2025 NBA Draft Discussion Part 7

[JCP11]

I really don't get this lol


[b]



https://www.noceilingsnba.com/p/carter-bryant-is-a-winning-player

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Projection is what Essengue is getting. The reason why people are bigging up Bryant is that the production is clearly there even in limited minutes and I don't think it's a question of that diminishing too much with greater volume and more minutes.

You're telling me this team wouldn't benefit from a defensive monster and a shooting threat?

How do people not watch the playoffs and not clearly see the value in what he brings?

Thanks for the stats, i wasn't aware but it still doesn't change my stance. I didn't say he sucked or was liability, i just don't know what to make of him. You obviously like him a lot and i have no issues with that but you can't tell me that you don't understand my concerns. I'm not the only one having concerns with drafting him at 9 right now. Everybody in the draft world doesn't know where to put him.

I totally understand the skepticism, the divergence of opinion is why this is a great community to discuss ball. The defense with him really goes a long way. If you do a deeper dive you'll see that it's the driving force for him as a prospect. To me, he's already proven he can make the difference off a bench (which is likely where pretty much any prospect we draft @ 9 will likely end up) but I think he's someone you can potentially eventually play/start next to a Ingram and a Barnes and eventually be given the toughest assignments on that end, freeing up Barnes to return to his previous spot as the weakside help backline guy in which he previously thrived.

This is where i agree, his defense has the potential to be great and it can help freeing Scottie more. My biggest issue is that the sample size is so small and i was hoping for a bit more offensively, at least some flashes of on ball play but they were almost non existant. The lack of paint touches also was concerning, maybe they required him to get the ball moving, who knows. In my mind drafting that type of player at 9 was a bit rich but maybe i'm wrong. One thing is for sure if they draft him at least i would understand why but the large projection scares me a bit. One thing is for sure the kid has a good head on his shoulders and is not allergic to hard work so at least that can give me some optimism for his projection.

[BoyzNTheHood]

How do you recruit this kid and leave him in the corner while Caleb Love takes all the shots?

https://youtube.com/shorts/IsxTrtO4690?si=jwNi_Z69o2JsJ7Rz

[XTC]

I really don't get this lol


[b]



https://www.noceilingsnba.com/p/carter-bryant-is-a-winning-player

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Projection is what Essengue is getting. The reason why people are bigging up Bryant is that the production is clearly there even in limited minutes and I don't think it's a question of that diminishing too much with greater volume and more minutes.

You're telling me this team wouldn't benefit from a defensive monster and a shooting threat?

How do people not watch the playoffs and not clearly see the value in what he brings?

My main grip with Carter is, the more usage he got, the less efficient he became.



I do agree he's got a good blend of size, athleticism, and defense... but how is he going to fare at the NBA level when defenders run him off the 3 point line? He hasn't really shown he can make buckets other than threes, or cuts. He's also really dependant on on others, I'd wager he was assisted on close to 80% of his buckets.

To me personally he seems like a safe pick. He can come in and do exactly what he's doing right now (threes, and cutting), but he also seems like a low upside pick, because I'm not sure how the other parts of his game will grow. There's also sample size, he started off the year really bad from three, and then when on a slight heater. His free throw percentage suggest he might be a streaky shooter. Is he closer to 30 percent or 40 percent from three? There's tons of questions marks surrounding his game, so I can see why people are having trouble buying the hype. His defense combined with his athleticism is legit however IMO.

Projecting a cap on a 19-year-old frosh doesn't seem to make much sense, especially when he has shown he can finish just fine in transition. It wouldn't take much of a leap for him to be adequete at attacking the rim in a half-court setting considering his athletic tools. And he's shown he can evade closeouts and knockdown open mid-range jumpers just fine, just at low volume.

And why do we need him to be an offensive hub when we already have Barnes, Ingram, RJ, IQ as guys who will probably eat up a large portion of usage this season. Not even considering Yak/Shead/Walter who will eat up the rest.

You're drafting him for his defense, which is something we badly need.

