The 2025 Rookie Class

[payitforward]

Queen was obviously very gifted offensively, & it certainly looks like those gifts translate to the NBA. He was also limited on defense. That's obvious too.

Can he become a better defender? Why not?
In any case, it's waay too early to draw any conclusions about a kid who's played a dozen games in the league & hasn't even turned 21 yet. Negative conclusions OR positive ones.

So if we ask whether it'll turn out that we'd have been better off to pick Queen instead of Johnson, the only answer is that we don't know but we'll find out.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Looking back at Cousins stats is interesting. He averaged more turnovers than assists in each of his season's in Sacramento. Would have been nice to see a healthy Cousins on a different/better team for longer. Small sample size but Queen is averaging more assists than turnovers.

[AI Overview]

While DeMarcus Cousins did not win an NBA championship with the Los Angeles Lakers, he was on the roster for their 2020 title and received a championship ring from Anthony Davis. Cousins was also considered a key part of the New Orleans Pelicans' potential championship hopes with Davis, though injuries prevented them from a deep playoff run.

2020 Lakers championship: DeMarcus Cousins was on the Los Angeles Lakers' roster when they won the NBA championship in 2020. Due to his time with the team earlier in the season, he was eligible for a championship ring, which he received from Anthony Davis.

New Orleans Pelicans: When Cousins and Davis played together in New Orleans, they were considered a strong duo with title potential. However, Cousins' ruptured Achilles tendon during the 2017-18 season sidelined him for the playoffs, and Davis has stated the team could have made a run for the Finals with both of them healthy.

Queen and Sarr in four or five years. Sarr is a better perimeter player than AD. He has better guard skills. Similarly, Queen has guard skills. With all the talk about how the game is played today, Queen can be as successful and Sengun and Sabonis. Neither are world beaters by themselves. Both are good with the right teammates.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Queen was obviously very gifted offensively, & it certainly looks like those gifts translate to the NBA. He was also limited on defense. That's obvious too.

Can he become a better defender? Why not?
In any case, it's waay too early to draw any conclusions about a kid who's played a dozen games in the league & hasn't even turned 21 yet. Negative conclusions OR positive ones.

So if we ask whether it'll turn out that we'd have been better off to pick Queen instead of Johnson, the only answer is that we don't know but we'll find out.

[tontoz]

I tried watching some of this game but I had to turn it off after Queen committed an intentional foul to come out of the game in the second quarter because he was tired. that's not just me saying that Antonio Daniels said it

Anyway here are a couple examples of Queen's ole defense. At least try ffs

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

When you score 16 first half points, you've put in good work. His team was leading 52-50 at half.

I was actually done defending Queen, but "every time I try to get out, they pull me back in."

[AFM]

The nickname "Big Easy" is actually perfect for him

Watch on YouTube

[payitforward]

Lets stop trying to measure the area of a property that hasn't been laid out yet.

[nate33]

Looking back at Cousins stats is interesting. He averaged more turnovers than assists in each of his season's in Sacramento. Would have been nice to see a healthy Cousins on a different/better team for longer. Small sample size but Queen is averaging more assists than turnovers.

[AI Overview]

While DeMarcus Cousins did not win an NBA championship with the Los Angeles Lakers, he was on the roster for their 2020 title and received a championship ring from Anthony Davis. Cousins was also considered a key part of the New Orleans Pelicans' potential championship hopes with Davis, though injuries prevented them from a deep playoff run.

2020 Lakers championship: DeMarcus Cousins was on the Los Angeles Lakers' roster when they won the NBA championship in 2020. Due to his time with the team earlier in the season, he was eligible for a championship ring, which he received from Anthony Davis.

New Orleans Pelicans: When Cousins and Davis played together in New Orleans, they were considered a strong duo with title potential. However, Cousins' ruptured Achilles tendon during the 2017-18 season sidelined him for the playoffs, and Davis has stated the team could have made a run for the Finals with both of them healthy.

Queen and Sarr in four or five years. Sarr is a better perimeter player than AD. He has better guard skills. Similarly, Queen has guard skills. With all the talk about how the game is played today, Queen can be as successful and Sengun and Sabonis. Neither are world beaters by themselves. Both are good with the right teammates.

