2025 NBA Draft Thread, part 1 – Capture the Flagg

[redslastlaugh]

Kevin O'Connor moved from the Ringer to run point on draft coverage for YahooSports and has dropped his draft guide. A two round mock, player capsules and a top 60 big board.

https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/draft/

He has Celtics taking Maxime Raynaud in the first
and Tyrese Proctor in the second

[165bows]

Is this draft kind of mediocre? Starting to wonder if it is, especially in the 3-20 range or so.

[Dogen]

Kevin O'Connor moved from the Ringer to run point on draft coverage for YahooSports and has dropped his draft guide. A two round mock, player capsules and a top 60 big board.

https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/draft/

He has Celtics taking Maxime Raynaud in the first
and Tyrese Proctor in the second

Interesting. I assume Proctor will be gone in first round but if he's there at 28 or 31 it's tempting. A dukey for JT, long guard with good passing and shooting to groom into that Holiday role.

I don't know much about Raynaud. He looked OK during the tournament but I'm not sure why he would go ahead of some of the other bigs. His 3pt shooting is decent as is the passing out of the high post, so I suppose that gives the team some backup offense for Al and KP that Queta and X aren't providing.

[Dogen]

Is this draft kind of mediocre? Starting to wonder if it is, especially in the 3-20 range or so.

It looks like this draft has some depth and parity, meaning a pick at 28 or 31 could be similar to the 15-25 range. The player order is still all over the place in mocks, not sure if that is a good or bad sign but probably means there will be at least a few decent, if flawed, bench players where the Celtics are picking.

[djFan71]

Is this draft kind of mediocre? Starting to wonder if it is, especially in the 3-20 range or so.

4-16 or so seems meh to me - relative to their #. I like Bailey, so I can’t give you 3. And Bryant, Fleming, etc start popping up late teens.

[Larry_Russell]

Kevin O'Connor moved from the Ringer to run point on draft coverage for YahooSports and has dropped his draft guide. A two round mock, player capsules and a top 60 big board.

https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/draft/

He has Celtics taking Maxime Raynaud in the first
and Tyrese Proctor in the second

would be a phenominal draft,

[redslastlaugh]

Kevin O'Connor moved from the Ringer to run point on draft coverage for YahooSports and has dropped his draft guide. A two round mock, player capsules and a top 60 big board.

https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/draft/

He has Celtics taking Maxime Raynaud in the first
and Tyrese Proctor in the second

would be a phenominal draft,

Kevin O'Connor big board has Rasheer Fleming in the 2nd round after he fizzled in the A-10 tourney. To me, Fleming falling to one of our picks and then we still get another top 32 prospect, is my ideal draft outcome.

[ConstableGeneva]

... to all of it.

[djFan71]

Kevin O'Connor moved from the Ringer to run point on draft coverage for YahooSports and has dropped his draft guide. A two round mock, player capsules and a top 60 big board.

https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/draft/

He has Celtics taking Maxime Raynaud in the first
and Tyrese Proctor in the second

would be a phenominal draft,

Kevin O'Connor big board has Rasheer Fleming in the 2nd round after he fizzled in the A-10 tourney. To me, Fleming falling to one of our picks and then we still get another top 32 prospect, is my ideal draft outcome.

If he makes it past the teens I'd be surprised, but yeah, that'd be great if he falls to us. I don't really care about wht KOC lists as his cons - just play great D and hit open 3s to start. If he develops the other stuff, great, but it's not required to be a successful role player.

[165bows]

Idk if these are good scouting write ups or not but they were enjoyable reads.

https://floorandceiling.substack.com/p/thomas-haugh-scouting-nba-draft-texas-tech


https://floorandceiling.substack.com/p/2025-nba-draft-bennett-stirtz-sion-james-alvaro-folgueiras-milos-uzan-ncaa

Sion James (Duke)

BIG BOARD RANGE: Top 30—40

NBA ROLE: Two-way connector

REMINDS ME OF: Toumani Camara, smaller Justise Winslow, later career Kris Dunn

FIRST ROUND: No. 1 Duke vs. No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s/American (March 21)


Sion James is the sort of two-way connector that goes in the second round or even undrafted, but who ends up much higher in hindsight and re-drafts. It’s hard to be a sleeper after five seasons in college, including one at Duke, but that’s what I see the Blue Devils playmaker as for the 2025 draft.

