2025 NBA Draft Discussion Part 4

[UnbelievablyRAW]

queen so close to being 3/3 from deep today

closer to 80% ft shooter over larger sample

too much unassisted self-created goodness

with nba spacing this kid is gonna cook

I think I’ve come around to him as the number one centre prospect. He has a great mid range touch and is good from the line. He doesn’t really take 3’s now but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s Myles Turner from 3 in 2-3 years

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

queen so close to being 3/3 from deep today

closer to 80% ft shooter over larger sample

too much unassisted self-created goodness

with nba spacing this kid is gonna cook

I think I’ve come around to him as the number one centre prospect. He has a great mid range touch and is good from the line. He doesn’t really take 3’s now but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s Myles Turner from 3 in 2-3 years

i could have sworn i was looking at dirk nowitzki seeing him nail a bunch of one-legged turnaround/fadeaway middies earlier in year. that's just who came into my mind after i saw him nail those. maybe just the style/way he did it.

i still need queen's measurements and predraft stuff and also teams need to dig into whether or not he's a conditioning risk

but man he's skilled AF

[UnbelievablyRAW]

queen so close to being 3/3 from deep today

closer to 80% ft shooter over larger sample

too much unassisted self-created goodness

with nba spacing this kid is gonna cook

I think I’ve come around to him as the number one centre prospect. He has a great mid range touch and is good from the line. He doesn’t really take 3’s now but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s Myles Turner from 3 in 2-3 years

i could have sworn i was looking at dirk nowitzki seeing him nail a bunch of one-legged turnaround/fadeaway middies earlier in year. that's just who came into my mind after i saw him nail those. maybe just the style/way he did it.

i still need queen's measurements and predraft stuff and also teams need to dig into whether or not he's a conditioning risk

but man he's skilled AF

High key with the way we play with the big catching at the elbow and playmaking out of it, he’d be perfect. Scottie as a helpside defender will help tighten our interior defense along with the length of Ingram if he subs in for Poeltl and the starters

[Brinbe]

I don't think you really have to worry about other teams in the lotto taking Maluach. Most competing lotto teams in our range already have a young big or prominent players in that position and will probably opt for the guards/forwards or might opt for a Queen instead.

Why would the Nets take Maluach with Claxton/Sharpe there? Philly has Embiid and Bona and need more immediate help. Charlotte is the biggest threat but they also have Williams and other needs. I think they'd take Tre/Edgecombe/Kon/McNeeley/etc Utah has Kessler/Filip. The Pels just drafted Missi. The Wiz will be picking top 4/5 no matter what and I doubt they'd opt for Maluach over the other options there and they already have Sarr as their rim protecting big. Again, if anything they'd take Queen as the local guy.

And if a team unexpectedly moves up above us like the Bulls, who I think would take him, it'll be into the top 3/4 range where they'll probably take Flagg/Harper/Edgecombe/Bailey.

We also have a lot of road games coming up so I don't think we'll go on many more win streaks going forward

History says the opposite, they draft BPA even overlapping with anoher prospect. Also teams value high upside over those performing well with less upside, which often the reason why mock draft is not exactly reflecting how teams will draft them.

lol, that's exactly my point. Maluach isn't really BPA compared to those guys and wouldn't be taken ahead of the top 4 guys at the very least. And behind them they're all in a similar-tier.

[Brinbe]

wow michigan. crazy game

[Dalek]

JT Toppin to me exceeded expectations. He is playing the same amount of minutes as he was in a weaker conference for New Mexico last year, to become a Big12 POY for Texas Tech:

+6 PPG increase
+13% USG increase
+13% FT improve on larger volume

For all the talk about Alex Condon being a stud stretch big, Toppin is right on par with him despite mostly being stationed as a C at the basket:
JT 16-50 - 32 3P%
Condon 15-45 - 33 3P%

I just think size, athleticism and motor could go a long way once JT gets pro trainers helping him. He can be a rotation player but he will need to learn how to play PF which is his biggest hurdle.

[Dalek]

wow michigan. crazy game

That was a great finish, but Maryland just let Donaldson just do a straight line to the basket. That was some porous transition defense.

[Ell Curry]

queen so close to being 3/3 from deep today

closer to 80% ft shooter over larger sample

too much unassisted self-created goodness

with nba spacing this kid is gonna cook

9/10 on O, 2/10 on D if he's a center, maybe 4/10 if he's a PF, is how I'd rate him based on today.

I don't see how he's not hugely problematic on defence. He doesn't bend his knees on that end, it's odd. Maybe an NBA team can fix his flexibility, even for a center, it's noticeable that he doesn't get into a proper perimeter defensive stance, just stays upright.

Not sure he can play center in terms of keeping the opponents off the boards, Michigan has somewhere between 15 and 20 offensive rebounds.

He does have great hands, so gets the odd steal/deflection.

On offense, he's fantastic. He can face up and create (nice crossover), great passer while driving for a big (sees the non-obvious read sometimes), he's hitting 3s purely off touch, he's shooting them like floaters. Should have a learning curve playing against bigger centers, but he seems like he can develop counters and more skill moves.

