2025 Draft Thread

Ron Swanson · Post #261 » by **Ron Swanson** » Tue May 13, 2025 1:27 pm

Outside the Top-3 this draft is pretty trash and I think a lot of the scouts agree. Think there's plenty of 2nd round guys who could contribute to a playoff team right away though:

Watch on YouTube

jakecronus8 · Post #262 » by **jakecronus8** » Tue May 13, 2025 1:38 pm

ReasonablySober wrote:
emunney wrote:I've overall been surprised by how much I don't love this draft class. Very light on star power. I certainly think he's got a shot.

This is the first draft in years that I've paid some attention to and I was also surprised how quickly it fell off. Like, I wouldn't want to be the team that gambles on Ace Bailey. And the new Ringer mock has Knueppel at #5, which is wild. I think he's a solid player, but not someone I'd normally take in the lottery. Jakucionis disappeared in every game I watched. Wolf never struck me as an NBA guy. Coward actually seems like a better bet than any of those dudes.

I got lightly roasted for having Knueppel 4th on my board but again, he's got the high floor thing going in a light light year. High odds he's a 10 year two way plus starter.

RE: Bailey

As someone else pointed out I'm skeptical on both him and to a lesser degree Harper. How do you pair those two together and have a losing record? Big time scarlet flag (see what I did there?)

The consensus #1 center is someone I can see struggling to average double digit points in the league.

machu46 · Post #263 » by **machu46** » Tue May 13, 2025 1:59 pm

jakecronus8 wrote:
ReasonablySober wrote:
emunney wrote:I've overall been surprised by how much I don't love this draft class. Very light on star power. I certainly think he's got a shot.

This is the first draft in years that I've paid some attention to and I was also surprised how quickly it fell off. Like, I wouldn't want to be the team that gambles on Ace Bailey. And the new Ringer mock has Knueppel at #5, which is wild. I think he's a solid player, but not someone I'd normally take in the lottery. Jakucionis disappeared in every game I watched. Wolf never struck me as an NBA guy. Coward actually seems like a better bet than any of those dudes.

I got lightly roasted for having Knueppel 4th on my board but again, he's got the high floor thing going in a light light year. High odds he's a 10 year two way plus starter.

RE: Bailey

As someone else pointed out I'm skeptical on both him and to a lesser degree Harper. How do you pair those two together and have a losing record? Big time scarlet flag (see what I did there?)

The consensus #1 center is someone I can see struggling to average double digit points in the league.

I feel like he's going to be one of those classic prospects where a team watches him hit 3's in an empty gym and takes him top 5 as a result.

BUCKnation · Post #264 » by **BUCKnation** » Tue May 13, 2025 2:31 pm

jakecronus8 wrote:
ReasonablySober wrote:
emunney wrote:I've overall been surprised by how much I don't love this draft class. Very light on star power. I certainly think he's got a shot.

This is the first draft in years that I've paid some attention to and I was also surprised how quickly it fell off. Like, I wouldn't want to be the team that gambles on Ace Bailey. And the new Ringer mock has Knueppel at #5, which is wild. I think he's a solid player, but not someone I'd normally take in the lottery. Jakucionis disappeared in every game I watched. Wolf never struck me as an NBA guy. Coward actually seems like a better bet than any of those dudes.

I got lightly roasted for having Knueppel 4th on my board but again, he's got the high floor thing going in a light light year. High odds he's a 10 year two way plus starter.

RE: Bailey

As someone else pointed out I'm skeptical on both him and to a lesser degree Harper. How do you pair those two together and have a losing record? Big time scarlet flag (see what I did there?)

The consensus #1 center is someone I can see struggling to average double digit points in the league.

Only real defense is that their coach isnt great, the rest of the roster was really bad and they played in a tough conference. I only saw them play Wisconsin to be fair and that was an extremely poor game to take anything from.

jakecronus8 · Post #265 » by **jakecronus8** » Tue May 13, 2025 5:12 pm

"Rutgers' Ace Bailey's official measurements from the NBA Draft Combine: 6'7 1/2 barefoot, 202.8 lbs with a 7'0 ½" wingspan and 8'11" standing reach," Jonathan Givony of ESPN reported on Monday.

