2025 Post-Draft Thoughts

[The-Power]

A thread to share impressions about players, team fits, trades etc. Feel free to grade the selections but this thread is not solely about that.

A couple immediate thoughts that I had:

– Charlotte had an interesting draft to say the least. I'm curious how it pans out. Personally, I am very skeptical and think they maximized neither value nor fit but they might have a plan, who knows.

– There must be some moves on the horizon for the Nets, no? Taking five Rookies including three on-ball prospects in Demin, Traoré and Saraf seems borderline crazy. I have no idea what the direction is of this team but it feels like they are a very long way away from relevance if they stay put.

– I love the fit between the Magic and Jase Richardson. Falling in the draft could be the best thing that happened to him.

– Similarly, the draft went really well for Sorber. OKC can use him as a back up and may even try to groom him to eventually replace Hartenstein in a couple years. The team could still use a little more firepower but that doesn't have to be addressed via the draft.

– The Pelicans went for perceived star upside with Fears and Queen but then traded away their unprotected '27 FRP. That could really come back to haunt them considering their position and circumstances (young team, injury concerns, stacked conference, coming off a really bad season). Easy to see the GM fired over that if it does not work out exactly as hoped.

– I really like the Grizzlies roster even more with the addition of Coward and I will be rooting for them. He also has a chance to fill one of their greatest needs on the wings.

– Even more excited about the Spurs now that they not only added Harper but also Bryant (who fills two big needs (shooting and wing defense) if he pans out). The Spurs will still need to address the overlap with Harper, Castle and Fox IMO but that doesn't have to happen immediately.

– I am curious to see how it plays out for the Jazz (and very skeptical). I think Bailey needed to go to a team where he had to earn minutes and usage. Now he went to a team that was not only one of the worst in the league but also one that he apparently tried to avoid. Not the best of circumstances IMO. I'm also not sure how Clayton fits in next to George, Collier, Sexton and Clarkson – even if they end up trading one or both of the latter.

[FarBeyondDriven]

it's difficult to judge after a single round and especially knowing there's likely going to be a slew of deals involving many of these draft picks once July 6 hits. I agree with your takes but maybe things will look different in a couple of weeks once the dust settles and we have definitive rosters.

[Saints14]

I love what the Nets did. They're following the OKC model of loading up on big ballhandlers so that every player on the court can run an action and make decisions with the ball. Players with PG experience tend to be faster processors on defense as well, which lead to more steals and more transition opportunities, where again anyone can grab and go. I think that strategy requires great coaching so we'll see if Jordi Fernandez is up for it, but even if it doesn't work out with these particular players (statistically most if not all of their post-lotto picks will fail), I like the idea of just taking a bunch of swings at a primary initiator while you don't have one to see who hits

Also love the Jace Richardson pick, that might be my favorite pick in the draft. He had an 11.6 BPM as a freshman which is a really great indicator, and only fell because he's small for a non-lead guard (but 6'2" in shoes with a 6'6" wingspan isn't all that bad, he's not Rob Dillingham). That's not an issue on Orlando, where Paolo and Franz are running most of the action and they need guards who can shoot and defend. And he can really shoot it - suddenly the Magic might have one of the better shooting backcourts in the league with Jase/Bane, and he fits with Suggs and Black.

There aren't really any picks I totally hated. NOP trading an unprotected pick to move up for Queen is the most questionable especially with Queen's fit on the roster, but in a vacuum I do like Queen at 13. Yang is the biggest reach but he is really interesting and I love the conviction. As an ignorant fan I watch his highlights and he looks like a FRP on the surface, but I have no idea how to account for his level of competition so I trust the outlets putting him in in the 2nd round...but if a professional team thinks he's a FRP then that kind of validates that he is one.

[Catchall]

The Jazz had their choice between Ace Bailey and Tre Johnson at #5. So the draft fell about as well as it could have for them. I think the Jazz's interest in Fears and Knueppel was overstated and based on trade-back scenarios they were offered. I think they view Ace as a potential Paul George, though he's obviously young and has a lot to work on.