[S.W.A.N]

JT Toppin to me exceeded expectations. He is playing the same amount of minutes as he was in a weaker conference for New Mexico last year, to become a Big12 POY for Texas Tech:

+6 PPG increase
+13% USG increase
+13% FT improve on larger volume

For all the talk about Alex Condon being a stud stretch big, Toppin is right on par with him despite mostly being stationed as a C at the basket:
JT 16-50 - 32 3P%
Condon 15-45 - 33 3P%

I just think size, athleticism and motor could go a long way once JT gets pro trainers helping him. He can be a rotation player but he will need to learn how to play PF which is his biggest hurdle.

Biggest issue is he's a 6'7 C...

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

yaxel injured could be a sprained toe

still on pace for 12 pts 14 reb 4 ast 0 tov 4 stl 2 blk vs #68 kenpom team north texas

[Indeed]

queen so close to being 3/3 from deep today

closer to 80% ft shooter over larger sample

too much unassisted self-created goodness

with nba spacing this kid is gonna cook

9/10 on O, 2/10 on D if he's a center, maybe 4/10 if he's a PF, is how I'd rate him based on today.

I don't see how he's not hugely problematic on defence. He doesn't bend his knees on that end, it's odd. Maybe an NBA team can fix his flexibility, even for a center, it's noticeable that he doesn't get into a proper perimeter defensive stance, just stays upright.

Not sure he can play center in terms of keeping the opponents off the boards, Michigan has somewhere between 15 and 20 offensive rebounds.

He does have great hands, so gets the odd steal/deflection.

On offense, he's fantastic. He can face up and create (nice crossover), great passer while driving for a big (sees the non-obvious read sometimes), he's hitting 3s purely off touch, he's shooting them like floaters. Should have a learning curve playing against bigger centers, but he seems like he can develop counters and more skill moves.

He might be overweight, so he stayed upright, but I could be wrong.
My believe is that if he can lose weight, he might have the speed to play PF (borderline). It also depends on his wingspan measurement, wish that pans out.

Queen has been playing with another mobile center, I believe.

[BoyzNTheHood]

Gonna have to do better than that Bargnani-esque rebounding line, but overall the kid is clearly super skilled.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

Gonna have to do better than that Bargnani-esque rebounding line, but overall the kid is clearly super skilled.

With Julian Reese off the floor this year Queen (like a quarter of his mins):

31.9 USG
28.1 DRB%
72 rim%

Since Queen thrives at grab and go this is pretty promising for him. Most of what impressed me from his MV tape was his full court passing and transition offense.

Watch on YouTube

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

queen legit might be unguardable if the ATB threes start to fall he can drive it and finish or dish

it is rare to find bigs stroking it nearly 80% from stripe over good sample and that combined with his dribble j frequency at 20 yrs old means that he very likely will be a shooting threat. these are the types of kids who should be spoken of as having a projectable shot, not guys shooting in 60s from stripe for years on end.

[Yallbecrazy]

Over the last month or so, the draft has really started to flatten out for me. Flagg is by far the best prospect, and Edgecombe is another guy who is looking very, very good. After that I don't really see much difference between the guys mocked at 3-5 and the guys mocked around the 10th pick. I loved Kasparas early in the season, but he's fallen off lately, and I've started to become less interested in Harper as well. I've also never been fully sold on Ace Bailey, and his advanced stats remain terrible. This is the kind of draft where the 9th pick could easily end up being the 2nd or 3rd best player, and we have a great scouting staff. While a higher pick is better to have than a lower pick, I'm really not that worried about where we end up picking this year.

Still would be nice to have a better shot at Flagg, 100% agree with everything else you said.

[BoyzNTheHood]

Gonna have to do better than that Bargnani-esque rebounding line, but overall the kid is clearly super skilled.

With Julian Reese off the floor this year Queen (like a quarter of his mins):

31.9 USG
28.1 DRB%
72 rim%

Since Queen thrives at grab and go this is pretty promising for him. Most of what impressed me from his MV tape was his full court passing and transition offense.

Watch on YouTube

Julian Reese is a smaller, far superior rebounder. That’s not exactly a compliment for Queen. He should be absolutely cooking guys on the glass. I need that under the rim ZBo energy.

[Indeed]

queen legit might be unguardable if the ATB threes start to fall he can drive it and finish or dish

it is rare to find bigs stroking it nearly 80% from stripe over good sample and that combined with his dribble j frequency at 20 yrs old means that he very likely will be a shooting threat. these are the types of kids who should be spoken of as having a projectable shot, not guys shooting in 60s from stripe for years on end.

That was what I expected from Barnes a year ago or this year. Barnes has a better max vert, I believe.

[T-d0t]

Im buying the Jase hype, either him or Maluach/Queen in that 7-10 range

[Raptorfan2012]

Queen has the talent to be Cousins-like (without the attitude); just not sure whether he fits in with our team.

[MessiahUjiri]

Derik Queen is kinda like Julius Randle, right? Not 100%, but in that same prototype.

His big size and lack of foot speed means he’s a C.

Very talented at offense.

Not a guy you want anchoring your D. Kind of a tweener between C/PF, to try to mask his deficiencies.