2025 NBA Draft Discussion Part 6

[LoveMyRaps]

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https://youtu.be/k5FpSGeYczY?si=3M8dKzKTs66yayxw

Doesn't seem like he stayed till the end of the game. Maybe he had other commitments or maybe he wasn't too impressed.

[LoveMyRaps]

List of players Masai is confirmed to have scouted:

- Dylan Harper
- Ace Bailey
- Nolan Traore
- Hugo Gonzalez
- Rasheer Fleming


who else? feel like I'm missing a name or two.

He scouted Derik Queen 3 times according to a X post he was seen at 3 Maryland games this year.

Yeah, I knew I was forgetting someone.

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[Thaddy]

Ujiri is going to pick Queen if he's available at our pick. I don't think we'll rise in the lottery and I see guys like Fears, Johnson, Kasp, Knueppel and Maluach picking up stock through work outs.

Queen would be better than any back up C we had on a ten day. Ingram is better than Dick. The bench would be the most talented we had in years.

This should equal a strong team next year that's capable to making the playoffs. The only concern would be Darko and if he can pull together good game plans. His game management skills looked bad, maybe even the worst in the league.

[LoveMyRaps]

Another good game for Traore.

[Mark_83]

Ok good
Bryant in

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Woot!
Move Agbaji for a pick and draft his cheaper, younger, replacement!

[WuTang_CMB]

List of players Masai is confirmed to have scouted:

- Dylan Harper
- Ace Bailey
- Nolan Traore
- Hugo Gonzalez
- Rasheer Fleming


who else? feel like I'm missing a name or two.

He scouted Derik Queen 3 times according to a X post he was seen at 3 Maryland games this year.

Yeah, I knew I was forgetting someone.

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

[deeps6x]

Can anyone explain to me why Markovic is mocked by most experts in the 2nd round? I mean, I'd love to get him with the Blazers' pick, but on talent alone he looks like one of the 30 best players in this draft to me. He's a 6'11 19-year-old with guard skills but can also play in the post and isn't allergic to rebounding. He's putting up good numbers in the Adriatic League on excellent efficiency. I can see Masai being all over this guy. I also wonder if Darko might be familiar with him given their Serbian background.

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Markovic still remains one of my favourites with our 2nd Rounder

Same.

[MainEvent]

Can anyone explain to me why Markovic is mocked by most experts in the 2nd round? I mean, I'd love to get him with the Blazers' pick, but on talent alone he looks like one of the 30 best players in this draft to me. He's a 6'11 19-year-old with guard skills but can also play in the post and isn't allergic to rebounding. He's putting up good numbers in the Adriatic League on excellent efficiency. I can see Masai being all over this guy. I also wonder if Darko might be familiar with him given their Serbian background.

Watch on YouTube

Markovic still remains one of my favourites with our 2nd Rounder

Same.

depending on what we do with our 1st pick you'd have to think getting a big who can shoot would be at the top of our list with the Blazers pick

[Jcity08]

Can anyone explain to me why Markovic is mocked by most experts in the 2nd round? I mean, I'd love to get him with the Blazers' pick, but on talent alone he looks like one of the 30 best players in this draft to me. He's a 6'11 19-year-old with guard skills but can also play in the post and isn't allergic to rebounding. He's putting up good numbers in the Adriatic League on excellent efficiency. I can see Masai being all over this guy. I also wonder if Darko might be familiar with him given their Serbian background.

Watch on YouTube

Wasnt on my radar but now he is, feels like a steal of a 2nd rounder if we land him. Moves real well, the FT% probably could improve but he looks like a decent long rabge marksman and he has a nice soft touch around the rim & pretty crafty footwork for his size, would like to see more self creation but what from what I can see here, looks like he will have no problem getting a bucket with the ball in his hands.

[grant101]

Markovic still remains one of my favourites with our 2nd Rounder

Same.

depending on what we do with our 1st pick you'd have to think getting a big who can shoot would be at the top of our list with the Blazers pick

Markovic is criminally underrated. I’m convinced it’s in part because of how oddly he moves. There’s an aesthetic bias at play with him. The kid can flat out play

Broome, Markovic and Yang top my choices for our 2nd rounder

[mtcan]

Ben Simmons summer videos knocking down 3's with ease is the perfect example.

Regarding Maluach....if we take him he might not be allowed to get back into the US. He won't go for that especially if his sister is living there. And what are we going to do...draft him and only get 41 home games out of him on his contract and "hope" the visa threats go away?

I just don't see the Raps taking that risk. But fwiw, I would like a big dude inside to combat other teams that can throw size at us.

