2025 NBA Draft Discussion Part 9

[RoteSchroder]

The stats literally show you that he has lateral quickness, and it’s there in plain sight on his tape for everyone to see.

But Fanspo says otherwise!

Not sure if VJ and CB’s subpar lane agility really is indicative of anything (i.e. lower than Kasparas, McNeeley, a few C’s, on par with Danny Wolf. Really bad for an elite athlete if compared to their own draft class or other drafts).

I wouldn’t sweat too much on his bad lateral quickness, when he’s in a good defensive position he’s capable of angling his body. It’s more so when he’s out of position or fighting through screens.

If lane agility does matter like you’re implying, it may be more of a problem for VJ as he’ll be expected to be a PoA defender. Carter as a Scottie type defender should be fine, although Scottie was much better in several areas in his draft combine.

I assume CB being bottom 10 in his class for shuttle run may be a part of the reason why he has trouble with his first step on offense. Could be that he still needs to build up muscle after his injury.

[Spates]

These playoffs prove weakest link theory. I know Raps picked Gradey and maybe it was not a "raptors" pick but I think they liked his offensive upside and size.. needs to grow into his body which is what is hurting him. The Raps are for sure going to pick a 2 way guy this draft I think I'm buying the smoke on KM. JP is just too valuable for us and when he's out, we have no answer. KM will fit a need and Masai knows this kid's upside better than anyone. I do think he will be there now that Noa's measurements have come out.

Doesn't bode well for Tre and Fears.

[ATLTimekeeper]

These playoffs prove weakest link theory. I know Raps picked Gradey and maybe it was not a "raptors" pick but I think they liked his offensive upside and size.. needs to grow into his body which is what is hurting him. The Raps are for sure going to pick a 2 way guy. I think I'm buying the smoke on KM. JP is just too valuable for us and when he's out, we have no answer. KM will fit a need and Masai knows this kid's upside better than anyone. I do think he will be there now that Noa's measurements have come out.

I agree KM is the pick for me, such a huge drop off in defense when jack is off the floor. We just also need to get a stretch big off the bench somehow as well.

I don't like a Poeltl/Maluach combo. I think you need 1 big space eater and one smallball C. These playoffs are a good example. You need the option for playoff match-ups, but you can't put too many resources for either. Unless Maluach can anchor an offense I don't want him at 9.

[Mark_83]

Comparing Carter Bryant's draft combine lane agility drill numbers with some notable NBA players:

Carter Bryant
11.25

Otter Porter
11.25

Andre Roberson
11.36

Kawhi Leonard
11.45

Khris Middleton
11.45

Loul Deng
11.46

Avery Bradley
11.47

Donovan Mitchell
11.53

Gary Payton III
11.57

Trey Murphy
11.65

Robert Covington
11.69

Paul Millsap
11.67

Derrick Rose
11.69

MKG
11.77

Terrence Ross
11.78

[Thaddy]

He's going to fly up the mock drafts with this. That kind of size, youth (18.5? years old), and shooting should make him higher potential than guys like Johnson, Fears, Maluach, and maybe even Bailey.

[BoyzNTheHood]

He's going to fly up the mock drafts with this. That kind of size, youth (18.5? years old), and shooting should make him higher potential than guys like Johnson, Fears, Maluach, and maybe even Bailey.

The fact that he’s still 18 makes this so much crazier. He could potentially reach 7 foot, with a 7’2”+ WS. If he can add another 20 pounds of good weight, watch out! He’s kind of an obvious pick if he’s there at 9, but I don’t think he will be. Washington will snap him up at 6.

[TNRaps4life]

He's going to fly up the mock drafts with this. That kind of size, youth (18.5? years old), and shooting should make him higher potential than guys like Johnson, Fears, Maluach, and maybe even Bailey.

Someone good will be there at 9

[TNRaps4life]

Comparing Carter Bryant's draft combine lane agility drill numbers with some notable NBA players:

Carter Bryant
11.25

Otter Porter
11.25

Andre Roberson
11.36

Kawhi Leonard
11.45

Khris Middleton
11.45

Loul Deng
11.46

Avery Bradley
11.47

Donovan Mitchell
11.53

Gary Payton III
11.57

Trey Murphy
11.65

Robert Covington
11.69

Paul Millsap
11.67

Derrick Rose
11.69

MKG
11.77

Terrence Ross
11.78

Means nothing . Eye test is also important..I like to see Segun's and Jokic

[RoteSchroder]

Comparing Carter Bryant's draft combine lane agility drill numbers with some notable NBA players:

Carter Bryant
11.25

Otter Porter
11.25

Andre Roberson
11.36

Kawhi Leonard
11.45

Khris Middleton
11.45

Loul Deng
11.46

Avery Bradley
11.47

Donovan Mitchell
11.53

Gary Payton III
11.57

Trey Murphy
11.65

Robert Covington
11.69

Paul Millsap
11.67

Derrick Rose
11.69

MKG
11.77

Terrence Ross
11.78

Yeah, like I said earlier, bad lane agility doesn’t necessarily mean poor perimeter D.

