2025 NBA Draft Class

[Hal14]

Hopeful he won’t become scared to block shots because he hits his finger on the rim and it hurts like WCS.

I don’t think Beringer makes it past 15 with OKC. Think he could go as high as 12 to my Bulls.

I don't think he's quite developed enough to justify going 12 (I also don't love him at 15), but I do think the physical traits give him some nice outlier development potential. That's the reason why I made the Giannis comment - just in terms of a guy that has amazing raw tools and little basketball skill yet who could really be something if everything comes together in a perfect storm. I think more likely he fills the role if like a younger Capela if things break right. A center who can switch onto everyone and provide very good rim protection. IMO, he was very underrated.

Oh c'mon..Beringer is closer to Yannick Nzosa, Khalifa Diop, James Nnaji, Christian Koloko, Jerichi Sims, Neemias Queta, Ernest Udeh or Makur Maker than he is to Giannis.

[babyjax13]

I don’t think Beringer makes it past 15 with OKC. Think he could go as high as 12 to my Bulls.

I don't think he's quite developed enough to justify going 12 (I also don't love him at 15), but I do think the physical traits give him some nice outlier development potential. That's the reason why I made the Giannis comment - just in terms of a guy that has amazing raw tools and little basketball skill yet who could really be something if everything comes together in a perfect storm. I think more likely he fills the role if like a younger Capela if things break right. A center who can switch onto everyone and provide very good rim protection. IMO, he was very underrated.

Oh c'mon..Beringer is closer to Yannick Nzosa, Khalifa Diop, James Nnaji, Christian Koloko, Jerichi Sims, Neemias Queta, Ernest Udeh or Makur Maker than he is to Giannis.

I don't disagree, but you are missing my point.

[damedash09]

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[azcatz11]

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He is going to Florida? He's probably getting at least $2M to go there. Makes sense. Pocket that cash and play your way into the lotto. Worst case, he can make $6M in total in college.

[FarBeyondDriven]

Cedric Coward looks to be the fastest riser in this year's combine. I admit I've never seen him play as he played at Eastern Washington until transferring to Washington State where he only played 6 games. He's had an incredible combine with his vertical being 38.5, his wingspan being 7'2" and he shot extremely well. He shot well in college. Supposed to go to Duke but it's looking like he's going to be a first rounder. He turns 22 y/o in Sep. Anyone watch him play and have any thoughts?

[Catchall]

Over here in Jazzland, some of us are thinking that it's Ace Bailey who is likely to slip to #5, while VJ Edgecombe and Tre Johnson go #3 and #4 in some order. Combine measurements are a factor.

Also, there is a reasonable chance that Noa Essengue will turn out to be a better overall player than Ace. Noa's size, ability to run the floor and get downhill, finish at the rim, and make defensive plays all compare well vs. Ace Bailey. Ace needs to pan out as a bonafide shooter to make his top-5 case hold up.

[FarBeyondDriven]

Over here in Jazzland, some of us are thinking that it's Ace Bailey who is likely to slip to #5, while VJ Edgecombe and Tre Johnson go #3 and #4 in some order. Combine measurements are a factor.

Also, there is a reasonable chance that Noa Essengue will turn out to be a better overall player than Ace. Noa's size, ability to run the floor and get downhill, finish at the rim, and make defensive plays all compare well vs. Ace Bailey. Ace needs to pan out as a bonafide shooter to make his top-5 case hold up.

didn't Ace basically measure almost identical to Flagg and Tatum? How did his measurements hurt him? And how does VJ who measured much smaller with a pedestrian wingspan jump him based on measurements?

[EvanZ]

Over here in Jazzland, some of us are thinking that it's Ace Bailey who is likely to slip to #5, while VJ Edgecombe and Tre Johnson go #3 and #4 in some order. Combine measurements are a factor.

Also, there is a reasonable chance that Noa Essengue will turn out to be a better overall player than Ace. Noa's size, ability to run the floor and get downhill, finish at the rim, and make defensive plays all compare well vs. Ace Bailey. Ace needs to pan out as a bonafide shooter to make his top-5 case hold up.

didn't Ace basically measure almost identical to Flagg and Tatum? How did his measurements hurt him? And how does VJ who measured much smaller with a pedestrian wingspan jump him based on measurements?