James’ stats are modest this season at 8.7p/4.2r/3.1a/1.2to/0.9s/0.3b, but his impact goes beyond the numbers. Even then, we’ve seen James in a primary role before — especially last season at Tulane, when he was already garnering draft buzz. That said, I expect his NBA role to more closely resemble what he’s doing at Duke, where he binds defense and offense together while operating fluidly across positions.

Looking at James’ shot, he’s made 42.2% of his threes this season, including 49.1 3P% (26/53) of his catch-and-shoots. However, 41 of those attempts were ‘Unguarded’ and his 4.5 threes per 100 is low volume. That gives me some pause, since it means that James takes easy shots (fair enough when you look at Duke’s roster), and not even that many of them. I think he’ll be fine as a spot-up shooter, but his shot not translating would definitely be problematic.

I like James as a cutter and his numbers there look excellent (77.3 FG% on 17/22 shots with a tiny 3.6 TOV% clip, per Synergy). He has a strong, athletic frame that can finish plays through contact when he’s barreling towards the rim. James has 14 dunks so far this season, which is solid.

I want to see his overall finishing keep improving. James can struggle in the half-court still, where he is making 52% of his shots. He can find it tough to finish against length, and he’s more of a strength-based ground athlete than a huge leaper.

Still, I tend to like the Duke prospect’s process. James is a physical slasher with an underrated ability to change directions. He gets into the paint using his handle and body, and he can subsequently use the latter to lean into or bump defenders before unorthodox high finishes.

The 22-year-old understands how to use a screen, keeps his turnovers to a minimum (2.6 A/TO), and also brings value as a grab-and-go threat. NBA teams covet positional playmakers in the open court, so I expect that they’ll really like this about James. He can come up with reliable reads when pushing off a miss or a make.

Then, defense is a huge part of the pitch on James. He is a real playmaker on this end of the floor who will be good on- and off-ball — although you hope that he ends up great. When he’s on the ball, James can slide with ballhandlers, flip his hips in space, and use his length to come up with contests, deflections, steals, and blocks.

Duke wouldn’t be able to switch as much as they do on defense without James. He guards and disrupts across positions, including on some forwards at times. For that last item, Duke’s game against Stanford with James bothering Maxime Raynaud is a good example. In the NBA, I expect James to nominally be a wing, but I really just consider him a contextual playmaker who could even get called his team’s 1, 2, 3 or even 4 depending on lineups.

Off-ball, James communicates, switches, and creates stocks. He’ll all the same navigate screens and chase a shooter, shrink the floor to offer nail help, be an active low man, or interrupt passing lanes. In some ways, he reminds me of Toumani Camara, and a lower floor could be closer to a Kris Dunn or smaller Justise Winslow type who has to battle for a spot in the NBA.

OTHER NOTES:

Fifth year in college after four seasons at Tulane. Now a graduate student at Duke. Was a three-star recruit out of Lanier High School (public HS in Sugar Hill, GA).
8.7 BPM with a 64.9 TS%
1/11 3P on off-dribble jumpers, 2/3 2P off-dribble jumpers
Last season at Tulane: 2.3 A/TO with a 10.3 TOV%

[165bows]

Plus that Alvaro Folgueiras guy he mentions I’ve never heard of him but he sounds like a guy the Celtics had in camp and I think Maine a year or two ago that then went to Utah whose name I can’t remember.

Pretty sure it was Luka Samancic or something but I’m prob off a little bit on that lol. Anyways intriguing guy I’d never heard of.

[brackdan70]

Is this draft kind of mediocre? Starting to wonder if it is, especially in the 3-20 range or so.

Some of those guys in that range have been less than impressive in the tournament. I don’t know about the couple of Euros.
I would guess a few of the hyped freshman look at going back to college…dudes mocked in the late first or in the 2nd. Idk, I think overall the draft will be weaker than I initially thought but still better than average and maybe even very good. It is a draft where I wouldn't love picking in the mid to late lotto though. Like if you are looking at Jase Richardson, Jeremiah Fears, Egor Denton, non Flagg Duke guys Asa Newell etc picking at around 10…those dudes seem like not quite lotto talents, but maybe will be good pros, but maybe not. Not a lot to get excited about for me.
I think if you are top 4 maybe 5 you are in good shape to get a legit player.

