2025 NBA Draft Prospect Part 2

[mademan]

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Dudes a baller, passes the eye test, analytics love him...

Can someone explain to me why he's not projected lotto? I like him better than most of the top 10

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Positives:
6'4.5" barefoot (measured at Basketball without Borders last year) so just under 6'6" in shoes
6'7.5" wingspan (at least +1.5 of his height so he's not exactly a trex)
Standing vert and max vert are both better than Devin Booker's who I like to compare where I'd like to see his game (27.5" and 34.5" for reference), which is funny because from this thread you'd think he was Jose Calderon level as an athlete
Elite shooter off the catch and off the dribble
Can create his own shot at high efficiency
Great paint finisher (62FG% on the year)
Willing passer with great vision
Can decently run an offense
Has thus far risen to the level of good comp as noted in the tweet
Decent rebounder for a guard
19 years old

Negatives
Turnover machine
Does not seem to be very quick
Average to poor defender (although he does try)

If we were to draft him I'd love to make him a combo guard in our flow, pass heavy offense. I think coming off of screens he is an excellent decision maker and his threat as a shooter off the dribble will open up things for guys. He can also act as the defacto bench pg and run that unit with Walter and Ochai. His size allows him to play next to IQ as well. I'd like to see him be more aggressive as a scorer given how good he is as a shooter but I also see some shades of Haliburton who also isn't the most athletic but his size and shooting + passing vision make him elite

The only thing keeping Harper ahead of him is Harper's elite first step and body frame along with his skill. I don't think many pgs can stay in front of him one on one and if/when his shot ever catches up, he will be unstoppable.

I'm starting to think more Bogdan Bogdanovic who's career splits are 43/38/84. Has an A/T of 2.

[aminiaturebuddha]

Watch on YouTube

Dudes a baller, passes the eye test, analytics love him...

Can someone explain to me why he's not projected lotto? I like him better than most of the top 10

Basically because he's a guard that isn't a good shooter, and doesn't compensate by having an above average free throw rate. So while he flashes some great skills and talent, there are also enough gaps in his game for most draft watchers to be wary of putting him in the top 10.

[RoteSchroder]

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Positives:
6'4.5" barefoot (measured at Basketball without Borders last year) so just under 6'6" in shoes
6'7.5" wingspan (at least +1.5 of his height so he's not exactly a trex)
Standing vert and max vert are both better than Devin Booker's who I like to compare where I'd like to see his game (27.5" and 34.5" for reference), which is funny because from this thread you'd think he was Jose Calderon level as an athlete
Elite shooter off the catch and off the dribble
Can create his own shot at high efficiency
Great paint finisher (62FG% on the year)
Willing passer with great vision
Can decently run an offense
Has thus far risen to the level of good comp as noted in the tweet
Decent rebounder for a guard
19 years old

Negatives
Turnover machine
Does not seem to be very quick
Average to poor defender (although he does try)

If we were to draft him I'd love to make him a combo guard in our flow, pass heavy offense. I think coming off of screens he is an excellent decision maker and his threat as a shooter off the dribble will open up things for guys. He can also act as the defacto bench pg and run that unit with Walter and Ochai. His size allows him to play next to IQ as well. I'd like to see him be more aggressive as a scorer given how good he is as a shooter but I also see some shades of Haliburton who also isn't the most athletic but his size and shooting + passing vision make him elite

The only thing keeping Harper ahead of him is Harper's elite first step and body frame along with his skill. I don't think many pgs can stay in front of him one on one and if/when his shot ever catches up, he will be unstoppable.

I'm starting to think more Bogdan Bogdanovic who's career splits are 43/38/84. Has an A/T of 2.

Bogdan is heavily an off-ball player with a majority of his shots coming from catch and shoot. Some catch side-step dribbles, some transition 3’s and catch and drives.

His assists come from hand offs, swinging the ball and high/low feeds.

[TorontoBarneys]

I see a bit of Luka in Jak.

[mtcan]

I see a bit of Luka in Jak.

I see some Manu Ginobili...maybe some Topic (Jak can shoot however).