You seem extremely clueless. Everything is relative to what expectations were, not other players you randomly mention and certainly not to each other if you're talking about relative movement.

Between that and your delusional takes on hair, I don't get you at all man. Just pointless.

[babyjax13]

Cedric Coward looks to be the fastest riser in this year's combine. I admit I've never seen him play as he played at Eastern Washington until transferring to Washington State where he only played 6 games. He's had an incredible combine with his vertical being 38.5, his wingspan being 7'2" and he shot extremely well. He shot well in college. Supposed to go to Duke but it's looking like he's going to be a first rounder. He turns 22 y/o in Sep. Anyone watch him play and have any thoughts?

The locked on nba draft people have liked him all year and have talked about him a lot. Ive only seen highlights, looks like a small ball 4 in those but could just be the role he was in.

[SeattleJazzFan]

Over here in Jazzland, some of us are thinking that it's Ace Bailey who is likely to slip to #5, while VJ Edgecombe and Tre Johnson go #3 and #4 in some order. Combine measurements are a factor.

Also, there is a reasonable chance that Noa Essengue will turn out to be a better overall player than Ace. Noa's size, ability to run the floor and get downhill, finish at the rim, and make defensive plays all compare well vs. Ace Bailey. Ace needs to pan out as a bonafide shooter to make his top-5 case hold up.

didn't Ace basically measure almost identical to Flagg and Tatum? How did his measurements hurt him? And how does VJ who measured much smaller with a pedestrian wingspan jump him based on measurements?

ace had elite measurements. 6'9" wing with a 7'+ wingspan and 8'11" standing reach. so he measured an inch shorter than expected - still has elite length.

people keep saying he went from 6'10" to 6'7", but nobody thought he'd measure 6'10" barefoot. he did measure about an inch shorter, but his length measurements make up for hit. he's pretty much the longest wing in the draft.

[Catchall]

Over here in Jazzland, some of us are thinking that it's Ace Bailey who is likely to slip to #5, while VJ Edgecombe and Tre Johnson go #3 and #4 in some order. Combine measurements are a factor.

Also, there is a reasonable chance that Noa Essengue will turn out to be a better overall player than Ace. Noa's size, ability to run the floor and get downhill, finish at the rim, and make defensive plays all compare well vs. Ace Bailey. Ace needs to pan out as a bonafide shooter to make his top-5 case hold up.

didn't Ace basically measure almost identical to Flagg and Tatum? How did his measurements hurt him? And how does VJ who measured much smaller with a pedestrian wingspan jump him based on measurements?

It's not that Ace didn't measure well. He did. It's that Tre Johnson and VJ Edgecombe also measured well relative to expectations. Tre Johnson's physical and athletic measurements make him look like the next Ray Allen.

[FarBeyondDriven]

Over here in Jazzland, some of us are thinking that it's Ace Bailey who is likely to slip to #5, while VJ Edgecombe and Tre Johnson go #3 and #4 in some order. Combine measurements are a factor.

Also, there is a reasonable chance that Noa Essengue will turn out to be a better overall player than Ace. Noa's size, ability to run the floor and get downhill, finish at the rim, and make defensive plays all compare well vs. Ace Bailey. Ace needs to pan out as a bonafide shooter to make his top-5 case hold up.

didn't Ace basically measure almost identical to Flagg and Tatum? How did his measurements hurt him? And how does VJ who measured much smaller with a pedestrian wingspan jump him based on measurements?

It's not that Ace didn't measure well. He did. It's that Tre Johnson and VJ Edgecombe also measured well relative to expectations. Tre Johnson's physical and athletic measurements make him look like the next Ray Allen.

ah, well, I don't think VJ measured well at all. Not sure what expectations you were referring to but many people have been saying he's 6'5" all season and he generously measured 6'4" and his wingspan is a very weak 6'7.5" for a purported high ceiling defensive prospect. I wholeheartedly agree about Tre. I am contemplating moving him up to #2 on my board. He's just such a natural basketball player and my only concern with him was his size but he'll naturally add some muscle and he measured slightly taller than I thought at 6'4.75" with a very solid wingspan 6'10.25" and while not great, a very solid 37.5 vertical which I honestly did not anticipate. It'll be really difficult to supplant Bailey who I guess I'm higher on than the majority. I think people are going to be shocked how much better he is in the pros than college. But at the end of the day we're splitting hairs as these guys are separated by a single or a couple picks. I like them all.

