2025 NBA Draft Discussion Part 5

[Indeed]

Giannis would be Cam Whitmore if 6'6.

Watching Risacher wants me to stay away from Essengue. Also Tijane Salaun.

I get that big players are hard to pass up on and you can be in awe of their size/measurements and all that and you can pick that over their actual basketball skills....But i would disagree with you on the skill part of Giannis/Embiid....These guys are actually very skill full and its not just their size that plays the part...For every big body with good measurements very few are gonna be on the level of a Giannis or Embiid....Because they possess rare skill set for their sizes....Giannis runs like a gazelle, Can finish at the rim better than anyone, Has amazing footwork and so on, Embiid has a guard like skill set for his size....And he uses his body to get anywhere he wants on the court and can score at ease....

Just because they have the size and measurements does not mean success....Thabeet, Sam Bowie (Got drafted over MJ due to his size), Darko (Drafted over Melo/Wade) Biyombo, Wiseman, There are many who got drafted off their size alone and what they could become vs what they are and many have become bad draft picks....

Like i said if we draft Maluach im rooting for him...But at 7 if we stay i think we pick a better player thats OTB.

I do think Mal is going to be better than Wiseman and Thabeet. Not too high on Tre or Kas being someone I'm worried I passed over like Dwade and MJ were.

I think Giannis and Embiid are great athletes at that size but I don't think they have the skills to be all star types if they were 6'6ish. You say Giannis runs like a gazelle and can finish better than everyone because he's that big, at 6'6 he would be far more average at those things. Then you say Embiid has a guard like skillset for his size, if he were guard size he would be closer to flipping burgers with that skillset, not averaging 30 in the league.

It's just so tough for me to say one of the more skilled guys should be the pick, when I'm not sure they make a dent in our roster anyways. If we could identify someone who is for example poised to be better than RJ rather quickly into his career, then we should draft that player. Drafting another wing with the trajectory of Gradey and Jakobe wouldn't be very exciting right now with those two on the roster and needing minutes. I'm looking for someone who can take the ball out of RJ's hands, maybe even Ingram's down the road, or I might as well go with a different architype of player.

Who are your guys at 7? Tre?

You must be joking, Embiid was posting up and attracting double team in college. Malauch is nothing near in creating his own shot.

Watch on YouTube

[Grew]

I get that big players are hard to pass up on and you can be in awe of their size/measurements and all that and you can pick that over their actual basketball skills....But i would disagree with you on the skill part of Giannis/Embiid....These guys are actually very skill full and its not just their size that plays the part...For every big body with good measurements very few are gonna be on the level of a Giannis or Embiid....Because they possess rare skill set for their sizes....Giannis runs like a gazelle, Can finish at the rim better than anyone, Has amazing footwork and so on, Embiid has a guard like skill set for his size....And he uses his body to get anywhere he wants on the court and can score at ease....

Just because they have the size and measurements does not mean success....Thabeet, Sam Bowie (Got drafted over MJ due to his size), Darko (Drafted over Melo/Wade) Biyombo, Wiseman, There are many who got drafted off their size alone and what they could become vs what they are and many have become bad draft picks....

Like i said if we draft Maluach im rooting for him...But at 7 if we stay i think we pick a better player thats OTB.

I do think Mal is going to be better than Wiseman and Thabeet. Not too high on Tre or Kas being someone I'm worried I passed over like Dwade and MJ were.

I think Giannis and Embiid are great athletes at that size but I don't think they have the skills to be all star types if they were 6'6ish. You say Giannis runs like a gazelle and can finish better than everyone because he's that big, at 6'6 he would be far more average at those things. Then you say Embiid has a guard like skillset for his size, if he were guard size he would be closer to flipping burgers with that skillset, not averaging 30 in the league.

It's just so tough for me to say one of the more skilled guys should be the pick, when I'm not sure they make a dent in our roster anyways. If we could identify someone who is for example poised to be better than RJ rather quickly into his career, then we should draft that player. Drafting another wing with the trajectory of Gradey and Jakobe wouldn't be very exciting right now with those two on the roster and needing minutes. I'm looking for someone who can take the ball out of RJ's hands, maybe even Ingram's down the road, or I might as well go with a different architype of player.

Who are your guys at 7? Tre?

Yes i get their size plays a part in what they do but my point was just because they have good measurements its very rare they end up like a Giannis/Embiid who are 2 of the greats the league seen....More of a chance Maluach ends up either a bust or a backup C if he does not develop the skills he already is lacking....

For me my top 7 in order
Flagg
Harper
Edgecombe
Bailey
Queen
Fears
Tre

Fall to 8th
Maluach
Kon
CMB
Bryant
Jase
Newell
Demin
Traore
Essengue
Fleming
^ Id be fine with W/E Masai picks in that scenario but yes if we stay at 7 im hoping Queen/Fears but i am taking Tre > Maluach because i think he has way less Bust potential and he can contribute next season for us in a big way....Maluach may take a few years to develop....Also im in the camp of trading RJ/Dick for an upgrade somewhere....Package them to add another key player is my thought process....And having Tre would make RJ/Dick expendable for us to move them maybe for an all star big whos already established...

