2025 NBA Draft Discussion Part 6

[grant101]

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As a Mavs fan on the side I want the Mavs to draft him at 11. Egor Kasp and Noal are probably high on their big board

I just don't see the Raps legitimately considering Traore with our pick with likely one or both of Fears, Kasp or heck maybe even Jase, if they're gonna bother going with a guard (which I'm highly doubtful of considering they just paid IQ and Shead has clearly solidified himself as the backup). Of course I think they address the obvious gap in the lineup (backup C which the Vice Chairman has poorly hid his intention to FIND (which means he doesn't think we have that yet even with Chomche) a "young big to develop"). But anyways I just don't see Nolan being in real consideration for our pick personally when there is likely still a better guard available.

I would take Traore over Jak and Jase easy. I have Fears a little ahead, but there’s some anchoring bias going on because of Nolan’s slow start. The Killian Hayes comparison are also silly IMO. Nolan is twice the athlete. He’s got a great first step.

[PhilBlackson]

As a Mavs fan on the side I want the Mavs to draft him at 11. Egor Kasp and Noal are probably high on their big board

I just don't see the Raps legitimately considering Traore with our pick with likely one or both of Fears, Kasp or heck maybe even Jase, if they're gonna bother going with a guard (which I'm highly doubtful of considering they just paid IQ and Shead has clearly solidified himself as the backup). Of course I think they address the obvious gap in the lineup (backup C which the Vice Chairman has poorly hid his intention to FIND (which means he doesn't think we have that yet even with Chomche) a "young big to develop"). But anyways I just don't see Nolan being in real consideration for our pick personally when there is likely still a better guard available.

I would take Traore over Jak and Jase easy. I have Fears a little ahead, but there’s some anchoring bias going on because of Nolan’s slow start. The Killian Hayes comparison are also silly IMO. Nolan is twice the athlete. He’s got a great first step.

I never mentioned anything about Killian...

But even if he's "coming on" (pause) now, I still have legit concern about a lead guard that only shoots LOW 70s from the FT line has barely shot over 30% from 3 (keeping in mind that was actually improvement from the previous year shooting low 60s from the FT and 25% from 3) with a lineup that includes Scottie & Yak. I understand that he's a good playmaker but players shooting those kind of numbers don't typically suddenly become efficient scorers out of thin air especially as a PG in the NBA with even more athletic & longer players defending them.

[grant101]

I just don't see the Raps legitimately considering Traore with our pick with likely one or both of Fears, Kasp or heck maybe even Jase, if they're gonna bother going with a guard (which I'm highly doubtful of considering they just paid IQ and Shead has clearly solidified himself as the backup). Of course I think they address the obvious gap in the lineup (backup C which the Vice Chairman has poorly hid his intention to FIND (which means he doesn't think we have that yet even with Chomche) a "young big to develop"). But anyways I just don't see Nolan being in real consideration for our pick personally when there is likely still a better guard available.

I would take Traore over Jak and Jase easy. I have Fears a little ahead, but there’s some anchoring bias going on because of Nolan’s slow start. The Killian Hayes comparison are also silly IMO. Nolan is twice the athlete. He’s got a great first step.

I never mentioned anything about Killian...

But even if he's "coming on" (pause) now, I still have legit concern about a lead guard that only shoots LOW 70s from the FT line has barely shot over 30% from 3 (keeping in mind that was actually improvement from the previous year shooting low 60s from the FT and 25% from 3) with a lineup that includes Scottie & Yak. I understand that he's a good playmaker but players shooting those kind of numbers don't typically suddenly become efficient scorers out of thin air especially as a PG in the NBA with even more athletic & longer players defending them.

Fair enough, I openly admit a lot of my evaluation is based on the eye test and what I saw him do against other top prospects. That said, how many good games (against better competition than Jase and Jak faced all year) does he need to string together to reevaluate priors? He reminds me a lot of Tony Parker (though the middy needs work), who also wasn’t much of a knockdown shooter early in his career .