[FrodoBaggins]

Cooper has very similar measurements to LBJ, Josh Smith, Aaron Gordon, Jayson Tatum, Jalen Johnson, and Paul George.

Flagg: 6'7.75" barefoot, 221 pounds, 7'0" wingspan, 8'10.5" standing reach (18.5 draft age)
LBJ: 6'7.25" barefoot, 245 pounds, 7'0.25" wingspan, 8'10.25" standing reach (18.5 draft age)
Smith: 6'7" barefoot, 221 pounds, 7'0" wingspan, 8'10.5" standing reach (18.53 draft age)
Tatum: 6'8.25" in shoes, 204 pounds, 6'11" wingspan, 8'10.5" standing reach (19.29 draft age)
PG: 6'7.75" barefoot, 214.4 pounds, 6'11.25" wingspan, 8'11" standing reach (20.12 draft age)
Jalen Johnson: 6'7.75" barefoot, 209.6 pounds, 7'0.25" wingspan, 8'10" standing reach (19.5 draft age)
Aaron Gordon: 6'7.5" barefoot, 220.1 pounds, 6'11.75" wingspan, 8'9" standing reach (18.75 draft age)

I'd say Smith is the closest physical comparison, also considering athleticism. Smith has more twitch (39.5" max vert vs. 35.5") but less agility/change of pace/change of direction/lateral movement (11.43 pro lane vs. 10.83). J Smoove was 225 as a rookie, and 240+ in his prime. I'd expect Coop to follow a similar weight progression.

With official measurements now, I'd grade Cooper an A- for size and A- for athleticism. His precocious weight, sturdiness/frame, and strength bump him up from a B+, in my opinion. An offseason with the Dallas strength and conditioning team will get him up to 225-230, and he'll be physically ready to compete from day one. For comparison, Tatum was 210 as a rookie.

[FarBeyondDriven]

Cooper has very similar measurements to LBJ, Josh Smith, Jayson Tatum, and Paul George.

Flagg: 6'7.75" barefoot, 221 pounds, 7'0" wingspan, 8'10.5" standing reach (18.5 draft age)
LBJ: 6'7.25" barefoot, 245 pounds, 7'0.25" wingspan, 8'10.25" standing reach (18.5 draft age)
Smith: 6'7" barefoot, 221 pounds, 7'0" wingspan, 8'10.5" standing reach (18.53 draft age)
Tatum: 6'8.25" in shoes, 204 pounds, 6'11" wingspan, 8'10.5" standing reach (19.29 draft age)
PG: 6'7.75" barefoot, 214.4 pounds, 6'11.25" wingspan, 8'11" standing reach (20.12 draft age)

I'd say Smith is the closest physical comparison, also considering athleticism. Smith has more twitch (39.5" max vert vs. 35.5") but less agility/change of pace/change of direction/lateral movement (11.43 pro lane vs. 10.83). J Smoove was 225 as a rookie, and 240+ in his prime. I'd expect Coop to follow a similar weight progression.

With official measurements now, I'd grade Cooper an A- for size and A- for athleticism. His weight/sturdiness and strength bump him up from a B+ IMO.

And Ace Bailey is right there with them as well. These are the 3/4 stars everyone is looking for. When you get these types of measurables I can't fault teams for taking chances on them even if they're raw like Cody Williams. Because if you hit you've set your franchise up big time. It's why I have Ace over Harper. I understand Harper will put up numbers like all high usage guards do if given the minutes but I just value the impact a two-way wing can have more.

[76ciology]

This is just 2024 draft 2.0, outside of Flagg and Harper.

