2025 NBA Draft Discussion Part 8

[DreamTeam09]

Taking a C top 10 when the draft has so many good bigs later on is just plain stupid. A guy like Sorber should be ranked so much higher than a glorified rim runner like Maluach. The fact that he’s ranked top 10 because he rode Flagg and Kneuppel’s coat tails is wild.

Yawn yawn yawn / Cooper speaks very highly of him, we have professional fuba Olympics footage of the kid, 7'2 is much different than 6'10 Sorber, and I'm sure there will be plenty of good guards or wings later on in the draft, does that mean you shouldn't take one at 9 either? That logic is dumb. Plenty of good post are our there as to why we shouldn't take KM, yours simply wasn't a good one at all

And neither is this weak reply. He’s tall, let’s take him! Okay Leo. Sorber showed much more skill and has the standing reach and wingspan to play C, but you conveniently left that out so that you could mention how Maluach is 7’2”. Okay and? Using your logic we should take Zikarsky over Maluach since he’s 7’4”

I mean if Rocco was able to move like Khaman & went to Duke & started for a final 4 team then maybe he would be a lottery projected C too. Unfortunately that's not the case. As for Sorber, he's still a little undersized in a league full of 7fts coming off of a foot injury. I'm cool with that at 9

[CazOnReal]

Thomas Bryant and Mitchell Robinson are impacting ECF game 6s, I feel more than safe with a Maluach selection

Thomas Bryant (pick #42), Mitchell Robinson (pick #36) and Isaiah Hartenstein (pick #43) contributing to finals runs are all the more reason to NOT draft Maluach with #9. Use #39 on the best center available because a role player outcome is all you need. Meanwhile SGA (pick #11) and Haliburton (pick #12) are the engines of their respective teams...it's clear we need to go for high upside, high ceiling with #9.

This is just flatout stupid.

Yeah you can get an impact player in the second round but they're a hell of a lot more difficult to find & develop even if you're a good drafting team. Hell, the Raptors 2nd round success stories from the Masai era are Norm and...I think that's it. Pretty much everyone else is either out of the league and they're all certainly not on the team.

Like just look at the names who've been drafted at #36, the highest pick mentioned - https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/36th-pick-nba-draft-last-20

There's a lot of bums and fringe guys. You're lucky if they manage to become a rotation-level player at that range and aside from CJ, starter-caliber is a rarity.

Yeah Mogbo and Shead look like hits but i'm not rushing to call them future starters or anything just yet. It remains to be seen what, if any, improvements they will make in the near future and whether they remain a part of this team's core.

If you can get an impactful player 9th and it happens to be Malauch then that's a win, no other way to slice it. Again, you're very unlikely to find a star player in that 8-10 range and you can go down the list of 11th/12th overall picks if you want more evidence that getting that player in the draft is a hell of a lot harder than you're making it out to be.

Khaman Malauch is a first-round talent. Period. You don't have to like them as a selection but them being a center in the first-round when you could get a Thomas Bryant (Who...I can't tell if you're serious citing him as an example, dude's been buns for most of his time with Indy) in the increasingly thin-looking 2nd round of this draft is a stupid reason to give for not drafting him. Whether he's the BPA or has the highest floor/ceiling is a matter of debate and if i'm looking to make a big swing it's probably Queen because of his upside as a less athletic, Boogie Cousins-esque big hub.

[gbball]

Them on rookie deals would be nice...lol.

Or Vince Carter.

Essengue is a young Siakam to me. Further along at the same age though.

Pascal had far more post game and 3 inch longer wingspan.

Also much older and less standing reach - which imo is more imporant...especially if you take advantage of it, with he (Noa) does. I wouldn't be surprised if Essengue has grown since last year, he looks and plays very big. Noa is also shows more toughness than Siakam. Siakam is a finesse player, Noa tries to dunk everything or get fouled trying. Both have good creativity and improvisation. Siakam is a unique player and I suspect Essengue will be too - just in a different way.

I see a guy who's really young with tons of upside, great physical tools, really good BBall IQ and good toughness. He has a chance to be special.

[Tor_Raps]

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/280589/Rockets-Expected-To-Consider-Trading-No-10-Pick-In-Draft

Wonder what the Rockets would be looking for in return. Seems like theyre in a perfect spot for consolidation trade.

Jaylen Brown, presumably. Ime connection and they do need a go-to scorer. Plus there was that whole "Brown wants to the The Guy™" thing which has died down for the time being.

