2025 NBA Draft Thread, part 1 – Capture the Flagg

[jmr07019]

If the Celtics don't repeat,
I am to the point that no
one of the team should be untouchable for Flagg.

Tatum for Flagg would be a very interesting option...
I just like the idea of retooling with the local New England guy....

Celtics should be planning to pursue Flagg when his second contract expires which will be 7-8 years from when he is drafted.

[Hal14]

Halfway mark of the season and Washington is 6-35 worst record in the NBA and on pace to finish pick #31 which will become a Celtics pick.

Utah and Toronto are the 2nd/3rd worst teams, both have 10 wins.

Great trade by Brad, if second half holds the trend, we’ll get #31 which is practically another late first!!!

And more cap friendly

True about the cap. Compare cap figure for Baylor Scheierman, last pick in the first round:
YR 1: $2.5
YR 2: $2.6
YR 3: $2.7
YR 4: $5.0

Total : $12.8 million

To Jonny Furphy, 2nd round pick in the 30s:
YR 1: $1.9
YR 2: $2.0
YR 3: $2.3
YR 4: $2.5

Total: $8.7 million

Yeah that's certainly part of the reason why Brad traded out of the 1st round in each of the 1st 3 drafts as POBO.

I bet he tried trading out of the 1st round in 2024 as well but he probably didn't have a decent offer on the table..bet teams weren't jumping at the chance to trade with (and possibly help) the defending champs. Plus no one probably want to trade for the 30th pick..for the same reasons why the Celtics probably didn't want to keep that pick..

[keevsnick1]

And more cap friendly

True about the cap. Compare cap figure for Baylor Scheierman, last pick in the first round:
YR 1: $2.5
YR 2: $2.6
YR 3: $2.7
YR 4: $5.0

Total : $12.8 million

To Jonny Furphy, 2nd round pick in the 30s:
YR 1: $1.9
YR 2: $2.0
YR 3: $2.3
YR 4: $2.5

Total: $8.7 million

Yeah that's certainly part of the reason why Brad traded out of the 1st round in each of the 1st 3 drafts as POBO.

I bet he tried trading out of the 1st round in 2024 as well but he probably didn't have a decent offer on the table..bet teams weren't jumping at the chance to trade with (and possibly help) the defending champs. Plus no one probably want to trade for the 30th pick..for the same reasons why the Celtics probably didn't want to keep that pick..

I think the money is actually way overblown. There's a 4.1 million total difference, but most of that different is the 2.5 million in year 4 which is a team option so really the difference is 1.6 million over the first 3 years. That's not nothing, but its pretty close to nothing. To only situation in which it really matters at all is for a team like the Celtics DEEP in the tax, and even then it didn't matter enough to trade out of #30.

[phincsfan]

The C's also have the rights to the more favorable between Blazers, Pels, Wolves or Knicks 26' 2nd round pick. Most likely a pick between 31 and 35.

[phincsfan]

True about the cap. Compare cap figure for Baylor Scheierman, last pick in the first round:
YR 1: $2.5
YR 2: $2.6
YR 3: $2.7
YR 4: $5.0

Total : $12.8 million

To Jonny Furphy, 2nd round pick in the 30s:
YR 1: $1.9
YR 2: $2.0
YR 3: $2.3
YR 4: $2.5

Total: $8.7 million

Yeah that's certainly part of the reason why Brad traded out of the 1st round in each of the 1st 3 drafts as POBO.

I bet he tried trading out of the 1st round in 2024 as well but he probably didn't have a decent offer on the table..bet teams weren't jumping at the chance to trade with (and possibly help) the defending champs. Plus no one probably want to trade for the 30th pick..for the same reasons why the Celtics probably didn't want to keep that pick..

I think the money is actually way overblown. There's a 4.1 million total difference, but most of that different is the 2.5 million in year 4 which is a team option so really the difference is 1.6 million over the first 3 years. That's not nothing, but its pretty close to nothing. To only situation in which it really matters at all is for a team like the Celtics DEEP in the tax, and even then it didn't matter enough to trade out of #30.

It depends how the team projects the player to be. At least there's a negotiation aspect whether it be a 3yr or 4yr deal and the yearly salary based on the league agreements. Minimum this year was a little over 1.1mil.

The kid Mogbo with the Raps was the 31st pick and signed the 3yr max 6mil, Flip with the Jazz 32nd pick signed the 4yr max 12mil deal, Wells with the Grizz 39th pick signed a 4yr 7.9mil deal and Anton's at 54 is a 2way

Lot's of options, but it will be interesting to see what happens if the C's keep their picks. This will be Stevens first real rookie negotiation because IMO a pick between 31 and 35 is pretty much a first round pick without the locked in rookie deals. Another first for Stevens as GM.