I like the Beringer pick for the Twolves. He's like a young Willy Cauley-Stein who will have a defensive impact all over the floor. Twolves may trade Gobert at some point soon.

Sorber is a nice pick for the Thunder. He's a real space eater and potential paint scorer they didn't have. His ability to box out and rebound makes them tougher.

Spurs were one of the draft's winners. They added a nice 3D+ prospect in Carter Bryant along with Harper. Carter will be a better shooter for them than Sochan.

[King Ken]

I like Charlotte draft
You got creators and shooters and you vastly need shooting.

New Orleans was confusing. Love the Queen pick. I think that's a superstar in 2030. Didn't understand the Fears pick even if I love the talent he has. Dumars always does this. Just takes the best talent with no clarity about if it works or not and just does a lot of trades and sometimes the **** works, sometimes it don't

Portland is betting on upside. Just that you just drafted Clingan.

San Antonio drafting hasn't been good outside of the lucky picks like Wemby and Harper. Still not sold on Castle long term for them but he's the one they did well on.

Hawks raided the Pelicans. Pelicans had a bad string of trades recently with the Pacers, Wizards and now Hawks. This is the 2nd year in a row for the Hawks with the Pelicans. I didn't think the value was awful for NO, just that pick projects to be in the 6 to 7 range. That's a tough one to make with the lottery being the way it is.

Memphis won the draft. Coward is going to be a clear upgrade over Bane sooner than later. Memphis is about to have a OKC run within the next 3 years.

Love the pick for Minnesota, Joan is a good fit as well as the Clippers with PSU center.

I like what Utah did too with Clayton and Bailey.

Memphis was the big winner for me.

New Orleans got the most talent but it cost them everything.

[EvanZ]

Joe Dumars should be fired. NOP should have just straight up taken Asa Newell or Thomas Sorber.

[BigGargamel]

Denver drafted as many 2025 playoff rotation players last night as the Nets did.

[tontoz]

Demin at 8 takes the cake is the worst pick in the draft. I don't get the other picks either except for Powell.

As a wizards fan I was happy to land Tre. When we fell to 6 I thought we had no chance e Tre/Ace/VJ without trading up.

[Upperclass]

Cha-Kon/McNeeley - Won the draft by FAR
Spurs-Harper/Bryant - Great Trade pieces
Was-Tre, Mem-Coward, Nawlins-Queen, Por-Yang, Utah-Clayton, Celts-Gonzalez, Kings-Clifford, Niderhauser with Harden -- Best picks and fits of the draft.

[SeattleJazzFan]

Sorber to OKC is just the rich getting richer. such a great pick for them, but of course not surprising.

Joan to Minnesota as the heir apparent to Rudy is a fun draft move. besides being french, probably the guy most similar to rudy in game and physical attributes.

Hugo at 28 seems like great value.

[The-Power]

Not a ton to talk about for the second round IMO but two things I'd want to mention:

– Phoenix did really well moving to quickly consolidate their assets to get their guy (Fleming). Of course it helps that I had a lottery grade on said guy but either way I can appreciate the aggression here. I'm less enthused about Brea but here too, they moved up using marginal assets and I'm on board with that.

– Similar things can be said about the Lakers who were very aggressive and ended up with the only other prospect I had a late-lottery/mid-first grade on. He brings a great motor and outlier athleticism which the Lakers can really use, though the overall fit appears a bit clunky at first glance. Still, Lakers fans should be very happy right now.

edit: And as much as I'm skeptical of the Hornets' choices in the first round, I like the pieces they added in the second round. Both have a clear path to minutes and should complement the roster well (Kalkbrenner giving them a solid Center replacement, and James adding much appreciated physicality to the back court).

[One_and_Done]

Joe Dumars should be fired. NOP should have just straight up taken Asa Newell or Thomas Sorber.

Dumars should never have been hired to begin with.