Sorry, the Killian comment wasn’t directed at you. Was just venting on the lazy comp I often see thrown out there

[WuTang_CMB]

KM and CB talk

https://youtu.be/A4OIkx8ScWE?t=237

[Son Goku 25]

CMB would be a Raptor pick for sure same with VJ if we get top 3.

[Raptors Realtor]

I would take Traore over Jak and Jase easy. I have Fears a little ahead, but there’s some anchoring bias going on because of Nolan’s slow start. The Killian Hayes comparison are also silly IMO. Nolan is twice the athlete. He’s got a great first step.

I never mentioned anything about Killian...

But even if he's "coming on" (pause) now, I still have legit concern about a lead guard that only shoots LOW 70s from the FT line has barely shot over 30% from 3 (keeping in mind that was actually improvement from the previous year shooting low 60s from the FT and 25% from 3) with a lineup that includes Scottie & Yak. I understand that he's a good playmaker but players shooting those kind of numbers don't typically suddenly become efficient scorers out of thin air especially as a PG in the NBA with even more athletic & longer players defending them.

Fair enough, I openly admit a lot of my evaluation is based on the eye test and what I saw him do against other top prospects. That said, how many good games (against better competition than Jase and Jak faced all year) does he need to string together to reevaluate priors? He reminds me a lot of Tony Parker (though the middy needs work), who also wasn’t much of a knockdown shooter early in his career .

Sorry, the Killian comment wasn’t directed at you. Was just venting on the lazy comp I often see thrown out there

Not sure who comp'd him to Hayes, but maybe they got it from nbadraft.net, as they have him as Traore's comp.

[RoteSchroder]

CMB would be a Raptor pick for sure same with VJ if we get top 3.

Leaning towards CMB over KM/Queen

[S.W.A.N]

CMB would be a Raptor pick for sure same with VJ if we get top 3.

Leaning towards CMB over KM/Queen

Lets see some combine numbers first.

Big week coming up. The lottery and the combine will really help us narrow down which prospects are the most likely in our range.

Like every year, there going to be a handful or two of guys that rise or fall based on combine results.

And of course we are going to get lucky and get Flagg.

[HumbleRen]

[img]

More Khaman proproganda

I'll repeat that I still have Queen and Fears ahead of Maluach on my board but I don't understand why there is this portion of this forum/fanbase that is so completely dismissive of everything Khaman does?!?

Why is it "propaganda"?! They're literally just reporting what he did lol

Propaganda would imply that someone is trying to inflate value for their own purposes. He's not Khaman's agent That's a Nets' fan page and Khaman is one of a dozen different players they can draft, literally basically same as us. When someone posts something about what Fears did (which has already happened) or Tre etc...it's just them "putting in work" and everyone is free to get excited by the highlights and discuss them as prospects.

Khaman does that and it's "propaganda", then followed a litany of posters talking about how "anyone can do that in an open gym" and people rushing to show highlights of previous busts training lol it's actually sad the odd hate some of you have for him (obv as a prospect, not person). No matter what he does, you guys just want to completely write him off as 19 year old that's already done so much in such a limited amount of time and like he couldn't get better which is even more bizarre given the supposed belief in our franchise to develop players. But it's whatever, I hate that I'm even defending a player this much who's not even the top of my list but the kneejerk hate he gets is dumbfounding. It actually makes me hope we draft him, develop tfo him just to silence the unwarranted shade.

I’m a bit guilty of this myself.

I just see the glaring flaws on this roster. I think drafting a center is one of the least concerning holes I think we need to fill in comparison to the other holes we need to address.

Our team was basically dead LAST in any semblance of self creation ability. There’s nobody on this roster that can break down or beat someone off the dribble, there’s only one player on the roster that can pull up from 3 on volume, the only downhill player we have on the roster is RJ who is also the most expendable core player. We have no high level 3&D wing player on the roster. (I love Ochai but let’s be real)

IQ is not capable of being a lead guard, Scottie is not capable of being a lead ball handler. So the idea of drafting a raw big man with potentially the last top 10 pick we’ll have for the foreseeable future just kinda rubs my self and others the wrong way.

