2025 NBA Draft Thread: Detroit Pick Edition

[Klomp]

I've seen some people try to compare Newell to Dereck Lively, but I feel like he's closer to Jaxson Hayes.

[KGdaBom]

According to Wolfson the Wolves will be hosting a workout today with Asa Newell (Georgia), Jamir Watkins (Florida St.), Keshon Gilbert (Iowa St.), Steve Crowl (Wisconsin).

Crowl and Gilbert are more training bodies/Summer League fillers. Watkins is interesting; another guard/wing to add to our logjam, but a good defender and downhill attacker that gets to the rim and FT line consistently.

Newell is the only 1st rounder in the group and I'd avoid. He's just not good enough at any particular skill to be worth it. Reminds me a bit of Leonard Miller.

He's young. Crazy athletic for a guy his size. Good scoring, OK rebounding, good stocks. Has potential to shoot 3s. I don't see much not to like. Tankathon has him going 13th.

[moss_is_1]

Joann Beringer measured finally. It was a small chance he'd be there at 31 before, but now there's 0 chance. 6'11" barefoot, 7'4 1/2" wingspan, 9'3" standing reach. 234 pounds too.

[jpatrick]

Joann Beringer measured finally. It was a small chance he'd be there at 31 before, but now there's 0 chance. 6'11" barefoot, 7'4 1/2" wingspan, 9'3" standing reach. 234 pounds too.

He likely won’t be there at 17. Both Givony and Vecenie had him going before us in their latest mocks and that was before he measured at legit center size. I’m guessing 13 to the Hawks.

[Klomp]

Joann Beringer measured finally. It was a small chance he'd be there at 31 before, but now there's 0 chance. 6'11" barefoot, 7'4 1/2" wingspan, 9'3" standing reach. 234 pounds too.

He likely won’t be there at 17. Both Givony and Vecenie had him going before us in their latest mocks and that was before he measured at legit center size. I’m guessing 13 to the Hawks.

That just means a different talented player should fall to us....

[minimus]

Joann Beringer measured finally. It was a small chance he'd be there at 31 before, but now there's 0 chance. 6'11" barefoot, 7'4 1/2" wingspan, 9'3" standing reach. 234 pounds too.

He likely won’t be there at 17. Both Givony and Vecenie had him going before us in their latest mocks and that was before he measured at legit center size. I’m guessing 13 to the Hawks.

That just means a different talented player should fall to us....

Exactly my thoughts.

P.S. Beringer is new Clint Capela?

[minimus]

According to Wolfson the Wolves will be hosting a workout today with Asa Newell (Georgia), Jamir Watkins (Florida St.), Keshon Gilbert (Iowa St.), Steve Crowl (Wisconsin).

Crowl and Gilbert are more training bodies/Summer League fillers. Watkins is interesting; another guard/wing to add to our logjam, but a good defender and downhill attacker that gets to the rim and FT line consistently.

Newell is the only 1st rounder in the group and I'd avoid. He's just not good enough at any particular skill to be worth it. Reminds me a bit of Leonard Miller.

I like the energy Newell plays with, but he looks like a tweener. Not quite big enough to be a full time 5, imo.

One thing that gives me some optimism about drafting a big is Finch’s proven track record of developing frontcourt players in Minnesota:
- Garza has become an unstoppable force in the G-League and a highly efficient scorer in garbage time.
- Kyle Anderson, while an unconventional big, was still a valuable rotation piece.
- Towns remained a top-tier offensive weapon and was part of an elite defense.
- Reid developed into a legit Sixth Man of the Year candidate.
- Randle just had the best playoff stretch of his career under Finch.
- Gobert won DPOY this season — and credit is due to the system and coaching staff.

Klomp also pointed out bigs that thrived under Finch at his previous stops: Jokic, AD, and early-career Randle.

So unless a big truly lacks basketball IQ (like Miller or Minott have shown at times), I think there’s a legitimate chance Finch can help develop him into a real NBA contributor.

P.S. I know nothing about Newell

[minimus]

Real Madrid's Hugo González's Impressive Combine Numbers: 6'6¼" (barefoot), 222.7 lbs, 6'10¾" Wingspan, 8'5½" Standing Reach, 9" x 10¼" Hands

González can play wing. Looks like he will end up higher than 31st pick. But I would love to get him at 31, if our first pick is a bigman

[Battletrigger]

Please, no more Spanish players...