[babyjax13]

I'm guessing that Landeborg, Pettiford, Byrd, and Condon all withdraw. I think Landeborg should stay but it sounds like he really wants to go to school and I bet the money is similar.

[babyjax13]

This is just 2024 draft 2.0, outside of Flagg and Harper.

Well, that is a pretty big distinction if it is true. The major problem with 2024 was no clear #1/#2 talent. It had depth. But I think I like the top and middle of this lottery more than the top and middle of last year's lottery even taking those two out? I'd probably say....removing Flagg and Harper who would be 1/2

Johnson
Sarr
Bailey
George <probably way too high on him>
Fears
Edgecomb
Traore
Riley
Holland
Risacher
Kneuppel

is ... around where I'd rank guys? I felt like a lot of players after Risacher had higher ceilings but I felt really good about his floor, but there are a few other guys who might reasonably replace him and be around Kneuppel. I might have George over Bailey but that's a pretty had decision given Bailey's physical tools.

[76ciology]

This is just 2024 draft 2.0, outside of Flagg and Harper.

Well, that is a pretty big distinction if it is true. The major problem with 2024 was no clear #1/#2 talent. It had depth. But I think I like the top and middle of this lottery more than the top and middle of last year's lottery even taking those two out? I'd probably say....removing Flagg and Harper who would be 1/2

Johnson
Sarr
Bailey
George <probably way too high on him>
Fears
Edgecomb
Traore
Riley
Holland
Risacher
Kneuppel

is ... around where I'd rank guys? I felt like a lot of players after Risacher had higher ceilings but I felt really good about his floor, but there are a few other guys who might reasonably replace him and be around Kneuppel. I might have George over Bailey but that's a pretty had decision given Bailey's physical tools.

You had Tre Johnson first overall? I dont mind that

I wonder if Maluach can be in the same tier as Sarr and Risacher.

[babyjax13]

This is just 2024 draft 2.0, outside of Flagg and Harper.

Well, that is a pretty big distinction if it is true. The major problem with 2024 was no clear #1/#2 talent. It had depth. But I think I like the top and middle of this lottery more than the top and middle of last year's lottery even taking those two out? I'd probably say....removing Flagg and Harper who would be 1/2

Johnson
Sarr
Bailey
George <probably way too high on him>
Fears
Edgecomb
Traore
Riley
Holland
Risacher
Kneuppel

is ... around where I'd rank guys? I felt like a lot of players after Risacher had higher ceilings but I felt really good about his floor, but there are a few other guys who might reasonably replace him and be around Kneuppel. I might have George over Bailey but that's a pretty had decision given Bailey's physical tools.

You had Tre Johnson first overall? I dont mind that

I wonder if Maluach can be in the same tier as Sarr and Risacher.

After Flagg/Bailey, yes, I think so.

I get the alure of Maluach, but I am not quite there. But eye of the beholder and whatnot

[NO-KG-AI]

Over here in Jazzland, some of us are thinking that it's Ace Bailey who is likely to slip to #5, while VJ Edgecombe and Tre Johnson go #3 and #4 in some order. Combine measurements are a factor.

Also, there is a reasonable chance that Noa Essengue will turn out to be a better overall player than Ace. Noa's size, ability to run the floor and get downhill, finish at the rim, and make defensive plays all compare well vs. Ace Bailey. Ace needs to pan out as a bonafide shooter to make his top-5 case hold up.

didn't Ace basically measure almost identical to Flagg and Tatum? How did his measurements hurt him? And how does VJ who measured much smaller with a pedestrian wingspan jump him based on measurements?

Because he’s not nearly as good or productive as those guys, and basically his entire appeal was that he was a size outlier as a shooting wing. If you’re the tools guy that is sort of lacking production, the tools need to be outlier at your position.

6’10 versatile shooters are really rare. 6’7 ones are much less rare and game changing.

VJ is just a substantially better athlete and people were worried he might be 6’2. I’m not sure it should boost him above Bailey, but he came in bigger than some thought, and Ace much smaller.

To me, 6’9 in socks would have been a big win for ace, 6’8 kind of a break even. 6’7 dulls it a little IMO.