That’s not Khaman’s fault though. My self and others shouldn’t take it out on him for something that’s out of his control. It’s just kinda ironic knowing how inept we are on self creation and the solution to that in the draft is us drafting a big who’s completely dependent on players who can self create.

[Clutch0z24]

[img]

More Khaman proproganda

I'll repeat that I still have Queen and Fears ahead of Maluach on my board but I don't understand why there is this portion of this forum/fanbase that is so completely dismissive of everything Khaman does?!?

Why is it "propaganda"?! They're literally just reporting what he did lol

Propaganda would imply that someone is trying to inflate value for their own purposes. He's not Khaman's agent That's a Nets' fan page and Khaman is one of a dozen different players they can draft, literally basically same as us. When someone posts something about what Fears did (which has already happened) or Tre etc...it's just them "putting in work" and everyone is free to get excited by the highlights and discuss them as prospects.

Khaman does that and it's "propaganda", then followed a litany of posters talking about how "anyone can do that in an open gym" and people rushing to show highlights of previous busts training lol it's actually sad the odd hate some of you have for him (obv as a prospect, not person). No matter what he does, you guys just want to completely write him off as 19 year old that's already done so much in such a limited amount of time and like he couldn't get better which is even more bizarre given the supposed belief in our franchise to develop players. But it's whatever, I hate that I'm even defending a player this much who's not even the top of my list but the kneejerk hate he gets is dumbfounding. It actually makes me hope we draft him, develop tfo him just to silence the unwarranted shade.

I’m a bit guilty of this myself.

I just see the glaring flaws on this roster. I think drafting a center is one of the least concerning holes I think we need to fill in comparison to the other holes we need to address.

Our team was basically dead LAST in any semblance of self creation ability. There’s nobody on this roster that can break down or beat someone off the dribble, there’s only one player on the roster that can pull up from 3 on volume, the only downhill player we have on the roster is RJ who is also the most expendable core player. We have no high level 3&D wing player on the roster. (I love Ochai but let’s be real)

IQ is not capable of being a lead guard, Scottie is not capable of being a lead ball handler. So the idea of drafting a raw big man with potentially the last top 10 pick we’ll have for the foreseeable future just kinda rubs my self and others the wrong way.

That’s not Khaman’s fault though. My self and others shouldn’t take it out on him for something that’s out of his control. It’s just kinda ironic knowing how inept we are on self creation and the solution to that in the draft is us drafting a big who’s completely dependent on players who can self create.

Yeah i am with you on this take...couldn't have said it better myself.....I think there is high probability Masai takes Maluach even though i agree if there is a player on the board who has self creator upside that would be alot more usefull for us because we do not have a go to player.

IQ does not fit Maluach if he is your lead guard....The issue i think is Masai might have blinders on with Barnes and actually still thinks he will one day be a top NBA player and a franchise go to guy.....Thats why i think Maluach has a high chance of being the pick.....In Masai mind he thinks Barnes will become that franchise guy and Maluach will be his "Kareem"....Which will prolly ultimatly fail badly imo but i think if Masai still has hopes of Barnes being the guy....Maluach makes sense in his mind....Hope it works out for us but i would not see the vision.

[Thaddy]

Maluach and Barnes would be lethal as a front court. We'd have a extremely strong defense. If we're going by potential he has to be our pick even as high as 3rd. I don't see Ace, VJ or the others mocked that high haven't the same impact on defense and offense. A defensive big that can stretch the floor is a cheat code in the NBA.

I'm starting like Traore. He's in a strong league, he's improving and there's clear burst, skill improvement and physical tools.

[Clutch0z24]

Maluach and Barnes would be lethal as a front court. We'd have a extremely strong defense. If we're going by potential he has to be our pick even as high as 3rd. I don't see Ace, VJ or the others mocked that high haven't the same impact on defense and offense. A defensive big that can stretch the floor is a cheat code in the NBA.

I'm starting like Traore. He's in a strong league, he's improving and there's clear burst, skill improvement and physical tools.

