2025 Draft Thread - Part 2

[nate33]

I'm revisiting Jase Richardson. Most had written him off after he measured just 6'-0.5" in height at the combine, but it's worth noting that he has a 6'-6" wingspan, giving him the same exact standing reach as Jeremiah Fears. He is also the same exact age (18.68 on draft day).

Richardson is unusual in that he started out as a bench player until Izzo finally decided to start him halfway through the year. The moment he moved to the starting lineup, he became the offensive engine of that team.

Here is the Tankathon comparison of Richardson, Fears, and I included Harper for the heck of it. I added a 4th column using my elite photoshop skills to incorporate Richardson's per 36 numbers after becoming a starter.



A couple of observations:
- Richardson scored basically just as much as Harper and Fears, only much more efficiently and with an incredibly low turnover rate. Richardson didn't have much playmaking responsibility though.
- Richardson got to the line almost as much as the other guys
- Richardson is 9 months younger than Harper
- Richardson blows both guys away in advanced stats.

I really think Richardson deserves a second look here. The big thing is his utter lack of turnovers. It doesn't seem like much in a box score, but low turnovers are extremely important to winning basketball games.

[DCZards]

I'm revisiting Jase Richardson. Most had written him off after he measured just 6'-0.5" in height at the combine, but it's worth noting that he has a 6'-6" wingspan, giving him the same exact standing reach as Jeremiah Fears. He is also the same exact age (18.68 on draft day).

Some of us had not written Richardson off. If you saw any late season Mich. St. games you saw a player who was almost unstoppable—even when the defense knew he was going to attack the rim.

Don’t want to suggest he’ll be as good as Donovan Mitchell but I could see a lot of teams regretting passing on Jase, which is certainly the case with Mitchell.

I’d be very happy with Maluach and Richardson or Coward…assuming Bryant is not available at 18.

[pcbothwel]

I'm revisiting Jase Richardson.

Ehhh. Nice floor, poor ceiling.
I LOVE the feel, shooting, and savvy finishing... but that it.
He is Jared McCain more or less.
Good, but not great ball handling, scalable passing, and defense.
Small and an average athlete that is EXTREMELY left hand dependent/dominant.
FVV & Brunson types are rare, and I'm not betting on that for him. He'd be great value for a team needing a 6th man/combo guard, but not us.

[NatP4]

I'm revisiting Jase Richardson.

Ehhh. Nice floor, poor ceiling.
I LOVE the feel, shooting, and savvy finishing... but that it.
He is Jared McCain more or less.
Good, but not great ball handling, scalable passing, and defense.
Small and an average athlete that is EXTREMELY left hand dependent/dominant.
FVV & Brunson types are rare, and I'm not betting on that for him. He'd be great value for a team needing a 6th man/combo guard, but not us.

I have a difficult time feeling great about the range of comparables, based on measureables&production. He doesn’t have the frame of the FVV/Brunson/Lowry types but he also doesn’t turn 19 until October.

Maybe some high end outcomes: Conley/Garland/Sheppard(tbd) larger frame: Brunson/Lowry/Vanvleet

Middle outcomes: Tyus/Tre Jones/Jared Butler

Low end outcomes: Hyland/Seth Curry/Cam Payne

He was significantly better/more efficient/productive than all of the middle&low end outcomes guys in college, at a younger age as well.

Can he transform that small-ish frame? Can a player like Mike Conley be an impact player in the modern NBA? Can Richardson transition to a true lead PG&be a primary playmaker? He’s a tough one. I lean towards a Conley/Brunson type of outcome right now.

[nate33]

Don’t want to suggest he’ll be as good as Donovan Mitchell but I could see a lot of teams regretting passing on Jase, which is certainly the case with Mitchell.

Since you have basically just predicted with 100% certainty that he will be definitely be as good as Mitchell, I decided to go ahead and post the comparison:



tbh, he actually does look as good as Mitchell. Better 3P%, better 2P%, he gets to the FT line more, and is comparable in rebounds and assists. And all that despite being 2 full years younger. Obviously, Mitchell has that crazy 6'10" wingspan which allows him to defend just fine at the NBA level, but Mitchell is being asked to defend 2's. Richardson would only be defending 1's.

FWIW, Mitchell is a bit more explosive with a 2 inch higher max vert, but Jase did much better on lane agility 10.97 to Mitchell's 11.53

[AFM]

Watch on YouTube

[dobrojim]

How does Traore stack up vs Jase/Fears?

[Dat2U]

My do not draft list:

1. Egor Demin. If your going to be a one trick pony in the NBA, it better be as a shooter. Considering Egor's one trick is court vision/passing, I trouble seeing how he can actualize this skill without cratering the teams floor spacing & defense.

