2025 Draft Prospect Thread

[HornetJail]

In terms of impact, yes... I mean the Twins are clearly much more athletic.
But I never understood why mkg couldn't at least be tony allen lite.
Every week he existed in the NBA his confidence got worse.. Except for that random seven game blip in 2016.
I mean you start with summer league and then you look at his first month in the league and it just went downhill from there. And I still go back to a game that I saw in person when we played the Pelicans somewhere around December of his rookie year. And he was having a fantastic game. Confidence was high. He and Anthony Davis were going at each other. he was looking for his offense. And then he got scratched in the eye and missed agame. And when he came back it was like he was very timid. He never looked the same to me after that.
https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201212290CHA.html
He was the best player on the floor this game.

But even after this he was still an impactful player. But after that double shoulder injury he just mentally fell apart I think.
The failure of MKG as a player is one of the things that bothers me the most when I think back on the past 15 years. I mean we were five years into his career and he still couldn't dribble with his left hand. How was that not a point of emphasis for his development? I think you could have stuck him on a dozen other nba teams as a rookie and his career path would have been very different.

it's crazy that MKG scored his career high (25) twice in the first two months of that rookie season, and then never got there again.

Confidence and injuries held him back, but Steve Clifford forcing him into a corner for 5 years did him no favors.

[Bassman]

Read on Twitter

um.... nope. maybe in a trade down.

CMB has a twitter cult following because he has a high BPM.

I cannot fathom how anyone would consider Boyles at 4. He’s not in any of my lottery selections.

[Bassman]

Gary Parrish at CBS Sports puts out his mock, which has the Sixers selecting….Tre Johnson. Has VJ to the Hornets, Bailey falling to 5.

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/2025-nba-mock-draft-ace-bailey-falls-to-jazz-at-no-5-cooper-flagg-is-top-pick-after-mavericks-win-lottery/

[Braggins]

I will die on the hill that we failed MKG and he should have been what the Thompson twins are now.

I wouldn't go quite that far, but I do think this team failed MKG and I never forgave anyone involved with letting him return super early from that first shoulder surgery.

People also can easily forget he had a five year stretch where he was top 5 in the league in perimeter defense impact.

[KingCat]

Right now I see better floor -VJ. Median - Tre. Ceiling- VJ.

In my mind, high level lotto picks are most likely reach their median than they are likely to flame out the league or reach thier allstar Ceiling.

This is why I'm struggling to pick between VJ and Tre. Probably the hardest time I've ever had picking a consensus between prospects.
Definitely do not envy the FO for having to make this decision and will not point fingers if the guy we pick ends up a middling player, while the other guy turns into a stud.

[driveandkick]

When is the last player we spent a lottery pick on that their strength coming out was just f***ing getting AFTER IT defensively? I mean no “he COULD project as a good defender” someone that put it on film that they weren’t going to take a possession off.

Salaun - wasn’t good at anything
Miller - this definitely wasn’t his strength
Mark - this is obviously the argument. He was sold as a good rim protector
PJ - nope
LaMelo - definitely not
Bouknight - lmao

Even Mark is iffy because he’s more of like back to the basket rim protector. When is the last time we’ve brought in a real point of attack defender that we’d feel good about sticking on Trae, Haliburton, Garland, etc? Is there a lesson to be learned in having the softest team in the league and not seeming to value defensive minded players?

[JDR720]

Probably MKG.

I don't think the last sentence is accurate though. Most of the players this new regime has brought in have been defenders. Granted, most of them also happen to be G-League level players, but still.

Our top players especially on this team, are softies though.

[JDR720]

I think a good comp for VJ is Oladipo. Tre is sort of like Anfernee Simons/McCollum. And Ace is MPJ pre-back injury.

[driveandkick]

Probably MKG.

I don't think the last sentence is accurate though. Most of the players this new regime has brought in have been defenders. Granted, most of them also happen to be G-League level players, but still.

Tbf I did preface by saying when is the last time we spent a lottery pick on a real defensive savant. I guess I’m at the point I believe in the roster enough (LaMelo and Miller especially) I’d at least like to see what it looks like with a real point of attack defender in there which is why I really hope we can get VJ.

