2025 NBA Draft Thread: Detroit Pick Edition

[Loaf_of_bread]

I'm really curious to see the draft combine measurements for Thomas Sorber, Carter Bryant, Rasheer Fleming, and Yaxel Lendeborg. I think each of them are interesting in different ways, but I want to see their actual heights/weights/wingspans. The Wolves need to add a defensive oriented long term big who has the length/weight/strength to guard stronger forwards.

You described jaylen other than his length. It's not worth it at this point in time to pinpoint what the team needs with the unknown of Julius and naw. Would suck if Naz left, but within realm of possibilities.

[shangrila]

This draft looks pretty weak to me.
Might be a good year to trade down in the 1st and restock some future picks if we can.

Quality drops off rapidly in the 2nd round so I hope we don't get cute and trade down or try to make some cash with 31, I'll be really disappointed if we do that.
Good big man quality in that area and it would be great if we could add a backup 5 there who is big enough to play drop and understudy Gobert.
Maybe Ryan Kalkbrenner. Worst case you've got a poor man's Walker Kessler.

Best value where we will be drafting seems to be some of these guys who are already 22 or 23, like we got with TSJ last year.

So I'd maybe trade down maybe no more than 5 or 6 spots and take Yaxel Lendeborg and then Kalkbrenner in the 2nd round.
Lendeborg gives me Kyle Anderson vibes as switchable 4 who can facilitate on offense a bit, although he has better size.
Those skills would fit well on our bench unit.

Eh, the draft seems fairly normal strength-wise to me. Couple of strong guys at the top, solid question marks in the lottery and then it trails off in steps from there. Last season was an anomaly in how flat it was from about the end of the lottery to the early 40s.

On Kalkbrenner, if he's a poor man's Kessler then he's essentially a vet min guy you can pick up off the scrap heap. If that's who he is, and I'm not necessarily saying that's true, it would be a poor use of the best pick in the 2nd round.

I'm with you on targeting older guys though and particularly Lendeborg. The hit rate on the kind of raw, younger guys you find in the late 1st and into the 2nd feels far too low to risk it. And with Lendeborg, he ticks so many boxes but particularly as a rebounder that the fit is just too good to pass up.

[younggunsmn]

This draft looks pretty weak to me.
Might be a good year to trade down in the 1st and restock some future picks if we can.

Quality drops off rapidly in the 2nd round so I hope we don't get cute and trade down or try to make some cash with 31, I'll be really disappointed if we do that.
Good big man quality in that area and it would be great if we could add a backup 5 there who is big enough to play drop and understudy Gobert.
Maybe Ryan Kalkbrenner. Worst case you've got a poor man's Walker Kessler.

Best value where we will be drafting seems to be some of these guys who are already 22 or 23, like we got with TSJ last year.

So I'd maybe trade down maybe no more than 5 or 6 spots and take Yaxel Lendeborg and then Kalkbrenner in the 2nd round.
Lendeborg gives me Kyle Anderson vibes as switchable 4 who can facilitate on offense a bit, although he has better size.
Those skills would fit well on our bench unit.

Eh, the draft seems fairly normal strength-wise to me. Couple of strong guys at the top, solid question marks in the lottery and then it trails off in steps from there. Last season was an anomaly in how flat it was from about the end of the lottery to the early 40s.

On Kalkbrenner, if he's a poor man's Kessler then he's essentially a vet min guy you can pick up off the scrap heap. If that's who he is, and I'm not necessarily saying that's true, it would be a poor use of the best pick in the 2nd round.

I'm with you on targeting older guys though and particularly Lendeborg. The hit rate on the kind of raw, younger guys you find in the late 1st and into the 2nd feels far too low to risk it. And with Lendeborg, he ticks so many boxes but particularly as a rebounder that the fit is just too good to pass up.

I don't know I haven't done a really deep dive but I see a whole lot of guys projected in the 1st/early 2nd with too many flaws to step into the rotation of a good team, or who are just plain too raw. Maybe that's just an average draft.

I guess I like Kalkbrenner because his size and movement profile is similar to Kessler's, and he offers a bit more offensively.
I think that would be nice to have on a 4 year Hinkie special as Rudy insurance.
Lots of other bigs in our draft range but most of them undersized for that role.
Would it be great to have a mid-1st talent slip to 31? Sure.
Barring that I'm looking for guys who can fill a rotation role within the next couple of years.

But yeah there are a lot of things I really like about Lendeborg. NBA body, enough handle, smart passer and rebounder, plays with great functional length. And lots of minutes and development already at the D-1 level. Plus I have a bit of a soft spot for self made players from small schools.
And his name is just fun to say.

[shangrila]

This draft looks pretty weak to me.
Might be a good year to trade down in the 1st and restock some future picks if we can.

