2025 NBA Draft Discussion Part 9

[Spates]

Who do we think is able to come in and provide positive impact for a team trying to compete for the playoffs?

I'm only confident in Nique Clifford and CMB. Nique is older and very well-rounded. CMB's role would be comparable to rookie Siakam, defense only.

The only other candidates that come to mind are Flagg and Kon. They'll need a bit to adjust tho, especially on a competitive team.

[WuTang_CMB]

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[Gavin_TDThree]

Except I didn’t say he’s Jonathan Isaac, did I? I said he’s in the mold of Jonathan Isaac.

Essengue is in the mold of Isaac. Fleming is like Duren, less jacked but shoots the 3.

Sir, Fleming is nothing like Duren.

Fleming reminds me more of Tari Eason

[OakleyDokely]

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[WuTang_CMB]

On Wednesday night, The Stein Line reported details about Bailey's first scheduled visit on an NBA team's turf in this pre-draft process: Philadelphia. Not long after our story dropped, ESPN's lead draft correspondent Jonathan Givony reported that Bailey had abruptly canceled those plans, which only added to the growing uncertainty about how soon Bailey will be selected next Wednesday night after Duke's Cooper Flagg and his Rutgers teammate Dylan Harper.

To be clear: NBA talent evaluators are by no means likening Bailey's fate to what just happened in the NFL Draft with Shedeur Sanders.

"He's not falling into the 20s like Cam Whitmore," said one longtime scout.

However …

The Rutgers forward, who has not completed a known workout with any NBA team in the pre-draft process, was set to arrive in Philadelphia on Thursday for meetings and dining and had a hotel stay arranged as a prelude to an on-court workout Friday with the 76ers. The Stein Line reported on Wednesday night that, at the one-week-out mark, Philadelphia has signaled that it is most strongly leaning toward keeping the No. 3 overall pick and just drafting the player it likes best there. An in-person visit surely would have increased Bailey's chances of becoming the Sixers' selection.

Did Bailey's camp cancel because it is trying to orchestrate where he ultimately lands? Did it cancel because Bailey has a promise from another team in the upper reaches of the lottery? One source briefed on the process told The Stein Line that, contrary to reports, Bailey's camp has not insisted on an iron-clad promise from the Sixers that they will draft him.

Bailey is healthy by all accounts and his shot-making is considered his most elite skill. There's no savvy reason to avoid working out for Philadelphia unless you're secure and comfortable with the Hornets picking you at No. 4. Yet any suggestion of such synergy between Charlotte and Bailey has not yet circulated on the NBA grapevine.


Lottery teams picking below Utah aren't ruling out the Jazz from selecting Bailey fifth. There does not appear to be a surefire phenom for the Jazz to target after the team with the league's worst record this season (17-65) fell as far as it possibly could in the lottery. An upside gamble on Bailey, in theory, could certainly appeal to the Jazz and their new president of basketball operations Austin Ainge. The Jazz also hold the No. 21 pick, veterans such as Collin Sexton and John Collins who are regarded as potential trade candidates and future draft capital to try and acquire an additional lottery pick after theoretically using its own on Bailey. Yet it was just two days ago that we first reported here that Duke big man Khaman Maluach has emerged as a potential draftee for the Jazz at No. 5 after previous workouts with the Wizards, Pelicans and Hawks. I've also heard that Duke guard Kon Kneuppel left his Utah visit earlier this week with the Jazz likewise holding a strong opinion of Flagg's other lottery-rated teammate.

The direction Utah ultimately goes, in short, is not yet clear.

So …

Could Bailey slip all the way to the Brooklyn Nets at No. 8?

Mark that down as another question NBA front offices are posing and considering as we speak.

New Orleans has been routinely painted as a team with great interest in Bailey and, as a result, one looking to move up in the draft from its current No. 7 position. Yet league sources tell Marc Stein, publisher of The Stein Line, that the Pelicans' interest in Bailey has been overstated … and that they have not been actively trying to climb the lottery ladder with Bailey in mind.

