2025 Draft Thread - Part 2

[Jay81]

The bolded is who I'm still considering at 6 and the others, ar 18.

Tier 4 - Solid starters
4. Ace Bailey 3/4
5. Tre Johnson 2

Tier 5 - Solid role players/potential starters
6. Danny Wolf 5/4
7. Noah Penda 3
8. Kasparas Jakucionis 1
9. Will Riley 3
10. Walter Clayton Jr 1
11. Jeremiah Fears 1
12. Thomas Sorber 5
13. Khaman Maluach 5
14. Carter Bryant 3
15. Kon Knueppel 2/3
16. Derik Queen 5
17. Jase Richardson 2
18. Yaxel Lendeborg 4
19. Maxime Raynaud 5
20. Asa Newell 4/5
21. Joan Beringer 5
22. Collin Murray-Boyles 5/4
23. Rasheer Fleming 4
24. Nique Clifford 2/3

Tier 6 - potential role players
25. Noa Essengue 4
26. Nolan Traore 1
27. Bogoljub Markovic 4
28. Hansen Yang 5
29. Liam McNeeley 3
30. Hugo Gonzalez 2/3
31. Alex Condon 5
32. Cedric Coward 2/3
33. Neoklis Avdalas 3
34. Adou Thiero 4/3

Wow kasparas made a huge leap based on your twitter scouting from the start of the season

[The Consiglieri]

I like that Dat2U has Danny Wolf and Walter Clayton Jr. in Tier 5.

The way I see it, why draft a guy like Queen at #6 when Wolf will be there at #18? Likewise, don't draft Fears at #6 when Clayton will be there at #18. At #6, I want a guy BETTER than the guy I can draft at #18.

Fears is four years younger than Walter Clayton Jr. That's basically why you do it. I'll concede that Walter Clayton Jr has been quite good since his age 19-20 season with Iona in '22-'23, also much better than 3, but Fears doing everything he did as a newly minted 18 year old (he turned 18 like a month before the college season kicked off) at a big school like Oklahoma is just far, far more impressive to me. Otoh, Clayton was a stud for 3 of his 4 years, but as a freshman at Iona he was nothing compared to Fears.

The Queen Wolf thing is interesting, I'd prefer neither of them. Also worth noting, does anyone have a clue where Queen will go now? How far do you tumble after a combine like that, but also an NCAA tournament like that? Not sure.

I just don't really like the ceiling for Fears as a diminutive guard without a great outside shot. I don't think he'll get much better than Clayton is right now. If you are 6-2, you need to be a lights out perimeter shooter to accomplish anything. It's not good enough to merely be an adequate shooter because it's too hard to be an effective finisher in the lane even if you can get there at will.

Fair. I think on the diminutive thing, well, he's still growing so he might get a bit closer to the norm. Being lazy, just cross checking the NBA average with AI, they say 6'2 to 6'3" is average, he's now 6'2.5" and Givony said with an inch grown in the past year, and as the youngest player in the class, there's a perception around the league that he's probably still growing. I don't know how much height he could add, but another half inch to an inch puts him close to 6'4" barefoot which is a touch above average.

Right now, my only concern that is LARGE, with him, is that 3 pt shot was crap. Not good, at all. Just hot garbage. I wanted to look at his last games to see if there was growth in that area, sometimes they get better with time, but the game logs say he was swinging back and forth between good and really bad nights (2-11 after being 4-7 in his conference championship opener) that last month of his regular season was god awful as well.

[tontoz]

Fears and Brunson are similar in height/weight with Fears being a smidgen taller, he is 8 pounds lighter than Jalen and Jalen is doing quite well. Fears is still growing and could very well reach Jalen’s weight. The poor 3-point shooting does concern me, but we did select Bilal one spot down and you’re giving him the chance to improve his shooting.

I guess it comes down to personal preference and projection of the players ceiling, I can see why we are considering Fears, and why you are against drafting him.

Brunson weighed 198.4 at the combine. Fears weighed 179.6. that is a difference of almost 19 pounds, not 8.

Jalen's worst season from 3 in college was 37.8%. brunsons worst year for turnovers was 2.1.