When Cousins and Davis were both healthy, the Pelicans posted a .562 winning percentage in 48 games. And once Cousins got hurt, the Pelicans posted a .618 winning percentage in 34 games without him.

[tontoz]

The nickname "Big Easy" is actually perfect for him

That is a good nickname because it's so easy to score on him.

[Dat2U]

I can't believe we are sitting here complaining about a C we didn't draft this year when the C we drafted 2nd last year is proving to be one of the best two way bigs in the league at just 20, the same age as Queen.

Read on Twitter

?t=UGwHawvtklaQbxWJgfYuvw&s=19

I love Queen but we've got our C of the present and future. We do need a backup C, but a backup not a full-time starter and that comes when we're actually trying to win games.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I can't believe we are sitting here complaining about a C we didn't draft this year when the C we drafted 2nd last year is proving to be one of the best two way bigs in the league at just 20, the same age as Queen.

Read on Twitter

?t=UGwHawvtklaQbxWJgfYuvw&s=19

I love Queen but we've got our C of the present and future. We do need a backup C, but a backup not a full-time starter and that comes when we're actually trying to win games.

It's because I refuse to see Queen exclusively at C. I think he would have been good to great with Sarr. At Maryland, Queen was essentially the PF and Reese was the C. You can not convince me Queen could not play with Sarr. He is more than a back up C. We need a full-time PF, which Alex is good enough to be next to Queen. Alex is like AD, only Sarr willingly accepts the challenge to play C. I think it would not matter which is the PF or the C if both were on the floor together.

Bottom line, we needed another big.

[nate33]

I can't believe we are sitting here complaining about a C we didn't draft this year when the C we drafted 2nd last year is proving to be one of the best two way bigs in the league at just 20, the same age as Queen.

Read on Twitter

?t=UGwHawvtklaQbxWJgfYuvw&s=19

I love Queen but we've got our C of the present and future. We do need a backup C, but a backup not a full-time starter and that comes when we're actually trying to win games.

That's a really interesting chart.

I wonder if there's more to it than merely the Wizards' perimeter defense being too porous, requiring Sarr to challenge more shots. Is Sarr actually challenging too many shots when he should be boxing out for the rebound?

This isn't meant as a criticism. He is young and still learning the game. I'd much rather him err on the side of aggressively challenging too many shots than not; but it's possible that he might be getting himself out of rebounding position in order to challenge shots that he probably can't get to anyhow. Maybe he should be stunting to block the shot, but then get back to rebounding position.

Or maybe the Wizards' perimeter defense is just that bad.

[Benjammin]

We all know CCJ loves him some thick fatties: Michael "sweets" Sweetney, Dajuan Butler (I actually liked his game, but no knees), probably back in the day Kevin Duckworth, Jahidi White, etc). Not sure about Ledell Eackles, "Hot Plate Williams," what a waste of talent.

Sent from my SM-S938U using Tapatalk

[nate33]

Bottom line, we needed another big.

I wholeheartedly agree with this.

But I think the type of big we need is a jumbo-sized defender/rebounder roll-man - a guy who can match up with the Steven Adams' and Ivaca Zubacs of the league and keep them off the glass, but not a guy that is so good that he would cost too much. Mitchell Robinson would be perfect, and he is an unrestricted free agent that NY almost surely can't resign due to being a 2nd Apron team. Other options include Isaiah Hartenstein (if OKC opts out on his team option to avoid the tax), and Walker Kessler (a RFA).

[tontoz]

Bottom line, we needed another big.

I wholeheartedly agree with this.

But I think the type of big we need is a jumbo-sized defender/rebounder roll-man - a guy who can match up with the Steven Adams' and Ivaca Zubacs of the league and keep that would cost too much and we don't have starter's minutes available. Mitchell Robinson would be perfect, and he is an unrestricted free agent that NY almost surely can't resign due to being a 2nd Apron team. Other options include Isaiah Hartenstein (if OKC opts out on his team option to avoid the tax), and Walker Kessler (a RFA).

Or we could just use our late 1st/early 2nd on one, which is where a lot of these guys came from.

[dckingsfan]

Bottom line, we needed another big.

I wholeheartedly agree with this.

