2025 NBA Draft Discussion Part 9

[WuTang_OG]

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[bboyskinnylegs]

I don't think I'd draft Sorber at 9, but I think he will end up a better value at whichever pick he gets selected at than Khaman will where he does.

[CoinTossRoss31]

I don't think I'd draft Sorber at 9, but I think he will up a better value at whichever pick he gets selected at than Khaman will where he does.

If we do 9 for 13 and 22 he could be that guy we grab at 13

[WuTang_OG]

Our eight is probably different than every other team's eight above us." So being comfortable with the next tier of prospects is mostly irrelevant.

just sit back and relax

[WuTang_OG]

Dan Tolzman today from Eric Koreen

Raps assistant GM Dan Tolzman says he think this draft is a bit deeper than last year in terms of guys who can come in and impact right away.

"We like where we're at and we're focussing more on that than what previous drafts looks like."

"It doesn't seem like there are many options out there to move up. ... There is definitely interest in (teams) trying to get our pick."

Tolzman says there can't be high expectations on a centre to come in and play right away, because centre is so hard to play immediately. And that will lead them to take best player available, which is what they would do anyway.

Tolzman says he has a "bit of a feeling" on who will go ahead of them, but guys slip through all the time. Says there are eight guys who seem like they are likely to go ahead, but he'd be surprised if it actually plays out that way, because there are always surprises.

"There are a lot of teams kind of in the mid-field that are going to try to make the jump up to contention, too," Tolzman says about the East presenting an opportunity.

Tolzman said he didn't get every prospect to Toronto that he wanted to, but that's always the case. Thinks one workout isn't going to sway you that much, although it's nice to get players in front of non-scouting front office. (They took WALTER without interviewing him at combine or working him out)

"Our eight is probably different than every other team's eight above us." So being comfortable with the next tier of prospects is mostly irrelevant.

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[arbsn]

Quick reminder that SGA was picked 11th

This draft is stacked and there will be a all-star or better player picked at our pick or later.

Hoping we do not trade our pick for a win-now move and instead continue to build through the draft and acquiring young assets like RJ Barrett.

[WuTang_OG]

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[BoyzNTheHood]

Quick reminder that SGA was picked 11th

This draft is stacked and there will be a all-star or better player picked at our pick or later.

Hoping we do not trade our pick for a win-now move and instead continue to build through the draft and acquiring young assets like RJ Barrett.

I wonder what teams wanted in order to give Masai the pick to take SGA.

[WuTang_OG]

vecenie new mock

1. Dallas Mavericks
Cooper Flagg | 6-8 forward | 18 years old | Duke
The easiest pick on the board. Flagg is my second-favorite prospect since I’ve been doing this over the last decade. A source with knowledge of his workout with the Mavericks earlier this week said the team was wildly impressed with his shot-making. They also loved that, even though he has been locked in as the No. 1 pick for months, he has stayed in shape and looks like he would be ready for an NBA game tomorrow.


I’m more intrigued than most by a Mavericks’ core over the next few years that features Flagg, Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, and Dereck Lively II. If Irving can come back healthy and Flagg’s development continues, they have a chance to compete near the top of the Western Conference in 2026-27. They’ll need to make some strategic moves around those four, but the two-way upside of that group is very high.


2. San Antonio Spurs
Dylan Harper | 6-5 guard | 19 years old | Rutgers
Yes, San Antonio has a significant amount of ballhandling already in De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle. But you don’t pass on a top-end talent like Harper, especially when you already have Victor Wembanyama. The Spurs should fairly assume they’re not going to get another crack at a pick this high again for a while, and when you have a chance at elite talent, you don’t pass that up in favor of potential trade-down options just to accumulate assets.

Harper ticks nearly every box for an elite guard. He created rim pressure at an elite level this year at Rutgers, despite playing in an archaic offense that lacked spacing. The rim pressure should translate incredibly well toward playing with arguably the best floor-spacing big in the NBA. He drew fouls regularly and showcased enough vision as a passer that you can buy into him as a primary playmaker. He was comfortable playing on or off the ball, drilling 37 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3s. Defensively, he’s willing and competitive, plus he has great size. He fits everything they should want.