[RookieStar]

Im just curious... when we gor Noah, 99% of board was like... who???

When i read about him i swear his physicals as well as gane style is exactly like CMB.

Whats the difference between the 2?

[EvanZ]

Im just curious... when we gor Noah, 99% of board was like... who???

When i read about him i swear his physicals as well as gane style is exactly like CMB.

Whats the difference between the 2?

When I watched him admittedly not a lot, I got Trey Lyles vibes or maybe Erich Paschall. Anthony Lamb comes to mind as well. CMB is a much better athlete.

[EmpireFalls]

edit: And as much as I'm skeptical of the Hornets' choices in the first round, I like the pieces they added in the second round. Both have a clear path to minutes and should complement the roster well (Kalkbrenner giving them a solid Center replacement, and James adding much appreciated physicality to the back court).

Can you expand a bit on the specifics of what you liked/didn’t like about the Charlotte draft? Are you just low on Kon?

[The-Power]

edit: And as much as I'm skeptical of the Hornets' choices in the first round, I like the pieces they added in the second round. Both have a clear path to minutes and should complement the roster well (Kalkbrenner giving them a solid Center replacement, and James adding much appreciated physicality to the back court).

Can you expand a bit on the specifics of what you liked/didn’t like about the Charlotte draft? Are you just low on Kon?

Sure thing. I'm definitely lower on Knueppel and that probably adds to my impression – but that's not my main concern here.

Essentially, you have now committed to Ball, Miller and Knueppel as your core trio to build around. And while that's a pretty exciting offensive trio (though it could use some more downhill pressure), it also locks you into a very questionable defensive perimeter trio. Not in the sense that they are all bad defenders but none of them are clear plus defenders or can be expected to develop into those, and none of them ideally guard the opponent's best players. [edit: And this is augmented by the continued need to add an offensively talented PG to keep the offense afloat when Ball sits, which means likely committing to another subpar perimeter defender.]

Then you add McNeeley as your second FRP selection of the day and he only adds to those concerns and limitations. Now, he was drafted with a late FRP and therefore it's not all that consequential and if Charlotte believed he was the clear BPA at that point, it's fine to just take him. If you get a solid rotation player from someone drafted late in the first round, that's already a clear win. Still, it felt directionally odd after the first round.

That said and as noted above, I can see the plan behind their selections early in the second round as they address some of Charlotte's needs. Obviously you can't expect to reliably and comprehensively address those with prospects in that draft range but the selections do make general sense to me. So in that sense, the second round elevated my perception of Charlotte's draft outcome (though obviously my skepticism concerning the core trio remains).

edit: And I'll also readily acknowledge that Charlotte was in a tough spot picking at #4. None of the consensus players available with that pick were ideal fits. Now, the players I had in that range were better fits for the most part but I'm also in the envious position to create my big board without thousands of opinionated people judging me for it and my job on the line – something that's not true for many GMs. So they may be more influenced by external expectations and groupthink.

[zimpy27]

Not a ton to talk about for the second round IMO but two things I'd want to mention:

– Phoenix did really well moving to quickly consolidate their assets to get their guy (Fleming). Of course it helps that I had a lottery grade on said guy but either way I can appreciate the aggression here. I'm less enthused about Brea but here too, they moved up using marginal assets and I'm on board with that.

– Similar things can be said about the Lakers who were very aggressive and ended up with the only other prospect I had a late-lottery/mid-first grade on. He brings a great motor and outlier athleticism which the Lakers can really use, though the overall fit appears a bit clunky at first glance. Still, Lakers fans should be very happy right now.

edit: And as much as I'm skeptical of the Hornets' choices in the first round, I like the pieces they added in the second round. Both have a clear path to minutes and should complement the roster well (Kalkbrenner giving them a solid Center replacement, and James adding much appreciated physicality to the back court).

Lakers paid $5m to turn pick 55 in to Adou Thiero..
I actually had him around 20, so was pretty happy to see that.