2025 NBA Draft Prospect Part 2

[Morse Code]

Yo the Maluach comparisons made in the last thread are so bad. Roy Hibbert as high end outcome?

[Yallbecrazy]

Someone in the previous thread asked about Harper going #2 and Fears not being lottery. Not saying Fears isn't a good prospect, but he is well behind Harper. BPM is 2.7 less, he has fewer rebounds, 2 inches shorter, and committing way too many turnovers. He looks better defensively and has a lot of positives too, but he is clearly an inferior prospect to Harper.

[Morse Code]

Someone in the previous thread asked about Harper going #2 and Fears not being lottery. Not saying Fears isn't a good prospect, but he is well behind Harper. BPM is 2.7 less, he has fewer rebounds, 2 inches shorter, and committing way too many turnovers. He looks better defensively and has a lot of positives too, but he is clearly an inferior prospect to Harper.

It depends though because if you believe Harper is a true pg/floor general then yes they aren’t equal, but if you think Harper can’t be a lead ball handler on a championship team and you need a true pg, Fears has more natural talent with the ball in his hands. He has Kyrie like handles.

[Yallbecrazy]

Yo the Maluach comparisons made in the last thread are so bad. Roy Hibbert as high end outcome?

So there's a chance he figures it out and with his physical profile that's an all star in the NBA, but we've said that about a number of guys and very few of them actually figure it out. Right now his stats show a big red flag in BBIQ, Ayton had very similar stats and showed flashes too as a young player, but ultimately has been a big disappointment. Ayton shouldn't have been drafted in the top 5 based on his college stats even without the benefit of hindsight, players like him and Malauch don't turn out the majority of the time. There are better prospects out there with a much better chance of reaching their potential.

edit: Malauch will almost certainly be drafted ahead of where he should be. Prospects like him always are, so you are better off not wasting too much time scouting him because he won't be BPA when he is drafted.

[Psubs]

Since we are top 4 right now in this draft my top picks for future potential star outcomes
Harper
Flagg
Tre Johnson
Ace

I would like to come out of this draft with one of the 4. Harper being the obvious favorite but i would be fine with any of these guys as a building block for us....The question is will Masai try and be in the 2026 draft as well or will we try and compete ASAP next season.

East is so trash they may float up as quickly as San Antonio without injuries.

https://www.nbadraft.net/nba-mock-drafts/?year-mock=2026

Koa Peat might not start off great next year playing against bigger older players. Hopefully he grows another inch and may be more like a Blake Griffin, though maybe not and he could be a mid 1st round pick next year.

Jayden Quaintance might be a good get mid 1st pick. He's got like 5 stocks and a 9 bpm at age 17. For the 2026 draft he'll STILL be 18 years old.

[Psubs]

Yo the Maluach comparisons made in the last thread are so bad. Roy Hibbert as high end outcome?

So there's a chance he figures it out and with his physical profile that's an all star in the NBA, but we've said that about a number of guys and very few of them actually figure it out. Right now his stats show a big red flag in BBIQ, Ayton had very similar stats and showed flashes too as a young player, but ultimately has been a big disappointment. Ayton shouldn't have been drafted in the top 5 based on his college stats even without the benefit of hindsight, players like him and Malauch don't turn out the majority of the time. There are better prospects out there with a much better chance of reaching their potential.

He doesn't even seem as good as Kel'el Ware. Ware transferred and played 1 more year and was much better. Malauch may just go for the guaranteed money before he becomes a senior like Kalkbrenner.

[Mark_83]

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Get them both and figure it out later.

Would love to get both. We need a late 1st for one imo, and the other should be there with Portland's pick.

[Psubs]

Watch on YouTube

Get them both and figure it out later.

Would love to get both. We need a late 1st for one imo, and the other should be there with Portland's pick.

Gotta start flipping players for 2nd picks, then flip a player with a 2nd pick for a 1st pick in the 20's. Like you'd think we could flip Olynyk and a 2nd pick for a 1st pick.

Imagine Jakucionus, Tomislav and Zvonimir!

