2025 NBA Draft Discussion Part 7

[PhilBlackson]

I think I'm pretty set on Bryant at pick 9 with Rasheer and Coward next up.

I think he has the best chance of the to be more than an elite role player. He has more to his game than he was able to show in college, which you can see in his high school tape.

I see a realistic ceiling of a Trey Murphy or Mikal Bridges.

Sorry to be nit picky....But that handle won't work in the NBA looks bad and not tight at all....Can work in HS...But against better defenders he can't dribble like that...

Sorry not trying to be rude but I just find this comment funny lol like of course it would have to/would improve. On the flip side why would you anticipate him never improving from the time he was 16-17 year old?!

The point is he's already shown some flashes of it but will have to continue to refine it. People draw comparisons of him to OG which defensively totally makes sense because they are VERY similar in how they really smother opponents in man defence with deflections, steals & shot contests BUT Bryant is still way ahead of OG offensively at the same age.

While his handle isn't "tight" just yet, he still has a level of fluidity to it that OG certainly didn't. OG was literally dribbling the ball like a 5 year old with the ball in front of his body lol forget even daring a crossover or anything behind his back and of course OG was just sort of clumsy and uncordinated with his feet offensively. That doesn't look like the case for Bryant....and this is completely ignoring that Bryant was/is a MUCH better passer at the same age as well as that was seen as a strength of his coming out of HS. So for me it's like imagining what if OG was more coordinated/fluid offensively & was a better passer, for me that's not a superstar but could be all-star potential and who better to develop him than us?!


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




But as a quick sidebar, if I was the FO, I wouldn't hesitate to try & make some sort of trade with WAS to secure Maluach and just eliminate the risk that someone takes "your guy". I'm not sure if a couple or so SRPs get it done but if so I wouldn't hesitate. If they're really sold on him ie/ like they were Giannis, Shai etc...obv no one is saying he's going to be that level. I'm not saying they should but if they really do love him I'd go as so far as to say they should be willing to part with a player like Gradey if push came to shove, IF they really believe they have something. Don't have the conversation later where you say you weren't sure about the price at the time because the price could end up looking minuscule if you believe you have a star prospect. I don't think he'd command that much but I'm just saying if they love a prospect they have to be willing to pay whatever that price is because if that player pans out they certainly won't regret it.

[pharring]

I'd like to know more about Carter Bryant's attitude.

I think Masai has thus far assembled a team that is generally devoid of knuckleheads and i think personality is going to be an important factor for #9.

Did Bryant sit in the corner and get less usage while at Arizona because he's generally passive or not that interested in putting his stamp on the game?

Or is he a Ferrari that was forced to drive in a slower lane due to teammates or coaching?

Is he a committed gym rat like JaKobe? Is he a hard worker and fun loving guy like Gradey? Is he a learning sponge like Shead? Or does he coast on his athletism, ignore his teammates and generally not care as long as someone CTCs?

I will say this... Based on what I have watched and what I have read in this thread.... If he's a personality fit with our existing young guys...we gotta go get him. He looks like a secret Ferrari.

[earthtone]

Was on board with everything until the Essengue dig haha, I think he's less of a projection than Bryant. They're very differently built even though they both have great size + athleticism for their position, but Essengue will have ~double the minutes played as Bryant against a much higher level of competition.

That's true, and playing pro ball at 18 does matter, but the German League is still like the 6th/7th best in Europe, so it's not exactly super top competition and nothing really sticks out to me with him even in Eurocup play. And when they played the actual other good team in Bayern he got shut down.

As I've said previously, the athlete getting transition buckets thing generally gets overrated for me. It's more like what does he do in a half-court if he can't shoot 3s at a high level? Is he more of a 4/5 then? And it's like he'll do a bunch of stuff at an okay level in terms of defending/attacking the basket and maybe he gets there as a shooter, but nothing really stands out to me as anything exceptional at the next level.

And it's perfectly fair if people see the same thing Bryant too.