I am more excited about guys mocked in the 20s…but maybe there is bias there as I have just learned more about them since the Celtics might have a chance at those guys. Sorber, Fleming, Lendeborg, Toppin,Clifford, Condon, player of the Year.
Some of its age, of course.
That’s a long winded way to say I agree, but I still like the depth.

[165bows]

Is this draft kind of mediocre? Starting to wonder if it is, especially in the 3-20 range or so.

Some of those guys in that range have been less than impressive in the tournament. I don’t know about the couple of Euros.
I would guess a few of the hyped freshman look at going back to college…dudes mocked in the late first or in the 2nd. Idk, I think overall the draft will be weaker than I initially thought but still better than average and maybe even very good. It is a draft where I wouldn't love picking in the mid to late lotto though. Like if you are looking at Jase Richardson, Jeremiah Fears, Egor Denton, non Flagg Duke guys Asa Newell etc picking at around 10…those dudes seem like not quite lotto talents, but maybe will be good pros, but maybe not. Not a lot to get excited about for me.
I think if you are top 4 maybe 5 you are in good shape to get a legit player.

I am more excited about guys mocked in the 20s…but maybe there is bias there as I have just learned more about them since the Celtics might have a chance at those guys. Sorber, Fleming, Lendeborg, Toppin,Clifford, Condon, player of the Year.
Some of its age, of course.
That’s a long winded way to say I agree, but I still like the depth.

Yeah I agree it's probably flat, could be a draft where the better guys not at #1-2 come from all over the draft.

I'm thinking part of it is the archetype conversation - ie, say eg Flagg, not only did he meet and exceed expectations, but it's obvious exactly what he is in the NBA, 2-way wing with great size. Just perfect elite mold for the NBA game today.

Otherwise it's kind of a lot of guys projected in the first that even if they trend towards their upside are sort of "good player on a bad team" type of guy, small offensive guards, talented swings that really can not shoot, justin jackson forward types that look passable but aren't actually that good at much etc etc.

That's why i'm at this point of just give me Sion James and a well rounded back up big that can emulate Luke Kornet or Theis, give my Kalkbrenner maybe or like I suggested that Lathkin guy, just a Theis type that doesn't have to be great but fits the modern game without some huge exploitable hole that won't work on a real NBA team that wants to win.

[djFan71]

Look back at last year's scouting on Baylor now that he's playing a little. Demir had him going 18 in his final mock.

https://edemirnba.substack.com/p/baylor-scheierman-scouting-report

He liked his D overall, but mentions overhelping as a possible weakness. I've seen that a few times lately.

[djFan71]

I’m coming back around on Danny Wolf. So skilled,moves really well. Seems decent on D even. I’m probably a little late and he’ll be gone before 28, but I’d be happy with him as the pick. I could easily see him playing double big with any of our other guys.

[shi-woo]

Is this draft kind of mediocre? Starting to wonder if it is, especially in the 3-20 range or so.

Naa this draft looks absurd at this point, and is going to have hits up and down the 60. My only concern with this draft is that Ace and Harper did well individually, but their talent wasn't enough to even make the tourney. Reminds me a lot of Simmons/Fultz and guys like Green and Scoot. The aformentioned two are certainly talented, but it's giving me some pause.

Outside of that I think people under rated the bigs at the start of the year, and they are finally getting their shine. Maluach has def. changed the trajectory of this draft, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him go Top 5, similar to how Joel shot up boards. Guys like Toppin, Queen, Kalkbrenner, Wolf and CMB have all risen dramatically

With the bigs making a nice push, it only reasons that there will be some of those nice guards ad smaller wings that fall, and I'm hoping we get one as well as one of the above mentioned bigs.