[minimus]

Watch on YouTube

Reminds me of less polished more bouncy Deni Avdija.

[winforlose]

According to Wolfson the Wolves will be hosting a workout today with Asa Newell (Georgia), Jamir Watkins (Florida St.), Keshon Gilbert (Iowa St.), Steve Crowl (Wisconsin).

Crowl and Gilbert are more training bodies/Summer League fillers. Watkins is interesting; another guard/wing to add to our logjam, but a good defender and downhill attacker that gets to the rim and FT line consistently.

Newell is the only 1st rounder in the group and I'd avoid. He's just not good enough at any particular skill to be worth it. Reminds me a bit of Leonard Miller.

I like the energy Newell plays with, but he looks like a tweener. Not quite big enough to be a full time 5, imo.

One thing that gives me some optimism about drafting a big is Finch’s proven track record of developing frontcourt players in Minnesota:
- Garza has become an unstoppable force in the G-League and a highly efficient scorer in garbage time.
- Kyle Anderson, while an unconventional big, was still a valuable rotation piece.
- Towns remained a top-tier offensive weapon and was part of an elite defense.
- Reid developed into a legit Sixth Man of the Year candidate.
- Randle just had the best playoff stretch of his career under Finch.
- Gobert won DPOY this season — and credit is due to the system and coaching staff.

Klomp also pointed out bigs that thrived under Finch at his previous stops: Jokic, AD, and early-career Randle.

So unless a big truly lacks basketball IQ (like Miller or Minott have shown at times), I think there’s a legitimate chance Finch can help develop him into a real NBA contributor.

P.S. I know nothing about Newell

Kyle Anderson was a multi year vet when he joined us. Under Finch he saw a massive collapse of his offensive capabilities and became virtually unplayable in year 2 of a 2 year contract. To be fair an eye injury suffered in year 1 may have played a role.

Luka Garza is a defensive liability so extreme that any time he is on the floor you should expect the opposing offense to score. To say he is well developed is to fundamentally misunderstand what his game was when he came to Iowa and what it was unable to achieve under years of professional coaching. To be fair he may lack the tools physically, but Finch did a TERRIBLE job helping him develop his defense.

I actually agree with you about Karl. Finch helped to build a culture that emphasized defense. His use of Karl in high wall and use of Karl as a defender in space was very important. That said, Karl did not take the offensive leap under Finch that one would hope for. He did not increase his 3 point volume to the point that every coach wants him too. Finch was also largely unable to correct the stray voltage that Karl suffers from, nor did he help Karl to correct the complaining to the refs which handicapped him and harmed Ant. You want Finch to get credit for what he accomplished with Karl, I agree completely. But that also requires admitting that Finch despite the good relationship was completely unsuccessful in key areas of development of Karl as he went from pre prime Karl to prime Karl.

Naz Reid developed Naz Reid. His body changes, his commitment to multi-positional play, (even after the Gobert and Towns trades displaced him,) and his shooting improvements helped protect Naz from a HC who literally looked for excuses to remove him from the rotation. Finch is on record saying Naz was playing too well to be removed from the rotation, despite Finch’s best efforts. Finch still has not started Naz nor found the proper ways to utilize him defensively. Naz is an amazing story, but by no means a settled one. We don’t know if Naz is gonna stay, start, or reach his true potential. We know 5 years in Jaden has been badly suppressed by Finch and forced to emerge despite Finch actively sabotaging his offensive progression. Jaden and Naz are best friends, one NBA season apart, and their experiences are relevant to each other.

Randle had a fantastic series 1 and 2 after an up and down regular season. He then adds a terrible series 3 when the stakes were quite high. Randle showed the limits of his game and Finch showed the limits of his coaching not being able to adapt to help Randle get back to that Point Forward mode that helped in series 1 and 2. Randle’s big improvement was his 3 point shooting and the spacing that created. Randle’s 3 point shooting has been inconsistent throughout his career and failed him against OKC. He also has a history of playing well in a contract year. Finch gets credit for the extra playmaking, but he also gets the blame for not figuring out how to get point forward Randle to work properly with Rudy.


Rudy won 3 defensive player of the year awards without Finch. Rudy has taken major steps back in rebounding, offense, and seemingly in playoff minutes/success under Finch. It is of course way more complicated than what I just presented, but you don’t give Finch credit for developing someone who came in during his prime after having one of the most impactful defensive legacies in the modern game. If anything Rudy developed Finch, not the other way around.

