2025 NBA Draft Thread: Detroit Pick Edition

[KGdaBom]

Exactly one month from now. It will be here before we know it.

[Norseman79]

I go back to I'm not sure the answer at point guard is in this draft. We have a few pieces that are tradable, I would rather go after and established point guard that we know fits.

The other thing is, whatever we decide to do, I want the person we bring in to have a chip on their shoulder. I want the point guard to be the tone setter. People can say that that should be Edwards, but the reality is the point guard drives the team. Let Edwards be Edwards, find us a young, scrappy, Marcus Smart type of point guard to put next to him. A young Patrick Beverly type that will get an opponent's head and wreck the game for them. We just need him to be respectable from 3 and take care of the ball

[jpatrick]

I go back to I'm not sure the answer at point guard is in this draft. We have a few pieces that are tradable, I would rather go after and established point guard that we know fits.

The other thing is, whatever we decide to do, I want the person we bring in to have a chip on their shoulder. I want the point guard to be the tone setter. People can say that that should be Edwards, but the reality is the point guard drives the team. Let Edwards be Edwards, find us a young, scrappy, Marcus Smart type of point guard to put next to him. A young Patrick Beverly type that will get an opponent's head and wreck the game for them. We just need him to be respectable from 3 and take care of the ball

The one point guard that I think might be the best fit is Jakucionis. I worry about on ball defense and general athleticism. But he can play on/off the ball. Seems to have some Haliburton to his game if he can shoot it like he did during some FIBA events. But, again, he’s likely long gone by 17.

Demin is intriguing. But don’t know he’s an actual point guard in the NBA or how he’d work playing off ball.

[cmoss84]

Go get Tyus in FA and swing for the fences BPA.

[younggunsmn]

Watch on YouTube

Demin will be in top-10, no way he falls down to 17th, he also shoots well in pre draft workouts. But, I can see him as an ideal fit next to Edwards. Demin is a true offensive engine, he is not only a facilitator like Tyus Jones, Monte Morris. He can create out of pick-and-rolls. The only problem is that under Finch this team is trying to get away from pick-and-roll based offense, but Conley example shows that it might be also due to players skillset. Towns is not natural pick-n-roll, Gobert bad hands require precision passing.

Young 6'9.5" combo guard with ++ assist is intriguing, but a horrible shooter so far in actual games regardless of pre draft workouts. If he makes it to 17 I'd probably take him. Tankathon has him going 18 so never say never.

He's a guy with a couple great traits and mid athleticism, but the college production did not back up the traits.
Shot looks great in an empty gym but only shot 27% from the college 3.
Bit of a turnover machine.

Played in a pro style, very FInch-like offense.
IMHO he's a better prospect than Dillingham was last year.
Rob shot 44% from 3 in college and his shooting does not look good as a pro.

He's a a very boom or bust prospect. Then you also have the culture shift coming over as a Russian.

To me, Yaxel and Rasheer Fleming are much closer to sure things at 17 and would be fantastic picks.
But I would put Demin next after those 2 guys.
I would have to do a deeper dive to see if he could do the little things well that he would need to do to fit with a more ball dominant player like Ant.

It's kind of a crapshoot after the top 10, really the top 3.

We will see who Presti picks at 15 or if he trades out.

[KGdaBom]

Jase Richardson according to Tankathon is a virtually flawless player. 17 + categories and only 1- category. 11th on their Big Board, but projected to go 15th.

[wolves_89]

Jase Richardson according to Tankathon is a virtually flawless player. 17 + categories and only 1- category. 11th on their Big Board, but projected to go 15th.

From what I've seen the two problems with Richardson are: 1) he is 6'0" with average athleticism, and 2) he doesn't really have a point guard skill set.

With Rob on the roster, I don't think the Wolves can take him if he makes it to 17,

[minimus]

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So right now, our bench unit has the following strengths:
- TJ’s physicality, aggressiveness, and athleticism
- Miller’s mobility
- Clark’s high IQ, toughness as a defender, and 3PT spot-up shooting
- Rob’s creativity and shiftiness as a ballhandler
- Garza’s good hands on offense

Also, I can clearly see the huge difference between 23-year-old Clark and 24-year-old TJ compared to 20-year-old Rob, 21-year-old Miller, and 22-year-old Minott. Both TJ and Clark are ready to play — both physically and mentally. I’m not sure whether Miller or Minott can improve much further, and Garza may have already reached his ceiling in terms of mobility. That said, I think it makes sense that if TC drafts a big man or combo forward (someone taller than 6’7” without shoes), it could be an upgrade over the current young frontcourt group. Right now, the current frontcourt development group kind of limits Rob — because Rob needs someone who can set screens and either play as a roll man/rim runner or pop out. Maybe it’s just the coaching scheme, but I really don’t like when Rob is left alone on the perimeter in ISOs, with the only reliable pick-and-roll option being Garza. MIN’s garbage-time offense often turns into simply giving the ball to Garza.

