2025 NBA Draft Discussion Part 4

[Brinbe]

might get edgecombe vs flagg next weekend

[DreamTeam09]

so thats it?

a solid starting 5?

wheres the superstar?

steph curry was drafted 7th.

no excuses. get it done.

Well who stands out at draft position 7-9 that looks like a star? I'm not sure I see one.

a lot of ppl didnt think steph curry would be either

we need to find one at all costs

this time as constructed has a limited ceiling because we dont have even a donovan mitchell type player

Well the draft doesn't work like "just find one, no excuses" if there isn't a superstar skillset available what would you like for us to do? You know what else makes the Cavs a good team, having a 7ft C who can patrol the paint and switch out if need be and be a release valve for Donovan Mitchell

[Naysorn]

Well who stands out at draft position 7-9 that looks like a star? I'm not sure I see one.

a lot of ppl didnt think steph curry would be either

we need to find one at all costs

this time as constructed has a limited ceiling because we dont have even a donovan mitchell type player

Well the draft doesn't work like "just find one, no excuses" if there isn't a superstar skillset available what would you like for us to do? You know what else makes the Cavs a good team, having a 7ft C who can patrol the paint and switch out if need be and be a release valve for Donovan Mitchell

they said this was the best draft since 03

meaning its better than 09

so go get you a superstar

and if malauch is the definitive BPA then bring him on

[NotMyKawhi]

Abt 39 of the top 60 projected players will be in the tourny.

[ArthurVandelay]

If Raptors are picking 7-8, right now Maluach is the pick for me

Sign Poeltl to a 2-3 year extension this summer after picking up his PO, and you have a solid C rotation (plus Chomche developing) for the next 3-4 seasons.

so thats it?

a solid starting 5?

wheres the superstar?

steph curry was drafted 7th.

no excuses. get it done.

Well he’s 18 and been playing ball for about 5 years.

Who knows what he’ll be at 23.

[Naysorn]

If Raptors are picking 7-8, right now Maluach is the pick for me

Sign Poeltl to a 2-3 year extension this summer after picking up his PO, and you have a solid C rotation (plus Chomche developing) for the next 3-4 seasons.

so thats it?

a solid starting 5?

wheres the superstar?

steph curry was drafted 7th.

no excuses. get it done.

Well he’s 18 and been playing ball for about 5 years.

Who knows what he’ll be at 23.

so long as theres superstar potential im all in

let's not lock into a sure fire role player. i'd rather take the gamble.

[dohboy_24]

With the March Madness field of 68 teams set and some teams already declining to play in the NIT tournament, the college season is probably done for these 2025 draft prospects until the NBA draft process begins:

Ace Bailey, Rutgers
Dylan Harper, Rutgers
Collin Murray-Boyles, South Carolina
Thomas Sorber, Georgetown
Micah Peavey, Georgetown
Rasheer Fleming, Saint Joseph's
Yaxel Lendeborg, UAB
Maxime Raynaud, Stanford
Tucker DeVries, West Virginia
Javon Small, West Virginia
Eric Dixon, Villanova
Wooga Poplar, Villanova
Cedric Coward, Washington St
Xavian Lee, Princeton
Jamir Watkins, Florida State
Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest
Mackenzie Mgbako, Indiana
Malik Reneau, Indiana
Oumar Ballo, Indiana
Payton Sandfort, Iowa
Baba Miller, Florida Atlantic
Coleman Hawkins, Kansas State
Donnie Freeman, Syracuse
Bruce Thornton, Ohio St
John Mobley Jr, Ohio St
Aaron Bradshaw, Ohio St
Brice Williams, Nebraska
Wesley Yates, USC
Saint Thomas, USC
Baye Ndongo, Georgia Tech
Andrej Stojakovic, California
Jaland Lowe, Pittsburgh
Adama Bal, Santa Clara
Matthew Cleveland, Miami
Brooks Barnhizer, Northwestern
Dillon Mitchell, Cincinnati
Garway Dual, Seton Hall
Jalen Warley, Virginia
Bryce Hopkins, Providence
Jamal Mashburn Jr, Temple

[dohboy_24]

Aside from the usual suspects who are likely to be selected at the top of the lottery, these players will have a chance to improve their draft stock during the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament:

Jeremiah Fears, Oklahoma (#9) vs UConn (#8) with Liam McNeeley + Alex Karaban)

Jase Richardson, Michigan State (#2) vs Bryant (#15)