Backing up a bit to Washington at No. 6: Bailey's much-criticized approach to the draft process would seem to run incongruent with the Wizards' ways, which have been so heavily influenced by Oklahoma City thanks to Washington's hiring of Thunder alumni Mike Winger and Will Dawkins to run basketball operations.

Any hesitations on Bailey, mind you, do not stem from character concerns. I've only heard NBA and college personnel describe him as an affable young man who is quick to smile and is known for buzzing around the floor during pregame warmups to dap up teammates. One NBA scout yesterday described him as a "sweetheart."

Yet there are concerns among NBA evaluators about Bailey's shot selection and general approach to the game. What is his ceiling as a creator and how much development is needed in that area? How much of his bucket-getting in college came from simply shooting over the top of smaller defenders? After measuring at just 6-foot-8 at the Chicago Draft Combine, then eschewing the traditional pre-draft visits with interested teams that typically follow, there is undeniable curiosity among interested teams about Bailey's willingness to apply the needed focus and follow a prescribed path to reach his tantalizing ceiling.

During an ESPN interview in Chicago, when asked to pinpoint his top two strengths as a player and also reveal a weakness, Bailey offered a reply that has certainly stuck with some teams, saying: "I ain't got no weaknesses. And I got more than two strengths, Big Dog."

It's a quote that has fueled the perception that Bailey expects to be a heavily featured star — immediately — no matter where he is drafted. There is also a perception in some corners of the league that Bailey's approach has been coordinated by representation regarded as untraditional for a top prospect: Omar Cooper of the LifeStyle Sports Agency. Cooper is the father of former Atlanta Hawk Sharife Cooper and is not currently a certified NBA agent. Adie Von Gontard and Daniel Green are the official agents of record for Bailey, but the Atlanta-based Cooper has been described by NBA teams as the point person running Bailey's pre-draft process. Cooper has yet to respond to multiple attempts of outreach from The Stein Line.

Earlier this week we identified what is increasingly regarded in NBA front offices as a consensus top eight in this draft. Flagg and Harper are the locks at the No. 1 and No. 2. The precise order of the next six draftees is far from a lock, but Bailey continues to be mentioned with the other five projected to fill out the upper reaches of Wednesday's Round 1 board: Baylor's VJ Edgecombe, Texas' Tre Johnson, Oklahoma's Jeremiah Fears and the Duke duo of Maluach and Knueppel.

Could Bailey fall to the bottom of that top eight and thus land with the Nets?

We repeat: The question is increasingly being asked.

Seeing a highly regarded prospect declining visits with teams to such a degree is somewhat reminiscent of 2013, back when Nerlens Noel had torn his ACL but was still featured in various mock drafts as a legitimate candidate to be selected with the No. 1 overall pick. It's the opening scene of my book: At Noel's Green Room table inside Barclays Center, then-Kentucky coach John Calipari could be heard pleading to know why Noel slipped all the way to No. 6.

Noel couldn't work out for teams at the time and the rehab process in front of him surely dissuaded some teams. Yet I know for a fact that Charlotte and Phoenix both passed on Noel at No. 4 and 5, respectively, in large part due to the fact that they were not granted a face-to-face meeting … nor the opportunity to review Noel's medicals. The big difference there is that every NBA team does have access to Bailey's medical records from the combine in accordance with the league's most recent CBA.

The reality, though, is that the draft is just six days away and seemingly all of the Bailey-related discussion in circulation is focused anywhere but his considerable ability. The focus, like it or not, is on his travel schedule, his camp's pre-draft tactics and the lik

[DreamTeam09]

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this mock makes sense based on Intel & team needs

[ATLTimekeeper]

Morey uses an analytic model for drafting. He has never ever cared about the character of a player, so any of this noise about Ace is not going to alter his decision-making. Charlotte doesn't care about character, either. Neither do the Ainges. I'm not really sure who this is supposed to spook.