Yah, that's super fair. I see Essengue & Bryant as the same tier of prospect who would fill similar roles at the NBA level, so its really just splitting hairs at this point. Essengue looks to have a lot of Jaden McDaniels to him while Bryant seems like if OG Anunoby had a 50% less freakish wingspan with 50% more coordination and fluidity. Can't really go wrong either way.

I'd love to see measurements for all of the Euro guys, hope they come out before the draft. If Essengue has a 9' standing reach and/or 7' wingspan, I think he goes Top 10. I also think Hugo Gonzalez starts getting lottery buzz if he measures in close to a 7' wingspan, he's probably the closest to Carter Bryant's situation in the draft

[Clutch0z24]

I think I'm pretty set on Bryant at pick 9 with Rasheer and Coward next up.

I think he has the best chance of the to be more than an elite role player. He has more to his game than he was able to show in college, which you can see in his high school tape.

I see a realistic ceiling of a Trey Murphy or Mikal Bridges.

Sorry to be nit picky....But that handle won't work in the NBA looks bad and not tight at all....Can work in HS...But against better defenders he can't dribble like that...

Sorry not trying to be rude but I just find this comment funny lol like of course it would have to/would improve. On the flip side why would you anticipate him never improving from the time he was 16-17 year old?!

The point is he's already shown some flashes of it but will have to continue to refine it. People draw comparisons of him to OG which defensively totally makes sense because they are VERY similar in how they really smother opponents in man defence with deflections, steals & shot contests BUT Bryant is still way ahead of OG offensively at the same age.

While his handle isn't "tight" just yet, he still has a level of fluidity to it that OG certainly didn't. OG was literally dribbling the ball like a 5 year old with the ball in front of his body lol forget even daring a crossover or anything behind his back and of course OG was just sort of clumsy and uncordinated with his feet offensively. That doesn't look like the case for Bryant....and this is completely ignoring that Bryant was/is a MUCH better passer at the same age as well as that was seen as a strength of his coming out of HS. So for me it's like imagining what if OG was more coordinated/fluid offensively & was a better passer, for me that's not a superstar but could be all-star potential and who better to develop him than us?!


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




But as a quick sidebar, if I was the FO, I wouldn't hesitate to try & make some sort of trade with WAS to secure Maluach and just eliminate the risk that someone takes "your guy". I'm not sure if a couple or so SRPs get it done but if so I wouldn't hesitate. If they're really sold on him ie/ like they were Giannis, Shai etc...obv no one is saying he's going to be that level. I'm not saying they should but if they really do love him I'd go as so far as to say they should be willing to part with a player like Gradey if push came to shove, IF they really believe they have something. Don't have the conversation later where you say you weren't sure about the price at the time because the price could end up looking minuscule if you believe you have a star prospect. I don't think he'd command that much but I'm just saying if they love a prospect they have to be willing to pay whatever that price is because if that player pans out they certainly won't regret it.

I don't think Bryant is as good and won't be as good as OG....Thats my opinion....OG the best wing defender in the league....Bryant a good defender he won't be the best in the league...And like i said i don't see the offensive upside with Bryant...I see a decent shooter/Fast break type of guy....He can't break defenders down and he can't get to the rim....He does not draw fouls....So hes pretty limited offensivly...Not saying he can never improve but like i said it will take a pretty rare development curve for him to magically get better at all these things in the NBA....

For me Bryant would be a good pick in the mid lotto early teens but at 9 i think there will be better players to choose from...

[Mark_83]

I think most of us can agree that we need to convert one of Barrett, Ochai, Dick, or Walter into a different asset given they all basically play the same position.

If one of them can be flipped for a pick in the teens this year that would balance our roster much better going into the season.

Ochai 4.3M
Walter 3.5M
Dick 4.7M
Barrett 25.7M

Dick to Orlando for pick 16 makes some sense depending who's there.

I'd probably prefer to move Barrett, but I don't really see him generating a ton of interest.

[Mark_83]

Sorry to be nit picky....But that handle won't work in the NBA looks bad and not tight at all....Can work in HS...But against better defenders he can't dribble like that...

