2025 NBA Draft Discussion Part 7

[Morse Code]

Who had the biggest hands at the combine? Is there a comprehensive spreadsheet on the anthropologic measurements that I missed?

Hansen Yang I believe

[Clutch0z24]

I too was questioning his athleticism before I took a closer look. But he's got elite measurements. He has the same standing reach as Jacob and he's way more athletic. He's more nimble than Scottie. He's very light on his feet and he can run fast. Sometimes he doesn't jump very high to dunk, but he gets the ball to the rim really quick and he really doesn't have to jump that high. He seems to be able to get up higher when he needs to.

I think his combo of centre-like measurables along with elite (for that size) athleticism makes him a bit of a unicorn.

Yeah but its a wait and see for me because i watched alot of film today and hes doing it against players sometimes 4 inches shorter than him....Not many big bodies in the BBL....He has a mismatch almost every night because he is almost the tallest player on the court on a nightly basis....Which means he is not finishing over players that actually protecting the rim which makes me look at some of the highlight dunks hes doing with a grain of salt....

In the NBA he will always play against players his size or taller and stronger....Not saying it won't work in the NBA because he does have some good athletic ability.....Im just saying i will remain skeptical till i watch him against better competition....He looks like Giannis in this league because hes bigger than everyone....Even the opposing Cs look either his size or around 6'7" and can't jump with him because no offense alot of them are white and white ppl arn't always the best leapers...I wouldn't bring this up if he had a jumshot and an offensive bag but his offensive game relies so much on him finishing at the rim that i have to nit pick the way he looks in this league...But if Masai picks him gotta trust Masai...

Just hope he translates because he is really raw offensivly so that for me is why i will remain hesitant to want to grab him at 9....Esp if there is a better player at 9...

Watch on YouTube

Just keep an eye on the players on the court around him....They are all way shorter than him....You have your occasional players who is maybe his height but to play against a full defensive lineup that your taller than every single one of them is some sort of a big advantage for him...

He did get surprised by guys in the NBA and got blocked a few times. But he has the tools to make the adjustment. You could make the same argument about just about any NCAA player. BBL is higher competition and he's already producing at his age. It's not like he'd get to the NBA and be at a disadvantage because of his tools...he's got elite measurables even by NBA standards. He should just get stronger and more athletic as he matures...he might even keep growing.

Yeah its hard for me though with such a high pick to bank on something without actually seeing it and since his game is all about athletic ability i am a little skeptical....I also did research on that and no NCAA tends to have more athletic and taller players

"Yes, NCAA Division 1 men's basketball athletes tend to be taller than players in the BBL (Basketball League). While there's no definitive height requirement for NCAA, the average height of a D1 player is just under 6'5", with 6'7" being a common height. Conversely, the BBL, while also having taller players, generally sees athletes with a slightly smaller average height."

NCAA has bigger bodies and athletes compared to the BBL league....But yeah....Just something i observed...It would be like me growing fast to 6"3 in elementary school playing ball against 5"8-5"10 kids and dominating and then going to High school where there are lots of kids bigger and taller than me and now i can't dominate in the way i used too....

Again not saying i don't see the vision with him if you develop him but he won't be close the player you see on film here in the NBA...And how good of a player is that? if he has a bad 3 point shot, not a great handle, and not a shot creator....Might not be that great if hes not dunking and bouncing all over the court like he is in highlights against smaller guys.

[WuTang_CMB]

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[BoyzNTheHood]

Who had the biggest hands at the combine? Is there a comprehensive spreadsheet on the anthropologic measurements that I missed?

Hansen Yang I believe

He was second.

[WuTang_CMB]

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I hate that mock for us, picking another project. And if we're going with a project pick, I'd rather Fleming, I think, even though he's a little older.

Dont mind either player but i would probably go with the younger / higher ceiling

[Naysorn]

Honestly, at some point, I don't even really care who we pick. I just hope they're good, and better than the level of guys we've mostly been selecting for the past little while. I'd like to really hit on a pick this time. We did pretty well with OG (health and trade notwithstanding) and Siakam (trade notwithstanding), and I think we're in need of that level of success in order to facilitate significant team development here.