Maluach can not stretch the floor....He could not do it in college and he won't be able to do it in the NBA....Teams will leave him wide open to take them 3s because as soon as he takes it there will be a fast break going the other way off of a likely miss.....It will take years of development for him to be a good offensive player....Great lob threat but we would need a lead guard that can set him up or he could become a bust if the right players are not around him to set him up like Flagg did all season long.....Barnes can not break his man off the dribble enough for him to set up Maluach for lob dunks...

If you are hoping for Maluach to be a 3 point shooter or have any kind of offensive self creation skills you are not watching enough film....He most likely just is a P&R big man who catches lobs and plays decent defense....The one big red flag for me is his weaknesses on the scouting reports i read...

Them concerns are red flags....

[WuTang_CMB]

Will hurt him

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[BoyzNTheHood]

Will hurt him

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Tbf he looks closer to 6’8” than 6’10”. I don’t know about you guys, but I never thought he looked really tall out there.

[ATLTimekeeper]

I think Ace looks 6"10, but I could see him coming in at 6"9.

[Clutch0z24]

Will hurt him

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Tbf he looks closer to 6’8” than 6’10”. I don’t know about you guys, but I never thought he looked really tall out there.

Never even looked at his height listed tbh....I always thought he was 6 ft 8 or 6 ft 9 ....Hes prolly 6 ft 9 with shoes on.....Hes also 18 so there is a chance he grows more....I still think he goes 3rd overall at the end of the day due to his upside being too high to pass on.

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Going by this Giannis is 6 ft 11.....So yeah he looks on the high side of 6 ft 9...So they prolly just rounded up when measuring to 6 ft 10

[Jcity08]

Monday cant come any sooner. Im praying to old lottery gods and the new, please let us redeem the Bargnani pick.

[HumbleRen]

I'll repeat that I still have Queen and Fears ahead of Maluach on my board but I don't understand why there is this portion of this forum/fanbase that is so completely dismissive of everything Khaman does?!?

Why is it "propaganda"?! They're literally just reporting what he did lol

Propaganda would imply that someone is trying to inflate value for their own purposes. He's not Khaman's agent That's a Nets' fan page and Khaman is one of a dozen different players they can draft, literally basically same as us. When someone posts something about what Fears did (which has already happened) or Tre etc...it's just them "putting in work" and everyone is free to get excited by the highlights and discuss them as prospects.

Khaman does that and it's "propaganda", then followed a litany of posters talking about how "anyone can do that in an open gym" and people rushing to show highlights of previous busts training lol it's actually sad the odd hate some of you have for him (obv as a prospect, not person). No matter what he does, you guys just want to completely write him off as 19 year old that's already done so much in such a limited amount of time and like he couldn't get better which is even more bizarre given the supposed belief in our franchise to develop players. But it's whatever, I hate that I'm even defending a player this much who's not even the top of my list but the kneejerk hate he gets is dumbfounding. It actually makes me hope we draft him, develop tfo him just to silence the unwarranted shade.

I’m a bit guilty of this myself.

I just see the glaring flaws on this roster. I think drafting a center is one of the least concerning holes I think we need to fill in comparison to the other holes we need to address.

Our team was basically dead LAST in any semblance of self creation ability. There’s nobody on this roster that can break down or beat someone off the dribble, there’s only one player on the roster that can pull up from 3 on volume, the only downhill player we have on the roster is RJ who is also the most expendable core player. We have no high level 3&D wing player on the roster. (I love Ochai but let’s be real)

IQ is not capable of being a lead guard, Scottie is not capable of being a lead ball handler. So the idea of drafting a raw big man with potentially the last top 10 pick we’ll have for the foreseeable future just kinda rubs my self and others the wrong way.

That’s not Khaman’s fault though. My self and others shouldn’t take it out on him for something that’s out of his control. It’s just kinda ironic knowing how inept we are on self creation and the solution to that in the draft is us drafting a big who’s completely dependent on players who can self create.