But thats if Tre is the one at 7 would be fine with Queen/Fears as well.

Ok so you're basically where I'm at with Mal except you would take Tre over him for certain. I still kind of have Tre in the group behind Queen and Fears. But I can see why you put him there. I just really can't tell if he's good enough to be on ball in the NBA or not.

[Grew]

I get that big players are hard to pass up on and you can be in awe of their size/measurements and all that and you can pick that over their actual basketball skills....But i would disagree with you on the skill part of Giannis/Embiid....These guys are actually very skill full and its not just their size that plays the part...For every big body with good measurements very few are gonna be on the level of a Giannis or Embiid....Because they possess rare skill set for their sizes....Giannis runs like a gazelle, Can finish at the rim better than anyone, Has amazing footwork and so on, Embiid has a guard like skill set for his size....And he uses his body to get anywhere he wants on the court and can score at ease....

Just because they have the size and measurements does not mean success....Thabeet, Sam Bowie (Got drafted over MJ due to his size), Darko (Drafted over Melo/Wade) Biyombo, Wiseman, There are many who got drafted off their size alone and what they could become vs what they are and many have become bad draft picks....

Like i said if we draft Maluach im rooting for him...But at 7 if we stay i think we pick a better player thats OTB.

I do think Mal is going to be better than Wiseman and Thabeet. Not too high on Tre or Kas being someone I'm worried I passed over like Dwade and MJ were.

I think Giannis and Embiid are great athletes at that size but I don't think they have the skills to be all star types if they were 6'6ish. You say Giannis runs like a gazelle and can finish better than everyone because he's that big, at 6'6 he would be far more average at those things. Then you say Embiid has a guard like skillset for his size, if he were guard size he would be closer to flipping burgers with that skillset, not averaging 30 in the league.

It's just so tough for me to say one of the more skilled guys should be the pick, when I'm not sure they make a dent in our roster anyways. If we could identify someone who is for example poised to be better than RJ rather quickly into his career, then we should draft that player. Drafting another wing with the trajectory of Gradey and Jakobe wouldn't be very exciting right now with those two on the roster and needing minutes. I'm looking for someone who can take the ball out of RJ's hands, maybe even Ingram's down the road, or I might as well go with a different architype of player.

Who are your guys at 7? Tre?

You must be joking, Embiid was posting up and attracting double team in college. Malauch is nothing near in creating his own shot.

Watch on YouTube

I was never trying to say Maluach is as skilled as Embiid in college. Just that size can trump skill to a certain extent. If Maluach can continue to develop his skillset, that just his pure size and mobility will make him more valuable than microwave bench scorer types.

Kind of funny, one of the announcers during the tournament, said Maluach was further ahead than Embiid at the same age and I found it a little disingenuous.

[DreamTeam09]

I think a lot of you guys are way off on Maluach compared to where I am, so we'll see. He instantly becomes our back-up 5 for next year playing anywhere from 16-20mins a game ino.
Being a safety valve on offense + offensive rebounding. His size and mobility will keep him on the floor us.
None of the other guys around the 7-8 range jump off the board for me or make me wanna move off of the guards we already have.

[Indeed]

I do think Mal is going to be better than Wiseman and Thabeet. Not too high on Tre or Kas being someone I'm worried I passed over like Dwade and MJ were.

I think Giannis and Embiid are great athletes at that size but I don't think they have the skills to be all star types if they were 6'6ish. You say Giannis runs like a gazelle and can finish better than everyone because he's that big, at 6'6 he would be far more average at those things. Then you say Embiid has a guard like skillset for his size, if he were guard size he would be closer to flipping burgers with that skillset, not averaging 30 in the league.

It's just so tough for me to say one of the more skilled guys should be the pick, when I'm not sure they make a dent in our roster anyways. If we could identify someone who is for example poised to be better than RJ rather quickly into his career, then we should draft that player. Drafting another wing with the trajectory of Gradey and Jakobe wouldn't be very exciting right now with those two on the roster and needing minutes. I'm looking for someone who can take the ball out of RJ's hands, maybe even Ingram's down the road, or I might as well go with a different architype of player.

Who are your guys at 7? Tre?

You must be joking, Embiid was posting up and attracting double team in college. Malauch is nothing near in creating his own shot.

Watch on YouTube

I was never trying to say Maluach is as skilled as Embiid in college. Just that size can trump skill to a certain extent. If Maluach can continue to develop his skillset, that just his pure size and mobility will make him more valuable than microwave bench scorer types.

Kind of funny, one of the announcers during the tournament, said Maluach was further ahead than Embiid at the same age and I found it a little disingenuous.

To be fair, Embiid was 20, while Maluach is 18.
However, those skills where you got good footwork with counters (bags) may not be a year of development. And his block rate isn't even good, meaning his focus may just be on defense.

Personally, I don't think he will be a bust, but I am not very high on him. Perhaps just a starting C.
Meanwhile, the biggest problem for us would be his contract. It is very unlikely that you got much from Maluach on his rookie contract, and when his extension kicks in, you are in between matching other offers. Below player is an example.