PG IQ - Shead - Jakucionus
SG Jakobe - Dick
SF Barrett - Dick - Battle
PF Barnes - Mogbo - Barrett
C Poeltl - Tomislav/Zvonimir

905 - Chomche

[Clutch0z24]

Since we are top 4 right now in this draft my top picks for future potential star outcomes
Harper
Flagg
Tre Johnson
Ace

I would like to come out of this draft with one of the 4. Harper being the obvious favorite but i would be fine with any of these guys as a building block for us....The question is will Masai try and be in the 2026 draft as well or will we try and compete ASAP next season.

East is so trash they may float up as quickly as San Antonio without injuries.

https://www.nbadraft.net/nba-mock-drafts/?year-mock=2026

Koa Peat might not start off great next year playing against bigger older players. Hopefully he grows another inch and may be more like a Blake Griffin, though maybe not and he could be a mid 1st round pick next year.

Jayden Quaintance might be a good get mid 1st pick. He's got like 5 stocks and a 9 bpm at age 17. For the 2026 draft he'll STILL be 18 years old.

I am not questioning if we could be a good team next year ....Im asking if Masai will want to be good or not....Does Masai want to add 2 blue chippers to this team over the span of 2 years?....Or does he think with just adding 1 decent prospect with the team he already has is enough to win in the future....Masai is in charge right now and if he thinks its worth playing the 2026 draft as well...Could very well see it....

2026 draft is stacked so we will see the direction we take. Its very possible he has written down in his big board in the office (2025/2026 high draft picks build a team around the young guys to compete in 2027-2030s)

[Psubs]

I am not questioning if we could be a good team next year ....Im asking if Masai will want to be good or not....Does Masai want to add 2 blue chippers to this team over the span of 2 years?....Or does he think with just adding 1 decent prospect with the team he already has is enough to win in the future....Masai is in charge right now and if he thinks its worth playing the 2026 draft as well...Could very well see it....

2026 draft is stacked so we will see the direction we take. Its very possible he has written down in his big board in the office (2025/2026 high draft picks build a team around the young guys to compete in 2027-2030s)

Arenas' body language looks like trash. Maybe he's a lazy entitled version of Tre Johnson? I think Will Riley might be a better prospect just based on size. This will likely be a hot take in the future.

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Doesn't look that quick just that he's punishing guards that are 6'2 while he's 6'6.

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/42756580/gilbert-arenas-son-alijah-top-5-recruit-reclassifying-25

[Jstock12]

2026 draft is stacked

To be fair, a year ago a lot of people looked at the 2025 draft and thought there's at least 5 franchise players in the top10

[Psubs]

2026 draft is stacked

To be fair, a year ago a lot of people looked at the 2025 draft and thought there's at least 5 franchise players in the top10

Jaylen Wells is shooting better than Reed Sheppard.

Can Jakobe steal the ROY if he keeps playing well and get to over 12 ppg?

[Clutch0z24]

2026 draft is stacked

To be fair, a year ago a lot of people looked at the 2025 draft and thought there's at least 5 franchise players in the top10

Not many drafts would have 5 Franchise players in it....Will there be a few superstars ofc maybe one franchise player will come out this class.....But 2026....Looks pretty sim to the 2025 class where its stacked and has lots of talent within in the lottery....

Who knows what Masai does but its possible he himself does not think the team he has right now could be a title contender in the future....And if he really believes that its possible he wants to be in the running for AJ/Petereson/Boozer sweepstakes....Can't really rule it out... I think we will be too talented to be in that conversation ofc...But we will see how it plays out...Could go either way...

[Psubs]

2026 draft is stacked

To be fair, a year ago a lot of people looked at the 2025 draft and thought there's at least 5 franchise players in the top10

Not many drafts would have 5 Franchise players in it....Will there be a few superstars ofc maybe one franchise player will come out this class.....But 2026....Looks pretty sim to the 2025 class where its stacked and has lots of talent within in the lottery....

Who knows what Masai does but its possible he himself does not think the team he has right now could be a title contender in the future....And if he really believes that its possible he wants to be in the running for AJ/Petereson/Boozer sweepstakes....Can't really rule it out... I think we will be too talented to be in that conversation ofc...But we will see how it plays out...Could go either way...

Only way would be to get lucky like Atlanta with the 10th worst record getting #1.

Would probably look at Quaintance, Peat or Sorber. Really Sorber should turn pro if he gets a 1st round promise.