Signficantly shorter than the listed 6'10.

Doesn't change much in my eyes as I always saw him as a wing but I know some teams project him as a stretch 4.

German Athens · Post #266 » by **German Athens** » Tue May 13, 2025 5:13 pm

Who’d you put money on becoming the all-star in the 10-20 range that happens just about every draft?

Licensed to Il · Post #267 » by **Licensed to Il** » Tue May 13, 2025 5:52 pm

German Athens wrote:Who’d you put money on becoming the all-star in the 10-20 range that happens just about every draft?

I don’t think he will be a multiple all star, but I see Kneuppel as a Dunleavy Jr type scoring wing, a startable wing with some scoring punch. Effort on D, probably not a stopper by any means.

jakecronus8 · Post #268 » by **jakecronus8** » Tue May 13, 2025 5:54 pm

Licensed to Il wrote:
German Athens wrote:Who’d you put money on becoming the all-star in the 10-20 range that happens just about every draft?

I don’t think he will be a multiple all star, but I see Kneuppel as a Dunleavy Jr type scoring wing, a startable wing with some scoring punch. Effort on D, probably not a stopper by any means.

Demin or Traore

emunney · Post #269 » by **emunney** » Tue May 13, 2025 7:33 pm

German Athens wrote:Who’d you put money on becoming the all-star in the 10-20 range that happens just about every draft?

Without having any idea who goes 10-20 in this draft, I'll go with CMB. Is he Danny Fortson reborn or some sort of defense-first Melo? Time will tell, but he can play.

Bernman · Post #270 » by **Bernman** » Tue May 13, 2025 7:42 pm

I've seen a wide range w/ Fears. But the (ironically) fearlessness he showed for a re-classified hs senior was ultra-impressive. He's tremendously fast. Is on his way to being strong. He has an excellent handle. The touch is there. He's a high ceiling, mid floor type.

Haven't seen many of these guys play multiple games & that's especially true of the internationals. But watching some videos of Essengue & looking at his stats, he looks like a guy who could be a big player when he fills out. Has a combo of length, some skill, seems competitive.

Ron Swanson · Post #271 » by **Ron Swanson** » Tue May 13, 2025 7:42 pm

emunney wrote:
German Athens wrote:Who’d you put money on becoming the all-star in the 10-20 range that happens just about every draft?

Without having any idea who goes 10-20 in this draft, I'll go with CMB. Is he Danny Fortson reborn or some sort of defense-first Melo? Time will tell, but he can play.

If he's Giga-Chad Paul Millsap then do whatever you can to grab a mid-teens pick IMO.

Frank Nova · Post #272 » by **Frank Nova** » Tue May 13, 2025 8:45 pm

German Athens wrote:Who’d you put money on becoming the all-star in the 10-20 range that happens just about every draft?

If Queen falls to this range like some predict, he’s easily my choice without question. If he goes in the top 5 where he belongs imo, give me Danny Wolf.

The Wet Whistle · Post #273 » by **The Wet Whistle** » Tue May 13, 2025 9:01 pm

German Athens wrote:Who’d you put money on becoming the all-star in the 10-20 range that happens just about every draft?

I'm not a gambling man, but if I was: Cedric Coward

Profound23 · Post #274 » by **Profound23** » Tue May 13, 2025 10:01 pm

jakecronus8 wrote:
ReasonablySober wrote:
emunney wrote:I've overall been surprised by how much I don't love this draft class. Very light on star power. I certainly think he's got a shot.

This is the first draft in years that I've paid some attention to and I was also surprised how quickly it fell off. Like, I wouldn't want to be the team that gambles on Ace Bailey. And the new Ringer mock has Knueppel at #5, which is wild. I think he's a solid player, but not someone I'd normally take in the lottery. Jakucionis disappeared in every game I watched. Wolf never struck me as an NBA guy. Coward actually seems like a better bet than any of those dudes.