That's where my hesitation with Queen comes in. Yeah he could bully some college guys since he is older and has extra weight on, but in the NBA, is he the one getting bullied, especially if he loses some weight getting in better shape.

Queens lack of size and shooting is going to be a problem. The Rockets won't win a championship with Sengun for a similar reason. I also don't think they're the same quality of prospects and give Sengun a big edge.

Maluach might drop from a projected 4-6th to us because of visa issues. If the potential is there in work outs I would jump on it. Develop him similar to how we are with Chomche. At that point he could get a Canadian PR or citizenship. It's a lot easier to immigrate in Canada than the US and it would bolster our national team.

We have a serious big man talent gap and the only meaningful way it can be addressed is a good trade or draft pick. Maluach could be the C of the future once Poeltl ages out (a lot of time left there)

Great point on getting a Canadian citizenship...had not thought of that. That would be ideal....and yes, adding him to the National team is a nice bonus.

If we did grab him, agreed on the Chomche route. I would want him getting 905 mins next year but spot minutes as the #3C. I would still look to add a #2C stopgap.

And for sure we want to re-sign Yak so Maluach could be the backup years 2,3,4 and then take over. Learning from Yak would be great for his development.

Funny...in 4 years they "could" have a pair of 23 year old C's with 4/5 years under their belt and still have a decade of their primes to come. Wouldn't that be nice to have for a change.

I think Khaman would be able to play 10-15 min a night from the start. Wouldn't be too different than his 20 mpg average with Duke. He'd be going up against opposing teams' second units...so I think he could handle spot minutes with the big club.

As it was said before...he can't be worse than Castleton.

He was used strictly as a shot blocker and lob catcher at Duke and that really undersells what he can do. Look back at the Olympics and BAL/Basketball Africa Academy. He moves very well for a guy his height and that fluidity I have only spoken of for guys like Chet and Wemby...so yes I think he can certainly improve and hopefully be able to grab a rebound and bring it up the floor in certain instances. The shot mechanics already look good...certainly better than Jak and that says a lot.

Yes it looks good in a gym but it has been used in game...he has used it in Africa and in the Olympics.

[WuTang_CMB]

Tyler Rucker shares same concerns with KM

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[Mark_83]

Same.

depending on what we do with our 1st pick you'd have to think getting a big who can shoot would be at the top of our list with the Blazers pick

Markovic is criminally underrated. I’m convinced it’s in part because of how oddly he moves. There’s an aesthetic bias at play with him. The kid can flat out play

Broome, Markovic and Yang top my choices for our 2nd rounder

Yang is going to be a steal for someone in the second round assuming he's allowed to come over and play in NA.

[Clutch0z24]

For Maluach Visa issues....If he legit can't leave the States or get back in if we draft him.....His agents, He himself will prolly push for us to not draft him....Playing limited games in the NBA due to Visa issues would not benefit him or anyone around him....Imagine we make the playoffs and he can't travel with the team...Seems like a bad situation....But we will see how it plays out...

[Tripod]

Queens lack of size and shooting is going to be a problem. The Rockets won't win a championship with Sengun for a similar reason. I also don't think they're the same quality of prospects and give Sengun a big edge.

Maluach might drop from a projected 4-6th to us because of visa issues. If the potential is there in work outs I would jump on it. Develop him similar to how we are with Chomche. At that point he could get a Canadian PR or citizenship. It's a lot easier to immigrate in Canada than the US and it would bolster our national team.

We have a serious big man talent gap and the only meaningful way it can be addressed is a good trade or draft pick. Maluach could be the C of the future once Poeltl ages out (a lot of time left there)

Great point on getting a Canadian citizenship...had not thought of that. That would be ideal....and yes, adding him to the National team is a nice bonus.

If we did grab him, agreed on the Chomche route. I would want him getting 905 mins next year but spot minutes as the #3C. I would still look to add a #2C stopgap.

And for sure we want to re-sign Yak so Maluach could be the backup years 2,3,4 and then take over. Learning from Yak would be great for his development.

Funny...in 4 years they "could" have a pair of 23 year old C's with 4/5 years under their belt and still have a decade of their primes to come. Wouldn't that be nice to have for a change.

I think Khaman would be able to play 10-15 min a night from the start. Wouldn't be too different than his 20 mpg average with Duke. He'd be going up against opposing teams' second units...so I think he could handle spot minutes with the big club.

As it was said before...he can't be worse than Castleton.