[Mark_83]

Watch on YouTube

Get them both and figure it out later.

Would love to get both. We need a late 1st for one imo, and the other should be there with Portland's pick.

Gotta start flipping players for 2nd picks, then flip a player with a 2nd pick for a 1st pick in the 20's. Like you'd think we could flip Olynyk and a 2nd pick for a 1st pick.

Imagine Jakucionus, Tomislav and Zvonimir!

PG IQ - Shead - Jakucionus
SG Jakobe - Dick
SF Barrett - Dick - Battle
PF Barnes - Mogbo - Barrett
C Poeltl - Tomislav/Zvonimir

905 - Chomche

I think Tomislav is a second-rounder but the most likely of the two brothers to have a solid NBA career because he has a higher IQ imo. Big Z has the most upside of the two though. He can be like a Porzingis-lite if it all clicks.

[Psubs]

Would love to get both. We need a late 1st for one imo, and the other should be there with Portland's pick.

Gotta start flipping players for 2nd picks, then flip a player with a 2nd pick for a 1st pick in the 20's. Like you'd think we could flip Olynyk and a 2nd pick for a 1st pick.

Imagine Jakucionus, Tomislav and Zvonimir!

PG IQ - Shead - Jakucionus
SG Jakobe - Dick
SF Barrett - Dick - Battle
PF Barnes - Mogbo - Barrett
C Poeltl - Tomislav/Zvonimir

905 - Chomche

I think Tomislav is a second-rounder but the most likely of the two brothers to have a solid NBA career because he has a higher IQ imo. Big Z has the most upside of the two though. He can be like a Porzingis-lite if it all clicks.

I just want bigs that aren't Boucher's size that can catch lobs, block shots and shoot 3's. They are junior aged but have been playing professionally, and their 3pt shots are quick with confidence.

[Jerry Lucas]

2026 draft is stacked

To be fair, a year ago a lot of people looked at the 2025 draft and thought there's at least 5 franchise players in the top10

I swear the "5 franchise players" narrative was literally just mass misinterpretation of 1 ESPN mock draft they dropped pre-season that said 4 guys could challenge Flagg for #1.

What way too many fans took from that was: "If Flagg is supposed to be a franchise player and 4 other guys can challenge him for #1, then there must be 5 franchise players at the top of the draft!"

What should have been taken from that mock was: "If Flagg disappoints in his freshman season, then here are 4 other guys who have a slim chance of going #1."

[Reeko]

Someone in the previous thread asked about Harper going #2 and Fears not being lottery. Not saying Fears isn't a good prospect, but he is well behind Harper. BPM is 2.7 less, he has fewer rebounds, 2 inches shorter, and committing way too many turnovers. He looks better defensively and has a lot of positives too, but he is clearly an inferior prospect to Harper.

That's fine if you think he's an inferior prospect to Harper but that wasn't really my point. They are pretty close as prospects when you take everything into consideration. I think that the turnover discrepancy really stands out between the two, but outside of that they're very close in WS/48 I think Harper is .216 to Fears' .214. Fears has the better TS% and the better free throw rate. Fears is also leading an Oklahoma team that was projected to be one of the worst in the SEC to (I believe and you can correct me if I'm wrong) an undefeated record.

I wasn't trying to say that Fears should be ahead of or on par with Harper, but when they are so close by a lot of metrics how is it that one of them is a top 3 lock, and the other one isn't even mocked in the 1st round on some sites? Fears is clearly a lotto pick in this draft, I would argue top 10 and a case could be made for top 5 depending on how the rest of the season plays out.

[DG88]

Since we are top 4 right now in this draft my top picks for future potential star outcomes
Harper
Flagg
Tre Johnson
Ace

I would like to come out of this draft with one of the 4. Harper being the obvious favorite but i would be fine with any of these guys as a building block for us....The question is will Masai try and be in the 2026 draft as well or will we try and compete ASAP next season.

We have 2 picks in the 2026 draft. Our own and Indiana's FRP. I do expect us to be better next year but only if our depth improves enough to endure injuries. I'd expect Play-In so we have a late lottery pick with another in the 15-20 range. If we have a injury riddled season again expect us to be in the top 7 again

[720]

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