2025 NBA Draft Discussion Part 6

[Thaddy]

Does anyone feel Tre Johnson is just a younger version of Gary Trent Jr?

Absolutely not. Tre is a much better scorer than Trent.

I would say since he's a lot younger you have to gauge the development curve and foundational skills. He has a better handle, and supposedly GTJ does too. But he never developed it.

Johnson would be an immediate fit on our team next to Barnes, Poeltl, and RJ. We need a good scorer that can knock down open and contested shots and make defenses collapse. I don't see him being a superstar though. You need burst or you need to be an anomaly in terms of size, strength, or skill.

CMB, Maluach, Queen, and a few others have that special 95th percentile kind of attribute, production, or skill that makes you draw your eyes to them. Johnson just isn't there.

[ciueli]

Does anyone feel Tre Johnson is just a younger version of Gary Trent Jr?

Absolutely not. Tre is a much better scorer than Trent.

It's not a great comparison between the two. Looking at freshman college stats per 40 minutes Tre is 7.8 3 point attempts per game, 10.5 2 point attempts per game, and 4.9 free throw attempts per game, Gary was 7.7 3PA, 5.9 2PA, and 3.1 FTA, in spite of barely over half the 2PA of Tre he actually had a worse percentage. Gary is worse in assists as well, Tre obviously has a substantially more diverse offensive game than Gary did in college, just watch him put the ball on the floor and create, it's nothing at all like Gary who is a horrible dribble driver and a 1 level NBA black hole scorer, Tre is very likely a 3 level scorer eventually at the next level.

[MessiahUjiri]

I ain't gona lie Maluach looks like a disaster waiting to happen.

Nah you need size to compete. We’d be crushing teams inside with him and Poeltl. Plus he can hit free throws above 70 percent. Star though, yeah I don’t see it he’s more Rudy Gobert type.

Maluach would be an excellent PNR partner for Scottie.

Scottie can already throw really creative passes. If he has a big lob target, I imagine 2-3 lobs every game above his defenders.

Imagine doing a PNR with a guard and Scottie to get a switch. Scottie can easily pass above most guards. The whole floor would open up so much.

People are forgetting that Maluach shot 76% from FT. That’s a SUPER foundation to build on.

[Syd-TK3]

Read on Twitter

I've said it before and obviously it's not a real reason to draft someone but Fears is by far the best "eye test" player in the draft like he just looks like a star to me

[ArthurVandelay]

I wouldn’t freak out if Carter Bryant was picked 7/8. I’ve really warmed up to him.

Said this before but he looks like a coordinated OG Anunoby

[ciueli]

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I've said it before and obviously it's not a real reason to draft someone but Fears is by far the best "eye test" player in the draft like he just looks like a star to me

Very unlikely we draft him I think. Masai spoke of wanting two way players (Fears isn't) and he has known love for guys with great wingspan and size for their position (Fears doesn't have that). He has a great handle and dribble drive, the questions are a) with he be able to play defence at the next level, b) does he develop the 3 point shot he needs to open space for his drive and c) can he cut down on the turnovers.

His numbers look a little like freshman Ja Morant, but the big concern is how much worse his assist to turnover numbers are (Ja was already 6.3 APG with 2.5 TOV in college while Fears is 4.1 APG to 3.4 TOV).

[Psubs]

I wouldn’t freak out if Carter Bryant was picked 7/8. I’ve really warmed up to him.

Said this before but he looks like a coordinated OG Anunoby

Yes, already showing POA defense and more playmaking instincts. I think bigger Andrew Wiggins with more guard skills.

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[WuTang_CMB]

Really good footwork

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[MainEvent]

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[Mark_83]

I wouldn’t freak out if Carter Bryant was picked 7/8. I’ve really warmed up to him.

Said this before but he looks like a coordinated OG Anunoby

A little rich for me based on output, but he has that kind of talent so I wouldn't quibble.

[Mark_83]

I wouldn’t freak out if Carter Bryant was picked 7/8. I’ve really warmed up to him.

Said this before but he looks like a coordinated OG Anunoby

Yes, already showing POA defense and more playmaking instincts. I think bigger Andrew Wiggins with more guard skills.

Watch on YouTube

I read somewhere he had the best block % for a non-big in years.

My favorite players for the Raptors in no order:

Cooper Flagg
Dylan Harper
Ace Bailey
VJ Edgecombe
Tre Johnson
Carter Bryant
Bogoljub Markovic
Rasheer Flemming
Jase Richardson
Thomas Sorber
Noa Essengue
Adou Thiero
Ryan Kalkbrenner
Hansen Yang
Tomislav Ivisic
Miles Byrd
Mark Sears

[Basketball_Jones]

Really good footwork

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Derick Siakam

[tsherkin]

I wouldn’t freak out if Carter Bryant was picked 7/8. I’ve really warmed up to him.

Said this before but he looks like a coordinated OG Anunoby

Yes, already showing POA defense and more playmaking instincts. I think bigger Andrew Wiggins with more guard skills.

Watch on YouTube

Tough to evaluate over his teeny sample but he certainly looks like a crazy athlete and like he knows how to move without the ball. Competent from 3, and not just from the corner. Looks good on D.

Kind of adds to our forward glut, though. Doesn't add much on-ball; hasn't looked good in the PnR. Not sure "more athletic Shane Battier" is quite what we want out of our pick, but I suppose it wouldn't be bad. Not sure where he projects to play around Scottie/Ingram, though, or that I love the idea of drafting in the top 7 and going after a bench player.

