Coward
WCjr
Kalkbrenner

My hope too is that the Blazers could add a second pick to grab a player in the 20s. I'd be fine with any of these players being on the team.

It seems like you would like a trade with OKC for 15 and 24?

[HoopsFanAZ]

Essengue at 11 (used as a smokescreen above) just take him. Size, movement, flip the hips, beginnings of several skills.
No Essengue? Demin at his size has unselfish team game, vision and passing. I don’t compare him to Giddy because IMHO he will be better. More grit. His weaknesses — handle needs tightening, strength, and shooting reps — are significantly improvable inside 2 years. I buy his shot.
Bryant, Coward, Jakucionis — probably in that order — though Bryant = Coward for me.

More than one of the above will be at 11. Don’t trade the pick unless it’s a Deni-deal or a move up to get their guy.

Really want a 2nd pick at 10 or from 12-16 to get another dude from above. Scoot seems like a worker — loves hoops. A strong fit for Billups. Shaedon? I just don’t know. I get the sense I’m much more up for a tra

[elias808]

Just take the best shooter.

We were 13th in 3s attempted per game, and 26th in 3 percentage made. If we trade Ant, as it seems most of us want, that disparity gets even larger.

Just take the best shooter.

[HoopsFanAZ]

Just take the best shooter.

We were 13th in 3s attempted per game, and 26th in 3 percentage made. If we trade Ant, as it seems most of us want, that disparity gets even larger.

Just take the best shooter.

You are not wrong.
Carter Bryant AND Cedric Coward
Positional size, athleticism, 3’s — while enhancing the D (Bryant more immediately than Coward but Coward with more diverse O at the start).

I would be happy getting both.

[zzaj]

I'm in the camp of...outside of the top couple of picks, this is an overall weaker draft, and I am pretty open to whomever the Blazers select. At 11 the chances of getting a role playing starter or solid bench production player are what is to be expected. My personal faves change just about every day. Currently liking Clifford again. Yesterday it was Coward. The day before that Essengue.

My personal feeling is that the Blazers will be looking to replace/upgrade one or two of Banton, Walker and potentially Murray with this draft.

My hope is that Queen or Fears is not available and BPA on the board at 11. I think Queen's game is fun, and he could be very good in the right context...and Fears in 4 years could be a Top 3 player in this draft, but I don't think Queen is a good fit next to Clingan (whom I view as a better longterm starter than Queen) and Fears is a one position player that is a long way away from adding serious value at PG on both sides of the ball.

In the Blazers' range(ish) I like in no particular order:

Bryant
McNeeley
Kasparas
Clifford
Sorber
Fleming
Essengue
Wolf
Coward
WCjr
Kalkbrenner

My hope too is that the Blazers could add a second pick to grab a player in the 20s. I'd be fine with any of these players being on the team.

It seems like you would like a trade with OKC for 15 and 24?

Something like that...or ORL's 16 and/or 25.

At this point there are too many 'What If's to track...we know that the Blazers want to become competitive, (Yeah, I almost said "remain" lol) that's about it. I've said it before, but although I have my favorites I'm trusting the scouting dept. and Schmitz on this draft. There are just too many players that are on a similar level but with different holes in their games in that mid-lotto to late lotto range. And that's saying nothing of the 15-30 range where it's even moreso.

I'm a rookie guy, I love tracking rookies from HS through the NBA--it's one of my favorite parts about being a fan. so I would love for Banton, Walker, Murray, and Rupert to be jettisoned for other players. It'll never happen for a lot of reasons...but I'd still like it.

My spidey sense says it's gonna be fun draft!

[Norm2953]

Read on Twitter

Presumably Portland FRP at 11 will be from this group

[dckingsfan]

Presumably Portland FRP at 11 will be from this group

Worried we get Demin or Queen... I like them but not on the Blazers (if you will).

[Walton1one]

I would prefer shooting, but clearly it does not seem POR finds that as big of an Achilles heel yet as they should (IMO). The assists per game\per possession ranking 30th is a significant problem, specifically in the half court, where the real meaningful games are won\lost. So I am not surprised that they are probably trending towards a guard @ #11 and Jakucionis\Demin fit those profiles to a "T" and both have positional versatility, which for a POR backcourt (sans Simons) of Scoot\Sharpe is important.

I like Bryant, but if POR believes in Thybulle and already has starters in Camara\Avdija\Grant (for now), he seems a little superfluous?

Guys like Coward & WCJ are in direct competition to Sharpe\Scoot, so I do not see POR bringing in another similar type player to the young higher lottery picks they just drafted a few years ago, so cannot see that happening. That goes for Traore\Fears\Richardson (though they brought him in for a workout?). I think drafting a complimentary player who also solves some of this teams weaknesses (and still have big upside) makes more sense

If Jakucionis & Demin are both gone? Well, then I think they go for highest upside swing, probably at the forward spot, replacing Grant eventually? Essengue, Riley, Newell are all upside picks, unfortunately all 3 are also projects.