2025 Draft Thread - Part 2

[Jay81]

i think fears is the guy left at 6 that has the most upside to be an all star if things work out....thats who you really have to take. Not a guy whose upside is a starter but upside is a star. I think Fears is the only that meets that critera at 6

[doclinkin]

Essengue was measure last year: 6'11 wingspan, 9"3.25 standing reach.

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If so there is zero chance this front office passes him up. LOL. Youngest player in the draft, with a center's reach? That's Giannis potential.

Yea, and I have doubts about that 6'11 wingspan. My eyeballs are telling me that's a 7+ wingspan, and he may have grown since last year (those measurements were from Feb 2024).

Yea, he fits the Dawkins profile.

Like they might take him at 6 if he measures big in Treviso.

[Jay81]

If so there is zero chance this front office passes him up. LOL. Youngest player in the draft, with a center's reach? That's Giannis potential.

Yea, and I have doubts about that 6'11 wingspan. My eyeballs are telling me that's a 7+ wingspan, and he may have grown since last year (those measurements were from Feb 2024).

Yea, he fits the Dawkins profile.

Like they might take him at 6 if he measures big in Treviso.

Dat2u says he is skillless so I’m gonna pass lol

[Dat2U]

Yea, and I have doubts about that 6'11 wingspan. My eyeballs are telling me that's a 7+ wingspan, and he may have grown since last year (those measurements were from Feb 2024).

Yea, he fits the Dawkins profile.

Like they might take him at 6 if he measures big in Treviso.

Dat2u says he is skillless so I’m gonna pass lol

Well tbh I didn't know he was legit C size until just now. I was viewing him through the lense of a PF, comparing his skill level to other Fs.

I have to re-evaluate him as a rim running C and see how he stacks out against other bigs before really saying strongly how I feel about him. I still worry about his hands though.

[nate33]

Like they might take him at 6 if he measures big in Treviso.

Dat2u says he is skillless so I’m gonna pass lol

Well tbh I didn't know he was legit C size until just now. I was viewing him through the lense of a PF, comparing his skill level to other Fs.

I have to re-evaluate him as a rim running C and see how he stacks out against other bigs before really saying strongly how I feel about him. I still worry about his hands though.

Even if he is big enough to be a wiry center, we already have that guy in Sarr.

[payitforward]

Ah, but we're not looking for puzzle piece, nate, we're looking for gold coins....

[SUPERBALLMAN]

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[AFM]

I don’t like his name. Pass.

[doclinkin]

Dat2u says he is skillless so I’m gonna pass lol

Well tbh I didn't know he was legit C size until just now. I was viewing him through the lense of a PF, comparing his skill level to other Fs.

I have to re-evaluate him as a rim running C and see how he stacks out against other bigs before really saying strongly how I feel about him. I still worry about his hands though.

Even if he is big enough to be a wiry center, we already have that guy in Sarr.

I haven’t watched full games on the kid yet, but he’s been tabbed as a small forward all year. If he’s grown into a Center in size but has SF skills I suspect our front office is interested. The fact that he started the preseason at 17 years old and held his own against pro players speaks highly of his talent level if not yet his skill set. I’m not arguing for him. I’m saying I won’t be surprised when he’s our pick. Lol. They may be looking for the next Giannis.

[tontoz]

I don’t like his name. Pass.

A center named Konan? Count me in.

[payitforward]

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If Niederhauser could shoot, he'd be a very high level prospect....

[NatP4]

Essengue played 16 games for Ratiopharm Ulm last year as a 17 year old and was really good.

This year between the German league&Eurocup competition per 36: 16.6 points 7.4 rebounds 1.9 assists 1.5 steals 0.9 blocks on 62.3% TS. Played in 52 total games and a legit 25 minutes/game. That’s pretty incredible for an 18 year old against that level of comp. His defense is ELITE.

Just hasn’t been a good 3pt shooter at any level, but the form looks great. 72% from the free throw line.

[TheBlackCzar]

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I could envision this guy in the Hartenstein role for us.... He's appears to be pretty agile and also isn't light like Alex, and might be a nice compliment to him.... Will have to continue watching more film on him...


He also seems to be a potential nice interior defender and shotblocker...

