2025 NBA Draft Thread 2.0

[pepe1991]

Seems like he is "only" a 3pointshot away from becoming a potential high level roleplayer. I'm absolutely OK gambling that a young player improves his shooting in the 2nd round when he checks so many other boxes.
Is it super likely? No, history and especially Magic history says no but it's a 2nd round pick.

He again shows that the long athlete stuff is fan fiction. Weltman drafted mainly bad to good athletes but almost never really good athletes.
This team is sneaky unathletic and he didn't address that again. The TDS pick looks worse now. He seems to become the better version of the Weltman special of drafting bad athletes who arent skilled enough to compensate the lack of athletism like Chuma and Jett.
I really like high iq, highly skilled non athletes but his tries are just not skilled enough so far.

In a vacuum I like both picks and both more than TDS but the roster composition is still a mess and the draft doesn't really helped.

It's not "just 3 point shot" it's pretty much entire jumpshot ability away.
Euro 3 point line is nba deep mid range. So he can't really pull up from any deeper range, if you consider sub 30% from deep mid range.

[tiderulz]

If the argument is that Penda is an all-defense dual F in time, then I can buy that..

But that means the da Silva pick was a waste at #18 considering he's older and on a rookie deal which is important.

He's not going to displace any of the larger contract players and he's duplicative of the rookie scale deal we just drafted positionally.

I don't understand the Da Silva comment. So you're saying because you drafted someone last year and he is so-so at best, you shouldn't draft someone who could be potential be better and cheaper?

I like the both picks and Penda looks like a certified dawg. I also like the new Weltman. Using that way of thinking, we wouldn't have traded for Bane because we signed KCP and he would have to publicly acknowledge it was a mistake. He pivoted and moved on from KCP and traded for Bane which was better for us.

Sometimes things don't work out, so you have to make a new plan and pivot away from mistakes.

add to that, sometimes a player actually improves once they get into the league and after their rookie year. no reason not to let them fight it out and best player gets on the court

[tiderulz]

Seems like he is "only" a 3pointshot away from becoming a potential high level roleplayer. I'm absolutely OK gambling that a young player improves his shooting in the 2nd round when he checks so many other boxes.
Is it super likely? No, history and especially Magic history says no but it's a 2nd round pick.

He again shows that the long athlete stuff is fan fiction. Weltman drafted mainly bad to good athletes but almost never really good athletes.
This team is sneaky unathletic and he didn't address that again. The TDS pick looks worse now. He seems to become the better version of the Weltman special of drafting bad athletes who arent skilled enough to compensate the lack of athletism like Chuma and Jett.
I really like high iq, highly skilled non athletes but his tries are just not skilled enough so far.

In a vacuum I like both picks and both more than TDS but the roster composition is still a mess and the draft doesn't really helped.

It's not "just 3 point shot" it's pretty much entire jumpshot ability away.
Euro 3 point line is nba deep mid range. So he can't really pull up from any deeper range, if you consider sub 30% from deep mid range.

oh no, he isnt great shooting at 20. guess he will never improve and we should release him now

[pepe1991]

Seems like he is "only" a 3pointshot away from becoming a potential high level roleplayer. I'm absolutely OK gambling that a young player improves his shooting in the 2nd round when he checks so many other boxes.
Is it super likely? No, history and especially Magic history says no but it's a 2nd round pick.

He again shows that the long athlete stuff is fan fiction. Weltman drafted mainly bad to good athletes but almost never really good athletes.
This team is sneaky unathletic and he didn't address that again. The TDS pick looks worse now. He seems to become the better version of the Weltman special of drafting bad athletes who arent skilled enough to compensate the lack of athletism like Chuma and Jett.
I really like high iq, highly skilled non athletes but his tries are just not skilled enough so far.

In a vacuum I like both picks and both more than TDS but the roster composition is still a mess and the draft doesn't really helped.

It's not "just 3 point shot" it's pretty much entire jumpshot ability away.
Euro 3 point line is nba deep mid range. So he can't really pull up from any deeper range, if you consider sub 30% from deep mid range.

oh no, he isnt great shooting at 20. guess he will never improve and we should release him now

i guess he did meet your Lebron- athletic trashold required to be keeper

It's denial and ignorance that people use to make opinion of him.

