2025 Draft Thread - Part 4

[Frichuela]

Read on Twitter

?s=46

Interesting comp!

Overall, I was initially disappointed that Ace went to the Jazz, but I am now convinced every cloud has a silver lining. Tre has a greater floor and if he works on his body and D, he could become an all star. His pairing with Bub may work well, with 2 high IQ 6’5” guards in our backcourt.

[Frichuela]

On a different note, I hope they trade Kispert. I rather give his minutes to Bilal, Tre, Riley and George. Question is who could be interested? Orlando is gone as a potential candidate post Bane’s trade.

[payitforward]

We have an option on Richaun Holmes. He'll do fine.

[prime1time]

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?s=46

Interesting comp!

Overall, I was initially disappointed that Ace went to the Jazz, but I am now convinced every cloud has a silver lining. Tre has a greater floor and if he works on his body and D, he could become an all star. His pairing with Bub may work well, with 2 high IQ 6’5” guards in our backcourt.

This is actually not a good comp. And it's why I don't per 40 numbers. When one player is the number 1 scoring option on their respective team and gets all of the defensive attention/focus and still needs to score while the other player plays with Karl-Anthony Towns, Harrison twins, Trey Lyles, Tyler Ulis, Willie Cauley Stein, Dakari Johnson and more great recruits it's not fair to compare those two players.

The amount of offensive generation that was put on the shoulders of Johnson was simply astounding. Imo, Johnson is closer to Steph and Trae Young than he is to Devin Booker. The hole in Johnson's game is his he doesn't have the passing/playmaking of those other guys. But we have to call a spade a spade. During February - the heart of SEC play - Johnson averaged 26/4.3/3.7 with a slash line of 44/43/89.

Using per 40 and then comparing him to someone who's on a super talented team doesn't fully capture his impact. Barring a shocking turn of events by next season Tre will be the best offensive player on this team. The only question is how good can he be. If he can improve his inside the 3-point line game, improve his finishing, improving his passing and playmaking he has a chance to be top 15 ppg scorer in the NBA. At worst Tre projects as Desmond Bane type. There are things that we can get nit picky about like extending range to way behind the three point line so we can have more space on our PnR.

[Frichuela]

Read on Twitter

?s=46

Interesting comp!

Overall, I was initially disappointed that Ace went to the Jazz, but I am now convinced every cloud has a silver lining. Tre has a greater floor and if he works on his body and D, he could become an all star. His pairing with Bub may work well, with 2 high IQ 6’5” guards in our backcourt.

This is actually not a good comp. And it's why I don't per 40 numbers. When one player is the number 1 scoring option on their respective team and gets all of the defensive attention/focus and still needs to score while the other player plays with Karl-Anthony Towns, Harrison twins, Trey Lyles, Tyler Ulis, Willie Cauley Stein, Dakari Johnson and more great recruits it's not fair to compare those two players.

The amount of offensive generation that was put on the shoulders of Johnson was simply astounding. Imo, Johnson is closer to Steph and Trae Young than he is to Devin Booker. The hole in Johnson's game is his he doesn't have the passing/playmaking of those other guys. But we have to call a spade a spade. During February - the heart of SEC play - Johnson averaged 26/4.3/3.7 with a slash line of 44/43/89.

Using per 40 and then comparing him to someone who's on a super talented team doesn't fully capture his impact. Barring a shocking turn of events by next season Tre will be the best offensive player on this team. The only question is how good can he be. If he can improve his inside the 3-point line game, improve his finishing, improving his passing and playmaking he has a chance to be top 15 ppg scorer in the NBA. At worst Tre projects as Desmond Bane type. There are things that we can get nit picky about like extending range to way behind the three point line so we can have more space on our PnR.

Sure primetime! Even better. If Tre’s floor is Bane, I am excited!!!

[Frichuela]

Potential drama emerging in Utah…let’s get the popcorn and watch…

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?s=46

[closg00]

I thought for-sure we would add a Center so Alex wouldn't get mauled in the post as he bulks-up, Dawkins doesn't value rebounding and the half court game so-far in the rebuild.

Designed tanking. And a recognition you can get a Valanciunas type cheap in free agency.

Sell me on adding a sunsetting Center later on our timeline as a strategy for being competitive, when other teams are developing their young front courts along the same timeline.

[Hidden Eye]

Watch on YouTube

Didn't even draft a Center this draft.

SMH the Wizard organization talked to Mr.Grunfeld and consulted him who to pick after 6

[machu46]

On a different note, I hope they trade Kispert. I rather give his minutes to Bilal, Tre, Riley and George. Question is who could be interested? Orlando is gone as a potential candidate post Bane’s trade.

I definitely do not speak for all Bucks fans but if it costs little more than matching salaries I would gladly take him in Milwaukee. I'm pretty curious to see what sort of value he actually has on the market with everyone seemingly trying to cut costs. He's relatively cheap but it's also a long-term contract which will probably cross him off the list for a lot of teams.