Will Riley + Tomislav Ivisic + Kylan Boswell, Illinois (#6) vs Xavier (#11) with Dylain Swain or Texas (#11) with Tre Johnson

Carter Bryant, Arizona (#4) vs (#13) Akron

Egor Demin, BYU (#6) vs VCU (#11) with Max Shulga

Asa Newell, Georgia (#9) vs Gonzaga (#8) with Ryan Nembhard

Danny Wolf, Michigan (#5) vs UC San Diego (#12)

Johni Broome, Auburn (#1) vs Alabama St (#16) or Saint Francis U (#16)

Kam Jones, Marquette (#7) vs New Mexico (#10) with Donovan Dent

Labaron Philon + Mark Sears + Grant Nelson + Clifford Omoruyi, Alabama (#2) vs Robert Morris (#15)

Boogie Fland + Adou Thiero + DJ Wagner + Trevon Brazile + Zvonimir Ivisic, Arkansas (#10) vs Kansas (#7) with Hunter Dickinson + AJ Storr + Dajuan Harris Jr

Nique Clifford, Colorado State (#12) vs Memphis (#5) with PJ Haggerty

JT Toppin + Darrion Williams, Texas Tech (#3) vs UNC Wilmington (#14)

Ian Jackson + Drake Powell, North Carolina (#11) vs San Diego St (#11) with Miles Byrd

Alex Condon + Walter Clayton Jr + Will Richard, Florida (#1) vs Norfolk St (#16)

Koby Brea + Jaxson Robinson + Amari Williams + Andrew Carr, Kentucky (#3) vs Troy (#14)

JoJo Tugler + Milos Uzan, Houston (#1) vs SIU Edwardsville (#16)

Chaz Lanier + Igor Milicic Jr, Tennesse (#2) vs Wofford (#15)

Milan Momcilovic, Iowa St (#3) vs Lipscomb (#14)

Kobe Johnson, UCLA (#7) vs Utah St (#10)

Kadary Richmond, St. John's (#2) vs Omaha (#15)

Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton (#9) vs Louisville (#8)

[LoveMyRaps]

ITS MARCH MADNESS TIME!!!

Extra pumped about this years tourney!

[PushDaRock]

a lot of ppl didnt think steph curry would be either

we need to find one at all costs

this time as constructed has a limited ceiling because we dont have even a donovan mitchell type player

Well the draft doesn't work like "just find one, no excuses" if there isn't a superstar skillset available what would you like for us to do? You know what else makes the Cavs a good team, having a 7ft C who can patrol the paint and switch out if need be and be a release valve for Donovan Mitchell

they said this was the best draft since 03

meaning its better than 09

so go get you a superstar

and if malauch is the definitive BPA then bring him on

lol who is saying it is the best draft since 03? There's not even a sure fire All-Star out there other than Flagg.

[Got Nuffin]

I almost feel like we are destined to take Maluach.

- He's a Masai type. Raw, has only been playing basketball for a number of years. Masai could see him as a similar story to Spicy P?
- We have an overload at the swing spots and unless the prospect is a stand out (Edgecombe, Harper) then why potentially waste our time
- Poeltl is a stud but not in our timeline and the demand for him around the league is quite high. Alternately, he would be an amazing mentor for Maluach as he finds his feet
- He compliments our current players, although obviously we need to go BPA if we can
- Most draft have him in the 6-10 range
- If he really does have 3pt shooting that could be developed, that would significantly change his trajectory
- He is obviously playing on an absolutely loaded team and is not really given the chance to showcase what he is developing at such an early age
- Reminiscent also of the Barnes pick in that there may be more than meets the eye to him because he is such a fluid player, as suggested by a few scouts

Welcome to the North, Khaman Maluach

[UnbelievablyRAW]

Highkey if we can move Gradey/Ochai and the Por 2nd for a pick that can get Wolf, I'd be super happy. Would be perfect with Scottie or Mogbo next to him to cover him defensively.

If we end up 8-10 I'd be intrigued in taking Queen/Murray-Boyles/Fleming and having Wolf as the second pick

Shead/Walter/Murray-Boyles/Mogbo/Wolf is an interesting bench lineup. If Scottie or Ingram is in for Mogbo I think it might be hard to score on with enough to get by offensively.

[MEDIC]

Well the draft doesn't work like "just find one, no excuses" if there isn't a superstar skillset available what would you like for us to do? You know what else makes the Cavs a good team, having a 7ft C who can patrol the paint and switch out if need be and be a release valve for Donovan Mitchell

they said this was the best draft since 03

meaning its better than 09

so go get you a superstar

and if malauch is the definitive BPA then bring him on

lol who is saying it is the best draft since 03? There's not even a sure fire All-Star out there other than Flagg.