But I think the type of big we need is a jumbo-sized defender/rebounder roll-man - a guy who can match up with the Steven Adams' and Ivaca Zubacs of the league and keep that would cost too much and we don't have starter's minutes available. Mitchell Robinson would be perfect, and he is an unrestricted free agent that NY almost surely can't resign due to being a 2nd Apron team. Other options include Isaiah Hartenstein (if OKC opts out on his team option to avoid the tax), and Walker Kessler (a RFA).

I would rather have another stretch PF/C that rebounds like a beast. I think that would run any of the above off the court in the playoffs...

[Dat2U]

I can't believe we are sitting here complaining about a C we didn't draft this year when the C we drafted 2nd last year is proving to be one of the best two way bigs in the league at just 20, the same age as Queen.

Read on Twitter

?t=UGwHawvtklaQbxWJgfYuvw&s=19

I love Queen but we've got our C of the present and future. We do need a backup C, but a backup not a full-time starter and that comes when we're actually trying to win games.

It's because I refuse to see Queen exclusively at C. I think he would have been good to great with Sarr. At Maryland, Queen was essentially the PF and Reese was the C. You can not convince me Queen could not play with Sarr. He is more than a back up C. We need a full-time PF, which Alex is good enough to be next to Queen. Alex is like AD, only Sarr willingly accepts the challenge to play C. I think it would not matter which is the PF or the C if both were on the floor together.

Bottom line, we needed another big.

Disagree strongly. Playing two bigs like that turns one or both into perimeter oriented players and we see how much more success Sarr has when he's going towards the rim. Queen would either have to remake his game (which would not come overnight) to be more perimeter oriented or we'd see Sarr more on the perimeter which we already saw enough of last season. Defensively, questions are plentiful about how it would work.

It's a position-less game and most Fs are interchangeable. OKC won 60+ games with Jalen Williams & Chet Holmgren as their bigs before they added Hartenstein as a 24-minute spot starter/backup. Backup Cs do not require significant draft capital.

[nate33]

Bottom line, we needed another big.

I wholeheartedly agree with this.

But I think the type of big we need is a jumbo-sized defender/rebounder roll-man - a guy who can match up with the Steven Adams' and Ivaca Zubacs of the league and keep that would cost too much and we don't have starter's minutes available. Mitchell Robinson would be perfect, and he is an unrestricted free agent that NY almost surely can't resign due to being a 2nd Apron team. Other options include Isaiah Hartenstein (if OKC opts out on his team option to avoid the tax), and Walker Kessler (a RFA).

Or we could just use our late 1st/early 2nd on one, which is where a lot of these guys came from.

We could. And I have no problem with the idea. But typically, it takes a good 3 or 4 years to groom a center. Why bother with all that effort when you can just sign this type of guy in free agency after he has developed on someone else's dime? If you don't like the choices from this summer, next summer features guys like Paul Reed and Goga Bitadze.

You draft and groom guys who can potentially pan out as stars or at least full-time starters. Backup caliber guys can be added in free agency whenever needed.

[nate33]

Bottom line, we needed another big.

I wholeheartedly agree with this.

But I think the type of big we need is a jumbo-sized defender/rebounder roll-man - a guy who can match up with the Steven Adams' and Ivaca Zubacs of the league and keep that would cost too much and we don't have starter's minutes available. Mitchell Robinson would be perfect, and he is an unrestricted free agent that NY almost surely can't resign due to being a 2nd Apron team. Other options include Isaiah Hartenstein (if OKC opts out on his team option to avoid the tax), and Walker Kessler (a RFA).

I would rather have another stretch PF/C that rebounds like a beast. I think that would run any of the above off the court in the playoffs...

How many stretch PF/C's can you name that rebound like beasts?

[tontoz]

I wholeheartedly agree with this.

But I think the type of big we need is a jumbo-sized defender/rebounder roll-man - a guy who can match up with the Steven Adams' and Ivaca Zubacs of the league and keep that would cost too much and we don't have starter's minutes available. Mitchell Robinson would be perfect, and he is an unrestricted free agent that NY almost surely can't resign due to being a 2nd Apron team. Other options include Isaiah Hartenstein (if OKC opts out on his team option to avoid the tax), and Walker Kessler (a RFA).

I would rather have another stretch PF/C that rebounds like a beast. I think that would run any of the above off the court in the playoffs...

How many stretch PF/C's can you name that rebound like beasts?

If he says Edey I would recommend a 6 month suspension.