I agree his defense is his best attribute, and with his size and athleticism he has shown he can score in transition. I also agree it's dumb to put a cap on any player, especially players in the draft. However it's up to our front office to see just how much potential a player really has to grow, we don't get to see these guys behind closed doors.

With that being said I do not agree with Carter Bryant's mid range game being a strength. This is his shot chart from the following season.



Him not being able to score other than 3 pointers, and in transition was a huge concern (and we saw this, when he played Duke). It's obviously an area he can grow in, but that can be said about any player in the draft. We're looking at strength and weaknesses, and how these skills will grow. The sample size offensively with Carter is so small, but even with his small sample size, his weaknesses are really sticking out like a sore thumb (ball handling, in between game, shot creation).

[Brinbe]

Thanks for the stats, i wasn't aware but it still doesn't change my stance. I didn't say he sucked or was liability, i just don't know what to make of him. You obviously like him a lot and i have no issues with that but you can't tell me that you don't understand my concerns. I'm not the only one having concerns with drafting him at 9 right now. Everybody in the draft world doesn't know where to put him.

I totally understand the skepticism, the divergence of opinion is why this is a great community to discuss ball. The defense with him really goes a long way. If you do a deeper dive you'll see that it's the driving force for him as a prospect. To me, he's already proven he can make the difference off a bench (which is likely where pretty much any prospect we draft @ 9 will likely end up) but I think he's someone you can potentially eventually play/start next to a Ingram and a Barnes and eventually be given the toughest assignments on that end, freeing up Barnes to return to his previous spot as the weakside help backline guy in which he previously thrived.

This is where i agree, his defense has the potential to be great and it can help freeing Scottie more. My biggest issue is that the sample size is so small and i was hoping for a bit more offensively, at least some flashes of on ball play but they were almost non existant. The lack of paint touches also was concerning, maybe they required him to get the ball moving, who knows. In my mind drafting that type of player at 9 was a bit rich but maybe i'm wrong. One thing is for sure if they draft him at least i would understand why but the large projection scares me a bit. One thing is for sure the kid has a good head on his shoulders and is not allergic to hard work so at least that can give me some optimism for his projection.

No doubt, I get that people will want someone with more of a track record of proven scoring and it's fair to wonder what his cap will be in that area at the next level. But if the underlying numbers in those limited minutes sucked it wouldn't help but I think from watching those Arizona games back in Jan-March it's clear how much he helped them on a eye test level and he how earned that increasing minutes load.

And consider that if he did stay an extra year and did show all that to a greater degree he wouldn't be there at 9

[Brinbe]

My main grip with Carter is, the more usage he got, the less efficient he became.



I do agree he's got a good blend of size, athleticism, and defense... but how is he going to fare at the NBA level when defenders run him off the 3 point line? He hasn't really shown he can make buckets other than threes, or cuts. He's also really dependant on on others, I'd wager he was assisted on close to 80% of his buckets.

To me personally he seems like a safe pick. He can come in and do exactly what he's doing right now (threes, and cutting), but he also seems like a low upside pick, because I'm not sure how the other parts of his game will grow. There's also sample size, he started off the year really bad from three, and then when on a slight heater. His free throw percentage suggest he might be a streaky shooter. Is he closer to 30 percent or 40 percent from three? There's tons of questions marks surrounding his game, so I can see why people are having trouble buying the hype. His defense combined with his athleticism is legit however IMO.

Projecting a cap on a 19-year-old frosh doesn't seem to make much sense, especially when he has shown he can finish just fine in transition. It wouldn't take much of a leap for him to be adequete at attacking the rim in a half-court setting considering his athletic tools. And he's shown he can evade closeouts and knockdown open mid-range jumpers just fine, just at low volume.

And why do we need him to be an offensive hub when we already have Barnes, Ingram, RJ, IQ as guys who will probably eat up a large portion of usage this season. Not even considering Yak/Shead/Walter who will eat up the rest.

You're drafting him for his defense, which is something we badly need.

I agree his defense is his best attribute, and with his size and athleticism he has shown he can score in transition. I also agree it's dumb to put a cap on any player, especially players in the draft. However it's up to our front office to see just how much potential a player really has to grow, we don't get to see these guys behind closed doors.