I want to see DHO actions, short roll passes, off-ball movement. There are multiple draft prospects who can offer different skill sets to make our development unit’s offense more dynamic and inspiring:
- Sorber → defensive-minded big man
- Demin / Kobe Sanders → point forwards
- Coward / Carter Bryant → big wings
- Traore / Saraf → European PGs
- Essengue / Newell / Lendeborg / Fleming / Beringer → athletic forwards
- Raynaud / Kalkbrenner / Hansen Yang → stretch fives
- Condon → mobile, high-effort big man
- McNeeley → pure shooter
- Clifford → plug-and-play wing

Honestly, with picks #17 and #31, MIN is in a great position to add two quality players and develop them into future rotation pieces.
I’d be satisfied with almost any combination of the names above if TC sees the value in drafting them.

[moss_is_1]

I am not sure whether Walter Clayton is an upgrade over DDV. I am intrigued by Traore and Saraf potential

As a player? Probably not. As a PG? Absolutely he's better than DDV. He's not a pure PG, like Mike Conley, but more PG than DDV or NAW. Really does remind me of Jamal Murray(slightly smaller, but I think a better athlete). Now I don't think he'll be as good as Jamal, just that he plays like him. This season he improved as a playmaker, and he's a great shooter, as well as a big shot maker. Would love to nag him at 31.

[KGdaBom]

I go back to I'm not sure the answer at point guard is in this draft. We have a few pieces that are tradable, I would rather go after and established point guard that we know fits.

The other thing is, whatever we decide to do, I want the person we bring in to have a chip on their shoulder. I want the point guard to be the tone setter. People can say that that should be Edwards, but the reality is the point guard drives the team. Let Edwards be Edwards, find us a young, scrappy, Marcus Smart type of point guard to put next to him. A young Patrick Beverly type that will get an opponent's head and wreck the game for them. We just need him to be respectable from 3 and take care of the ball

The one point guard that I think might be the best fit is Jakucionis. I worry about on ball defense and general athleticism. But he can play on/off the ball. Seems to have some Haliburton to his game if he can shoot it like he did during some FIBA events. But, again, he’s likely long gone by 17.

Demin is intriguing. But don’t know he’s an actual point guard in the NBA or how he’d work playing off ball.

From what I see he's very much an actual PG.

[jpatrick]

I go back to I'm not sure the answer at point guard is in this draft. We have a few pieces that are tradable, I would rather go after and established point guard that we know fits.

The other thing is, whatever we decide to do, I want the person we bring in to have a chip on their shoulder. I want the point guard to be the tone setter. People can say that that should be Edwards, but the reality is the point guard drives the team. Let Edwards be Edwards, find us a young, scrappy, Marcus Smart type of point guard to put next to him. A young Patrick Beverly type that will get an opponent's head and wreck the game for them. We just need him to be respectable from 3 and take care of the ball

The one point guard that I think might be the best fit is Jakucionis. I worry about on ball defense and general athleticism. But he can play on/off the ball. Seems to have some Haliburton to his game if he can shoot it like he did during some FIBA events. But, again, he’s likely long gone by 17.

Demin is intriguing. But don’t know he’s an actual point guard in the NBA or how he’d work playing off ball.

From what I see he's very much an actual PG.

He may be the best and most willing passer in the draft. Not sure he has the handle, however, to initiate under pressure. His handle is very basic, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but also not convinced he can handle bringing it up against NBA pressure. Also not sure he can guard PGs.

[minimus]

I am not sure whether Walter Clayton is an upgrade over DDV. I am intrigued by Traore and Saraf potential

As a player? Probably not. As a PG? Absolutely he's better than DDV. He's not a pure PG, like Mike Conley, but more PG than DDV or NAW. Really does remind me of Jamal Murray(slightly smaller, but I think a better athlete). Now I don't think he'll be as good as Jamal, just that he plays like him. This season he improved as a playmaker, and he's a great shooter, as well as a big shot maker. Would love to nag him at 31.