2024 picks can still turn out like that and so can gradey

og/siakam didnt reach their peak here until many years later

patience is needed regardless of who we pick

this #9 pick will be playing off the bench next year.

[BoyzNTheHood]

So not us…?

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[tsherkin]

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I hate that mock for us, picking another project. And if we're going with a project pick, I'd rather Fleming, I think, even though he's a little older.

Dont mind either player but i would probably go with the younger / higher ceiling

I don't love guys that size with near-zero wingspan added, though that's hardly the full story on Noa. I confess, I know very little about him, so my opinion is more that Rasheer looks like he's got the size/wingspan/athleticism we want, but he's also a nasty C+S guy who can immediately add offensive value through spacing, you know? Maybe kinda like Mogbo with a 3?

[BoyzNTheHood]

I wish he wasn’t 150 pounds soaking wet

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[tsherkin]

2024 picks can still turn out like that and so can gradey

og/siakam didnt reach their peak here until many years later

patience is needed regardless of who we pick

this #9 pick will be playing off the bench next year.

Sure. We've picked well, value over slot expectations has been strong for us. That wasn't my point. My point was a fanciful desire for a really strong above-expectations success story, lol. It wasn't a complaint over our drafting history.

[Syd-TK3]

I think the best outcome for Flemming is to be a small ball 5 like Naz Reid.
He's only .5 shorter than him but they have the same standing reach because Fleming has a bigger wingspan, probably won't be as good as shooter but he's already a much better defender

[PushDaRock]

Essengue looked like the best player on the court against a real NBA team at just 17 years old.

He’s the guy at #9.

Crazy to think that its possible that Spurs could get Harper + Essengue if his draft stock stays where its at right now...Hes projected around the Spurs pick....Spurs can get Harper + one of the boards favs Noa/Rasheer/Carter With a 2nd pick all while having the best young player in the league in Wemby...All you can do is be envious.

It's a lesson in patience and rebuilding properly, the year they got Wemby we were basically in their slot (5th worst team) before the trade for Poeltl

Had we made the decision to rebuild then instead of like a year later we could have similar young assets to the Spurs

See how quickly you can acquire top end talent when you commit to the real tank for a couple yrs?

probably would have even more assets as FVV/Siakam/OG were all worth more back then too

lol what? nothing they're building matters without Wemby

[PushDaRock]

Honestly, at some point, I don't even really care who we pick. I just hope they're good, and better than the level of guys we've mostly been selecting for the past little while. I'd like to really hit on a pick this time. We did pretty well with OG (health and trade notwithstanding) and Siakam (trade notwithstanding), and I think we're in need of that level of success in order to facilitate significant team development here.

2024 picks can still turn out like that and so can gradey

og/siakam didnt reach their peak here until many years later

patience is needed regardless of who we pick

this #9 pick will be playing off the bench next year.

#9 pick might not even be in the rotation

[Rapsfan07]

I wonder if Fleming can be like Naz Reid

This is exactly what I think his ceiling/role is in the NBA.

[Indeed]

I also questioned Maluach alot in the past on these boards and i still believe his bust potential is pretty high but to me atm the way im thinking about it is beggers can't be choosers type....I was hard on Maluach cause i was thinking we either stay at 7 or move up to top 4...Maybe 8th....But i never even imagined being at 9th....I liked too many prospects ahead of Maluach at 7 and the top 4 area to even consider Maluach in that area of the draft....

But at 9th when you start talking about Carter Bryant, Fleming, Noa (The boards favs) or potentially guys that want to reach for players that are in the late lotto range...I think if Maluach were to fall to 9th you just have to take him....Not saying i don't like the boards favs its just for me i think they all don't have the maximum potential if they hit their peaks....For the boards favs if they hit their absolute peaks i think they are all just decent role players (Possible to hit OG peak but i even doubt that because OG is prolly the best wing defender in the league none of these guys look like best defenders in the league to me)

And why do we even want another OG? I get we are deseperate for a + Wing defender but when we had OG in our system he didn't really lead us to anything because he is just a complimentary player to the Star (s) you already have if you really want to be a winning team with that kind of player...

