2025 Draft Thread - Part 2

[BearlyBallin]

Did Maluach declare for the nba draft ?
What time is the deadline today?


Edit*

Never mind I found it.

Not declared. And deadlines today 11:59 pm

Probably trying to find out what type of visa he’ll need and how to navigate crossing the Canadian border for Toronto games.

[AFM]

I had a dream last night, of Derik Queen, in a Wizards jersey, 360 tomahawk between-the-legs dunking on Deni Avdija at the buzzer, game 7 of the 2028 NBA finals. Random coincidence? Message from God? I'll let the reader decide

[closg00]

Did Maluach declare for the nba draft ?
What time is the deadline today?


Edit*

Never mind I found it.

Not declared. And deadlines today 11:59 pm

Probably trying to find out what type of visa he’ll need and how to navigate crossing the Canadian border for Toronto games.

Probably trying to figure out his Visa status, no guarantee that he won't be arrested by ICE and thrown out, I am only slightly exaggerating

[SUPERBALLMAN]

This is a good discussion about Queen...

Watch on YouTube

[doclinkin]

Did Maluach declare for the nba draft ?
What time is the deadline today?


Edit*

Never mind I found it.

Not declared. And deadlines today 11:59 pm

Probably trying to find out what type of visa he’ll need and how to navigate crossing the Canadian border for Toronto games.

Probably trying to figure out his Visa status, no guarantee that he won't be arrested by ICE and thrown out, I am only slightly exaggerating

At that point they start pissing off billionaires and messing with the sports and gambling industry. They probably don't care when it relates to the NBA, happy to irritate the fans of that sport, but when it comes to gambling it encroaches on sacred territory. That's about the only use they have for POC: wear a uniform and obey orders, make somebody some money.

[dobrojim]

I had a dream last night, of Derik Queen, in a Wizards jersey, 360 tomahawk between-the-legs dunking on Deni Avdija at the buzzer, game 7 of the 2028 NBA finals. Random coincidence? Message from God? I'll let the reader decide

Take another hit and enjoy.

[BearlyBallin]

Read on Twitter

Apparently the agent waited until it was close to the deadline to declare Maluach for the draft.

[doclinkin]

And Sorber is in.

https://www.rookiescale.com/2025-early-entrant-tracker/

[payitforward]

Maybe it could go one of these ways:


1 – Cooper Flagg
18 – Nique Clifford
40 – Maxine Raynaud

2 – Dylan Harper
18 – Thomas Sorber
40 – Michael Ruzic

3 – VJ Edgecombe
18 – Rasheer Fleming
40 – trade to Grizzlies for 48 (Amari Williams or Rocco Zikarsky) & 56 (Milon Momcilovic)

4 – trade 4 to Nets for 6 & 36
6 – Deriq Queen
18 – Will Riley
36 – Drake Powell
40 – Alex Condon

5 – trade 5 & 40 to Nets for 6 & 36:
6 – Deriq Queen
18 – Will Riley
36 – Drake Powell or Alex Condon

6 – Deriq Queen
18 – Will Riley
40 – Adou Thiero or Tyrese Proctor or Alex Condon

7 – Khaman Maluach (assuming Queen is gone)
18 – Nolan Traore (?)
40 – Trade to Suns for 52 (Rocco Zikarsky) & a future R2 pick

Any of these groupings appeal?

[nate33]

Maybe it could go one of these ways:


1 – Cooper Flagg
18 – Nique Clifford
40 – Maxine Raynaud

2 – Dylan Harper
18 – Thomas Sorber
40 – Michael Ruzic

3 – VJ Edgecombe
18 – Rasheer Fleming
40 – trade to Grizzlies for 48 (Amari Williams or Rocco Zikarsky) & 56 (Milon Momcilovic)

4 – trade 4 to Nets for 6 & 36
6 – Deriq Queen
18 – Will Riley
36 – Drake Powell
40 – Alex Condon

5 – trade 5 & 40 to Nets for 6 & 36:
6 – Deriq Queen
18 – Will Riley
36 – Drake Powell or Alex Condon

6 – Deriq Queen
18 – Will Riley
40 – Adou Thiero or Tyrese Proctor or Alex Condon

7 – Khaman Maluach (assuming Queen is gone)
18 – Nolan Traore (?)
40 – Trade to Suns for 52 (Rocco Zikarsky) & a future R2 pick

Any of these groupings appeal?