[JDR720]

I don't think we should really consider fit. Although fit wise, VJ is the best. He can defend and slash.

The other guys like Ace and Tre are really bad fits because they're also skinny/weak players.

But I don't really care about that because Miller and especially Melo need to stay healthy for me to really care about fitting players around them specifically.

[driveandkick]

I don't think we should really consider fit. Although fit wise, VJ is the best. He can defend and slash.

The other guys like Ace and Tre are really bad fits because they're also skinny/weak players.

But I don't really care about that because Miller and especially Melo need to stay healthy for me to really care about fitting players around them specifically.

I care about it because skinny and weak players have gotten us nowhere so I don’t see the point in drafting another one of them. That’s why I prefer Kon to Bailey and maybe even Tre if we can’t get VJ. I agree we don’t need to worry about fit. But we do need to worry about the type of archetype of players we are getting

[KingCat]

I mean skinny lanky wings is kinda the way the league is shifting now, so it's not a surprise they are being drafted in abundance.

If there ks a "dawg" defender in college, it's likely to make up for having major flaws in the other side of the court, and it is easier to teach a talented scorer how to defend than it is to teach a good defender how to shoot at an NBA level. That's why high caliber wing defenders usually aren't taken on the high end of the lottery

[vexco]

I think a good comp for VJ is Oladipo. Tre is sort of like Anfernee Simons/McCollum. And Ace is MPJ pre-back injury.

If Ace is MPJ pre-back injury he's a no brainer at 4. A fully healthy MPJ would be an insane player.

[Liver_Pooty]

I think a good comp for VJ is Oladipo. Tre is sort of like Anfernee Simons/McCollum. And Ace is MPJ pre-back injury.

If Ace is MPJ pre-back injury he's a no brainer at 4. A fully healthy MPJ would be an insane player.

lol came here to post this. He would go 2 easily.

[vexco]

I think a good comp for VJ is Oladipo. Tre is sort of like Anfernee Simons/McCollum. And Ace is MPJ pre-back injury.

If Ace is MPJ pre-back injury he's a no brainer at 4. A fully healthy MPJ would be an insane player.

lol came here to post this. He would go 2 easily.

I could be convinced he'd go #1. I think his back injury shot his confidence in his body but gotdamn his shot is so smooth.

[Diop]

In terms of impact, yes... I mean the Twins are clearly much more athletic.
But I never understood why mkg couldn't at least be tony allen lite.
Every week he existed in the NBA his confidence got worse.. Except for that random seven game blip in 2016.
I mean you start with summer league and then you look at his first month in the league and it just went downhill from there. And I still go back to a game that I saw in person when we played the Pelicans somewhere around December of his rookie year. And he was having a fantastic game. Confidence was high. He and Anthony Davis were going at each other. he was looking for his offense. And then he got scratched in the eye and missed agame. And when he came back it was like he was very timid. He never looked the same to me after that.
https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201212290CHA.html
He was the best player on the floor this game.

But even after this he was still an impactful player. But after that double shoulder injury he just mentally fell apart I think.
The failure of MKG as a player is one of the things that bothers me the most when I think back on the past 15 years. I mean we were five years into his career and he still couldn't dribble with his left hand. How was that not a point of emphasis for his development? I think you could have stuck him on a dozen other nba teams as a rookie and his career path would have been very different.

it's crazy that MKG scored his career high (25) twice in the first two months of that rookie season, and then never got there again.

Confidence and injuries held him back, but Steve Clifford forcing him into a corner for 5 years did him no favors.

I heard Richard Jefferson on a podcast where he was half drunk, he said that all NBA players generally have giant ego's because they have too. You have to have this self belief and confidence that you can beat anyone in the world if you want to succeed. It does make some sense.

Where I'd say we failed MKG is that they recognised this early and didn't handle it well at all. Clifford was very much a "that's ok, you're not a star, i will find the role for you" guy. He said the exact same thing about Lance Stephenson.

or maybe MKG was never going to be that dude.

[JMAC3]

When is the last player we spent a lottery pick on that their strength coming out was just f***ing getting AFTER IT defensively? I mean no “he COULD project as a good defender” someone that put it on film that they weren’t going to take a possession off.

