2025 NBA Draft Thread, part 1 – Capture the Flagg

[Hal14]

B/R has the C's taking Ian Jackson from UNC with the Wiz 2nd rd pick. Their Pro Comparison for Jackson? Lonnie Walker

He's kind of like Walker.

They are similar in terms of size, athleticism and position.

But Jackson is more of a slasher who has an improving 3 ball. Walker is more of a long range gunner who can sometimes slash to the bucket.

Jackson also seems to have more of a motor, more hustle to the way he plays..

Jackson I think is perhaps a bit more like Jaden Ivey..not quite as quick/explosive as Ivey, but perhaps a better shooter..

Jackson wouldn't be a terrible option with an early 2nd round pick..could give us a nice 4th guard..a guy who can come off the bench and give some instant offense..

[redslastlaugh]

B/R has the C's taking Ian Jackson from UNC with the Wiz 2nd rd pick. Their Pro Comparison for Jackson? Lonnie Walker

He's kind of like Walker.

They are similar in terms of size, athleticism and position.

But Jackson is more of a slasher who has an improving 3 ball. Walker is more of a long range gunner who can sometimes slash to the bucket.

Jackson also seems to have more of a motor, more hustle to the way he plays..

Jackson I think is perhaps a bit more like Jaden Ivey..not quite as quick/explosive as Ivey, but perhaps a better shooter..

Jackson wouldn't be a terrible option with an early 2nd round pick..could give us a nice 4th guard..a guy who can come off the bench and give some instant offense..

Brad seems to like guards with physical, sturdy builds, such as White, Holiday, Smart. I don’t know anything about Ian Jackson but the guard from Arizona seems to fit Brads archetype. KJ Lewis, from what I’ve seen, looks like a Brad type of guard…

[phincsfan]

B/R has the C's taking Ian Jackson from UNC with the Wiz 2nd rd pick. Their Pro Comparison for Jackson? Lonnie Walker

He's kind of like Walker.

They are similar in terms of size, athleticism and position.

But Jackson is more of a slasher who has an improving 3 ball. Walker is more of a long range gunner who can sometimes slash to the bucket.

Jackson also seems to have more of a motor, more hustle to the way he plays..

Jackson I think is perhaps a bit more like Jaden Ivey..not quite as quick/explosive as Ivey, but perhaps a better shooter..

Jackson wouldn't be a terrible option with an early 2nd round pick..could give us a nice 4th guard..a guy who can come off the bench and give some instant offense..

Brad seems to like guards with physical, sturdy builds, such as White, Holiday, Smart. I don’t know anything about Ian Jackson but the guard from Arizona seems to fit Brads archetype. KJ Lewis, from what I’ve seen, looks like a Brad type of guard…

I could see Lewis staying another year and even leaving during the portal. Arizona has really under performed this year.

[165bows]

B/R has the C's taking Ian Jackson from UNC with the Wiz 2nd rd pick. Their Pro Comparison for Jackson? Lonnie Walker

He's kind of like Walker.

They are similar in terms of size, athleticism and position.

But Jackson is more of a slasher who has an improving 3 ball. Walker is more of a long range gunner who can sometimes slash to the bucket.

Jackson also seems to have more of a motor, more hustle to the way he plays..

Jackson I think is perhaps a bit more like Jaden Ivey..not quite as quick/explosive as Ivey, but perhaps a better shooter..

Jackson wouldn't be a terrible option with an early 2nd round pick..could give us a nice 4th guard..a guy who can come off the bench and give some instant offense..

Brad seems to like guards with physical, sturdy builds, such as White, Holiday, Smart. I don’t know anything about Ian Jackson but the guard from Arizona seems to fit Brads archetype. KJ Lewis, from what I’ve seen, looks like a Brad type of guard…

Bigger guys that can play both 1 and 2 seems like Brad’s MO.

This team almost never has a pure two guard only on it, they are either 1/2 or 2/3 type guys.

[redslastlaugh]

Bigger guys that can play both 1 and 2 seems like Brad’s MO.

This team almost never has a pure two guard only on it, they are either 1/2 or 2/3 type guys.

Yea, good call. That was probably what Brad saw in Jaden Springer, bigger guy, can play 1 or the 2, or that was the dream of Jaden Springer anyway

[djFan71]

Ersin Demir has a mock up.
https://edemirnba.substack.com/p/2025-nba-mock-draft-10

Has us getting Miles Byrd. Lots of bigs going early for him. Fleming in lottery (14). Sorber at 18, Kalkbrenner at 20.