With that being said I do not agree with Carter Bryant's mid range game being a strength. This is his shot chart from the following season.



Him not being able to score other than 3 pointers, and in transition was a huge concern (and we saw this, when he played Duke). It's obviously an area he can grow in, but that can be said about any player in the draft. We're looking at strength and weaknesses, and how these skills will grow. The sample size offensively with Carter is so small, but even with his small sample size, his weaknesses are really sticking out like a sore thumb (ball handling, in between game, shot creation).

Obviously those are areas you hope he can work on, but he's already an impactful player despite those limitations and I doubt his skills will stay stagnate and he's gonna be at this level for the next 15 years of his career. I also don't think he's bad enough at any of that where he's gonna kill the flow of an offense or anything. What contributes more to winning in the league right now if not shooting and defense? Especially when we already have a bunch of guys on this team who already like having the ball in their hands and seek to create.

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[nowayguy]

No concerns if the Raps believe Carter is the right pick at 9. They're going to check his game in private workouts and push to see what's there. At the same time:

A) looking at recent drafts, most of the guys that have become all-stars in the Raptors range had legit ballhandling coming into the league
B) the 3+D guy has rarely ended up as the best player in the 9-15 draft range in recent drafts

Everyone has seen the same clips of Bryant. I'm really not moved by anything but the flashes on defense and three point shooting, along with very good but not special athleticism which offers a nice cutting and lob threat on offense. The high level outcomes for him are going to be some form of a 3+D player unless he has outlier development.

[XTC]

Projecting a cap on a 19-year-old frosh doesn't seem to make much sense, especially when he has shown he can finish just fine in transition. It wouldn't take much of a leap for him to be adequete at attacking the rim in a half-court setting considering his athletic tools. And he's shown he can evade closeouts and knockdown open mid-range jumpers just fine, just at low volume.

And why do we need him to be an offensive hub when we already have Barnes, Ingram, RJ, IQ as guys who will probably eat up a large portion of usage this season. Not even considering Yak/Shead/Walter who will eat up the rest.

You're drafting him for his defense, which is something we badly need.

I agree his defense is his best attribute, and with his size and athleticism he has shown he can score in transition. I also agree it's dumb to put a cap on any player, especially players in the draft. However it's up to our front office to see just how much potential a player really has to grow, we don't get to see these guys behind closed doors.

With that being said I do not agree with Carter Bryant's mid range game being a strength. This is his shot chart from the following season.



Him not being able to score other than 3 pointers, and in transition was a huge concern (and we saw this, when he played Duke). It's obviously an area he can grow in, but that can be said about any player in the draft. We're looking at strength and weaknesses, and how these skills will grow. The sample size offensively with Carter is so small, but even with his small sample size, his weaknesses are really sticking out like a sore thumb (ball handling, in between game, shot creation).

Obviously those are areas you hope he can work on, but he's already an impactful player despite those limitations and I doubt his skills will stay stagnate and he's gonna be at this level for the next 15 years of his career. I also don't think he's bad enough at any of that where he's gonna kill the flow of an offense or anything. What contributes more to winning in the league right now if not shooting and defense? Especially when we already have a bunch of guys on this team who already like having the ball in their hands and seek to create.

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I get you bro, I'm personally a fan of his. His size athleticism, and hands are top tier. I'm just debating a little bit, and bringing some context. I think discussing the weakness of a player is just as important as strengths.

I personally see a young Gerald Wallace (before he was forced to be a scorer) in Carter Bryant. He can definitely be a game changer defensively, and he has among the highest potential in the draft on that end.

I'm personally in the camp where I want a 3+D forward at #9 and I got Bryant, Fleming, and Coward at the top of my list. I want no part of Maluach.

[Grew]

Carter Bryant has good advanced stats, got parked in the corner, probably going to be a 3+D wing with good size, all those things are all well and good. His floor is probably bigger Ochai.