Brunson's current weight is listed at 190, Fears 180, that's a 10 LB difference, not 19. It's possible that Fears will grow to be 6'5 195 LBS, we don't know , all we know today is that the Wizards are possibly interested in drafting him.

Basketball reference doesn't weigh players. Neither does NBA.com.

Sarr weighed 221 at the combine but is listed at 205. Which number do you think is accurate?

[WizarDynasty]

Khaman Maluach should be in every ones top five at least.

[Dat2U]

Fears and Brunson are similar in height/weight with Fears being a smidgen taller, he is 8 pounds lighter than Jalen and Jalen is doing quite well. Fears is still growing and could very well reach Jalen’s weight. The poor 3-point shooting does concern me, but we did select Bilal one spot down and you’re giving him the chance to improve his shooting.

I guess it comes down to personal preference and projection of the players ceiling, I can see why we are considering Fears, and why you are against drafting him.

Fears is a good not great NBA prospect. Nothing about him is remarkable or special in terms of skill, production or athleticism.

He's straight line fast but not explosive or a leaper. He's a below the rim finisher. He's not a very good shooter off the dribble, especially from deep. He won't be much a defender. Devin Harris is my comparable. Potential NBA starter? Yes, but I dont necessarily see an upside thats worth waiting 3-4 years for.

We shall see, but you had Stephon Castle on your Do Not Draft List last year

The most impressive thing about Castle was his aggressiveness which was a 360 degree turn from his passivness at UConn. Still, he was very inefficient and statistically one of the worst jump shooters in the NBA. He also is tough to fit in lineups and really couldnt play with Sochan or Vassell.

He got the ROY because Wemby & Fox got hurt and the Spurs gave him the keys. With Fox healthy and Harper possibly coming in, Castle will not have the opportunity to ball dominate like last season.

It comes down to what I said before the 2024 draft, he eventually has to learn to shoot and its hard to bet on that right now.

[tontoz]

Khaman Maluach should be in every ones top five at least.

OMG look who has returned....

[TGW]

Khaman Maluach should be in every ones top five at least.

The GOAT returns

[AFM]

I think I summoned him with that HOF posters discussion the other day... dude probably has a google alert for his username

[closg00]

I like that Dat2U has Danny Wolf and Walter Clayton Jr. in Tier 5.

The way I see it, why draft a guy like Queen at #6 when Wolf will be there at #18? Likewise, don't draft Fears at #6 when Clayton will be there at #18. At #6, I want a guy BETTER than the guy I can draft at #18.

Fears is four years younger than Walter Clayton Jr. That's basically why you do it. I'll concede that Walter Clayton Jr has been quite good since his age 19-20 season with Iona in '22-'23, also much better than 3, but Fears doing everything he did as a newly minted 18 year old (he turned 18 like a month before the college season kicked off) at a big school like Oklahoma is just far, far more impressive to me. Otoh, Clayton was a stud for 3 of his 4 years, but as a freshman at Iona he was nothing compared to Fears.

The Queen Wolf thing is interesting, I'd prefer neither of them. Also worth noting, does anyone have a clue where Queen will go now? How far do you tumble after a combine like that, but also an NCAA tournament like that? Not sure.

One of the biggest mysteries of the night, I hope he doesn't suffer Green Room humiliation.

[closg00]

Brunson weighed 198.4 at the combine. Fears weighed 179.6. that is a difference of almost 19 pounds, not 8.

Jalen's worst season from 3 in college was 37.8%. brunsons worst year for turnovers was 2.1.

Brunson's current weight is listed at 190, Fears 180, that's a 10 LB difference, not 19. It's possible that Fears will grow to be 6'5 195 LBS, we don't know , all we know today is that the Wizards are possibly interested in drafting him.

Basketball reference doesn't weigh players. Neither does NBA.com.

Sarr weighed 221 at the combine but is listed at 205. Which number do you think is accurate?

I asked Google

[tontoz]

Brunson's current weight is listed at 190, Fears 180, that's a 10 LB difference, not 19. It's possible that Fears will grow to be 6'5 195 LBS, we don't know , all we know today is that the Wizards are possibly interested in drafting him.

Basketball reference doesn't weigh players. Neither does NBA.com.

Sarr weighed 221 at the combine but is listed at 205. Which number do you think is accurate?