I think that playing next to Gobert makes our ballhandlers look worse. Also Murray looked really bad at PG before Jokic took it over as playmaker. But what I find interesting is that Clayton is actually a good finisher at rim, something that Murray is good at too. I actually think that Murray is an underrated finisher. A lot of our problems come from that fact that our guards in rotation can finish at rim: DDV has athleticism, but lacks touch and ballhandling skills, NAW does not have tight dribbling nor explosive first step, Conley is small and old. You can see rookie Rob going at rim and it is so refreshing. Also Clayton seems to play well in clutch, can make tough shots under pressure. I want MIN to draft a bigman at 17, but I can see why TC might use #31 for Clayton

[Klomp]

I'm still struggling to identify clear areas where the team will pinpoint as needs to address in the offseason.

Three years ago, it was rebounding. Connelly drafted plus rebounders for their positions in Kessler, Moore, and Minott, and eventually made the splash trade for Gobert.
Last year, it was on-ball shot creation. Connelly drafted Dillingham and Shannon, and eventually swapped out Towns for Randle.

The biggest potential need I'm seeing at the moment is to continue to bring in more 3-point shooting. It is somewhat concerns me that after Edwards and DiVincenzo, our next four shooters with the highest volumes all have questions in regards to their futures here (Reid, Randle, Alexander-Walker, Conley). And outside of maybe Dillingham, I don't see anyone waiting in the wings to provide high volume.

[Norseman79]

Personally, give me Newell at 17 and Kalkbrenner at 31, then trade either Reid or Randle for a PG.

[minimus]

1. Can someone explain our bench explosion today? Was it just shooting luck? I also noticed a few very precise passes to NAW and DDV, delivered right into their shooting pocket — sometimes combined with off-ball screens. That level of timing and execution really stood out.

2. Do you think someone like Tyus Jones could be used as a connector in the offense for 10–15 minutes? I mean a classic pass-first PG who doesn’t necessarily create scoring opportunities but takes care of the ball, reads the situation, and makes simple, high-IQ passes.

I honestly feel like when MIN let go of both Kyle Anderson and Jordan McLaughlin last summer, the team lost that connective tissue — the player who runs DDV, Reid, and Edwards off screens and creates offense simply by executing plays. Of course, ideally, I’d want someone who can also defend (i.e., not as small as Conley, Tyus, or Rob). My dream fit would be someone like Shaun Livingston or a healthy Lonzo Ball: 6’6”–6’7”, pass-first, defensive-minded PG.

3.I wish NAW had developed his ballhandling and consistency as a facilitator, but it feels like he might have reached his ceiling. Looking at the 2025 draft, I see a few interesting players who might fit the big-playmaker role:
- Point forwards Egor Demin (as primary ballhandler) and Kobe Sanders (as secondary ballhandler)
- Ben Saraf and Traore (though I’m unsure about their defense)
- Tyrese Proctor (likely a late 2nd-round target)

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4. Getting a pass-first, big PG might really help unlock our young core: Rob, Clark, TJ. The ideal scenario would be letting Egor Demin run the bench unit to death — but let’s be real, Egor would need to play alongside a quality big man. Right now, Garza–Miller–Minott is not a good enough combination to maximize him.

[Rookie-Mistake]

Dyson. Daniels. Is exactly what we need.

Sent from my SM-G991B using RealGM mobile app

[minimus]

Demin and Lendeborg? Sign me up! Trade Randle and NAW, re-sign Reid.

Gobert/Reid/Lendeborg
Reid/Lendeborg/Miller
McDaniels/TJ/Demin
Edwards/DDV/Clark
Rob/Demin/Conley

https://www.si.com/nba/draft/mock-drafts-big-boards/2025-nba-mock-draft-two-round-projections-with-less-than-one-month-remaining

[minimus]

Noah Penda and Asa Newell?

I don't like Penda at 17th, rather draft Fleming, Traore or Saraf. But Newell at 31th is a steal.


https://nbadraft.theringer.com/

[jpatrick]

Noah Penda and Asa Newell?

I don't like Penda at 17th, rather draft Fleming, Traore or Saraf. But Newell at 31th is a steal.


https://nbadraft.theringer.com/

Someone is going to have to sell me on Newell. I haven’t watched any of Georgia. My impression is that he’s a tweener PF/C. Game of a C but body of a PF. Good counting numbers at UGA but seems based on effort rather than skill. Doesn’t look like he’s much of a shooter, passer, etc. Seems more like a 1990s PF than a modern one. What’s his role in the NBA?

[KGdaBom]

Demin and Lendeborg? Sign me up! Trade Randle and NAW, re-sign Reid.

Gobert/Reid/Lendeborg
Reid/Lendeborg/Miller
McDaniels/TJ/Demin
Edwards/DDV/Clark
Rob/Demin/Conley

https://www.si.com/nba/draft/mock-drafts-big-boards/2025-nba-mock-draft-two-round-projections-with-less-than-one-month-remaining

I'd like that combo.