He is 6'6 PF-C. His "passing" are ball swings that every player does. His shooting is simply off today.

People just really want to feel great about every player.

Bro is mid. That's why he is second round pick.
Ones who mention guys like Batum and Diaw simply don't know ball, or anything about international basketball.

Do you know how many international players were drafted in 2008 in first round? Four. You had to be freaking amazing to even sniff near draft.
Batum walked in nba as 20 y.o. on 54 wins team and took starting position. That's how good he was.

[Knightro]

I mean very obviously the swing skill for Penda is the jumper.

I suppose it could be seen as encouraging that he doesn’t let his poor percentages impact his volume.

In some ways, I trust a meh shooter that’s still willing to let it fire to be able to improve his accuracy more than I trust an unwilling shooter to be able to improve his mindset when it comes to volume.

[tiderulz]

It's not "just 3 point shot" it's pretty much entire jumpshot ability away.
Euro 3 point line is nba deep mid range. So he can't really pull up from any deeper range, if you consider sub 30% from deep mid range.

oh no, he isnt great shooting at 20. guess he will never improve and we should release him now

i guess he did meet your Lebron- athletic trashold required to be keeper

It's denial and ignorance that people use to make opinion of him.

He is 6'6 PF-C. His "passing" are ball swings that every player does. His shooting is simply off today.

People just really want to feel great about every player.

Bro is mid. That's why he is second round pick.
Ones who mention guys like Batum and Diaw simply don't know ball, or anything about international basketball.

Do you know how many international players were drafted in 2008 in first round? Four. You had to be freaking amazing to even sniff near draft.
Batum walked in nba as 20 y.o. on 54 wins team and took starting position. That's how good he was.

you say 6'6. combine measured him 6'7.25 barefoot. so which is it?
I havent said he is some great player. im just happy they took a swing with him. Most drafts had him mocked in the 1st round. maybe he turns into a 10 mpg player, maybe he doesnt. if we dont draft him then he provides nothing for us. I have zero expectations.

[cedric76]

I mean very obviously the swing skill for Penda is the jumper.

I suppose it could be seen as encouraging that he doesn’t let his poor percentages impact his volume.

In some ways, I trust a meh shooter that’s still willing to let it fire to be able to improve his accuracy more than I trust an unwilling shooter to be able to improve his mindset when it comes to volume.

Shooting is the easiest skill to learn

[zaymon]

I just wanna know if he knows Kung Fu so we can call him Kung Fu Penda.

From now on i call him Kungfu. No more lazy nicknames like PB5,WCJ

[pepe1991]

oh no, he isnt great shooting at 20. guess he will never improve and we should release him now

i guess he did meet your Lebron- athletic trashold required to be keeper

It's denial and ignorance that people use to make opinion of him.

He is 6'6 PF-C. His "passing" are ball swings that every player does. His shooting is simply off today.

People just really want to feel great about every player.

Bro is mid. That's why he is second round pick.
Ones who mention guys like Batum and Diaw simply don't know ball, or anything about international basketball.

Do you know how many international players were drafted in 2008 in first round? Four. You had to be freaking amazing to even sniff near draft.
Batum walked in nba as 20 y.o. on 54 wins team and took starting position. That's how good he was.

you say 6'6. combine measured him 6'7.25 barefoot. so which is it?
I havent said he is some great player. im just happy they took a swing with him. Most drafts had him mocked in the 1st round. maybe he turns into a 10 mpg player, maybe he doesnt. if we dont draft him then he provides nothing for us. I have zero expectations.

from french basketball pages 199 cm = even little bit below 6'6.
Maybe he grew up. He was measured 199 in 2022 in youth Euroleague next generation camp. But it was long time ago.

[JoshuaPotter]

Well this concludes yet another perplexing draft. At least this time, leading up to it and during it we made moves. So with that, I am sort content. We traded away several 2nd rounders to "get someone" when we likely would have turned them into "cash considerations" anymore. So, fair enough.

[basketballRob]

i guess he did meet your Lebron- athletic trashold required to be keeper

It's denial and ignorance that people use to make opinion of him.

