2025 NBA Draft Discussion Part 8

[niQ]

Carter Bryant and Cedric Coward are really rising in a lot of these recent mocks.

[BoyzNTheHood]

Carter Bryant and Cedric Coward are really rising in a lot of these recent mocks.

As they should

[Spates]

Kon
CMB
Demin
Jase
Bryant

These are the guys I see raps taking at 9. Possibly Cedric too.

I can see the vision with any of the 5. Hopefully Jase grows a couple of inches

[Grew]

Just posted, having 20% defensive rebounding rate is bad, and everyone know rebounding translate to the NBA.

His quickness and leaping are bottom 5 in this class, close to Queen, so I am unsure how he is not described as slow. He is described as drop big, not switch. And his stone hands are legitimate concern if you even watch full games. Many scouting reports have his hands as concern, though his measurement isn't bad for his hand, which seems more to be his basketball IQ.

It shocks me how many people will fight tooth and nail to say Maluach is this elite player when he's really really raw and not NBA ready right now

Can he develop into an all-star calibre C? Maybe... But I think he's in the traditional C model like Hasheem Thabeet or James Wiseman with upside of Gobert. These guys just don't work in the new modern NBA. At C you want agile, switchable defensive guys like Lively, Chet or Wemby or elite skill guys like Jokic, Embiid, Sengun

That's why I'd rather just take Fleming over KM if we want a big. Who's realistically going to close a game? An athletic and mobile 6'9 guy with a 7'5 wingspan or a lumbering 7'2 guy? Even Gobert doesn't close games over Naz Reid

My problem with Fleming is he reminds me of Chris Boucher only not horrifyingly skinny. Even though he has the physical tools, you don't want someone who processes at Boucher speed closing most games.

If he is the pick, the front office probably thinks his BBIQ is fine. If they think he is deficient there, he's probably closer to 5th on the board than 1st.

[junot111]

It shocks me how many people will fight tooth and nail to say Maluach is this elite player when he's really really raw and not NBA ready right now

Can he develop into an all-star calibre C? Maybe... But I think he's in the traditional C model like Hasheem Thabeet or James Wiseman with upside of Gobert. These guys just don't work in the new modern NBA. At C you want agile, switchable defensive guys like Lively, Chet or Wemby or elite skill guys like Jokic, Embiid, Sengun

That's why I'd rather just take Fleming over KM if we want a big. Who's realistically going to close a game? An athletic and mobile 6'9 guy with a 7'5 wingspan or a lumbering 7'2 guy? Even Gobert doesn't close games over Naz Reid

My problem with Fleming is he reminds me of Chris Boucher only not horrifyingly skinny. Even though he has the physical tools, you don't want someone who processes at Boucher speed closing most games.

If he is the pick, the front office probably thinks his BBIQ is fine. If they think he is deficient there, he's probably closer to 5th on the board than 1st.

That's a valid concern. Though I would say Boucher's size holds him back as much as his bbiq. He's a tweener that would have way more value if he could play the 5 full time, which fleming can

[UnbelievablyRAW]

Read on Twitter

?s=46

Kon is going to be a guy whether people want to accept it or not. He’s an absolute steal at 9 if Carter jumps into the top 8

Jase might also be a steal in the teens if his height makes him fall. Every metric screams he’s gonna be amazing

[WuTang_CMB]

Read on Twitter

?s=46

Kon is going to be a guy whether people want to accept it or not. He’s an absolute steal at 9 if Carter jumps into the top 8

Jase might also be a steal in the teens if his height makes him fall. Every metric screams he’s gonna be amazing

thanks for posting.
Man Clayton going to a playoff team is going to be so good for both sides

[WuTang_CMB]

Cedric really does have close to perfect form

[dagger]

With a top 10 pick, I'm not convinced the Raptors will draft for immediate need, it's not Masai's way. If the starting lineup is something like Poeltl, Scottie, IQ, BI and RJ, where exactly is the immediate need? Not in the starting lineup, unless RJ is traded, and if that happens, the return is likely to include at least a high end reserve who better fills a need. If Masai was thinking the Raptors are a top 3 team in the
East (he doesn't) he might take such an avenue, but otherwise, drafting for upside still makes more sense from his probable perspective. Last June we had RJ, Ochai and Dick and he still took Walter at 19. He might not take a wing this time, unless he has a trade set up, but I still don;t expect him to act like a current playoff team and make a move that might get the Raptors at most, a win or two more than they would by drafting a project.

[Altern8]

Read on Twitter

https://www.si.com/nba/draft/newsfeed/thomas-sorber-nba-draft-gem-hidden-in-plain-sight

[WuTang_CMB]

Read on Twitter

[Raptorfan2012]

Part of me feels there is no point in researching the picks anymore because I feel it is going to get traded. Masai wants to win now. One or both 9 and 39 will be traded by end of June.

[Buff]

Just watch some games of his? Duke were definitely not a team reliant on drop coverage, and had Maluach out on the perimeter quite often. He will of course get burned by a guy like Quickley, for example, if on an island but you ask him to switch for a few seconds on a small? That's what he was doing for a lot of the season and why people get excited when they watch him defensively.. this is not Hasheem Thabeet.

He may be at his BEST in drop coverage, but one of the attractive things about him is that he is mobile and you can run different defensive sets with him on the floor and he will cover an enormous amount of the court.