[WallToWall]

Ok…
I am going to admit that, beyond our first pick, I don’t understand how the rest of our picks help in a rebuild. I assume that Dawkins went for BPA with the last 2 picks as opposed to BPA at positions of need (correct me if this is wrong). Doesn’t this strategy slow down the rebuild process because we still have positions of need to fill, as we have to spend time to evaluate the play of a crowded position (wing guard)? Or is Dawkins signaling that we are fine with the C, PF, and SF positions because we have who we need (I don’t understand that)?
Can someone who has an understanding of the strategy being followed explain it to me?

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I wanted draft & stash candidate Bogoljub Markovic. I really like the offensive upside but he'll need to get stronger and show more defensively for teams to buy in to his development.

He was #1 for me too, and then 1 of the Australian dudes and another guy I forgot.

I just don't see the value in this at all. Trust Hollinger I guess? And the FSU argument is a decent one, the team was indeed a mess (for FSU fans, the covid shut down destroyed the best Basketball Team they ever built, even better than the Cassell/Sura days, and that program has fallen off slowly but surely since). I hear the arguments that he will be a ferocious <expletive> potentially in practice, but lets be straight here, the 43rd pick is an asset, and I am not using top 40 or 50 picks on guys to throw at real prospects in practice in order to get said kiddo's ---- together, I hire coaches to do that, and I can sign vets like Smart to do that. What does a player that couldn't carry Tre Johnson's jock really do for him? He's not gonna intimidate him in the way a champion might, or a legit stud vet might etc.

I would rather the pick be used on something tangible with potential long term upside. The defense provides possibilities and covid and deciding to go back to school last year for some reason are why he's such an old prospect, but I am NEVER drafting guys that old and with that CV for a team that's 2-3 years away from even winning 42 games....I don't get it at all.

Bummer draft for me across the board with 1 exception: Unless Tre goes God Mode, as some seem to expect (at least in time), this draft was great for the tank for the Dybantsa/Peterson/Boozer/Ament+ class. We got two guys who can hit jumpers for sure, but probably aren't going to move the needle a ton (at least Riley anyway) for at least the first 50+ games next year, so the tank for a top 3-4 pick in '26 looks quite good. Now if the Suns had just been as stupid as the Pelicans I'd feel better but I think they made some smart picks, we can only hope they totally implode this year, so our pick swap can sweep in an extra 7-10% across the board at the 1 through 4 slots, if that happened (if they finished, 5th, 6th, 7th or I think 8th worst, maybe 9th too), our chances of landing a top 4 pick would jump to between about 75-82% or more so long as we are bottom 3. Much better odds than this past year (I think it was what, 53%?

So for me anyway, my chief takeaways are:

We drafted one of only two players I absolutely would have hated to draft at 6, but at least I can envision it being possible that he could be great. It's unlikely, but the floor is there, and the ceiling is definitely technically possible.

The second pick was generally ranked 12th in this '24 recruiting class, so if his end of season run is who he is, he might have been worth a 10-15 pick potentially w/a slightly different season, time will tell....and where he's at means we'll get a loss less help from him than we would have gotten from some other guys at 18.

The tank is alive and well....

Bogoljub Markovic would have been a perfect draft and stash, I was heartbroken to see so-many players I liked picked-off one by one.
I thought for-sure we would add a Center so Alex wouldn't get mauled in the post as he bulks-up, Dawkins doesn't value rebounding and the half court game so-far in the rebuild.

No, he doesn't.

For that reason, i hope Derik Queen drops 22 and 18 on Alex Sarr and Zion explodes for 38 when the Pelicans take the belt to ass on the Wizards.

[DCZards]

Ok…
I am going to admit that, beyond our first pick, I don’t understand how the rest of our picks help in a rebuild. I assume that Dawkins went for BPA with the last 2 picks as opposed to BPA at positions of need (correct me if this is wrong). Doesn’t this strategy slow down the rebuild process because we still have positions of need to fill, as we have to spend time to evaluate the play of a crowded position (wing guard)? Or is Dawkins signaling that we are fine with the C, PF, and SF positions because we have who we need (I don’t understand that)?
Can someone who has an understanding of the strategy being followed explain it to me?

I can’t claim to know for sure this FO’s drafting strategy. But after watching several videos of the second pick Riley over the last 24+ hours I know why they drafted him—he’s extremely skilled offensively and could end up being a major steal at pick 21.

You don’t pass on that to pick a third or fourth tier C or PF simply because you need one.

Personally, I wanted the Zards to draft Fleming but I do see Riley’s tremendous upside.

[closg00]

Part of fandom is a bit of mourning when players you liked, and believed could have helped your team, go elsewhere, I had quite a few of those moments yesterday.