[Grew]

Ace being such a tool throughout this process is actually too funny. His lack of awareness and poor shot selection on court are now showing themselves to be a part of his personality off court.

Looking more and more like a taller JR Smith with each passing moment.

[WuTang_CMB]

Looking at Tankathon, I think if Kon goes top 5, there's a good chance KM will be at Toronto's pick (not saying its the right call). New Orleans / Wash would love for Fears or Tre and I think Ainge pulls the trigger on Ace.

I personally don't believe BRK will take KM and they are going Jak or Essengue in this scenario.

If there's any trades, they will be on draft night as they have to wait to see how the board shakes out.

[Dalek]

This kid is who I really want more than any other prospect. Usually, I’m fairly low on Chinese prospects unless their name is Yao Ming, but Hansen Yang is the next up for me. Not only can he play, but he’s going to be a marketing gold mine.

I agree with you as I have been through the previous draft cycles with Asian prospects like Yi Jianlian and Zhou Qi fizzling out. Yang Hansen is different. Can't teach his size and feel for the game. He knows how to make tight window passing reads, he uses his physicality well and comes in with an NBA ready frame. He studies Jokic, Sengun, and Sabonis and is ducking no workouts.I actually remeber a Portland workout and Jase Richardson said it was tough scoring with Yang in the paint.

He will need to work on conditioning but he already made a huge leap over the past year. The English will have to get better otherwise he will face a lot of social isolation early on and training camp will be tough.

I am not certain of this, mainly because it is hard to read someone from another background, but he seems genuinely confident or sure of himself on court and even in media. In some ways he reminds me of Shohei Ohtani who just carries himself the right way. Yang Hansen has some star charisma.

Like you said I think he will be a marketing gold mine and especially in Toronto and Canada for that matter. It's interesting he is a Klutch guy just like Maluach. Klutch is an agency that directs players where they feel it makes the most sense for the player - Bronny James in LA, Ulrich Chomche (LBJ) in Toronto (Masai). Brooklyn might be a fit for Yang because of their owner Joe Tsai.

[niQ]

Looking at Tankathon, I think if Kon goes top 5, there's a good chance KM will be at Toronto's pick (not saying its the right call). New Orleans / Wash would love for Fears or Tre and I think Ainge pulls the trigger on Ace.

I personally don't believe BRK will take KM and they are going Jak or Essengue in this scenario.

If there's any trades, they will be on draft night as they have to wait to see how the board shakes out.

Kon now mocked at 4 on both Tankathon and nbadraft.net. Was there a report they liked him? Godlike workout?

Edit: Maybe this? https://sports.yahoo.com/article/bill-simmons-sees-hornets-fit-055901389.html

[BoyzNTheHood]

This kid is who I really want more than any other prospect. Usually, I’m fairly low on Chinese prospects unless their name is Yao Ming, but Hansen Yang is the next up for me. Not only can he play, but he’s going to be a marketing gold mine.

I agree with you as I have been through the previous draft cycles with Asian prospects like Yi Jianlian and Zhou Qi fizzling out. Yang Hansen is different. Can't teach his size and feel for the game. He knows how to make tight window passing reads, he uses his physicality well and comes in with an NBA ready frame. He studies Jokic, Sengun, and Sabonis and is ducking no workouts.I actually remeber a Portland workout and Jase Richardson said it was tough scoring with Yang in the paint.

He will need to work on conditioning but he already made a huge leap over the past year. The English will have to get better otherwise he will face a lot of social isolation early on and training camp will be tough.

I am not certain of this, mainly because it is hard to read someone from another background, but he seems genuinely confident or sure of himself on court and even in media. In some ways he reminds me of Shohei Ohtani who just carries himself the right way. Yang Hansen has some star charisma.

Like you said I think he will be a marketing gold mine and especially in Toronto and Canada for that matter. It's interesting he is a Klutch guy just like Maluach. Klutch is an agency that directs players where they feel it makes the most sense for the player - Bronny James in LA, Ulrich Chomche (LBJ) in Toronto (Masai). Brooklyn might be a fit for Yang because of their owner Joe Tsai.