I highly doubt there will be anyone nearly as good as Curry or.Harden coming out of this draft.

My guess is this will be similar to the 2019 draft. Maybe slightly deeper......we'll see.

[Tripod]

so thats it?

a solid starting 5?

wheres the superstar?

steph curry was drafted 7th.

no excuses. get it done.

Well who stands out at draft position 7-9 that looks like a star? I'm not sure I see one.

a lot of ppl didnt think steph curry would be either

we need to find one at all costs

this time as constructed has a limited ceiling because we dont have even a donovan mitchell type player

And how exactly did the Cavs get Mitchell? Trade.

He was their Kawhi trade. Traded for their best player...rumors he wouldn't re-sign, but ultimately did(lucky them).

So now they have a chance to win it all.

[Los_29]

so thats it?

a solid starting 5?

wheres the superstar?

steph curry was drafted 7th.

no excuses. get it done.

Well he’s 18 and been playing ball for about 5 years.

Who knows what he’ll be at 23.

so long as theres superstar potential im all in

let's not lock into a sure fire role player. i'd rather take the gamble.

Has to be a smart gamble. Drafting a good player helps us compete and gives us the opportunity to trade for that superstar down the road. Drafting a bust sets us back.

[Thaddy]

Maluach could have a superstar level impact. He isn't fouling a ton and he's altering shots. He can stretch the floor too.

So he provides interior defense and removes opposing interior defense.

That's a strong BPM player.

[Jerry Lucas]

I almost feel like we are destined to take Maluach.

- He's a Masai type. Raw, has only been playing basketball for a number of years. Masai could see him as a similar story to Spicy P?
- We have an overload at the swing spots and unless the prospect is a stand out (Edgecombe, Harper) then why potentially waste our time
- Poeltl is a stud but not in our timeline and the demand for him around the league is quite high. Alternately, he would be an amazing mentor for Maluach as he finds his feet
- He compliments our current players, although obviously we need to go BPA if we can
- Most draft have him in the 6-10 range
- If he really does have 3pt shooting that could be developed, that would significantly change his trajectory
- He is obviously playing on an absolutely loaded team and is not really given the chance to showcase what he is developing at such an early age
- Reminiscent also of the Barnes pick in that there may be more than meets the eye to him because he is such a fluid player, as suggested by a few scouts

Welcome to the North, Khaman Maluach

This is going to be an unpopular opinion on here based on the amount of and1s your post got, but I have my doubts that Maluach is a Masai-type. Heading into this year's draft cycle, I wanted to believe that Maluach was the most Masai-type player in this draft, due to your 2 points that I bolded, plus the likelihood of a pre-existing connection via Maluach being a Basketball without Borders Africa alumni.

However as the season has gone on, the glaring red flags have been harder to ignore. I've said it multiple times throughout these draft threads, but his low AST% and low AST/TO ratio, in combination with his low USG rate, would be all time low markers among Masai-type FRPs post-Bruno mistake.

And I can see why Masai stays away from these types. I've posted this in reply to another poster before, but the below query consists of every player ever drafted to the NBA with a season in college where their USG rate, AST%, and AST/TO ratio were as bad or worse as Maluach's. These red flags in combination with each other do not paint a pretty picture:

https://barttorvik.com/playerstat.php?link=y&sIndex=53&minusage=18&minGP=1&minAst=5&minATO=0.7&minpick=60&year=all&minmin=0&start=-11101&end=all0501&usageSelect=-1&astSelect=-1&atoSelect=-1&pickSelect=-1

After looking at this query, tell me what your updated thoughts are on Khaman Maluach knowing he is on it. As much as Siakam and Scottie were also viewed as "project" picks at the time by some, their college production was insane compared to Maluach's. There are red flags that Masai stays away from, and Siakam and Barnes simply did not display them. Maluach is.

[WuTang_CMB]

I almost feel like we are destined to take Maluach.