Quality drops off rapidly in the 2nd round so I hope we don't get cute and trade down or try to make some cash with 31, I'll be really disappointed if we do that.
Good big man quality in that area and it would be great if we could add a backup 5 there who is big enough to play drop and understudy Gobert.
Maybe Ryan Kalkbrenner. Worst case you've got a poor man's Walker Kessler.

Best value where we will be drafting seems to be some of these guys who are already 22 or 23, like we got with TSJ last year.

So I'd maybe trade down maybe no more than 5 or 6 spots and take Yaxel Lendeborg and then Kalkbrenner in the 2nd round.
Lendeborg gives me Kyle Anderson vibes as switchable 4 who can facilitate on offense a bit, although he has better size.
Those skills would fit well on our bench unit.

Eh, the draft seems fairly normal strength-wise to me. Couple of strong guys at the top, solid question marks in the lottery and then it trails off in steps from there. Last season was an anomaly in how flat it was from about the end of the lottery to the early 40s.

On Kalkbrenner, if he's a poor man's Kessler then he's essentially a vet min guy you can pick up off the scrap heap. If that's who he is, and I'm not necessarily saying that's true, it would be a poor use of the best pick in the 2nd round.

I'm with you on targeting older guys though and particularly Lendeborg. The hit rate on the kind of raw, younger guys you find in the late 1st and into the 2nd feels far too low to risk it. And with Lendeborg, he ticks so many boxes but particularly as a rebounder that the fit is just too good to pass up.

I don't know I haven't done a really deep dive but I see a whole lot of guys projected in the 1st/early 2nd with too many flaws to step into the rotation of a good team, or who are just plain too raw. Maybe that's just an average draft.

I guess I like Kalkbrenner because his size and movement profile is similar to Kessler's, and he offers a bit more offensively.
I think that would be nice to have on a 4 year Hinkie special as Rudy insurance.
Lots of other bigs in our draft range but most of them undersized for that role.
Would it be great to have a mid-1st talent slip to 31? Sure.
Barring that I'm looking for guys who can fill a rotation role within the next couple of years.

But yeah there are a lot of things I really like about Lendeborg. NBA body, enough handle, smart passer and rebounder, plays with great functional length. And lots of minutes and development already at the D-1 level. Plus I have a bit of a soft spot for self made players from small schools.
And his name is just fun to say.

That makes sense for Kalkbrenner. The other 2 names I'd throw out there for a similar role would be Maxime Raynaud and Alex Condon. Raynaud is on the other end of the spectrum to Kalkbrenner, being more offensively minded than defensive, but as a stretch 5 could bring something that team doesn't have much of and still provide length to put up resistance at the rim. Condon is just pure energy and could fit in with the up tempo style the team seems to want to go towards.

The thing that's stood out to me with Lendeborg is that he boxes out. Like any time the ball goes up his first instinct is to find someone to put his body on. That doesn't, and shouldn't, seem like much but too many guys that come in these days have gotten by without learning these kinds of fundamentals. And it makes a huge difference at the NBA level.

[minimus]

The thing that's stood out to me with Lendeborg is that he boxes out. Like any time the ball goes up his first instinct is to find someone to put his body on. That doesn't, and shouldn't, seem like much but too many guys that come in these days have gotten by without learning these kinds of fundamentals. And it makes a huge difference at the NBA level.

Yeah, sounds a lot like Kevon Looney, which is not a bad thing at all.

[life_saver]

I feel like the main goal in off-season needs to be find long term backcourt partner for Ant...I don't mind if they do it by trading this pick + Dilly or just going for another PG in the draft but that should be the biggest priority. I really think if the team can find a decent long-term backcourt partner for Ant, they will win a title in upcoming 5 years

[shangrila]

I feel like the main goal in off-season needs to be find long term backcourt partner for Ant...I don't mind if they do it by trading this pick + Dilly or just going for another PG in the draft but that should be the biggest priority. I really think if the team can find a decent long-term backcourt partner for Ant, they will win a title in upcoming 5 years

Is that not Dillingham?

[BlacJacMac]

I feel like the main goal in off-season needs to be find long term backcourt partner for Ant...I don't mind if they do it by trading this pick + Dilly or just going for another PG in the draft but that should be the biggest priority. I really think if the team can find a decent long-term backcourt partner for Ant, they will win a title in upcoming 5 years

Is that not Dillingham?

Jury is very much still out on that.

[shangrila]

I feel like the main goal in off-season needs to be find long term backcourt partner for Ant...I don't mind if they do it by trading this pick + Dilly or just going for another PG in the draft but that should be the biggest priority. I really think if the team can find a decent long-term backcourt partner for Ant, they will win a title in upcoming 5 years

Is that not Dillingham?