How I see it, their is a clear Top Guy in this draft in Flagg, and 4 guys after that can turn heads and have All NBA potential. The usual 3 after Flagg and Maluach

6-12 has solid potential, and could be AS level players similar to what Derrick White is. That's guys like Johnson and Kasparas

Then from 13-18 I see solid guys that can excel in roles, and become 6MotY types. McNealy, Richardson ect. Think Coby White and Quickly

This will be a draft too with a ton of guys who are hit or miss, it's the draft of the big ball handler. Egor Domin and Saraf are great examples. Not all these dudes will hit, but I bet one of them does. Same with the bigs. I see a lot of Quinten Posts, but don't be surprised if there are a few Wares as well.

Obviously we won't know till the players play, but this draft has only gotten better as the year goes on, and imo we are blessed to have 2 picks in the draft. We realistically can walk away with 2 future starter level players. Our brass knows they are going to have to break the team up, so I expect us to do our dyedilligenc and then some this summer. We don't want to be like the Bucks or Suns wll the team crumbling and nothing in the chamber.

[165bows]

I’m coming back around on Danny Wolf. So skilled,moves really well. Seems decent on D even. I’m probably a little late and he’ll be gone before 28, but I’d be happy with him as the pick. I could easily see him playing double big with any of our other guys.

The guys blog (ok substack) above has an interesting post on Wolf. He rates him higher than a lot of the other long form prospect write ups on the site but then the whole tone is kind of negative about him.

Kind of sums up what I was expressing above about the draft - in Wolf we finally have a guy that fits the modern nba as a versatile skilled big but then all these areas of needed development crop up. Ie he’s a skilled offensive big that is hugely turnover prone and isn’t efficient as a scorer at all as an upper class man.

Eg with Scheierman we were all hoping he could develop enough so that he could replicate his college production in the pro setting. Wolf he’s got a lot of development to do period he can’t do what he’s doing in college imo and make it work in the pros outside a Chicago bulls type team.

[Hal14]

I’m coming back around on Danny Wolf. So skilled,moves really well. Seems decent on D even. I’m probably a little late and he’ll be gone before 28, but I’d be happy with him as the pick. I could easily see him playing double big with any of our other guys.

Yeah..and plus there's upside. A guy who's about 6'11" who can handle the ball, drive, has some spin moves and other moves he does when driving and posting up, can shoot the 3 and pass. Cerebral player. There's upside to be like a Jokic-lite type of guy or even a Sabonis/Sengun-lite type which would basically be Olynyk.

His median outcome could be like Olynyk but I think he's got a chance to be better.

And we do have good development staff here.

I feel like he's probably gonna go higher than pick 28. But I wouldn't hate it if we took him there. I've had him in like the 18-24 range for awhile now on my board.

[djFan71]

I’m coming back around on Danny Wolf. So skilled,moves really well. Seems decent on D even. I’m probably a little late and he’ll be gone before 28, but I’d be happy with him as the pick. I could easily see him playing double big with any of our other guys.

The guys blog (ok substack) above has an interesting post on Wolf. He rates him higher than a lot of the other long form prospect write ups on the site but then the whole tone is kind of negative about him.

Kind of sums up what I was expressing above about the draft - in Wolf we finally have a guy that fits the modern nba as a versatile skilled big but then all these areas of needed development crop up. Ie he’s a skilled offensive big that is hugely turnover prone and isn’t efficient as a scorer at all as an upper class man.

Eg with Scheierman we were all hoping he could develop enough so that he could replicate his college production in the pro setting. Wolf he’s got a lot of development to do period he can’t do what he’s doing in college imo and make it work in the pros outside a Chicago bulls type team.

I think the turnovers / efficiency improve fairly easily in the right pro environment. Most of the turnovers seem to be of the trying to do to much variety. The efficiency, IDK, I think the shot looks really nice. It doesn't go in quite the rate you want. But he still hits 1/3 of them on 3 a game from a big. I think you focus him on the simple stuff and build out from there. He's not going to be the hub of the offense in the NBA - unless/until he earns it. His role / shot profile (on the Cs at least) should make him more efficient by default.

I haven't read Demir's article on him, but my avc youtube guy did one on him the other day. He's not normally a gusher, but he gushed quite a bit. https://www.youtube.com/@_AVC_/videos

Yeah..and plus there's upside. A guy who's about 6'11" who can handle the ball, drive, has some spin moves and other moves he does when driving and posting up, can shoot the 3 and pass. Cerebral player. There's upside to be like a Jokic-lite type of guy or even a Sabonis/Sengun-lite type which would basically be Olynyk.