[9 and 20]

Wonder if our other Swiss guy knows the Swiss Cheese Konan. Sign me up for this guy at 40.

Essengue/Traore/Konan in the draft, move the team to Basel or Marseille, hire Grundle to scout out good locations for an arena.

[TGW]

Like they might take him at 6 if he measures big in Treviso.

Dat2u says he is skillless so I’m gonna pass lol

Well tbh I didn't know he was legit C size until just now. I was viewing him through the lense of a PF, comparing his skill level to other Fs.

I have to re-evaluate him as a rim running C and see how he stacks out against other bigs before really saying strongly how I feel about him. I still worry about his hands though.

If his hands are an issue, it doesn't show up in the statistics. His turnover rate is low, and his efficiency percentages (aside from the 3 ball) are high. His main issue looks like he fouls a lot, which means he may struggles with positional defense or defensive IQ in general.

All in all, seems like the ideal mold of clay at 18 years old.

[TheBlackCzar]

Imagine Kyrie with less shooting/handles/finishing. That is how I see Fears and that is if he improves a lot.

This kid wasn't even expected to be I'm college he did his thing.... Kyrie went 1 and he might go 6th i don't get the comparison..... he has good handles and finishing with either hand...... When he ends up one of the best players from this draft then what will you say?

If we'd have drafted Halliburton instead of Deni we wouldn't need to draft a pg but we did not..... Such is life....

No actually he doesn't finish well, at all. He shoots 45% at the rim in the half court as was posted previously.

He's not a good playmaker either.

Kyrie is an elite shooter and finisher at the same size. Do we really want a poor man's Kyrie.

First off he's faster than Kyrie and doesn't play like him at all... He's not trying to be Kyrie, he's from Chicago and I think NYC/NJ ballers play much differently so this comparison really makes no sense.... You went back how many years to find Kyrie as a comp? Essentially Fears is like a straight from HS player, coming into his rookie season, but he played an entire season in the SEC..... He also played best at the end of the season....

"Excellent slasher and rim finisher with a 56.4 2P% and 64.0% scoring rate out of pick-and-roll sets." Where are you getting this 45% from?

[Kanyewest]

This kid wasn't even expected to be I'm college he did his thing.... Kyrie went 1 and he might go 6th i don't get the comparison..... he has good handles and finishing with either hand...... When he ends up one of the best players from this draft then what will you say?

If we'd have drafted Halliburton instead of Deni we wouldn't need to draft a pg but we did not..... Such is life....

No actually he doesn't finish well, at all. He shoots 45% at the rim in the half court as was posted previously.

He's not a good playmaker either.

Kyrie is an elite shooter and finisher at the same size. Do we really want a poor man's Kyrie.

First off he's faster than Kyrie and doesn't play like him at all... He's not trying to be Kyrie, he's from Chicago and I think NYC/NJ ballers play much differently so this comparison really makes no sense.... You went back how many years to find Kyrie as a comp? Essentially Fears is like a straight from HS player, coming into his rookie season, but he played an entire season in the SEC..... He also played best at the end of the season....

"Excellent slasher and rim finisher with a 56.4 2P% and 64.0% scoring rate out of pick-and-roll sets." Where are you getting this 45% from?

I just heard the 45% stat at 9:10 of this video https://youtu.be/MK7NLVqiiOI?si=ug49G4grqmfit1UJ

[tontoz]

Stolen from the GB, interesting stats that should be viewed with some caution considering the different teams offenses etc.

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This was posted a week ago and shows 46.4% at the rim. The vid i watched had 45%.

[AFM]

Looks like one number is for at the rim and the other for 2P% out of the pick and roll...

[SUPERBALLMAN]

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26. Yaxel Lendeborg (Michigan)
31. Alex Condon (Florida)
38. Tahaad Pettiford (Auburn)
41. Milos Uzan (Houston)
42. Boogie Fland (Florida)
43. Labaron Philon (Alabama)
44. Isaiah Evans (Duke)
46. Darrion Williams (NC State)
51. Miles Byrd (San Diego State)
56. Karter Knox (Arkansas)
58. Mackenzie Mgbako (Texas A&M)
64. PJ Haggerty (Kansas State)
72. Otega Oweh (Kentucky)
80. Bruce Thornton (Ohio State)