Sorry not trying to be rude but I just find this comment funny lol like of course it would have to/would improve. On the flip side why would you anticipate him never improving from the time he was 16-17 year old?!

The point is he's already shown some flashes of it but will have to continue to refine it. People draw comparisons of him to OG which defensively totally makes sense because they are VERY similar in how they really smother opponents in man defence with deflections, steals & shot contests BUT Bryant is still way ahead of OG offensively at the same age.

While his handle isn't "tight" just yet, he still has a level of fluidity to it that OG certainly didn't. OG was literally dribbling the ball like a 5 year old with the ball in front of his body lol forget even daring a crossover or anything behind his back and of course OG was just sort of clumsy and uncordinated with his feet offensively. That doesn't look like the case for Bryant....and this is completely ignoring that Bryant was/is a MUCH better passer at the same age as well as that was seen as a strength of his coming out of HS. So for me it's like imagining what if OG was more coordinated/fluid offensively & was a better passer, for me that's not a superstar but could be all-star potential and who better to develop him than us?!


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




But as a quick sidebar, if I was the FO, I wouldn't hesitate to try & make some sort of trade with WAS to secure Maluach and just eliminate the risk that someone takes "your guy". I'm not sure if a couple or so SRPs get it done but if so I wouldn't hesitate. If they're really sold on him ie/ like they were Giannis, Shai etc...obv no one is saying he's going to be that level. I'm not saying they should but if they really do love him I'd go as so far as to say they should be willing to part with a player like Gradey if push came to shove, IF they really believe they have something. Don't have the conversation later where you say you weren't sure about the price at the time because the price could end up looking minuscule if you believe you have a star prospect. I don't think he'd command that much but I'm just saying if they love a prospect they have to be willing to pay whatever that price is because if that player pans out they certainly won't regret it.

I don't think Bryant is as good and won't be as good as OG....Thats my opinion....OG the best wing defender in the league....Bryant a good defender he won't be the best in the league...And like i said i don't see the offensive upside with Bryant...I see a decent shooter/Fast break type of guy....He can't break defenders down and he can't get to the rim....He does not draw fouls....So hes pretty limited offensivly...Not saying he can never improve but like i said it will take a pretty rare development curve for him to magically get better at all these things in the NBA....

For me Bryant would be a good pick in the mid lotto early teens but at 9 i think there will be better players to choose from...

Please list the better players we should choose at 9 so we can revisit this debate in the future.

[Clutch0z24]

Sorry not trying to be rude but I just find this comment funny lol like of course it would have to/would improve. On the flip side why would you anticipate him never improving from the time he was 16-17 year old?!

The point is he's already shown some flashes of it but will have to continue to refine it. People draw comparisons of him to OG which defensively totally makes sense because they are VERY similar in how they really smother opponents in man defence with deflections, steals & shot contests BUT Bryant is still way ahead of OG offensively at the same age.

While his handle isn't "tight" just yet, he still has a level of fluidity to it that OG certainly didn't. OG was literally dribbling the ball like a 5 year old with the ball in front of his body lol forget even daring a crossover or anything behind his back and of course OG was just sort of clumsy and uncordinated with his feet offensively. That doesn't look like the case for Bryant....and this is completely ignoring that Bryant was/is a MUCH better passer at the same age as well as that was seen as a strength of his coming out of HS. So for me it's like imagining what if OG was more coordinated/fluid offensively & was a better passer, for me that's not a superstar but could be all-star potential and who better to develop him than us?!


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




But as a quick sidebar, if I was the FO, I wouldn't hesitate to try & make some sort of trade with WAS to secure Maluach and just eliminate the risk that someone takes "your guy". I'm not sure if a couple or so SRPs get it done but if so I wouldn't hesitate. If they're really sold on him ie/ like they were Giannis, Shai etc...obv no one is saying he's going to be that level. I'm not saying they should but if they really do love him I'd go as so far as to say they should be willing to part with a player like Gradey if push came to shove, IF they really believe they have something. Don't have the conversation later where you say you weren't sure about the price at the time because the price could end up looking minuscule if you believe you have a star prospect. I don't think he'd command that much but I'm just saying if they love a prospect they have to be willing to pay whatever that price is because if that player pans out they certainly won't regret it.