[brackdan70]

Ersin Demir has a mock up.
https://edemirnba.substack.com/p/2025-nba-mock-draft-10

Has us getting Miles Byrd. Lots of bigs going early for him. Fleming in lottery (14). Sorber at 18, Kalkbrenner at 20.

Dude seems a bit contrarian. Needlessly so.

[djFan71]

Ersin Demir has a mock up.
https://edemirnba.substack.com/p/2025-nba-mock-draft-10

Has us getting Miles Byrd. Lots of bigs going early for him. Fleming in lottery (14). Sorber at 18, Kalkbrenner at 20.

Dude seems a bit contrarian. Needlessly so.

That’s why I like him. He gives a different perspective.

[phincsfan]

Outside of JT, JB and White, the C's are lacking another player who can create for themselves. I didn't list Jrue only because of his age. Walsh, IMO will never be a player who will be able to create for himself off the dribble. He didn't do it in college and from what I saw in Maine he didn't do it either. It's not a knock on him, he's juts not that type of player. Very athletic, but it takes a different mindset to create for yourself.

I'm on a Maxey kick after the XMas game. Super quick, high motor, confidence, great handle coming out of college. After college his work ethic made him a great shooter. He's gonna make an All NBA team this year and he's gonna be on an Olympic team.

21st PICK

[djFan71]

Outside of JT, JB and White, the C's are lacking another player who can create for themselves. I didn't list Jrue only because of his age. Walsh, IMO will never be a player who will be able to create for himself off the dribble. He didn't do it in college and from what I saw in Maine he didn't do it either. It's not a knock on him, he's juts not that type of player. Very athletic, but it takes a different mindset to create for yourself.

I'm on a Maxey kick after the XMas game. Super quick, high motor, confidence, great handle coming out of college. After college his work ethic made him a great shooter. He's gonna make an All NBA team this year and he's gonna be on an Olympic team.

21st PICK

Never thought I’d be the one saying this, but Pritchard kinda can too. KP, but not reliable due to health. I definitely agree with your overall point though. A shot creator or Al replacement are my biggest holes to fill.

[redslastlaugh]

Fleming in the teens seems entirely possible to me, esp,if the wingspan measures as 7-4 as somebody reported.

A 6-9, 6-10 frontcourt player with a 240 lb build and a nice release… don’t see him going in the 30s or 40s… dunno about lottery but Markief Morris went late lottery and Rasheer Fleming (from the clips I’ve seen) looks like a 2024 version of the bigger Morris bro.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-VSUQ-DXP9g

EDIT: fun fact, only one St Joe’s player has been drafted (DeAndre Bembry, 2016) since Jameer Nelson(Magic) and Delonte West(Celtics) both went first round in 2004.

Ersin Demir has a mock up.
https://edemirnba.substack.com/p/2025-nba-mock-draft-10

Has us getting Miles Byrd. Lots of bigs going early for him. Fleming in lottery (14). Sorber at 18, Kalkbrenner at 20.

Dude seems a bit contrarian. Needlessly so.

That’s why I like him. He gives a different perspective.

[165bows]

Ersin Demir has a mock up.
https://edemirnba.substack.com/p/2025-nba-mock-draft-10

Has us getting Miles Byrd. Lots of bigs going early for him. Fleming in lottery (14). Sorber at 18, Kalkbrenner at 20.

Not familiar with him but count me in for a well rounded 6’7” guard on this team.

[Smart2Nesmith43]

Presently we have 2 picks in the upcoming draft, 28 and 31. I hope we keep both picks and wouldn’t even mind trading for another pick since this a good draft. I’d love a high yield draft like an Al Jefferson, Delonte West, Tony Allen haul where we get a few young players to develop coming out of the draft.

The current iteration of this team with Al, KP, White, Jrue … these pieces are going to start to age out and I think this is the right time to restock the younger end of the roster so hopefully in three years we have some young vets ready to step up around the Jays

Brad so far has been really mediocre in the draft though one can’t really fault him for not hitting on guys in the 50s of the draft.

Otoh he’s more than made up for it in the various udfa markets - Hauser, Kornet, Queta have all been good to great in some form or another. Peterson looks like a possible.

Celtic pick/Best available player when the Celtics picked
2021 Juhann Begarin/Aaron Wiggins
2022 JD Davison/Jabari Walker
2023 Jordan Walsh/Toumani Camara (even if the Celtics hadn't traded down I'm not sure guys like Strawther or Sasser have been better than Camara)
2024 too early to tell

The point is that Brad Stevens could literally have picked the best available player every single year and it still wouldn't have yielded a rotation guy for Boston. So I'm not sure that the fact none of his draft picks have cracked the rotation yet means he's bad at drafting. I would say it's more a commentary on how hard it is for young guys to play on a championship team. For all we know, if Davison had ended up on a tanking team he would average 12 points and 6 assists as the first guard off the bench and people would be coming up with fake trades to get him to the Celtics. Hell, Nesmith could barely get in the game when he was in Boston and become a starter almost immediately after leaving (and not on a garbage team either). Of course if those guys are still buried on the bench three years from now it's a different conversation but right now, I think the fairest assessment of Stevens in the draft is an incomplete.