[Ell Curry]

I am out of Demin train for the moment, and I don't know why but I don't like Harper that much as a fit for us..my top 3 Flagg Bailey and Jakucionis

Harper isn't a clean fit with the current roster, but we can address that in the 2026 draft and via trade. If he's an all-star guard, you play him and Quickley together like Cleveland does, Walter should fit with either guy as an off-ball type off the bench and the rest is up for grabs:

Poeltl 28 - CENTER 20
Barnes 34 - PF 18
SF 32 - Agbaji 16
Harper 18 - Walter 24 - Agbaji 6
Quickley 32 - Harper 16

and the 3 spots are filled by:

TOR 2026 1st
INDY 2026 1st
Barrett + Dick + Future firsts

And then Mogbo, Shead, Battle, Chomche and the PDX 2nd are the 10th to 14 guys.

Maybe we draft the Finn who is supposed to be Markannen 2.0 next year so the bench has a shooter in the frontcourt.

We're at 139M in 2026-27 right now (including Poeltl's option). Pay Agbaji like 15M a year, extend Poeltl for a slight raise (cap gone up, so is the price of an average starting center) at say 22M a year, add 3 firsts and we're at around 182M. 25M under the tax.

So we could do Barrett + Dick + 2028 1st + 2030 1st for example, for a guy making 40M and we'd still have the full non-tax MLE to use on a veteran frontcourt guy in the summer of 2026 while the rookie bigs develop.

That's basically the Towns offer if you have DDV + Randle as worth 1 first more than Barrett + Dick, which seems fair since DDV has a better contract than Gradey should have as an RFA and Barrett just isn't as good as Randle but isn't a million miles away.

So yeah, we're short on defence if we draft Harper, but we can spend all our remaining assets on finding 3+D guys to compliment Harper, Barnes, Quickley, Poeltl and our young bench pieces and have a nice team. If he's a top 10 PG in the league that totally changes our team's trajectory. You can always move Quickley if you have to, or as I said run 2 PGs and go after your Finney-Smiths (costs 2nds) or Mikal Bridges (on the high end, cost 1st and Gradey) as complimentary guys later on.

[Dalek]

Watch on YouTube

Dudes a baller, passes the eye test, analytics love him...

Can someone explain to me why he's not projected lotto? I like him better than most of the top 10

Basically because he's a guard that isn't a good shooter, and doesn't compensate by having an above average free throw rate. So while he flashes some great skills and talent, there are also enough gaps in his game for most draft watchers to be wary of putting him in the top 10.

I know people go nuts for the shiney new prospects but there are times when you need to draft upper classmen. If we go for a 6'3/6'4 guard my top pick is Walter Clayton Jr. who I think ends up in the first round.

He really caught my eye in the tournament last year, but this season he has exploded for Florida. Shoots it well with NBA range, runs the team which still has a near perfect SEC record. Also is strong and athletic having an NBA body and game. Reminds me of a better version of Podz. This kid is a dog who competes at high level.

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[Jstock12]

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?s=46

Bro what are y'all talking about with this guy this last few pages? Dude is eating teams up at 19 and being compared to 22yo Jimmer who was undersized and couldn't get drafted until he damn near graduated college?

Jak is a guy, eye test and numbers back it up

He's actually still only 18. For him it would probably be ideal to go to a team that already has a franchise player and could use Jakucionis as a complimentary piece. I think the 6'0 Fredette comp is a bit laughable, because I think Jaku has a much higher floor. But I do agree that he's probably unlikely to become an All-Star. My guess would be a 15-20mpg bench role player as the floor, and solid starter as the ceiling. Somewhere in that Malik Monk range.

[Indeed]

Watch on YouTube

Dudes a baller, passes the eye test, analytics love him...

Can someone explain to me why he's not projected lotto? I like him better than most of the top 10

Basically because he's a guard that isn't a good shooter, and doesn't compensate by having an above average free throw rate. So while he flashes some great skills and talent, there are also enough gaps in his game for most draft watchers to be wary of putting him in the top 10.

I know people go nuts for the shiney new prospects but there are times when you need to draft upper classmen. If we go for a 6'3/6'4 guard my top pick is Walter Clayton Jr. who I think ends up in the first round.

He really caught my eye in the tournament last year, but this season he has exploded for Florida. Shoots it well with NBA range, runs the team which still has a near perfect SEC record. Also is strong and athletic having an NBA body and game. Reminds me of a better version of Podz. This kid is a dog who competes at high level.

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Sadly, teams draft someone younger at the top.

I have Xaivian Lee for upper classmen in guards.

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[ATLTimekeeper]

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?s=46

Bro what are y'all talking about with this guy this last few pages? Dude is eating teams up at 19 and being compared to 22yo Jimmer who was undersized and couldn't get drafted until he damn near graduated college?