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[Son Goku 25]

Watching those Embiid college highlights makes me want Queen even more tbh. Even if he's 20 he's so advanced on offense and his creative ability and IQ will get him by on defense too.

[Thaddy]

Watching those Embiid college highlights makes me want Queen even more tbh. Even if he's 20 he's so advanced on offense and his creative ability and IQ will get him by on defense too.

A 7 footer the size of Maluach is going to have more impact on winning basketball than a PF sized C. Queen can't shoot that well either, Maluach is going higher than him based on potential.

I would probably gear towards Bryant. He's got size, length, shows some off dribble fluidity, and he's someone we can develop. He remind me of Salaun and Masai will be interested for that reason when Maluach is off the board.

[WuTang_CMB]

Watching the latest open gym with how marc gasol was so integral to our team especially with his quarterback passing. Queen is not the same defensively (obviously) but he does have similar traits with the ability to quarterback and find guys. I think Queen would thrive in Darko’s offense.

[Godaddycurse]

Watching the latest open gym with how marc gasol was so integral to our team especially with his quarterback passing. Queen is not the same defensively (obviously) but he does have similar traits with the ability to quarterback and find guys. I think Queen would thrive in Darko’s offense.

I think the most important reason gasol was integral to our team was him quarterbacking the defense, not his passing on O. His offense was already on the decline at that point

[WuTang_CMB]

Watching the latest open gym with how marc gasol was so integral to our team especially with his quarterback passing. Queen is not the same defensively (obviously) but he does have similar traits with the ability to quarterback and find guys. I think Queen would thrive in Darko’s offense.

I think the most important reason gasol was integral to our team was him quarterbacking the defense, not his passing on O. His offense was already on the decline at that point

His passing was still very good for those 1.5 years

[BoyzNTheHood]

Watching the latest open gym with how marc gasol was so integral to our team especially with his quarterback passing. Queen is not the same defensively (obviously) but he does have similar traits with the ability to quarterback and find guys. I think Queen would thrive in Darko’s offense.

I think the most important reason gasol was integral to our team was him quarterbacking the defense, not his passing on O. His offense was already on the decline at that point

His passing was still very good for those 1.5 years

I wouldn’t put Queen in the same stratosphere as Gasol passing wise, and the same goes for Maluach but defensively. Gasol was incredible.

[HumbleRen]

Looking at how cooked Lively is without Luka makes me not want to get Khaman even more so now lol.

Never grab bigs in the top 7 unless they have elite touch around the rim. I’ll always abide by that rule.

[Psubs]

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He's my #3 PG prospect after Harper and Fears. Fears might just be a combo guard though.

[Buff]

Gasol is more comparable to Queen.
We dont really need much from shot blocker in our championship run, because we got good defenders all across positions. From Lowry / VanVleet at PG, Green / Powell at SG, Leonard / Anunoby at SF, Siakam at PF, Gasol / Ibaka at C. All of them can straight up guard their position, or even switch over.

I'm sorry I not up yet in all scouting reports, but you are saying Queen has DPOY potential? Seemed to be (again, on low info) like he was an offensive hub with questionable defense.

[Psubs]

Gasol is more comparable to Queen.
We dont really need much from shot blocker in our championship run, because we got good defenders all across positions. From Lowry / VanVleet at PG, Green / Powell at SG, Leonard / Anunoby at SF, Siakam at PF, Gasol / Ibaka at C. All of them can straight up guard their position, or even switch over.

I'm sorry I not up yet in all scouting reports, but you are saying Queen has DPOY potential? Seemed to be (again, on low info) like he was an offensive hub with questionable defense.

Demarcus Cousins or ZBo would be a better comp for Queen.

[Jcity08]

Crazy how much of a debate there is around Maluach, the dude is pretty raw from everything we've seen unless you only look at highlight reels.

I'm only speaking for myself when I say this but I'd rather not use one of the only lottery draft picks we'll get in a while on someone as offensively limited and charmin soft for a 7+ footer.

I'd rather another team take the risk than us at the 7/8/9 pick.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

Ren you're more cooked without DelAbbot than Lively is without Luka. Lively will be fine.

Please don't bait.

[Indeed]

Gasol is more comparable to Queen.
We dont really need much from shot blocker in our championship run, because we got good defenders all across positions. From Lowry / VanVleet at PG, Green / Powell at SG, Leonard / Anunoby at SF, Siakam at PF, Gasol / Ibaka at C. All of them can straight up guard their position, or even switch over.

I'm sorry I not up yet in all scouting reports, but you are saying Queen has DPOY potential? Seemed to be (again, on low info) like he was an offensive hub with questionable defense.

Demarcus Cousins or ZBo would be a better comp for Queen.

Or Championship Gasol, not his prime.
It is never good to use another player as an example, because they are never alike.

I also think Queen is a PF, I believe he can lose weight and gain some mobility to play the PF.

[Psubs]

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[Indeed]

Watch on YouTube

He's my #3 PG prospect after Harper and Fears. Fears might just be a combo guard though.

Fears with around 28% passing rate is definitely near the top in passing as a PG, his vision is also being praised by multiple scouting reports I read.
As for De Larrea, if his quickness with the ball is good, he could be Herro lite.