[165bows]

Presently we have 2 picks in the upcoming draft, 28 and 31. I hope we keep both picks and wouldn’t even mind trading for another pick since this a good draft. I’d love a high yield draft like an Al Jefferson, Delonte West, Tony Allen haul where we get a few young players to develop coming out of the draft.

The current iteration of this team with Al, KP, White, Jrue … these pieces are going to start to age out and I think this is the right time to restock the younger end of the roster so hopefully in three years we have some young vets ready to step up around the Jays

Brad so far has been really mediocre in the draft though one can’t really fault him for not hitting on guys in the 50s of the draft.

Otoh he’s more than made up for it in the various udfa markets - Hauser, Kornet, Queta have all been good to great in some form or another. Peterson looks like a possible.

Celtic pick/Best available player when the Celtics picked
2021 Juhann Begarin/Aaron Wiggins
2022 JD Davison/Jabari Walker
2023 Jordan Walsh/Toumani Camara (even if the Celtics hadn't traded down I'm not sure guys like Strawther or Sasser have been better than Camara)
2024 too early to tell

The point is that Brad Stevens could literally have picked the best available player every single year and it still wouldn't have yielded a rotation guy for Boston. So I'm not sure that the fact none of his draft picks have cracked the rotation yet means he's bad at drafting. I would say it's more a commentary on how hard it is for young guys to play on a championship team. For all we know, if Davison had ended up on a tanking team he would average 12 points and 6 assists as the first guard off the bench and people would be coming up with fake trades to get him to the Celtics. Hell, Nesmith could barely get in the game when he was in Boston and become a starter almost immediately after leaving (and not on a garbage team either). Of course if those guys are still buried on the bench three years from now it's a different conversation but right now, I think the fairest assessment of Stevens in the draft is an incomplete.

Yeah that’s fair I suppose I’m being a bit harsh. Though I’d take Aaron Wiggins all day every day on this bench, solid cheap player.

And agree the “hey he should have picked the best player available every single time” standard isn’t one that anyone lives up to so it’s rather moot.

And agree on JD he’s destined to go to Charlotte and look pretty decent if he can’t stick here.

[djFan71]

Ersin Demir has a mock up.
https://edemirnba.substack.com/p/2025-nba-mock-draft-10

Has us getting Miles Byrd. Lots of bigs going early for him. Fleming in lottery (14). Sorber at 18, Kalkbrenner at 20.

Not familiar with him but count me in for a well rounded 6’7” guard on this team.

From a quick read, he seems similar to Nique Clifford. The mock has Kam Jones going next. I liked both Kam and Nique last draft, so would be happy with either this time around as well. Depending on other available options, of course.

[Patsfan1081]

Presently we have 2 picks in the upcoming draft, 28 and 31. I hope we keep both picks and wouldn’t even mind trading for another pick since this a good draft. I’d love a high yield draft like an Al Jefferson, Delonte West, Tony Allen haul where we get a few young players to develop coming out of the draft.

The current iteration of this team with Al, KP, White, Jrue … these pieces are going to start to age out and I think this is the right time to restock the younger end of the roster so hopefully in three years we have some young vets ready to step up around the Jays

Brad so far has been really mediocre in the draft though one can’t really fault him for not hitting on guys in the 50s of the draft.

Otoh he’s more than made up for it in the various udfa markets - Hauser, Kornet, Queta have all been good to great in some form or another. Peterson looks like a possible.

Celtic pick/Best available player when the Celtics picked
2021 Juhann Begarin/Aaron Wiggins
2022 JD Davison/Jabari Walker
2023 Jordan Walsh/Toumani Camara (even if the Celtics hadn't traded down I'm not sure guys like Strawther or Sasser have been better than Camara)
2024 too early to tell

The point is that Brad Stevens could literally have picked the best available player every single year and it still wouldn't have yielded a rotation guy for Boston. So I'm not sure that the fact none of his draft picks have cracked the rotation yet means he's bad at drafting. I would say it's more a commentary on how hard it is for young guys to play on a championship team. For all we know, if Davison had ended up on a tanking team he would average 12 points and 6 assists as the first guard off the bench and people would be coming up with fake trades to get him to the Celtics. Hell, Nesmith could barely get in the game when he was in Boston and become a starter almost immediately after leaving (and not on a garbage team either). Of course if those guys are still buried on the bench three years from now it's a different conversation but right now, I think the fairest assessment of Stevens in the draft is an incomplete.