[Hal14]

I'm very high on Florida St big man Malique Ewin as a potential 2nd round pick.

Defensively, he's in that Horford/Tillman type of mold in that he's not a great rim protector but is good defending out on the perimeter and is pretty switchable.

Offensively, he doesn't shoot 3's..so he's more like a Kevon Looney/Plumlee/Zubac type on offense. Really good passer though, can put the ball on the floor, score on post ups, soft touch around the basket so certainly some similarities to Trayce Jackson-Davis.

Think he could have a long career in the league as a solid rotational big..

Wrote an article on him:

Read on Twitter

[phincsfan]

I'm very high on Florida St big man Malique Ewin as a potential 2nd round pick.

Defensively, he's in that Horford/Tillman type of mold.

Offensively, he doesn't shoot 3's..so he's more like a Kevon Looney/Plumlee/Zubac type on offense.

Think he could have a long career in the league as a solid rotational big..

Wrote an article on him:

Read on Twitter

Is he projected to come out? He’s probably better off staying another year with all the bigs coming out this year. Good write up.

[Hal14]

I'm very high on Florida St big man Malique Ewin as a potential 2nd round pick.

Defensively, he's in that Horford/Tillman type of mold.

Offensively, he doesn't shoot 3's..so he's more like a Kevon Looney/Plumlee/Zubac type on offense.

Think he could have a long career in the league as a solid rotational big..

Wrote an article on him:

Read on Twitter

Is he projected to come out? He’s probably better off staying another year with all the bigs coming out this year. Good write up.

Idk, he's not in most of the mock drafts or big boards but that doesn't mean much this far from the draft..every year there's lesser known guys who rise up draft boards between January and June. And there's even sometimes guys who get drafted who were not even on any of the mocks/big boards since NBA teams often make their own evaluations and don't always just go by what the mocks say.

He'll be 22 yrs old on draft night this year. While it's certainly possible Ewin could return to FSU for another year, he'd be 23 on draft night next year. NBA teams would rather draft a 22 year old than a 23 year old..your draft stock gets lower each year you stay in college. Will be interesting to see how he does rest of the season - and if he can keep up his recent play..Ewin has been playing about as well as any big in college basketball of late.

Especially with bigs. You very rarely see a big get drafted who's age 23+...most of the time bigs who get drafted are 19 or 20..his best chance is probably if he comes out for the draft this year.

[winsomme2]

Xaivian Lee is growing on me.

Definitely has an old school attack the basket game. He has solid ball handling and tremendous touch around the basket with both hands. Not sure how his defense would hold up in the pros but I absolutely love watching his game.

He would be a great change of pace type player off the bench.

[Hal14]

Xaivian Lee is growing on me.

Definitely has an old school attack the basket game. He has solid ball handling and tremendous touch around the basket with both hands. Not sure how his defense would hold up in the pros but I absolutely love watching his game.

He would be a great change of pace type player off the bench.

Yeah he is growing in me as well. I think he could be one of those guys who gets drafted 2nd round but ends up being a steal and we're all asking 5 years later why he went so low.

I'm also worried about the defense. But offensively, he's very good..can handle the ball, drive, shoot the 3 and pass it..And is very quick, always in attack mode, moving the ball and putting pressure on the opposing defense.

Kind of like a mix between Andrew Nembhard and Pritchard..

[snowman]

I still want the Celts, if we keep our first-round pick, to pick Danny Wolf, C, out of Michigan. He really could be our Horford replacement. Right now, Tankathon has us taking him 28th overall. Good scorer, rebounder, and good for assists with his court vision. Good 3-point shooter and can defend the rim. Downside is he is already over 21 and needs to get his free throw percentage up, but I like him as a big man project for us.

[Hal14]

I still want the Celts, if we keep our first-round pick, to pick Danny Wolf, C, out of Michigan. He really could be our Horford replacement. Right now, Tankathon has us taking him 28th overall. Good scorer, rebounder, and good for assists with his court vision. Good 3-point shooter and can defend the rim. Downside is he is already over 21 and needs to get his free throw percentage up, but I like him as a big man project for us.

I wouldn't hate it..think it could be a good pick.

But a big part of what makes Al, Al is the defense..how good on D and switchable on D Al is. Wolf struggles quite a bit on D at the college level..

[winsomme2]

Xaivian Lee is growing on me.