He was used strictly as a shot blocker and lob catcher at Duke and that really undersells what he can do. Look back at the Olympics and BAL/Basketball Africa Academy. He moves very well for a guy his height and that fluidity I have only spoken of for guys like Chet and Wemby...so yes I think he can certainly improve and hopefully be able to grab a rebound and bring it up the floor in certain instances. The shot mechanics already look good...certainly better than Jak and that says a lot.

Yes it looks good in a gym but it has been used in game...he has used it in Africa and in the Olympics.

It's not about being better than Castleton. It's about having a reliable back up when Jak misses games....and he will....so our team doesn't crater in his absence.

Having that 1 year stopgap gives Maluach a chance to learn the Raps system and get another year of playing under his belt before expecting him to step into a backup role the following year.

[Psubs]

Can anyone explain to me why Markovic is mocked by most experts in the 2nd round? I mean, I'd love to get him with the Blazers' pick, but on talent alone he looks like one of the 30 best players in this draft to me. He's a 6'11 19-year-old with guard skills but can also play in the post and isn't allergic to rebounding. He's putting up good numbers in the Adriatic League on excellent efficiency. I can see Masai being all over this guy. I also wonder if Darko might be familiar with him given their Serbian background.

Watch on YouTube

Wasnt on my radar but now he is, feels like a steal of a 2nd rounder if we land him. Moves real well, the FT% probably could improve but he looks like a decent long rabge marksman and he has a nice soft touch around the rim & pretty crafty footwork for his size, would like to see more self creation but what from what I can see here, looks like he will have no problem getting a bucket with the ball in his hands.

Maybe because of Dragan Bender. I guess he could be a taller Nikola Jovic. If he's in the 20's I wouldn't be shocked. I like him better than Essengue.

[mtcan]

Great point on getting a Canadian citizenship...had not thought of that. That would be ideal....and yes, adding him to the National team is a nice bonus.

If we did grab him, agreed on the Chomche route. I would want him getting 905 mins next year but spot minutes as the #3C. I would still look to add a #2C stopgap.

And for sure we want to re-sign Yak so Maluach could be the backup years 2,3,4 and then take over. Learning from Yak would be great for his development.

Funny...in 4 years they "could" have a pair of 23 year old C's with 4/5 years under their belt and still have a decade of their primes to come. Wouldn't that be nice to have for a change.

I think Khaman would be able to play 10-15 min a night from the start. Wouldn't be too different than his 20 mpg average with Duke. He'd be going up against opposing teams' second units...so I think he could handle spot minutes with the big club.

As it was said before...he can't be worse than Castleton.

He was used strictly as a shot blocker and lob catcher at Duke and that really undersells what he can do. Look back at the Olympics and BAL/Basketball Africa Academy. He moves very well for a guy his height and that fluidity I have only spoken of for guys like Chet and Wemby...so yes I think he can certainly improve and hopefully be able to grab a rebound and bring it up the floor in certain instances. The shot mechanics already look good...certainly better than Jak and that says a lot.

Yes it looks good in a gym but it has been used in game...he has used it in Africa and in the Olympics.

It's not about being better than Castleton. It's about having a reliable back up when Jak misses games....and he will....so our team doesn't crater in his absence.

Having that 1 year stopgap gives Maluach a chance to learn the Raps system and get another year of playing under his belt before expecting him to step into a backup role the following year.

I just think he can handle spot minutes and that would also be good for his development.

[Jtoneller1]

An interesting ceiling comp for Maluach that I haven't heard is Raptors Serge Ibaka. A good but not great shot blocker with solid switchability. Not a lot of advanced post moves but nice touch on simple hook shots. Can drill set threes and pick n pops on low volume and make his free throws. Little self creation and questionable decision making at times.

Sent from my Pixel 6 using RealGM mobile app

[mtcan]

An interesting ceiling comp for Maluach that I haven't heard is Raptors Serge Ibaka. A good but not great shot blocker with solid switchability. Not a lot of advanced post moves but nice touch on simple hook shots. Can drill set threes and pick n pops on low volume and make his free throws. Little self creation and questionable decision making at times.

Sent from my Pixel 6 using RealGM mobile app

Ya...that's possible...except longer than Serge ever was. Like I said...the agility and fluidity he moves with is really promising.

[Psubs]

Ok good
Bryant in

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Woot!
Move Agbaji for a pick and draft his cheaper, younger, replacement!

Do you really think Agbaji could get a pick high enough to get Carter Bryant? What team would rather have an established 3 and D SG/SF?

Orlando at #16 and they would decline Gary Harris' team option.

San Antonio #14 and Blake Wesley (salary filler) for Ochai Agbaji (do we need to add #39)?