I don’t know. I’m def not looking for a rotational piece off the bat from the draft, but you should be able to hit on at least one rotational piece in four years. It’s not like they’ve only had second round picks. When you’re consistently drafting late you need to get creative. In 23 they actually started off with the 25th pick from the Smart trade but kept trading back. You move up a bit and you’re looking at either brining in a four year guy like JJJ or a raw player like Clowney/Whitmore to learn behind Al. I really wanted wanted them to move up last year and they have the ammo again this year but I doubt Brad will.

[Smart2Nesmith43]

I don’t know. I’m def not looking for a rotational piece off the bat from the draft, but you should be able to hit on at least one rotational piece in four years. It’s not like they’ve only had second round picks. When you’re consistently drafting late you need to get creative. In 23 they actually started off with the 25th pick from the Smart trade but kept trading back.

If you are going to disregard UDFAs, which you seem to be doing since Hauser is clearly a rotation guy for the Celtics, there literally wasn't anybody available to Boston in any of those drafts that who would crack their rotation (maybe Aaron Wiggins would get some smi-consistent minutes). I don't understand blaming Stevens for failing to find a guy that doesn't exist.

You move up a bit and you’re looking at either brining in a four year guy like JJJ

First off, we have no idea what the price was to moving up or if the other teams were even willing to listen. Second, Jaquez is shooting 25% from three and is sporting a magnificient -14.6 on/off this season. That guy wouldn't be playing in front of Pritchard, Hauser or Horford. At best he would be getting Jordan Walsh minutes.

or a raw player like Clowney/Whitmore to learn behind Al.

You mean like they brought in raw players like Jordan Walsh (to learn behind Tatum and Brown) and JD Davison (to learn behind White and Smart/Brogdon/Holiday) ? But then you get mad when they don't play right away.

[redslastlaugh]

Brad so far has been really mediocre in the draft though one can’t really fault him for not hitting on guys in the 50s of the draft.

Otoh he’s more than made up for it in the various udfa markets - Hauser, Kornet, Queta have all been good to great in some form or another. Peterson looks like a possible.

Celtic pick/Best available player when the Celtics picked
2021 Juhann Begarin/Aaron Wiggins
2022 JD Davison/Jabari Walker
2023 Jordan Walsh/Toumani Camara (even if the Celtics hadn't traded down I'm not sure guys like Strawther or Sasser have been better than Camara)
2024 too early to tell

The point is that Brad Stevens could literally have picked the best available player every single year and it still wouldn't have yielded a rotation guy for Boston.

For the sake of discussion, you’d have to also include the undrafted players who were available at those draft slots. For instance, in 2021 Austin Reaves would have been the pick, not Aaron Wiggins, tho Wiggins has a case. In 2022, the smart pick looks to be be Julian Champagnie not Jabari Walker and so on…

As for 2024, I do agree that it is too early to tell, but it is still somewhat disappointing that our 24 yr old 1st round pick has made no inroads to playing time. Look at OKC, they took Ajay Mitchell at 39. He’s been extremely effective in >400 mins. The OKC guard core ahead of him on the roster is SGA, Lu Dort, Jalen Williams, Alex Caruso, Isaiah Joe and Cason Wallace.

Our guards are basically White, 34-yr old Holiday, and PP, with Jaylen Brown playing the 2 in bigger lineups. We have no other guards!

You’re saying Mitchell would get no run with us? Maybe if Joe didn’t elect to play him, but on the merits he’d deserve similar run as he’s getting in OKC.

[redslastlaugh]

Swish Theory seems a particularly contrarian draft outlet. And they’ve just dropped their latest 2 round mock, and its contrarianism did not disappoint.

https://theswishtheory.com/2025-nba-draft-articles/2024/12/2025-nba-mock-draft-1-0/

And then here’s a grab of the Celtics related portion of the draft, 28-30s

28. Los Angeles Clippers: Nique Clifford, Colorado State

Nique Clifford feels destined to be a Clipper. He’s an older prospect who should be ready to compete on both ends of the floor from the start of training camp. He has had a larger offensive role this season, but that is not his sell as a prospect. Clifford is a grinder on both ends of the floor, an above-the-rim athlete who knows where to be and when to be there. Statistically, his projection as a shooter is a bit murky (68% from the line and 35% from three for his career), but his comfortability in the midrange and shooting over contests is encouraging. For a hard-nosed, defensive-minded team led by two high-usage stars, Clifford is an easy plug-and-play fit.