I asked Google

Do you think Google weighs players? What does Google have to say about Sarr?

[doclinkin]

Khaman Maluach should be in every ones top five at least.

Wiz’nasty ! I agree. He gets very bow legged.

[dckingsfan]

Sooooo. I have flipped on 18 - I think we should go with Hansen Yang (if we don't take a big with 6). That would allow Sarr to move to PF.

I know, I know... but he is like a 4.5 for me now on the Dat scale.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Supposedly good free throw shooting is a sign you can develop an outside shot, and Fears shot 80+ percent from the line. For what it's worth.

I really liked the idea of Harper on the Wiz and maybe it's just my coping mechanism in seeing the good and the upside in Fears.

Yeah I caught on to Fears pretty early, and was saying he was a 1st round pick when he wasn't listed on any mocks at all yet. I watched most of Oklahoma's games this year just to see him. I quickly loved his game, he had handle, saw the floor well, made the reads, made the passes, had some slickness to his game, had some power for his size, was aggressive and assertive on D, attacked the rim offensively, got to the line, showed potential as a shooter and hit some big shots, and showed a lot of composure as a freshman running the offense. He's not especially explosive or fast, like Arenas or Wall, but he has a craftiness in attacking and penetrating the defense.

I have a hard time trying to come up with a comp for him. Watching him the player I would think of was Isaiah Thomas (the one from the Celtics), but that might just be because of the headband. Maybe Tony Parker is a good comp for how he plays?

That all being said, I'm not sure if I like him as a pick for the Wizards. His youth being still just 18 and his upside is intriguing, he definitely has talent. And I think he could fit in well here on and off the court. It could be a good situation for him coming to a young team focused on development, and having Marcus Smart here to learn from. There are other players I prefer for the Wizards, but I was a fan of him and enjoyed watching him this past season and if they take him at 6 I'm ok with it and will be excited to see how he does. That said, I don't expect him to be their pick.

[tontoz]

I see Fears as a poor man's Dame, assuming things go well.

[dobrojim]

Khaman Maluach should be in every ones top five at least.

My man.

[dobrojim]

Sooooo. I have flipped on 18 - I think we should go with Hansen Yang (if we don't take a big with 6). That would allow Sarr to move to PF.

I know, I know... but he is like a 4.5 for me now on the Dat scale.

Different players of course but I'm looking at CLE
and OKC, both of whom have enjoyed NBA success
by playing a tall skinny college (oops, Sarr didn't play college) C @ the 4.

Just sayin

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I'm convinced the Wizards won't draft Derik Queen. He doesn't fit their archetype.

Positional size. Length. Versatility. Smarts. Love of pthe game. Feel. If those are what the wiz brain trust look for then DQ checks a few of those boxes. If they think they can speed up his feet with weight work and conditioning, add range to his jumper, then he can play PF for them. If so there’s upside they can uncover. In that case he has positional size account versatility as a 4/5.

I think the character issue speaks highly for him too. Baltimore kid with chemistry and connection to Bub. I think Bub vouching for him carries some weight as another background check.

The thing he lacks is youth. But they took Keyshawn who was a bit older for his draft class.

Testing knocked him back a peg. I think it’s possible DQ slides to the top of the 2nd round. Or late 1st. If so I bet the Wiz would drop a handful of 2RPs to move up and take him.

They drafted Vukcevic despite slow feet and poor defense.

I just don’t think he’s their focus at 6 or 18. I think they will try to move up with either or both those picks. But if they can land an extra 1st I would not be shocked if they took DQ late.

As for his character, one thing stands out abundantly. In a word: Joyfulness. Queen has an extremely positive personality.

I think he's a kid, too. He's not even close to having grown man strength IMO.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I like that Dat2U has Danny Wolf and Walter Clayton Jr. in Tier 5.

The way I see it, why draft a guy like Queen at #6 when Wolf will be there at #18? Likewise, don't draft Fears at #6 when Clayton will be there at #18. At #6, I want a guy BETTER than the guy I can draft at #18.

Queen will probably be there at 18.

Wolf IMO almost certainly will not be there past around 10-12. Wolf's going before DQ.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

I could see Karter Knox being a possibility at 40.

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