Not saying Maluach is or can reach his peak but i feel if Maluach reaches his absolute peak thats a Franchise C vs another good role player....If any team in the league can develop Maluach to be the best player he can be it would be the Raptors imo...If he ends up on the Wizards or something i think he has a lower ceiling but with the Raptors i think there is a chance....

Sadly, I do not see Maluach have franchise C potential, where Embiid and other franchise C are able to create his own shot and make decisions with the ball around that age.

What I think we might do is to trade him to Atlanta, where he would be a good fit with their core and not need to re-sign Capela, and we get back a back two picks from them. However, if that deal is not on the table, we might draft someone we like even he is lower.

You can't have a franchise player in every position, ask yourself instead if KM could be championship C and to me the answer is yes, he can come out to the perimeter, won't have to bench in the crunch due to FT and he will protect the paint. If he can stick 1 in 3 3P on low volume that would seal the deal.

Your role player is based on your franchise player. Would our championship team better off with Maluach instead Gasol? I dont think so, particularly, he has a few postup against Embiid.

Your claim is flawed, he can be in a championship team only if the star player on that team fits with him. Championship teams require a passing big than he is not a good fit there. Which Eastern team in that category? Celtics, Knicks, etc. are using a passing C

[tsherkin]

#9 pick might not even be in the rotation

Depends on what we see from him, I guess, and what position he is. A forward? Probably not; we have a crap-load of forwards, and have invested in several of them. We also have a fair number of guards. But if we grab a center? We've got Yak and maybe Mogbo, I guess? Undersizing Scottie at the 5 at times, maybe? I dunno, but we tried Castleton and such, so maybe we can fit someone in there a little more, especially with size. Who knows?

if they show up and just start killing in practice, summer league and the preseason, maybe they'll play themselves into the rotation. Or maybe an injury will open a door.

[Rapsfan07]

I think the best outcome for Flemming is to be a small ball 5 like Naz Reid.
He's only .5 shorter than him but they have the same standing reach because Fleming has a bigger wingspan, probably won't be as good as shooter but he's already a much better defender

I'm not sure he needs to play C in long spurts.

We already have Poeltl there as the starter and if we can pick up a C in the second round, he can play C off the bench.

What we really need Fleming to do is play PF off the bench. Given our cap situation, I don't think we have the space to bring back Boucher which leaves a huge hole at 4 off the bench.

Barnes should be eating the bulk of the minutes there and we play Fleming there when he's out.

Quickley/Shead
Barrett/Walter
Ingram/Agbaji
Barnes/Fleming
Poeltl/Condon

This should be good enough to get us into the playoffs while providing more than enough developmental minutes for our young prospects.

If we could also pick up Coward in place of Dick in case we don't keep Agbaji long term, that would be great.

[WuTang_CMB]

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[ill-Will03]

I wonder if Fleming can be like Naz Reid

This is exactly what I think his ceiling/role is in the NBA.

I think ending up with naz Reid at 9 is a great pick

[WuTang_CMB]

I hate that mock for us, picking another project. And if we're going with a project pick, I'd rather Fleming, I think, even though he's a little older.

Dont mind either player but i would probably go with the younger / higher ceiling

I don't love guys that size with near-zero wingspan added, though that's hardly the full story on Noa. I confess, I know very little about him, so my opinion is more that Rasheer looks like he's got the size/wingspan/athleticism we want, but he's also a nasty C+S guy who can immediately add offensive value through spacing, you know? Maybe kinda like Mogbo with a 3?

He still has great length and size and he’s super light on his feet. He’s in the convo at 9 for sure along with fleming. They will def measure the ceilings on all 3 including bryant. Ive been reading fleming has more creation from his high school days its too bad he didnt show much of that in college.