He is 6'6 PF-C. His "passing" are ball swings that every player does. His shooting is simply off today.

People just really want to feel great about every player.

Bro is mid. That's why he is second round pick.
Ones who mention guys like Batum and Diaw simply don't know ball, or anything about international basketball.

Do you know how many international players were drafted in 2008 in first round? Four. You had to be freaking amazing to even sniff near draft.
Batum walked in nba as 20 y.o. on 54 wins team and took starting position. That's how good he was.

you say 6'6. combine measured him 6'7.25 barefoot. so which is it?
I havent said he is some great player. im just happy they took a swing with him. Most drafts had him mocked in the 1st round. maybe he turns into a 10 mpg player, maybe he doesnt. if we dont draft him then he provides nothing for us. I have zero expectations.

from french basketball pages 199 cm = even little bit below 6'6.
Maybe he grew up. He was measured 199 in 2022 in youth Euroleague next generation camp. But it was long time ago.

He measured at the NBA combine, 6'7.25". w/o shoes.

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[pepe1991]

Well this concludes yet another perplexing draft. At least this time, leading up to it and during it we made moves. So with that, I am sort content. We traded away several 2nd rounders to "get someone" when we likely would have turned them into "cash considerations" anymore. So, fair enough.

They have to. Due salary restrictions and how much money is tied into 3, soon to be 4 players, they no longer can sleep through second round of a draft and pass on late first round picks and treat them like garbage. In upcoming years, 1/3rd of a roster will be made out of "garbage" picks.

[VFX]

I have no problem with Penda at face value. Great player to take a swing on at #32.

I hate this pick for Orlando knowing what I know about the rest of the roster. Kam Jones was on the board and Orlando doesn’t have a true point guard or depth. Kalkbrenner gave you an out to move Goga for a back court player.

So you took a player that most here don’t believe is cracking the rotation at the expense of balancing a roster that is supposedly contending. If you believe he’s cracking the rotation whose minutes is he taking and does that mean JI is moved? I don’t. Also, you just spent a #18 pick on a F/PF guy that is 24.

[eyriq]

Hoops Intellect has Jase #18 and Penda #21 on his big board. No matter where you look Weltman got value at our draft slots.

[tiderulz]

I have no problem with Penda at face value. Great player to take a swing on at #32.

I hate this pick for Orlando knowing what I know about the rest of the roster. Kam Jones was on the board and Orlando doesn’t have a true point guard or depth. Kalkbrenner gave you an out to move Goga for a back court player.

So you took a player that most here don’t believe is cracking the rotation at the expense of balancing a roster that is supposedly contending. If you believe he’s cracking the rotation whose minutes is he taking and does that mean JI is moved? I don’t. Also, you just spent a #18 pick on a F/PF guy that is 24.

i liked Kam and mentioned him as a good 2nd round player to take a chance on. That the team didnt tells me they may be looking for a vet PG in free agency.

[basketballRob]

I'm glad we're adding another big guy. I hated the 3 guard lineups with Franz at the 4 and Isaac at the 5.

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[fendilim]

If I’m not mistaken, the Magic probably were probably scouting Essengue, that’s why we ended up signing his teammate, Marcio Santos, to a summer league contract prior to the draft.

[Fortune Teller]

I know we always say this, but it really feels like another medium-sized move is coming. Either PG, or C, or both are going to be addressed via trade or free agency. Why else would you give up capital for a tweener forward with other more pressing holes to fill? At least I hope that's what this means.

[AdamTheGreek]

Both guys are being introduced to the media here at 12:30 pm today.

[VFX]

I know we always say this, but it really feels like another medium-sized move is coming. Either PG, or C, or both are going to be addressed via trade or free agency. Why else would you give up capital for a tweener forward with other more pressing holes to fill? At least I hope that's what this means.

You say this like the FO makes sensible calculated roster decisions. Corey Joseph was the backup point guard last year when Suggs went down. They re-signed Gary Harris to play like 38 games total. I’m surprised the 24 year old rookie played at all and probably wouldn’t have if not for injuries and splitting minutes with Mr glass.