I don't think Bryant is as good and won't be as good as OG....Thats my opinion....OG the best wing defender in the league....Bryant a good defender he won't be the best in the league...And like i said i don't see the offensive upside with Bryant...I see a decent shooter/Fast break type of guy....He can't break defenders down and he can't get to the rim....He does not draw fouls....So hes pretty limited offensivly...Not saying he can never improve but like i said it will take a pretty rare development curve for him to magically get better at all these things in the NBA....

For me Bryant would be a good pick in the mid lotto early teens but at 9 i think there will be better players to choose from...

Please list the better players we should choose at 9 so we can revisit this debate in the future.

Could be many better....Any player that falls in the perceived top 9 could slide to us ....Maybe Kon/Fears/Queen....If Maluach hits his Peak thats a better player than Bryant if he hits his peak....Traore/Jase/Jaku (All 3 players who are high level shot creators) could all be better....Then you have Rasheer/Noa who are in the same mold as Bryant could end up better....

There are players for sure in the 9th pick area that could deff be better than Bryant....Acting as if Bryant would be a sure thing at 9 is silly....He has red flags just like the rest of the guys in our range...

[Psubs]

Other than being selected at #9 by the Raptors, which teams do you think could be interested in Khaman Maluach before we'd have the chance to select him?

Would anyone be willing/able to trade up into one of the top 8 picks to choose him ahead of us?

New Orleans and Brooklyn should draft Maluach.

Atlanta might offer #13 and 22. Let Capela walk and pair Maluach with Okongwu, who can hit 3's and play PF, then Jalen Johnson at SF.

[dagger]

Dick to Orlando for pick 16 makes some sense depending who's there.

.

Two years of development for a 13th pick, assurance for a buyer that he is not a bust, and you trade him for a 16th pick. Brilliant

[Mark_83]

I don't think Bryant is as good and won't be as good as OG....Thats my opinion....OG the best wing defender in the league....Bryant a good defender he won't be the best in the league...And like i said i don't see the offensive upside with Bryant...I see a decent shooter/Fast break type of guy....He can't break defenders down and he can't get to the rim....He does not draw fouls....So hes pretty limited offensivly...Not saying he can never improve but like i said it will take a pretty rare development curve for him to magically get better at all these things in the NBA....

For me Bryant would be a good pick in the mid lotto early teens but at 9 i think there will be better players to choose from...

Please list the better players we should choose at 9 so we can revisit this debate in the future.

Could be many better....Any player that falls in the perceived top 9 could slide to us ....Maybe Kon/Fears/Queen....If Maluach hits his Peak thats a better player than Bryant if he hits his peak....Traore/Jase/Jaku (All 3 players who are high level shot creators) could all be better....Then you have Rasheer/Noa who are in the same mold as Bryant could end up better....

There are players for sure in the 9th pick area that could deff be better than Bryant....Acting as if Bryant would be a sure thing at 9 is silly....He has red flags just like the rest of the guys in our range...

Literally no one has said that.

The whole point of the debate is who will be the better player when all said and done. It's not just a question of who the best player is IF they reach their theoretical peak, but more so who is most likely to reach closest to a theoretical peak that is higher than the alternatives.

[Psubs]

Sold on Carter Bryant and Fleming

Welcome to the club.

Not sure how but need to make a trade to get both.

[PhilBlackson]

Sorry to be nit picky....But that handle won't work in the NBA looks bad and not tight at all....Can work in HS...But against better defenders he can't dribble like that...

Spoiler:

Sorry not trying to be rude but I just find this comment funny lol like of course it would have to/would improve. On the flip side why would you anticipate him never improving from the time he was 16-17 year old?!

The point is he's already shown some flashes of it but will have to continue to refine it. People draw comparisons of him to OG which defensively totally makes sense because they are VERY similar in how they really smother opponents in man defence with deflections, steals & shot contests BUT Bryant is still way ahead of OG offensively at the same age.