Read on Twitter

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I thought for-sure we would add a Center so Alex wouldn't get mauled in the post as he bulks-up, Dawkins doesn't value rebounding and the half court game so-far in the rebuild.

Designed tanking. And a recognition you can get a Valanciunas type cheap in free agency.

It is also stupid tanking.

Dream killing tanking.

For young kids who have playing time hopes and aspirations, the mushroom treatment stinks. There will not be enough minutes to go around. How is excellence going to be rewarded? Benching for the tank

Inevitably, we will have a Tebow/Cam Newton situation, but maybe our best will go unappreciated. Remember Wizards Rasheed and Ben Wallace. Too many PFs in the Unseld days. Ashraf Amaya, who?

How many swing men have they signed in 2-3 years? 38? 50?

How many clowns fit in the Wizzo Tanko Clown Car?

Too many cooks spoil the broth.

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/too-many-cooks-spoil-the-broth

[AFM]

I thought for-sure we would add a Center so Alex wouldn't get mauled in the post as he bulks-up, Dawkins doesn't value rebounding and the half court game so-far in the rebuild.

Designed tanking. And a recognition you can get a Valanciunas type cheap in free agency.

It is also stupid tanking.

Dream killing tanking.

For young kids who have playing time hopes and aspirations, the mushroom treatment stinks. There will not be enough minutes to go around. How is excellence going to be rewarded? Benching for the tank

Inevitably, we will have a Tebow/Cam Newton situation, but maybe our best will go unappreciated. Remember Wizards Rasheed and Ben Wallace. Too many PFs in the Unseld days. Ashraf Amaya, who?

How many swing men have they signed in 2-3 years? 38? 50?

How many clowns fit in the Wizzo Tanko Clown Car?

Too many cooks spoil the broth.

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/too-many-cooks-spoil-the-broth

I think there's a significant chance we'll have another big man on the roster before the season begins.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I'm still happy with Johnson and Riley.

However, I think adding Jamir Watkins was like dumping the whole box of OLD BAY SEASONING into a pot of your favorite stew.

I believe there's a such thing as too much cowbell.

Will Dawkins has too many rookies, 1st, and 2nd years' experience swing men. Personalities will clash. Egos are going to stand out. Factional behavior is predictable.

It cannot be a meritocracy now.

Champagnie is the toughest dude and best rebounder among the young.

Smart and Middleton done been there and done that. Should they mentor?

WIIFM?

MOST OF ALL, WATKINS WILL BE THE TOUGHEST ROOKIE. Why, man? Why draft ... him?

It says screw you to both Kyshawn George and Bilal Coulibaly.

The Wizards didn't get Raynaud. #So Wizards.

They should have drafted Eric Dixon or the Marco Polo guy.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Watch on YouTube

Didn't even draft a Center this draft.

SMH the Wizard organization talked to Mr.Grunfeld and consulted him who to pick after 6

LOL

Center? We don't need no stinkin' center!

There is no C in DMV.

(Our guy Alex Sarr says, "Oui Oui, je suis une PF)

[DCZards]

MOST OF ALL, WATKINS WILL BE THE TOUGHEST ROOKIE. Why, man? Why draft ... him?

It says screw you to both Kyshawn George and Bilal Coulibaly.

I doubt that George or Bilal have anything to worry about when it comes to Watkins. But if he does end up being better than one or both of them, isn’t that a good thing?

You mentioned Rasheed Wallace who the Bullets traded because they thought we had too many PFs with him, Howard and Webber. How did that turn out?

[payitforward]

If we'd gotten Raynaud at 43, this would have been a jaw-dropping draft, but he went at 42 -- too bad.

But it was still an outstanding draft!

Tre was a very high value pick, & so was Wil. For that matter, Jamir Watkins is no slouch either at 43.

In all, terrific!

[machu46]

I'm still happy with Johnson and Riley.

However, I think adding Jamir Watkins was like dumping the whole box of OLD BAY SEASONING into a pot of your favorite stew.

I believe there's a such thing as too much cowbell.

Will Dawkins has too many rookies, 1st, and 2nd years' experience swing men. Personalities will clash. Egos are going to stand out. Factional behavior is predictable.

It cannot be a meritocracy now.

Champagnie is the toughest dude and best rebounder among the young.

Smart and Middleton done been there and done that. Should they mentor?

WIIFM?

MOST OF ALL, WATKINS WILL BE THE TOUGHEST ROOKIE. Why, man? Why draft ... him?

It says screw you to both Kyshawn George and Bilal Coulibaly.

The Wizards didn't get Raynaud. #So Wizards.

They should have drafted Eric Dixon or the Marco Polo guy.

On the flipside, it could be an iron sharpens iron kind of situation. If Watkins is so tough/good that it makes someone like Coulibaly or George expendable, so be it; now Washington has a valuable trade piece to go out and get a big man that fits nicely next to Sarr.