The 2025 Rookie Class

[AFM]

Anyone still wishing we could have drafted Ace Bailey?

[nate33]

Anyone still wishing we could have drafted Ace Bailey?

I think a lot depends on their attitude and demeanor.

I'm really confident that Tre "no hobbies" Johnson is going to bust his butt to improve every year. And you see that in the way his game is already very refined with few skill weaknesses. I'm less confident about Bailey. We know he had the whole pre-draft shenanigans to try and force his way out of Utah. And I can see from his game that he relies too heavily on the inefficient midrange shot which suggests he probably isn't listening to his coaches enough. Those are just inferences as I have never interviewed the man myself. But based on what we know so far, I have a better sense that Tre has a more professional character, which I think will serve him better over the length of his career.

So, yes, I'm happier with Tre. I believe I said so when he was drafted.

[tontoz]

I had Ace rated slightly higher than Tre due to defense. Ace has a good motor on D and had a lot of wow plays on D. Tre was straight up bad on D at Texas.

So far Tre has held up well on D and if that continues i expect Tre to be the better player. Keep in mind that we haven't even used Tre's biggest strenth on offense. He shot 50% on 3s coming off screens in college. We really haven't been setting off ball screens to get him good looks. A lot of his 3 attempts have been way behind the line.

I was thrilled he fell to us at 6. Prior to the lottery pretty much all the mocks had the same 5 guys at the top and we got one of them. It was only after the lottery that Kon started showing up top 5 because word got out the Hornets were interested.

[bsilver]

I wanted Tre over Ace and happy we got him.
Watched much of the Utah game last night and thought Ace showed a lot of promise. Very athletic and wanted to make the right play. Just needs some time and it looks like he will be a good player.

[closg00]

Anyone still wishing we could have drafted Ace Bailey?

I was torn between Ace and Fears at 6. With Ace gone, I would have drafted Fears who I believe will be at the top of the list of what appears to be an outstanding draft class. The good news is that Tre will also be part of this outstanding group.

Tre, KeyShawn, & Alex are our young nucleus, but we’ll need that dynamic PG to elevate the group

[payitforward]

I imagine we all must be happy with the way Tre has taken hold. He plays the same game he played in college, nothing seems to throw him off, he has no reluctance to shoot (& has shown that the NBA 3-point line won't throw him). He's also clearly giving effort on defense.

He hasn't been "great" in 4 games -- but that's asking a lot of a 19-year old!

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I had Ace rated slightly higher than Tre due to defense. Ace has a good motor on D and had a lot of wow plays on D. Tre was straight up bad on D at Texas.

So far Tre has held up well on D and if that continues i expect Tre to be the better player. Keep in mind that we haven't even used Tre's biggest strenth on offense. He shot 50% on 3s coming off screens in college. We really haven't been setting off ball screens to get him good looks. A lot of his 3 attempts have been way behind the line.

I was thrilled he fell to us at 6. Prior to the lottery pretty much all the mocks had the same 5 guys at the top and we got one of them. It was only after the lottery that Kon started showing up top 5 because word got out the Hornets were interested.

Ace has athleticism to become a superstar. He can be a #1 scoring option if he tightens his handle. OTOH, he's not a consistent grinder like Tre. Johnson is already solid, and you know he's a hardworking player who will definitely get stronger.

I'm happy with Tre, but Ace has both a higher ceiling and more opportunity to never reach his potential.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Anyone still wishing we could have drafted Ace Bailey?

I was torn between Ace and Fears at 6. With Ace gone, I would have drafted Fears who I believe will be at the top of the list of what appears to be an outstanding draft class. The good news is that Tre will also be part of this outstanding group.

Tre, KeyShawn, & Alex are our young nucleus, but we’ll need that dynamic PG to elevate the group

I wanted Tre over Ace and happy we got him.
Watched much of the Utah game last night and thought Ace showed a lot of promise. Very athletic and wanted to make the right play. Just needs some time and it looks like he will be a good player.

Johnson, Fears, and Bailey will have long, successful NBA careers.

[dckingsfan]

Remind me - who liked Ryan Kalkbrenner?

[dckingsfan]

Did anyone like Sion James?