I really want us to take him. Someway, somehow. The kid is about as obvious as a pick gets in my opinion. You see the elite feel for the game. You see the work ethic with him cutting all that weight. He’s a young basketball savant. Darko has to be enamoured with his passing ability, right? He’s the guy after Jak, and Jak would be such a wonderful teacher for him. They’re both seemingly in love with the game.

[Dalek]

This kid is who I really want more than any other prospect. Usually, I’m fairly low on Chinese prospects unless their name is Yao Ming, but Hansen Yang is the next up for me. Not only can he play, but he’s going to be a marketing gold mine.

I agree with you as I have been through the previous draft cycles with Asian prospects like Yi Jianlian and Zhou Qi fizzling out. Yang Hansen is different. Can't teach his size and feel for the game. He knows how to make tight window passing reads, he uses his physicality well and comes in with an NBA ready frame. He studies Jokic, Sengun, and Sabonis and is ducking no workouts.I actually remeber a Portland workout and Jase Richardson said it was tough scoring with Yang in the paint.

He will need to work on conditioning but he already made a huge leap over the past year. The English will have to get better otherwise he will face a lot of social isolation early on and training camp will be tough.

I am not certain of this, mainly because it is hard to read someone from another background, but he seems genuinely confident or sure of himself on court and even in media. In some ways he reminds me of Shohei Ohtani who just carries himself the right way. Yang Hansen has some star charisma.

Like you said I think he will be a marketing gold mine and especially in Toronto and Canada for that matter. It's interesting he is a Klutch guy just like Maluach. Klutch is an agency that directs players where they feel it makes the most sense for the player - Bronny James in LA, Ulrich Chomche (LBJ) in Toronto (Masai). Brooklyn might be a fit for Yang because of their owner Joe Tsai.

I really want us to take him. Someway, somehow. The kid is about as obvious as a pick gets in my opinion. You see the elite feel for the game. You see the work ethic with him cutting all that weight. He’s a young basketball savant. Darko has to be enamoured with his passing ability, right? He’s the guy after Jak, and Jak would be such a wonderful teacher for him. They’re both seemingly in love with the game.

If we like him we have to pick him at 9. Brooklyn has so many picks after us (19, 26, 27, and 36) and with an owner who has gone on record saying he wants to develop Chinese talent, I would be shocked if they don't target him. Toronto badly needs to get more picks.

[BoyzNTheHood]

I agree with you as I have been through the previous draft cycles with Asian prospects like Yi Jianlian and Zhou Qi fizzling out. Yang Hansen is different. Can't teach his size and feel for the game. He knows how to make tight window passing reads, he uses his physicality well and comes in with an NBA ready frame. He studies Jokic, Sengun, and Sabonis and is ducking no workouts.I actually remeber a Portland workout and Jase Richardson said it was tough scoring with Yang in the paint.

He will need to work on conditioning but he already made a huge leap over the past year. The English will have to get better otherwise he will face a lot of social isolation early on and training camp will be tough.

I am not certain of this, mainly because it is hard to read someone from another background, but he seems genuinely confident or sure of himself on court and even in media. In some ways he reminds me of Shohei Ohtani who just carries himself the right way. Yang Hansen has some star charisma.

Like you said I think he will be a marketing gold mine and especially in Toronto and Canada for that matter. It's interesting he is a Klutch guy just like Maluach. Klutch is an agency that directs players where they feel it makes the most sense for the player - Bronny James in LA, Ulrich Chomche (LBJ) in Toronto (Masai). Brooklyn might be a fit for Yang because of their owner Joe Tsai.

I really want us to take him. Someway, somehow. The kid is about as obvious as a pick gets in my opinion. You see the elite feel for the game. You see the work ethic with him cutting all that weight. He’s a young basketball savant. Darko has to be enamoured with his passing ability, right? He’s the guy after Jak, and Jak would be such a wonderful teacher for him. They’re both seemingly in love with the game.