There is no scenario where we pick 7th. And I don't think you are extracting enough value in those trade-downs. Moving down from 5 to 6 is worth a lot more than moving up from 40 to 36.

[nate33]

And Sorber is in.

https://www.rookiescale.com/2025-early-entrant-tracker/

I just did a deep dive on Sorber. I like him!

I really like his technique on defense. He's great at stepping up into guys as they shoot to take away their space, but in a manner that doesn't draw a whistle. He also does a real good job of staying in front of guys in space even though he doesn't look like he has very quick feet - kinda of like Kyshawn George in that respect. He also gets a ton of steals for a big man.

Offensively, he sets big wide screens with his legs far apart. And he's always looking to "accidentally" obstruct a defender when he rolls to the basket. He's also a pretty good shooter (73% FT) and has shown some flashes of a mid-range jumper; and he has an A/TO ratio greater than 1.0.

The guy he reminds a lot of is Al Horford.

A mild concern is that he isn't particularly tall or long. He won't have rim deterrence by virtue of being massive like Clingan or Lively. He doesn't have the freakishly quick feet and crazy wingpan to be hyper-switchable like Bam, Okongwu or Draymond. And he doesn't have the explosion to be a prolific roll man like Gafford. It's possible that he just won't be able to match up physically with starting centers in the NBA and will be more of a backup. Like Horford, I think he is going to have to develop a reliable jumper or he might be a liability on offense.

[payitforward]

Maybe it could go one of these ways:


1 – Cooper Flagg
18 – Nique Clifford
40 – Maxine Raynaud

2 – Dylan Harper
18 – Thomas Sorber
40 – Michael Ruzic

3 – VJ Edgecombe
18 – Rasheer Fleming
40 – trade to Grizzlies for 48 (Amari Williams or Rocco Zikarsky) & 56 (Milon Momcilovic)

4 – trade 4 to Nets for 6 & 36
6 – Deriq Queen
18 – Will Riley
36 – Drake Powell
40 – Alex Condon

5 – trade 5 & 40 to Nets for 6 & 36:
6 – Deriq Queen
18 – Will Riley
36 – Drake Powell or Alex Condon

6 – Deriq Queen
18 – Will Riley
40 – Adou Thiero or Tyrese Proctor or Alex Condon...

Any of these groupings appeal?

...I don't think you are extracting enough value in those trade-downs. Moving down from 5 to 6 is worth a lot more than moving up from 40 to 36.

When I describe something of that kind, I always use http://nbasense.com/draft-pick-trade-value/2/kevin-pelton-2 as a place from which to take the "value." Not because it represents some abstract "truth" but just to have an "objective" source -- outside my head, I mean.

Of course trades of that kind will & must vary considerably one from another. & in any given draft the "inherent" difference in value of the guys to be taken at e.g. 4 & 5 will be greater or less great than what it was/will be in another draft. It's not even guaranteed that the guy taken at 4 will turn out to be the better of the two -- though the 4th pick is obviously always worth more than the 5th.

So... leaving aside 1 & 2, where I think none of us would trade down, what would *your* sense of the best move, nate?

&, as I'm sure you noticed, there's no spot where I pick Ace Bailey -- what's your take on the Ace question...?

[nate33]

So... leaving aside 1 & 2, where I think none of us would trade down, what would *your* sense of the best move, nate?

&, as I'm sure you noticed, there's no spot where I pick Ace Bailey -- what's your take on the Ace question...?