2. Rasheer Fleming. Built like Adonis & can shoot 3s so it sounds good on surface. However, he was spoon fed buckets as an upperclassman at a mid-level program. No creation ability or off the ball game at all. Poor passer & poor feel. A defense event creator when he's on time but tends to be a bit late in reading & reacting. A poor man's Taylor Hendricks.

3. Liam McNeeley. Another one trick pony. This one is a shooter with good looking form but really struggles to impact the game in any other way.Gives me Duncan Robinson vibes as his ceiling. His floor is much lower though.

[Dat2U]

How does Traore stack up vs Jase/Fears?

Traore sees the floor the best. He's the best distributor of the group. He's also the fastest of the 3.

Fears has the best handle and ability to create shots in tight spaces. Most developed skill wise. He just needs alot of polish and more strength.

Jase is the most instinctive processor of the 3. Best defender & shooter. Jase has also only has one hand although he's very effective with it. Also the strongest of the 3.

Fears & Traore will be on the ball. Jase will need to play off-the-ball for now unless his handle makes q sifnificant jump.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I love tankathon!

Here's the list of Duke draft prospects the last few seasons:

https://www.tankathon.com/colleges/duke

I have to shout out to doclinkin. He was very correct about a player who slipped to #15 in the 2022 draft:

https://www.tankathon.com/colleges/duke

I am sure doclinkin is on target again, but how does tankathon project Maluach?

https://www.tankathon.com/players/khaman-maluach

If you look at the two, Mark Williams looks to be/have been the BETTER prospect.

But wasn't Mark Williams two years older than Maluach when he came out?

https://www.tankathon.com/players/mark-williams

That's the correct link.

Yes, Williams was 20.5 years old on draft on draft night. That's the same as Derik Queen will be

Maluach is essentially 2 years younger. He will be 18.7 years old draft night.

[80sballboy]

At Draft.net thaey give us Fears & Maluach at 6 & 18. Best draft outcome if you ask me. Sadly, no way Maluach falls to 18.

Yup, that site has lost me over the laset 4-5 years. He's closer to being top 5 than out of the lottery.

[TGW]

If Richardson somehow makes it to #18, you take him. Kid can flat out hoop. And he's not afraid of challenging the trees in the paint. Love attacking guards like him.

[80sballboy]

Cooper Flagg has zero weaknesses per tankathon.

https://www.tankathon.com/players/cooper-flagg

Hilarious. LeBron had a weakness coming out of HS. Houston exposed Flagg some in the Final Four in the paint with their physicality. No wonder he put on about 10 pounds.

[80sballboy]

My do not draft list:

1. Egor Demin. If your going to be a one trick pony in the NBA, it better be as a shooter. Considering Egor's one trick is court vision/passing, I trouble seeing how he can actualize this skill without cratering the teams floor spacing & defense.

2. Rasheer Fleming. Built like Adonis & can shoot 3s so it sounds good on surface. However, he was spoon fed buckets as an upperclassman at a mid-level program. No creation ability or off the ball game at all. Poor passer & poor feel. A defense event creator when he's on time but tends to be a bit late in reading & reacting. A poor man's Taylor Hendricks.

3. Liam McNeeley. Another one trick pony. This one is a shooter with good looking form but really struggles to impact the game in any other way.Gives me Duncan Robinson vibes as his ceiling. His floor is much lower though.

I liked McNeeley coming out of HS but he struggled last year at UConn partially due to injuries and well, he might have been overrated. He's more than Duncan Robinson because has some ability to create, but he made a huge mistake coming out. One more year and he's in the lottery.

Demin looked impressive at BYU early on and then he started playing real teams and looked ordinary. I can see some Josh Giddey comparisons but he's nowhere near as good, just tall.

Fleming is an interesting case because it took him three years to finally become a strong contributor but yes, A-10 is mid-major and unless the guy is phenomenal, most of those guys are 2nd-round picks at best. Unless he's Obi Toppin from Dayton and it took him awhile to get adjusted to become a situational player. One of the best mid-majors in a long time is a role player.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Cooper Flagg has zero weaknesses per tankathon.

https://www.tankathon.com/players/cooper-flagg

Who is your pick for player that will have a greater impact for draft position 5 years from now? It would be fair to wait until the end of the next season, but if you really want to be Nostradamus

Neither Fears nor Johnson are worth the hype.

Jase Richardson will be far better than Fears or Tre. He's got the bloodlines and the grit from Michigan State.

Kon Knueppel will be a solid starterstar in 5 years.

Cameron Murray-Boyles will be a tremendous defender.

Rasheer Fleming will be the if the draft.

Nique Clifford is worth a mid first despite his age. I can't see him not being a Derrick White.

Kameron Jones will start early in his career.

Cedric Coward has FUTURE ALL STAR numbers. Relative to where he's mocked he would be a tremendous pick.