I got lightly roasted for having Knueppel 4th on my board but again, he's got the high floor thing going in a light light year. High odds he's a 10 year two way plus starter.

RE: Bailey

As someone else pointed out I'm skeptical on both him and to a lesser degree Harper. How do you pair those two together and have a losing record? Big time scarlet flag (see what I did there?)

The consensus #1 center is someone I can see struggling to average double digit points in the league.

Didn't pay attention to Bailey enough but every time I watched them he was mediocre. Maybe I just caught him on some bad games.

Harper on the other hand I disagree. He looks like Cade Cunningham on offense but a better defensive player. Might take a few years like SGA and Cade but he will be a good prospect imo. Then again, maybe I just caught him on good games.

Ron Swanson · Post #275 » by **Ron Swanson** » Tue May 13, 2025 10:19 pm

I think you could watch 5-minutes of any of these dudes other than Flagg and come away with the impression that they're all "mediocre". But that's the tough thing about the draft these days. Other than the "oh **** this guy's special" blue-chippers like Zion, AD, etc., you have to squint pretty hard because none of these lottery kids are anywhere near what they're gonna look like just 2-3 years from now.

Like, I still don't really see why people are universally putting Harper over Bailey. We all value point skills, but what's the path to superstardom for a guy who can't shoot very well and isn't a nuclear level athlete? I think both Rutgers dudes have some significant bust potential, but Harper is the guy I won't be surprised if/when he just ends up a Devin Harris clone. With Bailey I'm at least confident I'm getting a walking bucket and potential two-way dude with his outlier physical tools and skill combo.

tedbrogen · Post #276 » by **tedbrogen** » Tue May 13, 2025 10:31 pm

Ron Swanson wrote:
emunney wrote:
German Athens wrote:Who’d you put money on becoming the all-star in the 10-20 range that happens just about every draft?

Without having any idea who goes 10-20 in this draft, I'll go with CMB. Is he Danny Fortson reborn or some sort of defense-first Melo? Time will tell, but he can play.

If he's Giga-Chad Paul Millsap then do whatever you can to grab a mid-teens pick IMO.

Rockets would like trade #10 in a Giannis package…

Frank Nova · Post #277 » by **Frank Nova** » Tue May 13, 2025 11:44 pm

Any chance Ryan Nembhard turns out close to big brother? If so, I’d really like that at 47. He’s significantly smaller tho, if he can’t become a good enough defender to at least not get picked on he’ll never make it.

Matches Malone · Post #278 » by **Matches Malone** » Wed May 14, 2025 6:19 pm

Combine scrimmages started. Hansen Yang, Darrious Williams and John Tonje are playing Hunter Sallis' team right now.

jakecronus8 · Post #279 » by **jakecronus8** » Wed May 14, 2025 6:53 pm

Ron Swanson wrote:I think you could watch 5-minutes of any of these dudes other than Flagg and come away with the impression that they're all "mediocre". But that's the tough thing about the draft these days. Other than the "oh **** this guy's special" blue-chippers like Zion, AD, etc., you have to squint pretty hard because none of these lottery kids are anywhere near what they're gonna look like just 2-3 years from now.

Like, I still don't really see why people are universally putting Harper over Bailey. We all value point skills, but what's the path to superstardom for a guy who can't shoot very well and isn't a nuclear level athlete? I think both Rutgers dudes have some significant bust potential, but Harper is the guy I won't be surprised if/when he just ends up a Devin Harris clone. With Bailey I'm at least confident I'm getting a walking bucket and potential two-way dude with his outlier physical tools and skill combo.

I’m surprised more people aren’t in on Edgecombe. If you’re talking true star potential I think he’s the #2 guy in the draft. If you squint you can see D-Wade.

Frank Nova · Post #280 » by **Frank Nova** » Wed May 14, 2025 7:20 pm

Started really paying attention to Tre Johnson, he has the potential to be this drafts 2nd best player. Get him with a speed coach working on explosives and he could take off, there is star in the making potential there. Kid is dynamic with insane body control and strength for a guard. A good NBA program could really unleash the beast. I love his potential.