Definitely has an old school attack the basket game. He has solid ball handling and tremendous touch around the basket with both hands. Not sure how his defense would hold up in the pros but I absolutely love watching his game.

He would be a great change of pace type player off the bench.

Yeah he is growing in me as well. I think he could be one of those guys who gets drafted 2nd round but ends up being a steal and we're all asking 5 years later why he went so low.

I'm also worried about the defense. But offensively, he's very good..can handle the ball, drive, shoot the 3 and pass it..And is very quick, always in attack mode, moving the ball and putting pressure on the opposing defense.

Kind of like a mix between Andrew Nembhard and Pritchard..

That's a great comparison. Especially since I really like both those players. Nembhard is the kind of player that can totally steal a game in a heated playoff series. Like a secret weapon. and Lee totally gives that same feel.

The other thing is Lee is the type of player that the Cs could use and Brad has been exceptional at finding "types." When he went out and got KP, I'm almost certain it came after he saw just how much Jokic changed the matchups in DENs title run. He knew a 7+ footer who could play inside and out could really change how teams guarded us and broke down our defense. He literally was not going to let that trade for KP fall through. He knew that type of player was going to be a game changer.

Even Jaden Springer. I have been super confused about that trade since it happened but it hit me last night that he could be a Lu Dort type and Dort always seems to cause matchup problems for us. The weird thing about Springer is that he is a three point shot away from being a regular contributor but WAS a good shooter coming out of college. i actually liked him in that draft but once his outside shot didn't translate, I kinda forgot about him. I'm not sure why I didn't see it before but those Lu Dort type players can come in very handy.

Anyway, as for Lee, he is another type and one that I actually think Brad has been looking for. A guard who can break down defenses with his ball handling skills and score mid-range and at the rim. I think that is what he like about Lonnie Walker. Lee also has that "big play" feel. Someone who could come up with a big steal or knock down a key shot.

[Hal14]

Wing - Darrion Williams
Big - JT Toppin (worked out ahead of the 2024 draft for BOS, before deciding to return to college)

I bet Brad and staff have been watching a fair amount of Texas Tech games this season

Would be kind of cool if we drafted them both..obviously they'll already have chemistry built up, on the court and off..

[phincsfan]

Wing - Darrion Williams
Big - JT Toppin (worked out ahead of the 2024 draft for BOS, before deciding to return to college)

I bet Brad and staff have been watching a fair amount of Texas Tech games this season

Would be kind of cool if we drafted them both..obviously they'll already have chemistry built up, on the court and off..

If Stevens believes they are 1st round talent who will be available in the 2nd that's great scouting by him. Especially if either of those two slip a little in the 2nd because Stevens can pick up more assets. The players I like in the 1st will be gone by 20 so the C's 1st and other assets won't be enough to move up IMO. Their 1st can easily turn into two seconds.

I'm good with whomever Stevens feels comfortable with, I'd just like to have a few of them this draft and next draft. If they can have 5 or 6 picks the next two drafts between picks 31 and 44 I definitely think three can pan out into something.

I still want Proctor somewhere in this draft.

[Hal14]

Wing - Darrion Williams
Big - JT Toppin (worked out ahead of the 2024 draft for BOS, before deciding to return to college)

I bet Brad and staff have been watching a fair amount of Texas Tech games this season

Would be kind of cool if we drafted them both..obviously they'll already have chemistry built up, on the court and off..

If Stevens believes they are 1st round talent who will be available in the 2nd that's great scouting by him. Especially if either of those two slip a little in the 2nd because Stevens can pick up more assets. The players I like in the 1st will be gone by 20 so the C's 1st and other assets won't be enough to move up IMO. Their 1st can easily turn into two seconds.

I'm good with whomever Stevens feels comfortable with, I'd just like to have a few of them this draft and next draft. If they can have 5 or 6 picks the next two drafts between picks 31 and 44 I definitely think three can pan out into something.

I still want Proctor somewhere in this draft.

Yeah I think we did take them both, we could take Toppin either with our late 1st round pick..or early in the 2nd..then Williams maybe in the mid to late 2nd round.

As for Proctor, I kind of think he will return to Duke. His draft stock is not that high and he has another year of eligibility. He's still fairly young..only 20 yrs old so it's not like staying another year will mean he's too old to get drafted in 2026.

He's become kind of one dimensional as a player. Just a guy who can hit open catch and shoot 3's. His driving, playmaking and defense are all meh..so he could use another year in college to get better at some of that stuff and get stronger..then maybe get drafted in 2026.