I could maybe see the Celtics making it a 3-team deal involving Jakob Poeltl - and it's a big maybe since I doubt we'd want to get off of Jakob unless he said under no circumstances would he re-sign with us this offseason - since they were linked to Poeltl and are supposedly the reason why we gave up a 1st with such menial protections but TBD if they're going to actually make such a drastic move in the draft unless they want to bottom out & try again in 2026/27 with a Top 4-ish pick to trade for Tatum's next co-star.

Raptors are trying to win next year and Poeltl will be a big part of that so he's not going anywhere.

The Jaylen Brown to Houston makes a lot of sense but I think Boston will offload Jrue & Porzingis for talent that can help them in 2027 since next year will be a write-off for them.

[BoyzNTheHood]

Yawn yawn yawn / Cooper speaks very highly of him, we have professional fuba Olympics footage of the kid, 7'2 is much different than 6'10 Sorber, and I'm sure there will be plenty of good guards or wings later on in the draft, does that mean you shouldn't take one at 9 either? That logic is dumb. Plenty of good post are our there as to why we shouldn't take KM, yours simply wasn't a good one at all

And neither is this weak reply. He’s tall, let’s take him! Okay Leo. Sorber showed much more skill and has the standing reach and wingspan to play C, but you conveniently left that out so that you could mention how Maluach is 7’2”. Okay and? Using your logic we should take Zikarsky over Maluach since he’s 7’4”

I mean if Rocco was able to move like Khaman & went to Duke & started for a final 4 team then maybe he would be a lottery projected C too. Unfortunately that's not the case. As for Sorber, he's still a little undersized in a league full of 7fts coming off of a foot injury. I'm cool with that at 9

Maluach doesn’t move well. He tested horribly at the combine for agility and speed. Y’all better hope he adds that 3 point range because if not you’re looking at a very poor man’s Rudy Gobert.

[RoteSchroder]

Essengue is a young Siakam to me. Further along at the same age though.

Pascal had far more post game and 3 inch longer wingspan.

Also much older and less standing reach - which imo is more imporant...especially if you take advantage of it, with he (Noa) does. I wouldn't be surprised if Essengue has grown since last year, he looks and plays very big. Noa is also shows more toughness than Siakam. Siakam is a finesse player, Noa tries to dunk everything or get fouled trying. Both have good creativity and improvisation. Siakam is a unique player and I suspect Essengue will be too - just in a different way.

I see a guy who's really young with tons of upside, great physical tools, really good BBall IQ and good toughness. He has a chance to be special.

Comparing BWB measurements of other players vs their draft combine measurements, Essengue likely has a longer wingspan and lower standing reach (9’1) considering it was done with shoes at BWB. He has also possibly grown since then.

Several players measured with longer wingspans and lower standing reaches at the combine compared to BWB.

I don’t know who Essengue’s comparison is, but I think he has 1) good finishing ability in terms of both finesse and drawing contact, 2) is able to make more than just dunks/layups near the rim, 3) has pretty decent off the catch slashing ability and is able to attack holes in the defense despite only having basic handles. He needs to work on everything else, but his movement/mobility/form makes me think he’s not gonna have as hard of a time developing as someone like OG, who’s more unnatural and clunky. Even someone like RJ doesn’t have the best shooting form and fluidity.

[gbball]

Watch on YouTube

[CazOnReal]

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/280589/Rockets-Expected-To-Consider-Trading-No-10-Pick-In-Draft

Wonder what the Rockets would be looking for in return. Seems like theyre in a perfect spot for consolidation trade.

Jaylen Brown, presumably. Ime connection and they do need a go-to scorer. Plus there was that whole "Brown wants to the The Guy™" thing which has died down for the time being.

I could maybe see the Celtics making it a 3-team deal involving Jakob Poeltl - and it's a big maybe since I doubt we'd want to get off of Jakob unless he said under no circumstances would he re-sign with us this offseason - since they were linked to Poeltl and are supposedly the reason why we gave up a 1st with such menial protections but TBD if they're going to actually make such a drastic move in the draft unless they want to bottom out & try again in 2026/27 with a Top 4-ish pick to trade for Tatum's next co-star.

Raptors are trying to win next year and Poeltl will be a big part of that so he's not going anywhere.

The Jaylen Brown to Houston makes a lot of sense but I think Boston will offload Jrue & Porzingis for talent that can help them in 2027 since next year will be a write-off for them.

In agreement re: Poeltl, the odds he's traded between now and the next season are very low.