3. Philadelphia 76ers
VJ Edgecombe | 6-4 guard | 19 years old | Baylor
Philadelphia has done an amazing job of muddying its potential decision at No. 3 over the last few weeks. The Sixers could simply take Edgecombe. Daryl Morey cares about upside. It’s easy to sell Edgecombe having the most athletic upside of any player remaining on the board. They could also take Kon Knueppel, Tre Johnson or Ace Bailey, but none of these players — including Edgecombe — are perfect fits for the core that Philadelphia has assembled as it looks to get back into the Eastern Conference mix next season.

I still think a trade down remains a real possibility. It’s the move that makes the most sense for the 76ers, given they’re at the top of a big group of prospects who are relatively similar in their league-wide evaluations. Regardless, my read is that if someone trades up, the most likely player they’d do it for would be Edgecombe. NBA teams see him as a relatively safe prospect in this class because of his high-end competitiveness, defensive capabilities, shooting off the catch and high-end character reports.

4. Charlotte Hornets
Kon Knueppel | 6-5 guard | 19 years old | Duke
Knueppel is very highly regarded by NBA teams, and it shouldn’t surprise anyone to see him be selected in the top five. He projects to be valuable early with his ability to shoot, make decisions, process what’s happening around him spatially and play with the ball in his hands. I get that his game doesn’t look all that sexy, and in general he does not look like a top-five pick. But NBA teams are enamored with how well-rounded his game is. He does just about everything well and was a good defender this year at Duke despite his relatively slow feet. He’s strong through his chest and does a great job using angles to feed his man into where the help is if he needs it. Knueppel’s upside is something in the vein of Desmond Bane, whom the Memphis Grizzlies just traded for four first-round picks for all the reasons discussed above.

The Hornets have also had discussions moving both up and down the board here from No. 4, so don’t be surprised if they move this pick to either try to lock in the player they want or to continue to gather assets.



5. Utah Jazz
Jeremiah Fears | 6-3 guard | 18 years old | Oklahoma
Utah should stay and pick here no matter what, as the Jazz desperately need to take some swings. On the surface, Fears might seem like he has too many overlapping qualities with Keyonte George while playing the same position as rookie Isaiah Collier. But George was much more effective this year after transitioning into a bench role, and Collier profiles best as a backup long-term unless he finds a way to score.

Fears would give a team that desperately needs a high-upside swing a real bet. He is elite with the ball in his hands and is a walking paint touch with his speed and ballhandling ability. The issues for Fears occur when he has to figure out what to do after he gets the paint touch. He’s not a great finisher, having made only 44 percent of his half-court attempts at the rim, per Synergy. He also made under 30 percent of his 3s, and his decision-making process isn’t quite there yet from a passing perspective. A bet on Fears is a bet on a strong worker improving his overall skill level while hopefully, one day, not giving away too much on the defensive end (where he’s quite poor).

6. Washington Wizards
Ace Bailey | 6-8 wing/forward | 18 years old | Rutgers
The Bailey question has taken the draft world by storm this week, after he canceled a workout with Philadelphia. However, I hope that it’s not taking my readers or podcast listeners by surprise. I’ve talked about the polarizing nature of Bailey throughout the year and wrote on the night of the draft lottery that “Bailey’s range starts at No. 3 … However, (his) range extends a bit further down than this into even the middle portion of the lottery. He remains quite polarizing for executives and has seemed to bear the brunt of the blame from NBA personnel for Rutgers’ poor season.”

Bailey’s evaluation is complicated, and this has been true for months, not days or weeks. The intel that NBA teams have on Bailey, from having spoken with over a dozen sources throughout the season and pre-draft process, is that his teammates enjoyed being around him. He has a lot of infectious energy. But he’s a bit immature and can struggle with focus, those sources said. His pre-draft interviews with teams at the NBA Draft Combine did not go particularly well, as it seemed like he went into them a bit ill-prepared for what was being asked of him, according to sources. They weren’t so bad as to knock him off of anyone’s board, but they raised further questions about what exactly has been happening with his pre-draft process, as he’s largely been shielded from teams.



It’s easy to chalk this up to Bailey being a teenager, and it’s completely reasonable to think that he’ll mature as he gets older. You can also chalk up the lack of preparation for interviews to questionable representation, and there are certainly many scouts and executives around the NBA who have questions about how effectively he’s been repped. Right now, we’re down to two possibilities. Either Bailey’s agent Omar Cooper — whose lone experience repping a potential top-five pick was with Isaac Okoro in 2020 before Okoro left to be represented by Excel — is effectively steering Bailey toward a desired location, or he’s bungled the process and will cause an unplanned slide for Bailey on draft night.