The thing that really gets me with him, is that if he develops a confident handle/footwork... He's basically an all star. Dudes that age, size, athletic, with that type of smooth jumper and overall body control basically don't exist. If he started on Arizona and averaged 12 a game with the same playstyle he's likely gone before 9. The only reason he might be there is because he was mismanaged.

If he puts in half the work Demar did then he would be the steal of the draft at 9. Obviously maybe he never becomes comfortable handling and driving the ball. I just don't recall seeing a guy that looks like he has that type of star upside while producing so little in college. He's a coaches son, he's saying all the right things in the interviews. At 9 he is probably the best mix of floor and upside, unless you would rather bet on Jak becoming a primary volume shot creator.

Just wild how you can look at him and basically think this guy is a superstar if he learns how to dribble to the rim. Both extremely odd that he can't already do it, and scary how all he needs is that rudimentary skill to be someone who should have went top 3.

[XTC]

I really need people to look at Coward's shot chart in 2024, he was actually even better in 2025, but people don't like to talk about it because he only played 6 games.



Coward is a legit shot maker, athletic, lanky, and one of the better perimeter defenders. There's a reason why Duke wanted him so badly. I really do think he's the best combination of shooting, scoring, and defense in this draft. I think with the right team and development he can definitely turn into an allstar. I 100% have him on my radar at #9.

[S.W.A.N]

Im still standing firm that Maluach would be a waste of a pick. I pray to god someone nabs him before us. I wasn't impressed with him at all during his freshman season, I thought he lacked explosiveness(which is why he struggled as a shot blocker), and the combine just confirmed the eye test... and I think his anatomy is to blame, he has really high hips, how often do guys like this become explosive? Anyways his testing was just brutal.

Bottom 5 in max vertical (30")
Bottom 5 in standing vertical (24")
Bottom 5 in 3/4 sprints (3.5s)
The worst shuttle run (3.44s)
Bottom 3 lane agility (12.05s)

If he had displayed any sort of jump shot I'd be slightly intrigued, but he shot 4-16 (25%) from three, and he attempted less than 5 mid range jumpers all season. I don't see this hidden potential in his jumper, just because he can hit free throws. I'll give him his props, because his PR team is doing an amazing job of shooting footage of him shooting open jumpers and raising his draft stock. The hype has gotten far too out of control for a guy who has amazing measurements, is a brutal athlete, struggles to block shots, and has no jump shot.

Don't even get me started on how many times he was caught out of position this past year, and he was forced to recover, and people are trying to spin it as, he's this amazing guy at recovering when out of position. NBA players will eat him alive if he attempts this at the NBA level, and he will be run off the court. There's a reason why Duke's DRTG didn't change too much whether Maluach was on the floor or not.

I've been wracking my brain trying to understand the Maluach love in general, much less taking him at #9.

I simply don't get it and I pray that another team takes him before us so we can't even be tempted to take him.

Size matters. He's massive and projects as an elite defender and rim runner with the potential to extend the floor. As for his shooting. He played on freaking Duke with Cooper Flagg and Kon. He had one role. Traditional Big. Set screen, run to the rim and catch lobs.

A big part of the Maluach hype is progression. Just look at how much better he was from beginning of year to end of year. Clear clear difference. And while his shot blocking numbers aren't jaw dropping, the defense was better with him on the floor which is saying somethings as they had good bigs and the number 4 defense in the country.

His coach loves him and says he's going to be a stud.

I still like the Bryant/Fleming/No trio for higher upside. But Kaman would be a great fit and pickup at 9.

[Clutch0z24]

Carter Bryant will be a 3&D fast break guy.....Its rare to see a player develop an Iso/Handle/Shot creating skills over night....They usually already show flashes of it in High school/College.....If they do not show it at them levels the chances are they will never develop it...

Bryant will prolly never be an all star and is prolly more just a bench role player/Decent Starter.....Where he lacks is ....He can't dribble past his defender, Doesn't have a very good dribble package, Does not get to the line or draw contact (49 FTs in college) He doesn't get to the rim other than fast breaks or cuts....He will be a good defender but on offense hes prolly a 9-12 pts a game type of guy for the majority of his career unless he takes a rare jump in development that no one sees coming...