Salaun - wasn’t good at anything
Miller - this definitely wasn’t his strength
Mark - this is obviously the argument. He was sold as a good rim protector
PJ - nope
LaMelo - definitely not
Bouknight - lmao

Even Mark is iffy because he’s more of like back to the basket rim protector. When is the last time we’ve brought in a real point of attack defender that we’d feel good about sticking on Trae, Haliburton, Garland, etc? Is there a lesson to be learned in having the softest team in the league and not seeming to value defensive minded players?

Because most of the time we are picking top 10, where the best players in college are scorers. There is usually maybe 1 defender in the top 10 and these guys have just as high miss rate as any other prospect. For every Dyson or Thompsons twins there are 2-3 Sochan, Davion, Culver, Okoro, Patrick Williams, Josh Jackson, Frank Ntilikina, Dennis Smith, Kris Dunn, WCS, Winslow, Elfrid Payton, Dante Exum etc that go top 10 and don't work for the team that drafted them.

[Bassman]

The fatal mistake with picking MKG, other than being honest about how bad his shot was, boiled down to not factoring in his low self confidence and other issues that clearly impacted him as a player. Some things were out of Michael’s control, but this relates to my next point:

VJ Edgecomb is already a defender, crazy athletic, and can shoot. He’s young and not a finished product, like all these kids. So, Hornets have to decide via interviews, testing and workouts….HOW BADLY DOES HE WANT IT? How hard will he work to achieve it? How badly does he want to be a champion? I really liked the press interview Edgecombe had at the combine. He acknowledged his defensive rep, but made the point he will be a two way player. Tre’s was good too, straight up, knows he needs work in areas.

Must make this determination for anyone brought in. No cutesy fawning over them, no need. Be professional, straightforward and sincere. How do they respond? Gauge the level of their honesty…use a body language expert or shrink if necessary. Then fold all that into the cake you bake, and the decisions you make.

[Liver_Pooty]

The fatal mistake with picking MKG, other than being honest about how bad his shot was, boiled down to not factoring in his low self confidence and other issues that clearly impacted him as a player. Some things were out of Michael’s control, but this relates to my next point:

VJ Edgecomb is already a defender, crazy athletic, and can shoot. He’s young and not a finished product, like all these kids. So, Hornets have to decide via interviews, testing and workouts….HOW BADLY DOES HE WANT IT? How hard will he work to achieve it? How badly does he want to be a champion? I really liked the press interview Edgecombe had at the combine. He acknowledged his defensive rep, but made the point he will be a two way player. Tre’s was good too, straight up, knows he needs work in areas.

Must make this determination for anyone brought in. No cutesy fawning over them, no need. Be professional, straightforward and sincere. How do they respond? Gauge the level of their honesty…use a body language expert or shrink if necessary. Then fold all that into the cake you bake, and the decisions you make.

Dude was the 2nd best player on a loaded national title team and still questioned whether he belonged in the NBA even when he was a sure fire top 5 pick. Massive red flag that we ignored.

[Diop]

The fatal mistake with picking MKG, other than being honest about how bad his shot was, boiled down to not factoring in his low self confidence and other issues that clearly impacted him as a player. Some things were out of Michael’s control, but this relates to my next point:

VJ Edgecomb is already a defender, crazy athletic, and can shoot. He’s young and not a finished product, like all these kids. So, Hornets have to decide via interviews, testing and workouts….HOW BADLY DOES HE WANT IT? How hard will he work to achieve it? How badly does he want to be a champion? I really liked the press interview Edgecombe had at the combine. He acknowledged his defensive rep, but made the point he will be a two way player. Tre’s was good too, straight up, knows he needs work in areas.

Must make this determination for anyone brought in. No cutesy fawning over them, no need. Be professional, straightforward and sincere. How do they respond? Gauge the level of their honesty…use a body language expert or shrink if necessary. Then fold all that into the cake you bake, and the decisions you make.

Dude was the 2nd best player on a loaded national title team and still questioned whether he belonged in the NBA even when he was a sure fire top 5 pick. Massive red flag that we ignored.

or we hoped we can fix. its so easy to bash draft picks in hindsight. Almost all prospects have red flags and are gambles. only the truly elite are cant miss.