There you are: Jase Richardson and Cedric Coward.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Jim, those were my teams as well.

My father was a Redskins fan. I liked the Colts. Bert Jones and Lydell Mitchell were great.

I got into football in 1965. Colts lost both Unitas and
Cuozo to injuries that year. Still had a good team QB'd
by Tom Matte.

I'm a Redskins fan all the way, but my Dad switched to the Ravens when Snyder bought the team. He had twenty plus years of happy football watching while I suffered and mourned. He was right! But Adam Peters and JD5 means we back up!!!

When the elder Irsay packed up the Colts and moved them to Indianapolis, I joined my father in rooting for the Redskins.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

What are the chances Ace falls to 6? I could see it. Philly drafts Tre Johnson - more ready to contribute now and still has star potential. Charlotte drafts Edgecomb. Utah could draft Ace. They might also do something like draft Maluach and trade Walker Kessler.

What would we trade to move up one spot with Utah?

I get the feeling Ace will fall to 6. Aurelius seems to lack awareness. He could be like the guy on Houston with all the athleticism in the world who is a non-factor in games.

Could be, that's the feeling I got back in April/May, that his stock was precipitously dropping.

But I can't help thinking he'd be a high risk, well worth it steal in such a scenario (with an admittedly risky floor). Guy was the consensus #2 in that recruiting class, and something was clearly wrong with the team/coach/mix there as they had a ---- season despite having 2 of the top 3 recruiting prospects who are still considered the 2nd and 3rd overall most likely draftees.

I'd rather bet on that being an outlier season in a bad situation than that Ace is fundamentally flawed. All that being said, it was definitely a disappointing season with some real erratic whipsaw stretches month to month. It would not shock me at all if he's a perennial all star and if he played out as a bust. But I think he's definitely worth the swing.

As of today, I think Harper and Bailey were both overrated. They put up numbers, but did their scoring translate to wins?

I'll probably later regret that.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Mark Williams averaged 5.2 stocks per 40 as a freshman compared to 2.9 for Maluach.

Ayton, Poeltl, Williams, Lively, Kessler, and Bamba seem like the closest comps.

Ayton&Poeltl posted similar stock numbers, but were high usage first option scorers in college.

Stocks per36 as freshman:
Williams: 4.7
Bamba: 5.3
Lively: 5.1
Kessler: 6.3

Maluach: 2.6

Maluach was about a year younger than all of them.

That year is not gonna matter. Khaman won't match them in NBA stocks.

How about the offense comparisons?

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I'm revisiting Jase Richardson. Most had written him off after he measured just 6'-0.5" in height at the combine, but it's worth noting that he has a 6'-6" wingspan, giving him the same exact standing reach as Jeremiah Fears. He is also the same exact age (18.68 on draft day).

Richardson is unusual in that he started out as a bench player until Izzo finally decided to start him halfway through the year. The moment he moved to the starting lineup, he became the offensive engine of that team.

Here is the Tankathon comparison of Richardson, Fears, and I included Harper for the heck of it. I added a 4th column using my elite photoshop skills to incorporate Richardson's per 36 numbers after becoming a starter.



A couple of observations:
- Richardson scored basically just as much as Harper and Fears, only much more efficiently and with an incredibly low turnover rate. Richardson didn't have much playmaking responsibility though.
- Richardson got to the line almost as much as the other guys
- Richardson is 9 months younger than Harper
- Richardson blows both guys away in advanced stats.

I really think Richardson deserves a second look here. The big thing is his utter lack of turnovers. It doesn't seem like much in a box score, but low turnovers are extremely important to winning basketball games.

Exactly.

Closg00 asked me to play Nostradamus.

tankathon led me to Jase Richardson (along with Dat2U's analysis)

All that and his dad was a very good NBA player.

I recall Jason Richardson working out in Hawaii at the Big Man Camp (2002) against players mostly over 6'9".

Playing for Coach Izzo, having a terrific work ethic, and a strong dad will make Jase a great pick.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I'm revisiting Jase Richardson. Most had written him off after he measured just 6'-0.5" in height at the combine, but it's worth noting that he has a 6'-6" wingspan, giving him the same exact standing reach as Jeremiah Fears. He is also the same exact age (18.68 on draft day).

Some of us had not written Richardson off. If you saw any late season Mich. St. games you saw a player who was almost unstoppable—even when the defense knew he was going to attack the rim.

Don’t want to suggest he’ll be as good as Donovan Mitchell but I could see a lot of teams regretting passing on Jase, which is certainly the case with Mitchell.

I’d be very happy with Maluach and Richardson or Coward…assuming Bryant is not available at 18.

Maluach (I think Sorber), Richardson, and Coward would be the best Wizards draft, possibly ever.