If we like him we have to pick him at 9. Brooklyn has so many picks after us (19, 26, 27, and 36) and with an owner who has gone on record saying he wants to develop Chinese talent, I would be shocked if they don't target him. Toronto badly needs to get more picks.

ATL is our best bet before 19, or maybe one of the teams looking for a win now piece like Houston (10), OKC (15), or Minnesota (17).

[PhilBlackson]

Essengue is in the mold of Isaac. Fleming is like Duren, less jacked but shoots the 3.

Sir, Fleming is nothing like Duren.

Fleming reminds me more of Tari Eason

I hate to say it because Psubs does legit seem like a good dude that means well but I gotta say he makes some pretty awful comparisons lol. Even Essengue isn’t really like Isaac either. Noa is not the same level defender and Isaac is more of an occasional spot up shooter than anything which is pretty much the polar opposite of Essengue’s game.

[OAKLEY_2]

Looking at Tankathon, I think if Kon goes top 5, there's a good chance KM will be at Toronto's pick (not saying its the right call). New Orleans / Wash would love for Fears or Tre and I think Ainge pulls the trigger on Ace.

I personally don't believe BRK will take KM and they are going Jak or Essengue in this scenario.

If there's any trades, they will be on draft night as they have to wait to see how the board shakes out.

I truly believe Derik Queen will be our pick at 9. Pick and roll machine and has Scottyesque 6th sense in finding the basket. Get him on a pro diet and workout regimen and he, truly, could be a force. Great court vision for a big and puts the ball on the floor. Calling it now.

[PhilBlackson]

Looking at Tankathon, I think if Kon goes top 5, there's a good chance KM will be at Toronto's pick (not saying its the right call). New Orleans / Wash would love for Fears or Tre and I think Ainge pulls the trigger on Ace.

I personally don't believe BRK will take KM and they are going Jak or Essengue in this scenario.

If there's any trades, they will be on draft night as they have to wait to see how the board shakes out.

Hmm idk but surely you’ve seen reports too that the Nets have liked Maluach as well…

If he does fall to us I’ll rejoice lol but I just think there’s so much smoke around him and you know what they say about the fire. I’d say almost especially with the Hornets who might be trying to lure someone into trading up considering how seemingly broken the relationship is with Mark Williams and the franchise. But who knows? I’ll pray you’re right.

Although lowkey I’ve now been favouring a trade down scenario to take one of Coward/Traore (Bryant would be tops but doubt he’s still there) and Yang.

[djsunyc]

y'all have picked like 9-10 different guys at our pick loo

[PhilBlackson]

I really want us to take him. Someway, somehow. The kid is about as obvious as a pick gets in my opinion. You see the elite feel for the game. You see the work ethic with him cutting all that weight. He’s a young basketball savant. Darko has to be enamoured with his passing ability, right? He’s the guy after Jak, and Jak would be such a wonderful teacher for him. They’re both seemingly in love with the game.

If we like him we have to pick him at 9. Brooklyn has so many picks after us (19, 26, 27, and 36) and with an owner who has gone on record saying he wants to develop Chinese talent, I would be shocked if they don't target him. Toronto badly needs to get more picks.

ATL is our best bet before 19, or maybe one of the teams looking for a win now piece like Houston (10), OKC (15), or Minnesota (17).

I really wonder for MIN with Ochai, give them an added wing defender with the possible loss of NAW but still a potential cap relief the next year. Outside chance on OKC preparing for keeping the core in tact with all the max extensions on deck and Caruso, Dort and Hartenstein aren’t cheap. I don’t think we could offer anything to really pry away HOU’s pick but I’m with you on praying to get Hansen here, he could really become the “Gasol” of our offence.

[djsunyc]

clark kellogg on nba radio today named carter bryant as the breakout sleeper in the draft