His median outcome could be like Olynyk but I think he's got a chance to be better.

And we do have good development staff here.

I feel like he's probably gonna go higher than pick 28. But I wouldn't hate it if we took him there. I've had him in like the 18-24 range for awhile now on my board.

Yeah, I agree with all of that. I do think you could use him in an Olynyk type role pretty easily, with upside to be a real hub down the road. I think he gives you that ability to throw him out with any other big in double big lineups. He's not going to be the lob/rim runner, and can space the floor and (eventually) run some action as the ballhandler, so playing him with Queta or Luke seems fine. He and Luke would be fun on offense.

The D is the obvious concern, but I think he moves so well, and is smart enough to hold his own. He's not going to necessarily be a rim deterrent, but he should be OK out there. It would actually be interesting to see the PP, Baylor, Hauser, Wolf, Luke lineup. All guys that kinda survive out there. How would they do all on their own together? The offense could be really fun with the shooting and everyone knowing how to shoot and pass.

[ThePigeon]

I’m coming back around on Danny Wolf. So skilled,moves really well. Seems decent on D even. I’m probably a little late and he’ll be gone before 28, but I’d be happy with him as the pick. I could easily see him playing double big with any of our other guys.

The guys blog (ok substack) above has an interesting post on Wolf. He rates him higher than a lot of the other long form prospect write ups on the site but then the whole tone is kind of negative about him.

Kind of sums up what I was expressing above about the draft - in Wolf we finally have a guy that fits the modern nba as a versatile skilled big but then all these areas of needed development crop up. Ie he’s a skilled offensive big that is hugely turnover prone and isn’t efficient as a scorer at all as an upper class man.

Eg with Scheierman we were all hoping he could develop enough so that he could replicate his college production in the pro setting. Wolf he’s got a lot of development to do period he can’t do what he’s doing in college imo and make it work in the pros outside a Chicago bulls type team.

I think the turnovers / efficiency improve fairly easily in the right pro environment. Most of the turnovers seem to be of the trying to do to much variety. The efficiency, IDK, I think the shot looks really nice. It doesn't go in quite the rate you want. But he still hits 1/3 of them on 3 a game from a big. I think you focus him on the simple stuff and build out from there. He's not going to be the hub of the offense in the NBA - unless/until he earns it. His role / shot profile (on the Cs at least) should make him more efficient by default.

I haven't read Demir's article on him, but my avc youtube guy did one on him the other day. He's not normally a gusher, but he gushed quite a bit. https://www.youtube.com/@_AVC_/videos

Yeah..and plus there's upside. A guy who's about 6'11" who can handle the ball, drive, has some spin moves and other moves he does when driving and posting up, can shoot the 3 and pass. Cerebral player. There's upside to be like a Jokic-lite type of guy or even a Sabonis/Sengun-lite type which would basically be Olynyk.

His median outcome could be like Olynyk but I think he's got a chance to be better.

And we do have good development staff here.

I feel like he's probably gonna go higher than pick 28. But I wouldn't hate it if we took him there. I've had him in like the 18-24 range for awhile now on my board.

Yeah, I agree with all of that. I do think you could use him in an Olynyk type role pretty easily, with upside to be a real hub down the road. I think he gives you that ability to throw him out with any other big in double big lineups. He's not going to be the lob/rim runner, and can space the floor and (eventually) run some action as the ballhandler, so playing him with Queta or Luke seems fine. He and Luke would be fun on offense.

The D is the obvious concern, but I think he moves so well, and is smart enough to hold his own. He's not going to necessarily be a rim deterrent, but he should be OK out there. It would actually be interesting to see the PP, Baylor, Hauser, Wolf, Luke lineup. All guys that kinda survive out there. How would they do all on their own together? The offense could be really fun with the shooting and everyone knowing how to shoot and pass.

Turnovers and shot efficiency are because he is the 1-2 ball handler and initiator on offense. We will not ask him to do that but rather play 5 out or in the P&R
More like a Al - KP hybrid