[phincsfan]

Wing - Darrion Williams
Big - JT Toppin (worked out ahead of the 2024 draft for BOS, before deciding to return to college)

I bet Brad and staff have been watching a fair amount of Texas Tech games this season

Would be kind of cool if we drafted them both..obviously they'll already have chemistry built up, on the court and off..

If Stevens believes they are 1st round talent who will be available in the 2nd that's great scouting by him. Especially if either of those two slip a little in the 2nd because Stevens can pick up more assets. The players I like in the 1st will be gone by 20 so the C's 1st and other assets won't be enough to move up IMO. Their 1st can easily turn into two seconds.

I'm good with whomever Stevens feels comfortable with, I'd just like to have a few of them this draft and next draft. If they can have 5 or 6 picks the next two drafts between picks 31 and 44 I definitely think three can pan out into something.

I still want Proctor somewhere in this draft.

Yeah I think we did take them both, we could take Toppin either with our late 1st round pick..or early in the 2nd..then Williams maybe in the mid to late 2nd round.

As for Proctor, I kind of think he will return to Duke. His draft stock is not that high and he has another year of eligibility. He's still fairly young..only 20 yrs old so it's not like staying another year will mean he's too old to get drafted in 2026.

He's become kind of one dimensional as a player. Just a guy who can hit open catch and shoot 3's. His driving, playmaking and defense are all meh..so he could use another year in college to get better at some of that stuff and get stronger..then maybe get drafted in 2026.

I think Boozer's son's signing makes Proctor leave. Cayden's a really good PG. Proctor needs to eventually find his way and having Flagg and Kon this year and then the Boozer twins next year continues the lack of shine for him. That's me being hopeful.

[Hal14]

Here's my updated big board..

Read on Twitter

[Hal14]

If Stevens believes they are 1st round talent who will be available in the 2nd that's great scouting by him. Especially if either of those two slip a little in the 2nd because Stevens can pick up more assets. The players I like in the 1st will be gone by 20 so the C's 1st and other assets won't be enough to move up IMO. Their 1st can easily turn into two seconds.

I'm good with whomever Stevens feels comfortable with, I'd just like to have a few of them this draft and next draft. If they can have 5 or 6 picks the next two drafts between picks 31 and 44 I definitely think three can pan out into something.

I still want Proctor somewhere in this draft.

Yeah I think we did take them both, we could take Toppin either with our late 1st round pick..or early in the 2nd..then Williams maybe in the mid to late 2nd round.

As for Proctor, I kind of think he will return to Duke. His draft stock is not that high and he has another year of eligibility. He's still fairly young..only 20 yrs old so it's not like staying another year will mean he's too old to get drafted in 2026.

He's become kind of one dimensional as a player. Just a guy who can hit open catch and shoot 3's. His driving, playmaking and defense are all meh..so he could use another year in college to get better at some of that stuff and get stronger..then maybe get drafted in 2026.

I think Boozer's son's signing makes Proctor leave. Cayden's a really good PG. Proctor needs to eventually find his way and having Flagg and Kon this year and then the Boozer twins next year continues the lack of shine for him. That's me being hopeful.

Yeah, that might make him leave. But look at Kentucky last year, they had 2 guards (dillingham, Sheppard) who both were top 10 picks. Plus they had Reeves (2nd round pick), Edwards was UDFA and DJ Wagner another guard returned to school. So they were deep at guard and still had 2 of them go in the top 10.

Baylor a few years ago had 2 guards who both got drafted - Mitchell and Butler.

So Proctor and Boozer could co-exist in the back court and both get drafted.

Or Proctor could transfer to a different school and get more shine/mins at PG.

He might go pro but I don't think it usually works out well to rush it and go pro before you're ready..and I don't really think he's ready for reasons mentioned before.

That could change..still a couple more months left to the season.

[redslastlaugh]

Xaivian Lee is growing on me.

He would be a great change of pace type player off the bench.

Yeah he is growing in me as well. I think he could be one of those guys who gets drafted 2nd round but ends up being a steal and we're all asking 5 years later why he went so low.

Kind of like a mix between Andrew Nembhard and Pritchard..

That's a great comparison.

I think a great player comp for Xaivian Lee is Jeremy Lin… lol, it’s so lazy it practically becomes comedy, haha

But, in all seriousness, I like Xaivian Lee even if he is a high bust risk given his strength, athleticism, defense, Ivy League and so on. But he’s a nasty, tricksy, offensive player with high level instincts. I compare his offensive game a little bit like Austin Reaves with a twist of Rajon Rondo.