The Jrue & Tingus Pingus moves...not sure I see an easy needle thread for them. Jrue might just be a negative on his current contract and I doubt you're getting much of any value out of him even with a pick or two attached. Like, is #28 and Jrue even getting you off of his contract or are you trading one bad contract for another - or are you just looking for someone to tread water with i.e. DeMar for 28 & Jrue (Note: I would hate this for DeMar).

Tingus Pingus is an expiring but the player said expiring is attached to is a major injury concern who has an illness doctors can't seem to be able to identify, and who knows how he looks with another year of wear and tear on his body plus this illness potentially affecting him next year. So again, hard to see them flipping that into tangible value unless they're taking on a bad contract.

[Mark_83]

And neither is this weak reply. He’s tall, let’s take him! Okay Leo. Sorber showed much more skill and has the standing reach and wingspan to play C, but you conveniently left that out so that you could mention how Maluach is 7’2”. Okay and? Using your logic we should take Zikarsky over Maluach since he’s 7’4”

I mean if Rocco was able to move like Khaman & went to Duke & started for a final 4 team then maybe he would be a lottery projected C too. Unfortunately that's not the case. As for Sorber, he's still a little undersized in a league full of 7fts coming off of a foot injury. I'm cool with that at 9

Maluach doesn’t move well. He tested horribly at the combine for agility and speed. Y’all better hope he adds that 3 point range because if not you’re looking at a very poor man’s Rudy Gobert.

There's two things I look for in big men: processing speed (Poeltl, Jokic, Gasol) or aggression/assertiveness (Stoudamire, Kemp).

If you have one or the other you can maximize your tools and skills. If you have both you can be a star (Garnett, Malone). If you have neither you better have unreal skills and talent (Towns).or good luck to you. I haven't seen either consistently if at all from KM, and I don't think he has outlier skills. Is an outlier physical profile sufficient? We'll see.

[ImaBeatDatAzz]

Just out of curiosity.. would you guys do RJ for Houston’s #10?

[bboyskinnylegs]

Just out of curiosity.. would you guys do RJ for Houston’s #10?

I'd do it, but looking at the Rockets salaries I don't see a viable trade they would accept. Maybe something like Dillon Brooks + Jock Landale + #10 for RJ + one of Shead/Mogbo/Battle? Not sure if they'd like RJ enough to do that. They seem better equipped to do a consolidation trade for a star.

[CazOnReal]

Just out of curiosity.. would you guys do RJ for Houston’s #10?

Why would the Rockets ever do that?

[bboyskinnylegs]

If we could use Gradey+9 to trade up into the 3-6 range for someone we like that definitely won't be there at 9, do we do it?

[Clutch0z24]

If we could use Gradey+9 to trade up into the 3-6 range for someone we like that definitely won't be there at 9, do we do it?

Possibly....Dicks defense is really lacking if Masai for example sees a Shai/Giannis type of outcome for someone in that range that he really wants bad enough why not throw out an offer....I doubt that package moves you up though unless that team likes a prospect more in the 9th range...

[WuTang_CMB]

Just out of curiosity.. would you guys do RJ for Houston’s #10?

Without question but houston laughs

[KillaSham23]

I'll never understand the Rj hate. Hometown boy, still young, plays hard. If im cutting salary IQ is the first to go.

Also pass on Malauch still. Any of the top 8, Jaku or trade down and try to land 2.

If we can't trade down I take Jaku, Flemming, Traore in that order I think.

[DG88]

I'll never understand the Rj hate. Hometown boy, still young, plays hard. If im cutting salary IQ is the first to go.

Also pass on Malauch still. Any of the top 8, Jaku or trade down and try to land 2.

If we can't trade down I take Jaku, Flemming, Traore in that order I think.

Not sure it's RJ hate but he's the most likely player to be traded due to him being eligible for an extension and the team being right at the luxury tax.

[Lord_Zedd]

If we could use Gradey+9 to trade up into the 3-6 range for someone we like that definitely won't be there at 9, do we do it?

Can't see PHI/CHA/UTA entertaining that package. Maybe WSH but I don't see that big of a difference between 6-9 to cough up Dick

[ill-Will03]

Do we not disclose who we have or will be working out anymore?

[PhilBlackson]

I'll never understand the Rj hate. Hometown boy, still young, plays hard. If im cutting salary IQ is the first to go.

Also pass on Malauch still. Any of the top 8, Jaku or trade down and try to land 2.

If we can't trade down I take Jaku, Flemming, Traore in that order I think.

Not sure it's RJ hate but he's the most likely player to be traded due to him being eligible for an extension and the team being right at the luxury tax.

Not to mention that nearly half the roster plays the same position as him.