Look how much of the court he is covering here, just as an example -
https://www.reddit.com/r/NBA_Draft/comments/1hzk6dk/highlight_khaman_maluach_showcases_his_defensive/#:~:text=While%20he%20may%20not%20have,to%20the%207%2D12%20range.

The whole allure of KM is that he can defend and recover from the perimeter, its all over the scouting report and the tape. In 2025 no one's in love with a drop big.

I would take Rasheer Fleming before Maluach as Fleming can guard 2-5.

I'd take someone who guards the 5 position at a championship level than a multitool.

[WuTang_CMB]

Atlanta Hawks
Team Fit
Jase Richardson has been connected to the Hawks throughout the pre-draft process, in addition to other teams drafting in the late lottery. This is despite measuring at only 6-feet at the NBA Draft Combine. Richardson is a skilled combo guard with a lethal midrange game and a poised pick-and-roll feel, looking like he downloaded the experience of his NBA veteran father, Jason Richardson. Jase didn’t inherit his father’s height or dunk contest athleticism, though, so his smaller stature caps his upside. But does that matter? Look at the way the Pacers and Thunder play, with tons of players who can fly around the floor and make quick decisions. That’s Richardson’s exact style.

[mtcan]

Part of me feels there is no point in researching the picks anymore because I feel it is going to get traded. Masai wants to win now. One or both 9 and 39 will be traded by end of June.

There is no point in researching picks because the pick is out of our hands as fans. Whoever the front office picks...we should support and hope he does well as a pro. We have no actual influence on the front office's decision and by hitching your wagon to any particular prospect and bashing another particular prospect...there is a good chance you will be let down by the pick and may develop a hate for that prospect.

I'll trust Masai, Bobby, Dan Tolzman and the rest of the scouts. Yes I do hope we get Maluach with 9 but whoever else we take is probably going to be a good fit anyways.

I find myself talking myself into these prospects instead of finding reasons to hate them. Probably best way to avoid disappointment on draft day.

[Dalek]

Part of me feels there is no point in researching the picks anymore because I feel it is going to get traded. Masai wants to win now. One or both 9 and 39 will be traded by end of June.

Honestly, unless we are trading up I don't see that happening. The main reason is we are close to being a tax team. At least with rookie scale contract you have some cost control. If we are trading for more money it would have to be enough of a difference maker to make it worth being a tax team. I am not that excited about what we have to offer but obviously Giannis is the one you ask about.

[RapsFanInOhio]

With a top 10 pick, I'm not convinced the Raptors will draft for immediate need, it's not Masai's way. If the starting lineup is something like Poeltl, Scottie, IQ, BI and RJ, where exactly is the immediate need? Not in the starting lineup, unless RJ is traded, and if that happens, the return is likely to include at least a high end reserve who better fills a need. If Masai was thinking the Raptors are a top 3 team in the
East (he doesn't) he might take such an avenue, but otherwise, drafting for upside still makes more sense from his probable perspective. Last June we had RJ, Ochai and Dick and he still took Walter at 19. He might not take a wing this time, unless he has a trade set up, but I still don;t expect him to act like a current playoff team and make a move that might get the Raptors at most, a win or two more than they would by drafting a project.

Totally agree with this. The closest thing to a need on this roster is backup C, so I would say that of any of the top prospects, he would be the best “fit” in terms of need and BPA if he’s there at 9. But if he and say Knueppel are there at 9 and they picked Knueppel over him, I would totally understand.

That’s kind of the weird thing about this draft is that we have a ton of options at 9 and I have a comfort level with most of them. I’m confident they’re going BPA there no matter what, and if they think that guy is the BPA, I have a lot of trust in that.

[Psubs]

Part of me feels there is no point in researching the picks anymore because I feel it is going to get traded. Masai wants to win now. One or both 9 and 39 will be traded by end of June.

Honestly, unless we are trading up I don't see that happening. The main reason is we are close to being a tax team. At least with rookie scale contract you have some cost control. If we are trading for more money it would have to be enough of a difference maker to make it worth being a tax team. I am not that excited about what we have to offer but obviously Giannis is the one you ask about.

That's why I want to cash in on Ochai and RJ, for a draft pick or consolidate them into another player.

[RapsFanInOhio]

Part of me feels there is no point in researching the picks anymore because I feel it is going to get traded. Masai wants to win now. One or both 9 and 39 will be traded by end of June.

Honestly, unless we are trading up I don't see that happening. The main reason is we are close to being a tax team. At least with rookie scale contract you have some cost control. If we are trading for more money it would have to be enough of a difference maker to make it worth being a tax team. I am not that excited about what we have to offer but obviously Giannis is the one you ask about.

Right. Assuming Giannis isn’t realistic, I don’t think there’s any way they move out of 9. I think they stay put and take BPA and then basically just use this coming season to evaluate the roster, which will likely be under the tax. Absolutely no harm in doing that either. Maybe the roster isn’t good enough, but there’s a ton of flexibility to make moves at the deadline or next summer if they find out that this roster isn’t good enough.

I definitely think Giannis could change things, especially if he’s realistically available. But I don’t buy that, so I think we’re definitely picking at 9 and will roll into the offseason as is.

[LoveMyRaps]

Read on Twitter

https://www.si.com/nba/draft/newsfeed/thomas-sorber-nba-draft-gem-hidden-in-plain-sight

Very interesting.