The reality is that he just might not be for everyone. Bailey is entering the NBA as an 18-year-old and with a game that certainly presents myriad skills as a shotmaker but has an unpolished overall skill set on defense and an inability to consistently read the court. NBA teams are willing to wait for stars to emerge. But they can’t wait forever. The question with Bailey isn’t whether he’ll mature or develop his game; it’s whether he’ll mature and develop fast enough so that the team that selects him is the one that gets the most out of him. You probably want to have a team with a strong locker room filled with leaders who can help show him the way, and you probably want to be a team that doesn’t have much at stake in terms of winning games early on.

Washington is one of those teams that has the time and infrastructure to make this work. The Wizards have gone out of their way to acquire veterans like Khris Middleton and Marcus Smart over the last six months, and Jordan Poole has been highly regarded as a strong, veteran presence for Washington’s younger players. Bailey would boost a nice young core next to Alex Sarr, Bilal Coulibaly, and Bub Carrington, among others. It would make sense for the Wizards to take this chance and see if it pays off. The ceiling is very high if it all comes together for Bailey.



7. New Orleans Pelicans
Tre Johnson | 6-5 wing | 19 years old | Texas
The Pelicans have several guards under contract, including C.J. McCollum and Dejounte Murray, but may not have any long-term answers there. Johnson would be a strong player to get into the mix, and it’s hard to see him falling below this slot. He could go as high as No. 3 to Philadelphia. If the Pelicans are going to continue building around Zion Williamson, getting another monster shooter is a home run. Texas didn’t utilize him enough this year as a movement shooter, but Johnson has elite potential in that respect. I watched him in a workout in April go at full speed for over an hour, consistently drilling shots with the same mechanics over and over again off complex actions and movements. The most underrated skill that movement shooters in the NBA need is stamina. They need to run forever, and Johnson can do that while also possessing real upside long-term to build his game. He’s been highly impressive for teams in the pre-draft process, too.

The Pelicans have already made one move to acquire a draft pick this year, getting the No. 23 selection from the Indiana Pacers. They’re expected to be busy over the next few weeks as they look to reshape the roster in the image of new president of basketball operations Joe Dumars.

8. Brooklyn Nets
Kasparas Jakučionis | 6-5 guard | 19 years old | Illinois
League sources have indicated that the Nets have entertained moves up and down the board. They have four first-round picks this year and as much ammunition as anyone to get the players they want.

If they stick at No. 8, a variety of players make sense. I’d be surprised if Fears or Bailey slipped beyond this slot. More than that, if I were Sean Marks and company, I’d be looking to keep as many options as possible and not take a position-locked player at either the center or lead guard position. The Nets are rebuilding and have a lot of needs. And later in the draft, a plethora of bigs and lead guards should be available.

I’m a big fan of players who can dribble, pass, shoot, process the game at a high level, and have good positional size. Players like this tend to have a lot of outs, to use a poker term. If Jakučionis can’t separate enough on the ball, I feel confident in his ability to play off the ball and hammer advantages created for him by high-level creative guards, because he can shoot, drive and make excellent passing reads. Jakučionis is a special passer who I hope continues to work on his craft as a ballhandler to get separation from his man consistently without turning the ball over and feeling rushed.



9. Toronto Raptors
Khaman Maluach | 7-1 big | 19 years old | Duke
The Raptors have entertained discussions in a wide variety of directions, league sources indicate. They were in the mix for Kevin Durant before he was traded to the Rockets on Sunday. They could look to move down if the player they want isn’t available at No. 9. It’s worth noting as well that Maluach is a player that has become the subject of trade speculation league-wide, with several late lottery teams interested in sliding up the board to acquire him.

With Jakob Poeltl potentially hitting free agency next year, the Raptors could use a long-term answer at center. Many people around the league have connected Maluach here because of his time at the NBA Academy in Africa and Masai Ujiri’s efforts to promote basketball within the region.

Maluach isn’t a monster shot-blocker, but he understands how big he is and is excellent at using his size to cut off angles and contest on the interior. Offensively, there are more questions, largely about his hands and overall feel for the game. He started playing basketball late and is still working on seeing the floor around him. He also doesn’t always come down with contested rebounds, as was starkly seen in Duke’s Final Four game against Houston, when he played 20 minutes and had zero rebounds. Still, someone will take the bet on a player who’s 7-1 with long arms and movement skills.