Not sure why you guys brought it up.

[Godaddycurse]

i love how both beringer and essengue's measurements got even better while a lot of the NCAA prospects shrunk

i feel like there is a clear top 9 now

flagg
harper
vj
bailey
tre
fear
essengue
kon
malauch

would be happy with any of the above

[Mark_83]

Who was the journalist that caught wind of Masai taking Barnes at pick 4 that year? Was it Hollinger? While the front office doesn't leak often, info isn't airtight, so I'm curious to see what that guy is hearing.

[causal_fan]

I'm seeing posters advocate for trade involving the Raptors giving up the #9 pick - would be disappointed if for the second year in a row of tanking, the Raptors trade away that pick again!

[BoyzNTheHood]

i love how both beringer and essengue's measurements got even better while a lot of the NCAA prospects shrunk

i feel like there is a clear top 9 now

flagg
harper
vj
bailey
tre
fear
essengue
kon
malauch

would be happy with any of the above

I love Kon but he wouldnt be my first option at 9. And Maluach is a bust so I’m hoping someone reaches for him. If the 2 of them go before 9 we’re laughing to the bank at 9.

[ItsDanger]

Each passing season, seems like we're getting fewer details from teams on who they're working out.

[Psubs]

His Lane Agility was 11.25, whereas VJ was 11.27, so similar.

That’s about middle of the pack. Kasparas is at 10.99. Fears/Fleming 10.95. McNeeley 11.11.

Shuttle run is 3.14, 10th worst at the combine.

The agility drill is a weird one if you watch it, think a really fast time is indicative of good athleticism, but slow ones aren't as there are a lot of weird changes of directions. I think shuttle is more predictive.

I think the shuttle is how much ground can you cover but only factors side to side and leg length. It doesn't consider hip flipping.

[WuTang_CMB]

Who was the journalist that caught wind of Masai taking Barnes at pick 4 that year? Was it Hollinger? While the front office doesn't leak often, info isn't airtight, so I'm curious to see what that guy is hearing.

A day before draft jake fischer said he could toronto taking barnes but wasnt 100% sure

[Thaddy]

I'm seeing posters advocate for trade involving the Raptors giving up the #9 pick - would be disappointed if for the second year in a row of tanking, the Raptors trade away that pick again!

There's a real chance the target at 9th drops. It's worth getting another first and dropping down to 13th (Hawks pick). If we can come out with Essengue and Fleming I would be extremely happy. I don't see a guy like Maluach being anything good in the league, Flagg/Duke hid a lot of his game on purpose.

Maluach, Essengue, and even Queen are potential top 8 guys who would cause prospects like Ace, Tre, and Kon to drop.

[Psubs]

Comparing Carter Bryant's draft combine lane agility drill numbers with some notable NBA players:

Carter Bryant
11.25

Otter Porter
11.25

Andre Roberson
11.36

Kawhi Leonard
11.45

Khris Middleton
11.45

Loul Deng
11.46

Avery Bradley
11.47

Donovan Mitchell
11.53

Gary Payton III
11.57

Trey Murphy
11.65

Robert Covington
11.69

Paul Millsap
11.67

Derrick Rose
11.69

MKG
11.77

Terrence Ross
11.78

Yeah, like I said earlier, bad lane agility doesn’t necessarily mean poor perimeter D.

Not sure why you guys brought it up.

I used it to compare with VJ Edgcombe to show that they are similar. Visually VJ may be good on defense but they are similar based on RTG and combine scores. Really both show the effort and will be above average defenders. Even Tre Johnson shows the effort on defense and I think he'll at least be around average on defense.

[Mark_83]

So the journalist was Hollinger. Looking at his personal rankings for that year he was pretty spot in in evaluating a lot of the talent even when he went way against consensus.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/2700529/2021/07/14/hollingers-top-70-players-for-the-2021-nba-draft-cade-no-1-and-why-alperen-sengun-deserves-more-hype/

1. Cade
2. Mobley
3. Barnes
4. Sengun
5. Green
6. Suggs
7. Wagner
8. Kuminga
9. Johnson
10. Giddey

His last ranking for this draft is about a month old but its worth looking at to see who he's higher on than the consensus so far.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6344540/2025/05/12/nba-draft-2025-prospects-cooper-flagg-dylan-harper/

1. Flagg
2. Harper
3. Edgecombe
4. Knueppel
5. Fears
6. Murray-Boyles
7. Essengue
8. Bryant
9. Demin
10. Jones

So he was much higher on Murray-Boyles, Bryant, and Essengue than people were at the time, while being notably low on Bailey, Johnson, Queen, Jakucionis, and Maluach.

[KillaSham23]

i love how both beringer and essengue's measurements got even better while a lot of the NCAA prospects shrunk

i feel like there is a clear top 9 now

flagg
harper
vj
bailey
tre
fear
essengue
kon
malauch

would be happy with any of the above

I love Kon but he wouldnt be my first option at 9. And Maluach is a bust so I’m hoping someone reaches for him. If the 2 of them go before 9 we’re laughing to the bank at 9.

I scratch Malauch out and replace him with Jak