While his handle isn't "tight" just yet, he still has a level of fluidity to it that OG certainly didn't. OG was literally dribbling the ball like a 5 year old with the ball in front of his body lol forget even daring a crossover or anything behind his back and of course OG was just sort of clumsy and uncordinated with his feet offensively. That doesn't look like the case for Bryant....and this is completely ignoring that Bryant was/is a MUCH better passer at the same age as well as that was seen as a strength of his coming out of HS. So for me it's like imagining what if OG was more coordinated/fluid offensively & was a better passer, for me that's not a superstar but could be all-star potential and who better to develop him than us?!


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




But as a quick sidebar, if I was the FO, I wouldn't hesitate to try & make some sort of trade with WAS to secure Maluach and just eliminate the risk that someone takes "your guy". I'm not sure if a couple or so SRPs get it done but if so I wouldn't hesitate. If they're really sold on him ie/ like they were Giannis, Shai etc...obv no one is saying he's going to be that level. I'm not saying they should but if they really do love him I'd go as so far as to say they should be willing to part with a player like Gradey if push came to shove, IF they really believe they have something. Don't have the conversation later where you say you weren't sure about the price at the time because the price could end up looking minuscule if you believe you have a star prospect. I don't think he'd command that much but I'm just saying if they love a prospect they have to be willing to pay whatever that price is because if that player pans out they certainly won't regret it

.

I don't think Bryant is as good and won't be as good as OG....Thats my opinion....OG the best wing defender in the league....Bryant a good defender he won't be the best in the league...And like i said i don't see the offensive upside with Bryant...I see a decent shooter/Fast break type of guy....He can't break defenders down and he can't get to the rim....He does not draw fouls....So hes pretty limited offensivly...Not saying he can never improve but like i said it will take a pretty rare development curve for him to magically get better at all these things in the NBA....

For me Bryant would be a good pick in the mid lotto early teens but at 9 i think there will be better players to choose from...

Bryant is easily better than OG offensively at the same age, I don't even see how that's a debate tbh. If you're just referring to defensively yes I would give a slight edge at the same age because OG is slightly longer and stronger.

Offensively though, OG was pretty much used like PJ Tucker when he entered the league (albeit older than Carter as well). But all you could really do with him was park him in the corner for those 3s. Carter is already much better at above break 3s which took OG a couple of years in the NBA to even get used to and he's also better at relocating or moving to the blind spots of the defence whether that be for 3s or back door cuts as well. All of that stuff OG was only adding once he got into the NBA. And again forget about "tightening up" his handle, OG was flat out clumsy with the ball in his hands while this yet also skipping over Bryant being a better passer. If Bryant is given the opportunity/playing time, I'll actually be shocked if he doesn't pan out to be a better player offensively and I don't agree with the notion that OG was so significantly better defensively although again I concede he'd have the edge with the slight added size.

I don't know if I wanna address the "best defender in the league" assessment either because personally I think Dyson is even better as a wing defender and of course there's no stats/evidence that support him being a greater impact than Victor lol...but I'm trying to recall who you said you want us to draft?! I thought it was Maluach but I could be confusing you but if it is Khaman, idk how you could have faith that he would develop yet for some reason you're acting like Bryant will stagnate at 19. Plus idk what's with this hang up that he has to be the type of player that gets to the rim....even if you listen to his interviews his inspirations are Tatum & Booker (who both primarily create jumpers from the perimeter to mid range) and I think that's the path he'd try to follow. Ofc I'd welcome him adding the ability to get to the rim/draw fouls but I don't see it as a make or break skill as you do. I think him even just adding a few dribble combinations to get to his shot and being able to use screens is more important.

[Psubs]

Carter Bryant has good advanced stats, got parked in the corner, probably going to be a 3+D wing with good size, all those things are all well and good. His floor is probably bigger Ochai.

The thing that really gets me with him, is that if he develops a confident handle/footwork... He's basically an all star. Dudes that age, size, athletic, with that type of smooth jumper and overall body control basically don't exist. If he started on Arizona and averaged 12 a game with the same playstyle he's likely gone before 9. The only reason he might be there is because he was mismanaged.