Yeah i am with you on this take...couldn't have said it better myself.....I think there is high probability Masai takes Maluach even though i agree if there is a player on the board who has self creator upside that would be alot more usefull for us because we do not have a go to player.

IQ does not fit Maluach if he is your lead guard....The issue i think is Masai might have blinders on with Barnes and actually still thinks he will one day be a top NBA player and a franchise go to guy.....Thats why i think Maluach has a high chance of being the pick.....In Masai mind he thinks Barnes will become that franchise guy and Maluach will be his "Kareem"....Which will prolly ultimatly fail badly imo but i think if Masai still has hopes of Barnes being the guy....Maluach makes sense in his mind....Hope it works out for us but i would not see the vision.

Yeah, I really don’t mind him if we don’t move up in the draft though. I’m just not too enthralled about it. If they believe he’s the BPA, there’s nothing I can really argue against that.

[mihaic]

Maluach and Barnes would be lethal as a front court. We'd have a extremely strong defense. If we're going by potential he has to be our pick even as high as 3rd. I don't see Ace, VJ or the others mocked that high haven't the same impact on defense and offense. A defensive big that can stretch the floor is a cheat code in the NBA.

I'm starting like Traore. He's in a strong league, he's improving and there's clear burst, skill improvement and physical tools.

Maluach can not stretch the floor....He could not do it in college and he won't be able to do it in the NBA....Teams will leave him wide open to take them 3s because as soon as he takes it there will be a fast break going the other way off of a likely miss.....It will take years of development for him to be a good offensive player....Great lob threat but we would need a lead guard that can set him up or he could become a bust if the right players are not around him to set him up like Flagg did all season long.....Barnes can not break his man off the dribble enough for him to set up Maluach for lob dunks...

If you are hoping for Maluach to be a 3 point shooter or have any kind of offensive self creation skills you are not watching enough film....He most likely just is a P&R big man who catches lobs and plays decent defense....The one big red flag for me is his weaknesses on the scouting reports i read...

Them concerns are red flags....

You are generally right, but it's not impossible that he shoots the 3 well as catch and shoot. His ft% is >75% and he is so tall that release speed is less of a factor: he needs to gain strength to push his range out further.

Will it happen, idk, probably not, but you cannot proclaim it won't happen as there are indicators saying it is possible.

[Clutch0z24]

Maluach and Barnes would be lethal as a front court. We'd have a extremely strong defense. If we're going by potential he has to be our pick even as high as 3rd. I don't see Ace, VJ or the others mocked that high haven't the same impact on defense and offense. A defensive big that can stretch the floor is a cheat code in the NBA.

I'm starting like Traore. He's in a strong league, he's improving and there's clear burst, skill improvement and physical tools.

Maluach can not stretch the floor....He could not do it in college and he won't be able to do it in the NBA....Teams will leave him wide open to take them 3s because as soon as he takes it there will be a fast break going the other way off of a likely miss.....It will take years of development for him to be a good offensive player....Great lob threat but we would need a lead guard that can set him up or he could become a bust if the right players are not around him to set him up like Flagg did all season long.....Barnes can not break his man off the dribble enough for him to set up Maluach for lob dunks...

If you are hoping for Maluach to be a 3 point shooter or have any kind of offensive self creation skills you are not watching enough film....He most likely just is a P&R big man who catches lobs and plays decent defense....The one big red flag for me is his weaknesses on the scouting reports i read...

Them concerns are red flags....

You are generally right, but it's not impossible that he shoots the 3 well as catch and shoot. His ft% is >75% and he is so tall that release speed is less of a factor: he needs to gain strength to push his range out further.

Will it happen, idk, probably not, but you cannot proclaim it won't happen as there are indicators saying it is possible.

Yeah anything can really happen im simply talking about from a playoff team perspective and where we are right now as a team....We want to win next season....You can not let Maluach shoot a bunch of 3s in games because that will more than likely lead to us giving up posessions because he is no where close to being a good 3 point shooter....If you let him do it in the G-League makes more sense but....For his success and ours he will be a P&R lob threat and prolly the back up C for many years....That is why im particularly higher on other players for us at 7.