Jury is very much still out on that.

Sure, but if the idea is to trade Dillingham for another draft pick to take a PG...what are we achieving?

[Neeva]

This isn’t a good draft for guards. I only like Fears and maybe Clayton Jr.. Jase Richardson looks like Cole Anthony 2.0 and Harper is athletic but meh. Definitely better bigs this draft.

[life_saver]

Is that not Dillingham?

Jury is very much still out on that.

Sure, but if the idea is to trade Dillingham for another draft pick to take a PG...what are we achieving?

I meant trading Dillingham for another PG in the league...there are always some opportunities to trade for some good players on mediocre/bad teams.

[shangrila]

Jury is very much still out on that.

Sure, but if the idea is to trade Dillingham for another draft pick to take a PG...what are we achieving?

I meant trading Dillingham for another PG in the league...there are always some opportunities to trade for some good players on mediocre/bad teams.

Such as?

[Klomp]

There's a chance Dillingham's upside is only a Jamal Crawford/Lou Williams-style sixth man. If that sounds like a disappointing outcome, I'd encourage you to look back at Crawford's draft class.

[minimus]

Watching GSW vs HOU, I started wondering — does the second star on this team have to be a “tough” guy? Someone who enjoys physicality and knows how to punish matchups?

Gobert, Towns, DLo — none of them really fit that archetype. Randle gets closer when he’s locked in. Logically, you’d expect that kind of toughness from a big, but then you look at the GSW trio of Green–Butler–Curry, and it’s Butler who plays like a big: finishing at the rim, setting screens, rebounding, facilitating.

So I do think there’s room for an undersized, atypical big like CMB in this league. And I also feel fans often confuse pure athleticism with toughness — but those aren’t the same thing.

Take Deni Avdija, for example. A white guy who just bumps dudes with his shoulder, finishes through contact, competes like crazy. He’s not “explosive,” but he’s tough.

That’s why I’d absolutely consider someone like Danny Wolf too.

This also might be a case against trading for KD — unless TC somehow finds a way to bring in that kind of tough player and get KD. In that case, it would be a massive win.

[minimus]

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[Neeva]

Penda definitely looks like a Connelly pick, but so does Beringer. 31 seems too high for Penda though, his shooting looks rough. Beringer is bouncy with crazy length, I hope he drops to 31.

Players I definitely do not want, Traore (can’t shoot), Will Riley (no burst,annoying),Wolf(slow), Richardson (small and average athlete ) Murray Boyles( weak and undersized), Clifford (undersized)

[shangrila]

Penda definitely looks like a Connelly pick, but so does Beringer. 31 seems too high for Penda though, his shooting looks rough. Beringer is bouncy with crazy length, I hope he drops to 31.

Players I definitely do not want, Traore (can’t shoot), Will Riley (no burst,annoying),Wolf(slow), Richardson (small and average athlete ) Murray Boyles( weak and undersized), Clifford (undersized)

I'd argue the opposite.

The only true "raw" or "unskilled" athlete prospect Connelly has taken, at least with us, was Minott. Although even he had flashes of feel that you don't often see in guys like that. Miller was a guard before a growth spurt so you can see the skill even if he still looks like a baby deer on skates. Everyone else is either an older prospect (Moore Jr, Kessler, Clarke, TSJ, could even include Newton here) or clearly skilled (Dillingham).

Penda and Beringer don't fit that mold.

[shangrila]

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He's a weird prospect.

Great lateral athleticism but not great vertically. Not a good scorer in any category IIRC but great at the little role player things (moves the ball, hustles, cuts, etc). Excellent man defender but only an ok team defender.

Defensively I think he could end up like Kyle Anderson. Offensively I worry he'd be Kyle Anderson without the point forward skills.

[Klomp]

Penda definitely looks like a Connelly pick, but so does Beringer. 31 seems too high for Penda though, his shooting looks rough. Beringer is bouncy with crazy length, I hope he drops to 31.

Players I definitely do not want, Traore (can’t shoot), Will Riley (no burst,annoying),Wolf(slow), Richardson (small and average athlete ) Murray Boyles( weak and undersized), Clifford (undersized)

I'd argue the opposite.

The only true "raw" or "unskilled" athlete prospect Connelly has taken, at least with us, was Minott. Although even he had flashes of feel that you don't often see in guys like that. Miller was a guard before a growth spurt so you can see the skill even if he still looks like a baby deer on skates. Everyone else is either an older prospect (Moore Jr, Kessler, Clarke, TSJ, could even include Newton here) or clearly skilled (Dillingham).

Penda and Beringer don't fit that mold.

This is a pretty good analysis of Connelly's draft record here.

[Klomp]

Rasheer Fleming is super intriguing to me

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