If he puts in half the work Demar did then he would be the steal of the draft at 9. Obviously maybe he never becomes comfortable handling and driving the ball. I just don't recall seeing a guy that looks like he has that type of star upside while producing so little in college. He's a coaches son, he's saying all the right things in the interviews. At 9 he is probably the best mix of floor and upside, unless you would rather bet on Jak becoming a primary volume shot creator.

Just wild how you can look at him and basically think this guy is a superstar if he learns how to dribble to the rim. Both extremely odd that he can't already do it, and scary how all he needs is that rudimentary skill to be someone who should have went top 3.

I'd take bigger Ochai all day at 9.

That can guard 1-4 and guard the 4 in the post. That's almost OG, right?

[DreamTeam09]

Noa has played NBA preseason games while he was like 17 and had like a 20 burger in one of those games. Since then he's literally & figuratively grown. He definitely peaks my interest, he's like Bruno without being 2yrs away from being 2yrs away.

[CazOnReal]

Dick to Orlando for pick 16 makes some sense depending who's there.

No it does not and that would be a horrible trade.

[Mark_83]

Dick to Orlando for pick 16 makes some sense depending who's there.

No it does not and that would be a horrible trade.

What are the lotto numbers for tomorrow?

[Psubs]

Carter Bryant will be a 3&D fast break guy.....Its rare to see a player develop an Iso/Handle/Shot creating skills over night....They usually already show flashes of it in High school/College.....If they do not show it at them levels the chances are they will never develop it...

Bryant will prolly never be an all star and is prolly more just a bench role player/Decent Starter.....Where he lacks is ....He can't dribble past his defender, Doesn't have a very good dribble package, Does not get to the line or draw contact (49 FTs in college) He doesn't get to the rim other than fast breaks or cuts....He will be a good defender but on offense hes prolly a 9-12 pts a game type of guy for the majority of his career unless he takes a rare jump in development that no one sees coming...

The chances were getting an allstar at #9 is slim to none, especially in this draft, it looks to be on the weaker side when it comes to star power.

If Carter Bryant becomes a decent starter, that's high end value for the #9 pick.

Here are the last 10 #9 picks

15 - Frank Kaminsky
16 - Jakob Poeltl
17 - Dennis Smith Jr
18 - Kevin Knox
19 - Rui Hachimura
20 - Deni Avdija
21 - Davion Mitchell
22 - Jeremy Sochan
23 - Taylor Hendricks
24 - Zach Edey
25 - ?


0 allstars, and the best player of the bunch is Jakob Poeltl. Is Carter becomes a starting caliber 3+D wing who can give 10 points, hit 3's, and play solid defense... that's realistic value for the #9 pick, and no one should be disappointed.

Lol depends....Or you pick Bryant at 9 and come to find you passed up on 2 or 3 guys that became way better players than Bryant and you are scratching your head looking back....That also happens alot of the time....Which imo there will prolly be players avail at 9 that will have better careers than Bryant when its all said and done... Making a list of players drafted at #9 and then also not looking at who was picked after 9 to see who were way better players (Which means them teams got the pick wrong) is kind of silly...

Become way better? I don't know about vastly better. Do you mean score more? Barrett can score like 22 ppg but there are both ends of the floor. I want a player that will help the team win. Derozan got up to 25ppg, but couldn't shoot the 3 and his defense was below average so couldn't help the team win as much as a Kawhi.

[CazOnReal]

Dick to Orlando for pick 16 makes some sense depending who's there.

No it does not and that would be a horrible trade.

What are the lotto numbers for tomorrow?

Asked the person gambling on a rookie picked 16th over the proven talent.

There's definitely a consolidation trade to be had for a wing or big in exchange for RJ, Dick or Ochai (I would prefer to keep Ochai on a team-friendly deal) but it is not for an unproven talent. The oft-suggested Lively-Dick swap? That's at least an idea. Jabari Smith Jr.? Not sure who you'd swap in that deal but i'm willing to listen to that as a trade target.