– Tyler Wilson

29. Boston Celtics: Hugo Gonzalez, Real Madrid

Gonzalez would add another defensively slanted wing into the rotation, something they’ll never complain about. He’s defended at a positive level for stretches throughout his Euroleague play this season, imposing his will as a point of attack and low-man defender. Boston will have no problems waiting for Gonzalez to tap into a passable level of offensive impact, and Gonzalez fell too far for his talent level.

– Ben Pfeifer

30. Utah Jazz: Rasheer Fleming, Saint Joseph’s

Fleming is a 6’9 forward who is showing signs of being able to stretch the floor from three making 39% on 53 attempts in 12 games. Not only is he able to shoot it, but he also has enough handle to attack closeouts and go finish at the rim with force and even finesse with his athleticism. Fleming is still only 20 years old and provides a lot of intrigue with his versatility on both sides of the ball. He currently leads his team in stocks with 41 total (22 steals, 19 blocks). Picking Fleming at the 30th pick is a win.

– Larry Golden

31. Boston Celtics: Rocco Zikarsky, Brisbane

32. Charlotte Hornets: Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton

33. Minnesota Timberwolves: Miles Byrd, San Diego State

34. Detroit Pistons: Will Riley, Illinois

As a spoiler:

They have Derik Queen, Collin Murray-Boyles and Thomas Sorber in their TOP 5 !

Ersin Demir has a mock up.
https://edemirnba.substack.com/p/2025-nba-mock-draft-10

Has us getting Miles Byrd. Lots of bigs going early for him. Fleming in lottery (14). Sorber at 18, Kalkbrenner at 20.

Dude seems a bit contrarian. Needlessly so.

That’s why I like him. He gives a different perspective.

[playa-hater]

Swish Theory seems a particularly contrarian draft outlet. And they’ve just dropped their latest 2 round mock, and its contrarianism did not disappoint.

https://theswishtheory.com/2025-nba-draft-articles/2024/12/2025-nba-mock-draft-1-0/

And then here’s a grab of the Celtics related portion of the draft, 28-30s

28. Los Angeles Clippers: Nique Clifford, Colorado State

Nique Clifford feels destined to be a Clipper. He’s an older prospect who should be ready to compete on both ends of the floor from the start of training camp. He has had a larger offensive role this season, but that is not his sell as a prospect. Clifford is a grinder on both ends of the floor, an above-the-rim athlete who knows where to be and when to be there. Statistically, his projection as a shooter is a bit murky (68% from the line and 35% from three for his career), but his comfortability in the midrange and shooting over contests is encouraging. For a hard-nosed, defensive-minded team led by two high-usage stars, Clifford is an easy plug-and-play fit.

– Tyler Wilson

29. Boston Celtics: Hugo Gonzalez, Real Madrid

Gonzalez would add another defensively slanted wing into the rotation, something they’ll never complain about. He’s defended at a positive level for stretches throughout his Euroleague play this season, imposing his will as a point of attack and low-man defender. Boston will have no problems waiting for Gonzalez to tap into a passable level of offensive impact, and Gonzalez fell too far for his talent level.

– Ben Pfeifer

30. Utah Jazz: Rasheer Fleming, Saint Joseph’s

Fleming is a 6’9 forward who is showing signs of being able to stretch the floor from three making 39% on 53 attempts in 12 games. Not only is he able to shoot it, but he also has enough handle to attack closeouts and go finish at the rim with force and even finesse with his athleticism. Fleming is still only 20 years old and provides a lot of intrigue with his versatility on both sides of the ball. He currently leads his team in stocks with 41 total (22 steals, 19 blocks). Picking Fleming at the 30th pick is a win.

– Larry Golden

31. Boston Celtics: Rocco Zikarsky, Brisbane

32. Charlotte Hornets: Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton

33. Minnesota Timberwolves: Miles Byrd, San Diego State

34. Detroit Pistons: Will Riley, Illinois

As a spoiler:

They have Derik Queen, Collin Murray-Boyles and Thomas Sorber in their TOP 5 !

Dude seems a bit contrarian. Needlessly so.

That’s why I like him. He gives a different perspective.

Ok Wings are my favorite position, So I won't say No. But just seeing how talented (In my eyes) Walsh and Peterson are, combined with our latest 1st Rd pick, Sheierman, struggle to get on the floor, makes me think Gonzalez would never get a chance.

Definitely am intrigued about Rocco.

Still say trade both picks up in this draft and target a more impactful player, If possible, of course.