[S.W.A.N]

Carter Bryant has good advanced stats, got parked in the corner, probably going to be a 3+D wing with good size, all those things are all well and good. His floor is probably bigger Ochai.

The thing that really gets me with him, is that if he develops a confident handle/footwork... He's basically an all star. Dudes that age, size, athletic, with that type of smooth jumper and overall body control basically don't exist. If he started on Arizona and averaged 12 a game with the same playstyle he's likely gone before 9. The only reason he might be there is because he was mismanaged.

If he puts in half the work Demar did then he would be the steal of the draft at 9. Obviously maybe he never becomes comfortable handling and driving the ball. I just don't recall seeing a guy that looks like he has that type of star upside while producing so little in college. He's a coaches son, he's saying all the right things in the interviews. At 9 he is probably the best mix of floor and upside, unless you would rather bet on Jak becoming a primary volume shot creator.

Just wild how you can look at him and basically think this guy is a superstar if he learns how to dribble to the rim. Both extremely odd that he can't already do it, and scary how all he needs is that rudimentary skill to be someone who should have went top 3.

I'd take bigger Ochai all day at 9.

[XTC]

Carter Bryant will be a 3&D fast break guy.....Its rare to see a player develop an Iso/Handle/Shot creating skills over night....They usually already show flashes of it in High school/College.....If they do not show it at them levels the chances are they will never develop it...

Bryant will prolly never be an all star and is prolly more just a bench role player/Decent Starter.....Where he lacks is ....He can't dribble past his defender, Doesn't have a very good dribble package, Does not get to the line or draw contact (49 FTs in college) He doesn't get to the rim other than fast breaks or cuts....He will be a good defender but on offense hes prolly a 9-12 pts a game type of guy for the majority of his career unless he takes a rare jump in development that no one sees coming...

The chances were getting an allstar at #9 is slim to none, especially in this draft, it looks to be on the weaker side when it comes to star power.

If Carter Bryant becomes a decent starter, that's high end value for the #9 pick.

Here are the last 10 #9 picks

15 - Frank Kaminsky
16 - Jakob Poeltl
17 - Dennis Smith Jr
18 - Kevin Knox
19 - Rui Hachimura
20 - Deni Avdija
21 - Davion Mitchell
22 - Jeremy Sochan
23 - Taylor Hendricks
24 - Zach Edey
25 - ?

0 allstars, and the best player of the bunch is Jakob Poeltl. Is Carter becomes a starting caliber 3+D wing who can give 10 points, hit 3's, and play solid defense... that's realistic value for the #9 pick, and no one should be disappointed.

[Mark_83]

[Clutch0z24]

Carter Bryant will be a 3&D fast break guy.....Its rare to see a player develop an Iso/Handle/Shot creating skills over night....They usually already show flashes of it in High school/College.....If they do not show it at them levels the chances are they will never develop it...

Bryant will prolly never be an all star and is prolly more just a bench role player/Decent Starter.....Where he lacks is ....He can't dribble past his defender, Doesn't have a very good dribble package, Does not get to the line or draw contact (49 FTs in college) He doesn't get to the rim other than fast breaks or cuts....He will be a good defender but on offense hes prolly a 9-12 pts a game type of guy for the majority of his career unless he takes a rare jump in development that no one sees coming...

The chances were getting an allstar at #9 is slim to none, especially in this draft, it looks to be on the weaker side when it comes to star power.

If Carter Bryant becomes a decent starter, that's high end value for the #9 pick.

Here are the last 10 #9 picks

15 - Frank Kaminsky
16 - Jakob Poeltl
17 - Dennis Smith Jr
18 - Kevin Knox
19 - Rui Hachimura
20 - Deni Avdija
21 - Davion Mitchell
22 - Jeremy Sochan
23 - Taylor Hendricks
24 - Zach Edey
25 - ?


0 allstars, and the best player of the bunch is Jakob Poeltl. Is Carter becomes a starting caliber 3+D wing who can give 10 points, hit 3's, and play solid defense... that's realistic value for the #9 pick, and no one should be disappointed.