Jak is a guy, eye test and numbers back it up

He's actually still only 18. For him it would probably be ideal to go to a team that already has a franchise player and could use Jakucionis as a complimentary piece. I think the 6'0 Fredette comp is a bit laughable, because I think Jaku has a much higher floor. But I do agree that he's probably unlikely to become an All-Star. My guess would be a 15-20mpg bench role player as the floor, and solid starter as the ceiling. Somewhere in that Malik Monk range.

Generally, when a ballhandling guard busts or goes too high in the top 10, it's because they can't shoot or make reads, or they are old and were overrated by dominating US college kids. Jakucionis has a scary turnover ratio, but that's the only flag. He's a good bet to succeed in the top 10, lead ballhandler, secondary ballhandler, whatever. Teams have less patience for ballhandlers that can't shoot because it compresses the floor for everyone else, they generally can't get calls early in their rookie careers by driving and then the next year rolls around and they've made a decision to move on.

I'm doing my best to thing of what a typical 1st through 10th best player in a draft looks like, and I think Jakucionis looks like a good bet to be 5th best. If he can completely translate from college to the NBA or improve, he's of course an all-star.

Also, I'm gonna estimate that on average half of the best 10 players in every draft come from outside the top 10. If the NBA can be 50% wrong I'm gonna assume with my limited knowledge that I'm going to be at least 70% wrong. So if Jak is 5th on my own board I still think there's a good chance I'm wrong.

[Son Goku 25]

I see a bit of Luka in Jak.

I've seen a few in here but don't think anyone mentioned Tyler Herro. I see a bit of him and Bogdan from Hawks.

[Reeko]

Jakucionis is really advanced for someone that young. He's not particularly, fast, athletic or strong from the looks of it but he looks like a really cerebral player. Kind of reminds me of a smaller version of Franz Wagner, but with a bit more flash to his game. You figure he'll, at the very least, be a good role player at the NBA level.

[Karanpal]

Top for now

Flagg
Harper
Tre
Fland
Newell


Theiro and Raynaud are interesting prospects for that 2nd pick

[DG88]

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[Brinbe]

Most of the focus has been on the guards but what are y'all feeling on Asa Newell and Queen?

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obviously different types of bigs that have their own strengths but do you think they could partner effectively with scottie or do you just take them regardless if they're bpa and figure it out later? would you definitely have maluach ahead of them or how would you rank the three? I think they're two of the guys hovering around the periphery of that top 10 that could easily rise as both have been playing pretty well thus far. You can throw Murray-Boyles in there too if you want but he's a bit smaller compared to the other guys.

[Jerry Lucas]

Most of the focus has been on the guards but what are y'all feeling on Asa Newell and Queen?

obviously different types of bigs that have their own strengths but do you think they could partner effectively with scottie or do you just take them regardless if they're bpa and figure it out later? would you definitely have maluach ahead of them or how would you rank the three? I think they're two of the guys hovering around the periphery of that top 10 that could easily rise as both have been playing pretty well thus far. You can throw Murray-Boyles in there too if you want but he's a bit smaller compared to the other guys.

Out of the guys you mentioned in this post, as of right now I got:

1) Queen (This guy's production as a freshman is lowkey suggesting pretty high upside. I think based on where he's currently mocked he's getting slept on big time, and he has barely any flags compared to the other 3 guys IMO)
2) CMB (I've been really high on him since last year's draft cycle and thought he should have stayed in that draft. Would have had him ranked very high on my 2024 big board)
3) Newell (Low FTr is a red flag, could suggest lack of upside)
4) Maluach (A lot of red flags with him so far, if season ended today I'd say he should go back for his sophomore year)

[Raptorfan2012]

Most of the focus has been on the guards but what are y'all feeling on Asa Newell and Queen?

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obviously different types of bigs that have their own strengths but do you think they could partner effectively with scottie or do you just take them regardless if they're bpa and figure it out later? would you definitely have maluach ahead of them or how would you rank the three? I think they're two of the guys hovering around the periphery of that top 10 that could easily rise as both have been playing pretty well thus far. You can throw Murray-Boyles in there too if you want but he's a bit smaller compared to the other guys.

Queen looks a tad short right now to be a C (he looks closer to 6'8 than 6'10); not sure if he can grow anymore.

Newell looks like a generic rotation big; doesn't look like he has any all-star potential, so fine for teams picking outside the lottery.

CMB looks like an undersized PF; looks great in the post but I don't think he can pull the same moves in the NBA against bigger stronger opponents.