I'm not as down on Ace as Dat2U and others are. Yeah, I see the flaws and I definitely have him below Harper for those reasons, but I wouldn't drop him into a tier below Edgecomb and Johnson. Even with his flaws, he looks like a pretty sure bet to be a sturdier, better-defending version of Michael Porter Jr. that can play power forward full time. That's still a real good 2-way player.

There's spacing, and then there's SPACING. Having a guy play power forward who has such a quick, high release from 3-point range can do wonders for a team's offense. And there's still the potential for him developing into a first-rate primary option scorer if he tightens his handle.

[payitforward]

...as I'm sure you noticed, there's no spot where I pick Ace Bailey -- what's your take on the Ace question...?

I wouldn't drop him (Bailey) into a tier below Edgecomb and Johnson....

I agree with that in principle -- but in my case it's as much b/c I just cannot see a strong likelihood that Tre Johnson becomes a top-notch NBA player. I'm higher on Edgecombe than Johnson, but I'm not entirely convinced by him either.

[dckingsfan]

I am out on Bailey especially for the Wizards. For someone like SA - well, yeah if you are at 3 or 4 and he is available you grab him. You don't have to worry about him rebounding just defending. On offense, just catch and shoot and they will teach him to do just that initially.

[Tyrone Messby]

Man can lotto night get here already? Just get us a top 2 pick and we are on a gravy train with biscuit wheels.

[dckingsfan]

Man can lotto night get here already? Just get us a top 2 pick and we are on a gravy train with biscuit wheels.

5, 2, 2, 6 (WTF), 2

Three 2s out of 5 spins. I like the odds.

[dorianwrite]

If we wind up at 5 or 6 (or potentially even at 4), I'd be really intrigued by Malauch. Yes, he's an enormous project, but our team doesn't seem to be daunted by enormous projects (i.e., Coulibaly, Sarr, George, Johnson, and to a lesser extent, Carrington and Tristan), and I have this mind's-eye vision of opposing teams really needing to be able to hit their 3's, because between Sarr and Malauch, they're absolutely stonewalled at the rim.

Especially if Sarr can rotate between center and power-forward, I'm also seeing a three-headed big man combo of Sarr, Malauch, and Tristan. The latter's an offensive dynamo, and as he'd always be on the court with Sarr or Malauch, that might cover for his just being average on defense and rebounding.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I had a dream last night, of Derik Queen, in a Wizards jersey, 360 tomahawk between-the-legs dunking on Deni Avdija at the buzzer, game 7 of the 2028 NBA finals. Random coincidence? Message from God? I'll let the reader decide

Take another hit and enjoy.

You never know.

If a Morris Almond dream (no homo, not that that's a bad thing) can come true, so can DDQ prescience.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Maybe it could go one of these ways:


1 – Cooper Flagg
18 – Nique Clifford
40 – Maxine Raynaud

2 – Dylan Harper
18 – Thomas Sorber
40 – Michael Ruzic

3 – VJ Edgecombe
18 – Rasheer Fleming
40 – trade to Grizzlies for 48 (Amari Williams or Rocco Zikarsky) & 56 (Milon Momcilovic)

4 – trade 4 to Nets for 6 & 36
6 – Deriq Queen
18 – Will Riley
36 – Drake Powell
40 – Alex Condon

5 – trade 5 & 40 to Nets for 6 & 36:
6 – Deriq Queen
18 – Will Riley
36 – Drake Powell or Alex Condon

6 – Deriq Queen
18 – Will Riley
40 – Adou Thiero or Tyrese Proctor or Alex Condon

7 – Khaman Maluach (assuming Queen is gone)
18 – Nolan Traore (?)
40 – Trade to Suns for 52 (Rocco Zikarsky) & a future R2 pick

Any of these groupings appeal?

There is no scenario where we pick 7th. And I don't think you are extracting enough value in those trade-downs. Moving down from 5 to 6 is worth a lot more than moving up from 40 to 36.

I love all three DDQ, Riley, Condon scenarios.