[minimus]

Please, no more Spanish players...

How about greek? Neoklis Avdalas

[minimus]

I like the energy Newell plays with, but he looks like a tweener. Not quite big enough to be a full time 5, imo.

One thing that gives me some optimism about drafting a big is Finch’s proven track record of developing frontcourt players in Minnesota:
- Garza has become an unstoppable force in the G-League and a highly efficient scorer in garbage time.
- Kyle Anderson, while an unconventional big, was still a valuable rotation piece.
- Towns remained a top-tier offensive weapon and was part of an elite defense.
- Reid developed into a legit Sixth Man of the Year candidate.
- Randle just had the best playoff stretch of his career under Finch.
- Gobert won DPOY this season — and credit is due to the system and coaching staff.

Klomp also pointed out bigs that thrived under Finch at his previous stops: Jokic, AD, and early-career Randle.

So unless a big truly lacks basketball IQ (like Miller or Minott have shown at times), I think there’s a legitimate chance Finch can help develop him into a real NBA contributor.

P.S. I know nothing about Newell

...

Fire Finch?

[Guidus88]

Joann Beringer measured finally. It was a small chance he'd be there at 31 before, but now there's 0 chance. 6'11" barefoot, 7'4 1/2" wingspan, 9'3" standing reach. 234 pounds too.

wow!

[moss_is_1]

Watch on YouTube

Reminds me of less polished more bouncy Deni Avdija.

I like him a lot, but the jumper is broken. I'm not sure how we can play him while having Rudy.

[moss_is_1]

I've seen some people try to compare Newell to Dereck Lively, but I feel like he's closer to Jaxson Hayes.

His measurements are pretty much the same as John Collins. His reach is roughly 3 inches shorter than Hayes, he's about an inch shorter, and 4 inches less wingspan. He's more skilled, and might be able to turn into a spacer but he's too small to play the 5 for anything more than spot minutes.

[Norseman79]

Newell or Beringer (now that measurements have been confirmed) at 17 would work great .....Newell to develop as a PF, Beringer to develop to replace Rudy. Of players possibly available, these would be my top two at potential positions of need. We need a backup 5 to develop into a starter, if Naz or Randle leave, we need a backup 4. Newell is much more aggressive than Miller, on both ends of the court.

[Norseman79]

Honestly, the floor I see for Newell is a taller, bouncier, Vanderbilt with a better shot. If he develops the three-point shot, that's a pretty valuable player.

[jpatrick]

I've seen some people try to compare Newell to Dereck Lively, but I feel like he's closer to Jaxson Hayes.

His measurements are pretty much the same as John Collins. His reach is roughly 3 inches shorter than Hayes, he's about an inch shorter, and 4 inches less wingspan. He's more skilled, and might be able to turn into a spacer but he's too small to play the 5 for anything more than spot minutes.

Yeah, Newell’s much smaller than those guys. He had about an 8’11” standing reach which is barely higher than long wings, like Cedric Coward. Newell is the classic he’s pretty good at a lot but not really a standout skill that will get him on an NBA court. In that way, he kind of reminds me of Leonard Miller. Good size, not great. Can hit some outside shots but not a shooter. Okay rebounder. Good athlete, but definitely not a great athlete by NBA standards. No one trait that really improves a team. I think either Newell or Miller will have to develop that - becoming great at least one of shooting, defense, or rebounding to become a good rotational piece.

I’m down on Newell. But he was in the first group of invites to the green room, so maybe NBA teams are not as down.

[minimus]

Newell or Beringer (now that measurements have been confirmed) at 17 would work great .....Newell to develop as a PF, Beringer to develop to replace Rudy. Of players possibly available, these would be my top two at potential positions of need. We need a backup 5 to develop into a starter, if Naz or Randle leave, we need a backup 4. Newell is much more aggressive than Miller, on both ends of the court.

Yeah, assuming we keep Reid, we can go both ways:

- a non shooting, but full sized rim runner such as Beringer at 5 and Reid at 4
- a non shooting, but athletic and mobile tweener 4 such as Fleming (or even CMB) and Reid at 5

I feel like a very underrated skill here is not shooting, but passing. If let say CMB can defend C/PF/SF, finish at rim, rebound AND facilitate, I can easiliy see him playing with Reid.