I still rather select Maiuach if we draft outside the top 5. I feel he has the most potential out of the top 20 projected bigs.

Funny enough, I feel last draft had better bigs (i.e. Sarr, Clingan, Edey, Ware, Missi etc).

[Indeed]

Most of the focus has been on the guards but what are y'all feeling on Asa Newell and Queen?

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

obviously different types of bigs that have their own strengths but do you think they could partner effectively with scottie or do you just take them regardless if they're bpa and figure it out later? would you definitely have maluach ahead of them or how would you rank the three? I think they're two of the guys hovering around the periphery of that top 10 that could easily rise as both have been playing pretty well thus far. You can throw Murray-Boyles in there too if you want but he's a bit smaller compared to the other guys.

Queen looks a tad short right now to be a C (he looks closer to 6'8 than 6'10); not sure if he can grow anymore.

Newell looks like a generic rotation big; doesn't look like he has any all-star potential, so fine for teams picking outside the lottery.

CMB looks like an undersized PF; looks great in the post but I don't think he can pull the same moves in the NBA against bigger stronger opponents.

I still rather select Maiuach if we draft outside the top 5. I feel he has the most potential out of the top 20 projected bigs.

Funny enough, I feel last draft had better bigs (i.e. Sarr, Clingan, Edey, Ware, Missi etc).

Queen should be around 6'10, but his problem is wingspan being average for forward at 7' (Olynyk), so his blocks are way below average. Drafting Queen means teams believe he can lose weight and being agile to play PF. Even he is a year older than the average freshman, his skill level is still better than most players at his age, so I am happy to draft him.

Newell looks like an energy big to me as well. If he doesn't have the ball handling nor the passing to play on the perimeter, he is just a 3&D safe pick to me. Project to be a very good defender, but unsure he should be in the top 5.

CMB is only 6'7 or 6'8, definitely too small.

Maiuach is too risky to be in the top 5 as well, project to be a 3&D shot blocker (Boucher with size, I guess), but unsure he should be in the top 5. His measurement is Lively.

Yes, last draft and next draft are better in bigs and forwards, this draft are more guards. I wouldn't be surprised we pick on guard this draft.

[Psubs]

Most of the focus has been on the guards but what are y'all feeling on Asa Newell and Queen?

Watch on YouTube

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obviously different types of bigs that have their own strengths but do you think they could partner effectively with scottie or do you just take them regardless if they're bpa and figure it out later? would you definitely have maluach ahead of them or how would you rank the three? I think they're two of the guys hovering around the periphery of that top 10 that could easily rise as both have been playing pretty well thus far. You can throw Murray-Boyles in there too if you want but he's a bit smaller compared to the other guys.

Queen looks a tad short right now to be a C (he looks closer to 6'8 than 6'10); not sure if he can grow anymore.

Newell looks like a generic rotation big; doesn't look like he has any all-star potential, so fine for teams picking outside the lottery.

CMB looks like an undersized PF; looks great in the post but I don't think he can pull the same moves in the NBA against bigger stronger opponents.

I still rather select Maiuach if we draft outside the top 5. I feel he has the most potential out of the top 20 projected bigs.

Funny enough, I feel last draft had better bigs (i.e. Sarr, Clingan, Edey, Ware, Missi etc).

Queen should be around 6'10, but his problem is wingspan being average for forward at 7' (Olynyk), so his blocks are way below average. Drafting Queen means teams believe he can lose weight and being agile to play PF. Even he is a year older than the average freshman, his skill level is still better than most players at his age, so I am happy to draft him.

Newell looks like an energy big to me as well. If he doesn't have the ball handling nor the passing to play on the perimeter, he is just a 3&D safe pick to me. Project to be a very good defender, but unsure he should be in the top 5.

CMB is only 6'7 or 6'8, definitely too small.

Maiuach is too risky to be in the top 5 as well, project to be a 3&D shot blocker (Boucher with size, I guess), but unsure he should be in the top 5. His measurement is Lively.

Yes, last draft and next draft are better in bigs and forwards, this draft are more guards. I wouldn't be surprised we pick on guard this draft.

Never pick an energy big in top 10 unless it's Amare Stoudemire at #9. I guess unless they can play C like Jalen Duren.

After the top 3, I'm not sure if any one else will be significantly better than what we've got. Even Tre Johnson, we have Jakobe Walter who was #8 recruit out of HS (#1 SG in the class).