10. Phoenix Suns
Derik Queen | 6-9 big | 20 years old | Maryland
The Suns acquired this pick in the Kevin Durant trade on Sunday. Sources across the league are scrambling to figure out what the Suns are looking for, but it would make sense for them to bring in bigs and lead guards given their needs. It’s believed that Suns are not done discussing trades, as well, given that their roster is wildly unbalanced across the wing.

Queen has come up in a few conversations as one to watch for here with the Suns, and it makes sense. He’s an incredibly skilled big who can dribble and pass at a high level as a creator. Defensively, he’ll be asked to do far more than he was at Maryland in the NBA and put in disadvantageous positions. Queen will need to work incredibly hard to become more capable on that end and even then, may not hit a high level because he lacks great physical traits. But some scouts see the idea of a playmaking center in the Alperen Şengün mold, a productive player who will average 20 points and 10 rebounds for a long time. There’s plenty of reason to buy into that. Simply put, Queen has been wildly productive at every stage of his career.

11. Portland Trail Blazers
Carter Bryant | 6-7 wing | 19 years old | Arizona
Bryant didn’t start many games this year at Arizona, but he was a monster defensive player when he was on the court, showcasing serious playmaking chops as well as great on-ball play. He also knocks down a solid percentage of his 3s. Bryant has a ton of juice with front offices, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him land in the top 10. I’d park his range in the No. 7 to No. 16 area.

The Blazers want flexible, versatile players under this front office led by Joe Cronin. Think about Deni Avdija, Toumani Camara and others. They’ve also built a potential style of play on the defensive end led by Camara, an All-Defense selection this season, Avdija and last year’s first-round selection on the interior in Donovan Clingan. Bryant would give them even more optionality across the perimeter as they work to figure out what they have in Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe as creators.

The Blazers have brought in a significant number of players for workouts this cycle and are thought to be intrigued by several prospects. Jakučionis is another player I’ve heard they’d be interested in.

12. Chicago Bulls
Joan Beringer | 6-10 big | 19 years old | Cedevita
Bulls president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas was in Denver when the team drafted Nikola Jokić, and one of his first moves as the lead decision-maker in Chicago was to trade a significant package of assets for Nikola Vučević. He is near the end of his career and only has one year left on his contract.

Beringer would be a sharp long-term replacement for Vučević because he’d bring something different. Bulls sources say they want to build off the high-energy style of play under Billy Donovan. Beringer can run up and down the court as arguably the most mobile big man in the draft. He’d have no issues playing at the kind of speed that the Bulls want and would thrive in such an offense. And defensively, he has an immense amount of upside. He’s still a project, to be clear. He’s new to basketball — having just started playing within the last four years — but it’s very hard to find players like this with size and length in addition to fluid athletic movement and explosive leaping ability. NBA teams are high on him, and his range seems to be the back half of the lottery. He is not expected to go much beyond the lottery if he slips outside of it.

Egor Demin is another name that I’ve heard for the Bulls. Demin does not make much sense next to Josh Giddey, whom the Bulls are expected to re-sign in restricted free agency on a large deal this summer. Joan Beringer, Maluach, Danny Wolf, and Cedric Coward are other names I’ve heard from sources regarding the Bulls, which should demonstrate how wide open this pick is viewed by sources across the league. The Bulls have also brought in a few prospects expected to go later in the first round and are a potential trade-down candidate, which makes sense if they like several different players in the class.

13. Atlanta Hawks (via SAC)
Collin Murray-Boyles | 6-7 wing/forward | 20 years old | South Carolina
The Hawks have brought in a strong front office under Onsi Saleh, including recent hires Peter Dinwiddie from the Sixers and Bryson Graham from the Pelicans. It remains to be seen if they’ll veer from their recent course of picking long, athletic players to play next to Trae Young (the team has an important decision to make on Young this summer regarding a potential extension), but Saleh appears likely to continue the current strategy.

Murray-Boyles appears to have a wide range on draft night, likely starting at No. 9 and extending down to No. 16 or so. He’s a tremendous defender and would fit in perfectly with how Atlanta has built its roster around Young. He also passes well and has serious toughness to play with many of their players. I’d love to see Young and Murray-Boyles in short-roll situations and think it could be fairly lethal. He processes the game at an elite level, and I also wonder if you can get away with him as a small-ball five. The Hawks are also in the mix for the true centers in this range, including Maluach and Beringer. They have the capital to move up if they choose.