- He's a Masai type. Raw, has only been playing basketball for a number of years. Masai could see him as a similar story to Spicy P?
- We have an overload at the swing spots and unless the prospect is a stand out (Edgecombe, Harper) then why potentially waste our time
- Poeltl is a stud but not in our timeline and the demand for him around the league is quite high. Alternately, he would be an amazing mentor for Maluach as he finds his feet
- He compliments our current players, although obviously we need to go BPA if we can
- Most draft have him in the 6-10 range
- If he really does have 3pt shooting that could be developed, that would significantly change his trajectory
- He is obviously playing on an absolutely loaded team and is not really given the chance to showcase what he is developing at such an early age
- Reminiscent also of the Barnes pick in that there may be more than meets the eye to him because he is such a fluid player, as suggested by a few scouts

Welcome to the North, Khaman Maluach

This is going to be an unpopular opinion on here based on the amount of and1s your post got, but I have my doubts that Maluach is a Masai-type. Heading into this year's draft cycle, I wanted to believe that Maluach was the most Masai-type player in this draft, due to your 2 points that I bolded, plus the likelihood of a pre-existing connection via Maluach being a Basketball without Borders Africa alumni.

However as the season has gone on, the glaring red flags have been harder to ignore. I've said it multiple times throughout these draft threads, but his low AST% and low AST/TO ratio, in combination with his low USG rate, would be all time low markers among Masai-type FRPs post-Bruno mistake.

And I can see why Masai stays away from these types. I've posted this in reply to another poster before, but the below query consists of every player ever drafted to the NBA with a season in college where their USG rate, AST%, and AST/TO ratio were as bad or worse as Maluach's. These red flags in combination with each other do not paint a pretty picture:

https://barttorvik.com/playerstat.php?link=y&sIndex=53&minusage=18&minGP=1&minAst=5&minATO=0.7&minpick=60&year=all&minmin=0&start=-11101&end=all0501&usageSelect=-1&astSelect=-1&atoSelect=-1&pickSelect=-1

After looking at this query, tell me what your updated thoughts are on Khaman Maluach knowing he is on it. As much as Siakam and Scottie were also viewed as "project" picks at the time by some, their college production was insane compared to Maluach's. There are red flags that Masai stays away from, and Siakam and Barnes simply did not display them. Maluach is.

What about his defensive metrics? Does he jump out from his peers?

[BoyzNTheHood]

I almost feel like we are destined to take Maluach.

- He's a Masai type. Raw, has only been playing basketball for a number of years. Masai could see him as a similar story to Spicy P?
- We have an overload at the swing spots and unless the prospect is a stand out (Edgecombe, Harper) then why potentially waste our time
- Poeltl is a stud but not in our timeline and the demand for him around the league is quite high. Alternately, he would be an amazing mentor for Maluach as he finds his feet
- He compliments our current players, although obviously we need to go BPA if we can
- Most draft have him in the 6-10 range
- If he really does have 3pt shooting that could be developed, that would significantly change his trajectory
- He is obviously playing on an absolutely loaded team and is not really given the chance to showcase what he is developing at such an early age
- Reminiscent also of the Barnes pick in that there may be more than meets the eye to him because he is such a fluid player, as suggested by a few scouts

Welcome to the North, Khaman Maluach

This is going to be an unpopular opinion on here based on the amount of and1s your post got, but I have my doubts that Maluach is a Masai-type. Heading into this year's draft cycle, I wanted to believe that Maluach was the most Masai-type player in this draft, due to your 2 points that I bolded, plus the likelihood of a pre-existing connection via Maluach being a Basketball without Borders Africa alumni.

However as the season has gone on, the glaring red flags have been harder to ignore. I've said it multiple times throughout these draft threads, but his low AST% and low AST/TO ratio, in combination with his low USG rate, would be all time low markers among Masai-type FRPs post-Bruno mistake.

And I can see why Masai stays away from these types. I've posted this in reply to another poster before, but the below query consists of every player ever drafted to the NBA with a season in college where their USG rate, AST%, and AST/TO ratio were as bad or worse as Maluach's. These red flags in combination with each other do not paint a pretty picture:

https://barttorvik.com/playerstat.php?link=y&sIndex=53&minusage=18&minGP=1&minAst=5&minATO=0.7&minpick=60&year=all&minmin=0&start=-11101&end=all0501&usageSelect=-1&astSelect=-1&atoSelect=-1&pickSelect=-1

After looking at this query, tell me what your updated thoughts are on Khaman Maluach knowing he is on it. As much as Siakam and Scottie were also viewed as "project" picks at the time by some, their college production was insane compared to Maluach's. There are red flags that Masai stays away from, and Siakam and Barnes simply did not display them. Maluach is.

Not necessarily on these boards, but a lot of people are lazy when it comes to the draft process. They associate Maluach with the Raptors because of Masai.

[WuTang_CMB]

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