[Basketball_Jones]

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I've said it before and obviously it's not a real reason to draft someone but Fears is by far the best "eye test" player in the draft like he just looks like a star to me

Very unlikely we draft him I think. Masai spoke of wanting two way players (Fears isn't) and he has known love for guys with great wingspan and size for their position (Fears doesn't have that). He has a great handle and dribble drive, the questions are a) with he be able to play defence at the next level, b) does he develop the 3 point shot he needs to open space for his drive and c) can he cut down on the turnovers.

His numbers look a little like freshman Ja Morant, but the big concern is how much worse his assist to turnover numbers are (Ja was already 6.3 APG with 2.5 TOV in college while Fears is 4.1 APG to 3.4 TOV).

Yeah they seem to prefer more raw physical tools and potential over stuff like ball handling and shot creation which they feel can develop later. Fears has a weird follow through hitch on his shot he needs to fix I think, but obviously works in an open gym.

[Indeed]

I ain't gona lie Maluach looks like a disaster waiting to happen.

Nah you need size to compete. We’d be crushing teams inside with him and Poeltl. Plus he can hit free throws above 70 percent. Star though, yeah I don’t see it he’s more Rudy Gobert type.

Maluach would be an excellent PNR partner for Scottie.

Scottie can already throw really creative passes. If he has a big lob target, I imagine 2-3 lobs every game above his defenders.

Imagine doing a PNR with a guard and Scottie to get a switch. Scottie can easily pass above most guards. The whole floor would open up so much.

People are forgetting that Maluach shot 76% from FT. That’s a SUPER foundation to build on.

As if Barnes has a pull up 3.

The reason it does not work with Poeltl, because Barnes is not a shooting threat, where teams just switch between them or go under. And against switch, Barnes does not have a quickness to beat the big man off the dribble nor take that pull up, and of course, he cannot bully someone bigger.

I think we no longer have Barnes creating off PnR once Quickley was back, the stats also backed the fact his PnR handler is not very good. Neither the stats for Barnes being the roll man, all we had Barnes at the end of the season was the corner 3 man. Maybe you can watch the games.

[tsherkin]

Yeah they seem to prefer more raw physical tools and potential over stuff like ball handling and shot creation which they feel can develop later.

That saddens me, though, because that really isn't typically how player development goes in a guy's 20s. There are exceptions, but man. You generally look to have that in place BEFORE they hit the league.

[Jadoogar]

I ain't gona lie Maluach looks like a disaster waiting to happen.

Nah you need size to compete. We’d be crushing teams inside with him and Poeltl. Plus he can hit free throws above 70 percent. Star though, yeah I don’t see it he’s more Rudy Gobert type.

Maluach would be an excellent PNR partner for Scottie.

Scottie can already throw really creative passes. If he has a big lob target, I imagine 2-3 lobs every game above his defenders.

Imagine doing a PNR with a guard and Scottie to get a switch. Scottie can easily pass above most guards. The whole floor would open up so much.

People are forgetting that Maluach shot 76% from FT. That’s a SUPER foundation to build on.

people need to stop throwing out the rudy gobert comparison, especially as an insult.
He's a 4 time DPOY, if that's what #7 pick turns into, that's a massive homerun. Most #7 picks turn out to be Killian Hayes or Emmanual Mudiay

[ciueli]

Yeah they seem to prefer more raw physical tools and potential over stuff like ball handling and shot creation which they feel can develop later.

That saddens me, though, because that really isn't typically how player development goes in a guy's 20s. There are exceptions, but man. You generally look to have that in place BEFORE they hit the league.

There are players who came into the NBA fairly raw and turned into superstars with development. Giannis, Kawhi, Butler, Tatum, Gobert, it's not uncommon for players with fantastic physicals to be something special at the next level even if they don't have the skill part of the game down yet.

I think by the time the back part of the draft rolls around there is more value in undersized but skilled players that other teams pass over, we've seen Masai draft undersized guys or "normal" size players with late first round, second round picks, or even undrafted and do well there, but that's mostly an acknowledgement that the later draft picks are more likely to be fringe starter or bench level types where size and physicals aren't as important to expectations.

[Indeed]

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His finishing is very Poeltl like. Although Poeltl is a much better defender, but Queen may able to stretch the floor, so it won't be a downgrade for us. Queen will be a very good fit into Dark system.

That said, he is marginally an upgrade, so if anyone who can create and drop to us, we might take them instead.

[Indeed]

Yeah they seem to prefer more raw physical tools and potential over stuff like ball handling and shot creation which they feel can develop later.

That saddens me, though, because that really isn't typically how player development goes in a guy's 20s. There are exceptions, but man. You generally look to have that in place BEFORE they hit the league.

There are players who came into the NBA fairly raw and turned into superstars with development. Giannis, Kawhi, Butler, Tatum, Gobert, it's not uncommon for players with fantastic physicals to be something special at the next level even if they don't have the skill part of the game down yet.

I think by the time the back part of the draft rolls around there is more value in undersized but skilled players that other teams pass over, we've seen Masai draft undersized guys or "normal" size players with late first round, second round picks, or even undrafted and do well there, but that's mostly an acknowledgement that the later draft picks are more likely to be fringe starter or bench level types where size and physicals aren't as important to expectations.

Tatum was not raw, Leonard was not a freshman, Gorbert was 21 years old, and Giannis played guard.
None of them you mentioned is fairly raw.