14. San Antonio Spurs (via ATL)
Cedric Coward | 6-5 wing | 21 years old | Washington State
I’ve been saying that Coward would be the clear riser in this draft class since early April, and that seems to have borne itself out. Though he committed to Duke this spring after entering the transfer portal, it felt exceedingly unlikely he was going to pull out of the draft given his tools and shot-making ability. His balance and fluidity are special for a player who is nearly 6-6 with a 7-2 wingspan. Everything in the kinetic chain with Coward is perfect. Everything is in one motion and clean with the jumper, with easy, repeatable mechanics to pair with touch. He seems to have added some explosiveness, too.

The Spurs could use more wings to pair with their cache of guards and Wembanyama, particularly ones who can shoot it. League sources have noted that San Antonio could move this pick if its preferred targets aren’t on the board. League sources have also recently connected both Beringer and Maluach with the Spurs, players they might have to move up for.

15. Oklahoma City Thunder (via MIA)
Thomas Sorber | 6-9 big | 19 years old | Georgetown
The second apron in this collective bargaining agreement comes for every contender, with no exceptions. The Thunder are as well-positioned to deal with that as any team in the future, but it will still likely result in some attrition from this current roster as Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams start to become expensive in the 2026-27 season. Isaiah Hartenstein’s massive deal has a team option after next season, and it’s hard to see how that will be workable for the Thunder financially once those deals, along with an extension for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, hit the books.

Sorber is a massive player and would tick some boxes for Sam Presti and company. He’s fluid and coordinated at 6-9, but moreover, he possesses a 7-6 wingspan that allows him to play well above his size. He’s also sharp as a passer and processor in the way that the Thunder like. He’d be a perfect developmental big for them over the next year to learn behind Hartenstein before potentially taking over that role in his second or third year.

I’ve heard a wide swath of names here with the Thunder, including Sorber, Liam McNeeley, Beringer, and Coward.

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[junot111]

I still think Sorber will seriously be considered at 9

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I think he's the type.of player down the road could become top 5 in twrms of impact in a re-draft.

Another one of those guys that isn't a sexy pick, but might become one of the best in this draft.

Wait - 7’6” wingspan? Thought he was short for his size but that’s a game-changer.

Ok, you’ve got my attention.

Lol those nba comparisons are all over the place... Okongwu, Bryant and Adebayo are completely different players

[ATLTimekeeper]

My hunch is that this Maluach interest is smoke and just a ploy by the Raptors to get someone to trade up for him, then they can take a more NBA ready back-up prospect to compete right away. Sorber makes some sense. So does CMB. These guys can handle NBA minutes right away. I think Essengue is way too skinny to do much of anything he'll need to do next year.

[alpngso]

Is Sorber playing this season with the foot injury he suffered?

[WuTang_OG]

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[polo007]

2025 NBA mock draft: Pick predictions off trades, new intel - ESPN.com

9. Toronto Raptors

Noa Essengue, PF, Ratiopharm Ulm

Germany | TS%: 61.1

Essengue's predraft process continues to be put on hold as his season is prolonged, with Ulm now up 2-1 and in position to secure the championship with a win Tuesday. Regardless of when he arrives in the U.S., he will not conduct any private workouts for teams.

The Raptors are a franchise that rival teams have had a hard time pegging in terms of their intentions, partially because of the wide range of prospects who could be considered in this tier and partially because of their roster, which has considerable depth at every position, besides perhaps center.

Essengue's length, mobility and defensive versatility would certainly fit the Raptors' DNA, even if his inconsistent perimeter shooting would create some challenges in spacing the floor effectively for the likes of Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram. His youth, tools, two-way instincts and rapid rate of improvement this season suggest a high ceiling that some teams in this part of the draft could surely want to tap into. -- Givony

[WuTang_OG]

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[Mr.Raptorsingh]

Who might the Raptors want to fall to 9, with them blowing smokescreens? Is it Jeremiah Fears?

[nowayguy]

Toronto's willingness to part with #9 makes me sad. it could be a smokescreen but it hints that the Raptors don't love anyone they've worked out and believe will be at their pick.

[PushDaRock]

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[Son Goku 25]

Who might the Raptors want to fall to 9, with them blowing smokescreens? Is it Jeremiah Fears?

I believe so.

[BoyzNTheHood]

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