Lol depends....Or you pick Bryant at 9 and come to find you passed up on 2 or 3 guys that became way better players than Bryant and you are scratching your head looking back....That also happens alot of the time....Which imo there will prolly be players avail at 9 that will have better careers than Bryant when its all said and done... Making a list of players drafted at #9 and then also not looking at who was picked after 9 to see who were way better players (Which means them teams got the pick wrong) is kind of silly...

[BoyzNTheHood]

Call it a hunch, but I’m willing to bet that Carter Bryant is more than a 3+D guy in the NBA.

[Clutch0z24]

Call it a hunch, but I’m willing to bet that Carter Bryant is more than a 3+D guy in the NBA.

Could be a hunch but there is zero evidence or stats to back that up....He was never more than that at all levels in his career....Doubt it changes in the NBA....Usually they show flashes of it in decent or high volume already....Bryant has not....And NBA Defenders are better than HS or College so ....Developing some kinda iso bag in The NBA would take some rare development curves

[BoyzNTheHood]

Call it a hunch, but I’m willing to bet that Carter Bryant is more than a 3+D guy in the NBA.

Could be a hunch but there is zero evidence or stats to back that up....He was never more than that at all levels in his career....Doubt it changes in the NBA....Usually they show flashes of it in decent or high volume already....Bryant has not....And NBA Defenders are better than HS or College so ....Developing some kinda iso bag in The NBA would take some rare development curves

I’m willing to bet he kills it in workouts. There will be stories. What happened to him at Arizona was a shame.

[XTC]

Carter Bryant will be a 3&D fast break guy.....Its rare to see a player develop an Iso/Handle/Shot creating skills over night....They usually already show flashes of it in High school/College.....If they do not show it at them levels the chances are they will never develop it...

Bryant will prolly never be an all star and is prolly more just a bench role player/Decent Starter.....Where he lacks is ....He can't dribble past his defender, Doesn't have a very good dribble package, Does not get to the line or draw contact (49 FTs in college) He doesn't get to the rim other than fast breaks or cuts....He will be a good defender but on offense hes prolly a 9-12 pts a game type of guy for the majority of his career unless he takes a rare jump in development that no one sees coming...

The chances were getting an allstar at #9 is slim to none, especially in this draft, it looks to be on the weaker side when it comes to star power.

If Carter Bryant becomes a decent starter, that's high end value for the #9 pick.

Here are the last 10 #9 picks

15 - Frank Kaminsky
16 - Jakob Poeltl
17 - Dennis Smith Jr
18 - Kevin Knox
19 - Rui Hachimura
20 - Deni Avdija
21 - Davion Mitchell
22 - Jeremy Sochan
23 - Taylor Hendricks
24 - Zach Edey
25 - ?


0 allstars, and the best player of the bunch is Jakob Poeltl. Is Carter becomes a starting caliber 3+D wing who can give 10 points, hit 3's, and play solid defense... that's realistic value for the #9 pick, and no one should be disappointed.

Lol depends....Or you pick Bryant at 9 and come to find you passed up on 2 or 3 guys that became way better players than Bryant and you are scratching your head looking back....That also happens alot of the time....Which imo there will prolly be players avail at 9 that will have better careers than Bryant when its all said and done...

The draft is a crap shoot. No one is saying Poeltl is a bad pick just because Domantas Sabonis was picked 2 spots later.

If Bryant becomes a "decent starter" at #9, no one is going to care who is picked after. It unfortunate, but you live with it and move on. The only players with clear cut allstar upside is Flagg and Harper, and I'd say VJ, Tre, or Fears (Not a big fan of Bailey) have the slightest chance. Other than that there's no clear difference between the #5 and #15 pick, it's all going to come down to fit IMO.

[Mark_83]

I think I'm pretty set on Bryant at pick 9 with Rasheer and Coward next up.

I think he has the best chance of the to be more than an elite role player. He has more to his game than he was able to show in college, which you can see in his high school tape.

I see a realistic ceiling of a Trey Murphy or Mikal Bridges.