Trading Dick for a non-lottery pick is is a stupid suggestion.

[PhilBlackson]

Sold on Carter Bryant and Fleming

Welcome to the club.

Not sure how but need to make a trade to get both.

We gotta find a taker for Gradey and/or Ochai in the mid lotto to snatch Fleming (period), attach our 2nd if need be.

Fleming at 9 feels a little high but to me if you can give up some our SG depth to add to our SF/PF depth with him, that to me is a home run and I keep saying it but Rasheer feels like a player that MUST be a Raptor lol.

I'd do everything I can to draft one of Maluach (preferably for the added size overall) or Bryant at 9 since I think both have slightly higher upsides and then just find anyway you can to trade for RF, with Orlando being the most obvious target and I'd give MIN an outside chance if they're looking for ways to add another expiring (Ochai) although I think they might be the team that takes Coward. But walking out of this draft with whichever guy at 9 AND Fleming would be a fantastic draft and I feel like our team would actually suddenly feel pretty loaded from top to bottom.

[TGM]

Carter Bryant will be a 3&D fast break guy.....Its rare to see a player develop an Iso/Handle/Shot creating skills over night....They usually already show flashes of it in High school/College.....If they do not show it at them levels the chances are they will never develop it...

Bryant will prolly never be an all star and is prolly more just a bench role player/Decent Starter.....Where he lacks is ....He can't dribble past his defender, Doesn't have a very good dribble package, Does not get to the line or draw contact (49 FTs in college) He doesn't get to the rim other than fast breaks or cuts....He will be a good defender but on offense hes prolly a 9-12 pts a game type of guy for the majority of his career unless he takes a rare jump in development that no one sees coming...

The chances were getting an allstar at #9 is slim to none, especially in this draft, it looks to be on the weaker side when it comes to star power.

If Carter Bryant becomes a decent starter, that's high end value for the #9 pick.

Here are the last 10 #9 picks

15 - Frank Kaminsky
16 - Jakob Poeltl
17 - Dennis Smith Jr
18 - Kevin Knox
19 - Rui Hachimura
20 - Deni Avdija
21 - Davion Mitchell
22 - Jeremy Sochan
23 - Taylor Hendricks
24 - Zach Edey
25 - ?

0 allstars, and the best player of the bunch is Jakob Poeltl. Is Carter becomes a starting caliber 3+D wing who can give 10 points, hit 3's, and play solid defense... that's realistic value for the #9 pick, and no one should be disappointed.

15.Passed on Devin Booker/Myles Turner
16.Yak Vs Sabonis (Sabonis prolly slightly better)
17.Passed on Donovan Mitchell/Bam/Jarret Allen/OG
18.Passed on Shai/Brunson
19.Passed On Herro
20.Passed On Hailiburton/Maxey
21.Passed on Sengun/Jalen Johnson/Trey Murph
22.Passed on Jalen Williams/Jalen Duren/Mark Williams
23.Passed on Cason Wallace/Lively/Dick/
24.Could have tooken Ware but Edey was a good pick

....See how we can go through all these drafts and see how players got picked over way better players...We do not want to be the team that passed on a great player and we wanna pick the good player....Is Bryant that guy?....Maybe but chances are hes prolly not the best player at 9 on the board...Due to his lack of offensive skills....Hes prolly just a utility guy...And there will be a player that goes after Bryant if we picked him at 9 that will be more than just a utility guy and becomes an all star...

This is all hindsight. Cause for every Booker there are the Stanley Johnson’s that get picked as well for upside. I honestly think a player develops greatly due to the environment they get pulled into. Kawhi would not be Kawhi if it weren’t for the Spurs. Payton Pritchard wouldn’t be the same player if he wasn’t on Boston playing with depth and no fear of losing games. Joey Graham was a great example we wanted this physical beast and past on Granger.

You take the BPA and try your best to develop them. The times we’ve gone for positional need has always backfired. Passing on Iggy for the Brazilian Beast. Taking Ross over Drummond.