[Hibachi_0]

Was taking a look at how the Nets rookies were doing and.. Demin hasn't attempted a 2 pointer yet! He is 9/22 (40.9%) from 3 and that's it. Not what you are looking for from your 6'8" point guard..

Saraf is struggling and Traore&Powell haven't virtually played really yet. Is something wrong with Wolf? He hasn't even debuted yet. I remember some guys on the board were high on him and some of the Nets rookies.

I was dubious of the Nets drafting strategy during Draft night, and it hasn't looked pretty yet.. We'll see, but feels like they wasted a nice opportunity to move forward in their rebuilding. Probably Cam and Porter jr aren't the best players for rookies to share the court with if you want to develop them.

[closg00]

Did anyone like Sion James?

I read that he was played his way onto the starting lineup.

[nate33]

Was taking a look at how the Nets rookies were doing and.. Demin hasn't attempted a 2 pointer yet! He is 9/22 (40.9%) from 3 and that's it. Not what you are looking for from your 6'8" point guard..

Saraf is struggling and Traore&Powell haven't virtually played really yet. Is something wrong with Wolf? He hasn't even debuted yet. I remember some guys on the board were high on him and some of the Nets rookies.

I was dubious of the Nets drafting strategy during Draft night, and it hasn't looked pretty yet.. We'll see, but feels like they wasted a nice opportunity to move forward in their rebuilding. Probably Cam and Porter jr aren't the best players for rookies to share the court with if you want to develop them.

I was high on Wolf and am disappointed in seeing so many DNP-CD's in the box score.

The thing about Wolf is that I don't think he can be successful at power forward. He needs to play center in order to generate the matchup advantages, and he probably needs to get stronger before he can do that and hold up defensively. I wouldn't be surprised if he took a year or two before becoming useful.

All that said, I'm very happy that Will Dawkins is making the picks and not me. Riley looks like a much better prospect than Wolf.

[pcbothwel]

Did anyone like Sion James?

From our Round 2 Thread:

My sneaky pick that matches our profile...Sion James
Basically a poor man's Desmond Bane. Maybe Dillion Brooks-esque?
- Build like a LB and gets downhill
- Hard worker with High IQ with elite assist numbers (AST%, AST:TOV, AST/USG%)
- Much improved shooter (31% first 3 years, 40% last 2 years)
- Great defensive feel/tenacity

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Remind me - who liked Ryan Kalkbrenner?

Not just you. Creighton University, where Kalkbrenner played, is in Omaha, NE. I was stationed there. Doug McDermott has had a long NBA career.

Ryan Kalkbrenner more than held his own (and IIRC had better stats) against Donovan Clingan in college.

I'm pretty sure I projected he would be an NBA starter. I recall thinking mock drafts had Kalkbrenner going too low.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Was taking a look at how the Nets rookies were doing and.. Demin hasn't attempted a 2 pointer yet! He is 9/22 (40.9%) from 3 and that's it. Not what you are looking for from your 6'8" point guard..

Saraf is struggling and Traore&Powell haven't virtually played really yet. Is something wrong with Wolf? He hasn't even debuted yet. I remember some guys on the board were high on him and some of the Nets rookies.

I was dubious of the Nets drafting strategy during Draft night, and it hasn't looked pretty yet.. We'll see, but feels like they wasted a nice opportunity to move forward in their rebuilding. Probably Cam and Porter jr aren't the best players for rookies to share the court with if you want to develop them.

The Nets stink. Whoever coaches that team will be fired when they inevitably stay at the bottom.

Their draft was bizarre. Their best player available in their eyes looks like a soft wing player.

Wasn't Traore someone of interest from posters on this Wizards board?

[dckingsfan]

Remind me - who liked Ryan Kalkbrenner?

Not just you. Creighton University, where Kalkbrenner played, is in Omaha, NE. I was stationed there. Doug McDermott has had a long NBA career.

Ryan Kalkbrenner more than held his own (and IIRC had better stats) against Donovan Clingan in college.

I'm pretty sure I projected he would be an NBA starter. I recall thinking mock drafts had Kalkbrenner going too low.

Yeah, I wanted us to trade down from 21 to 26 & 27 (probably not possible, so there is that) to get Clifford and Kalkbrenner. Clifford was already gone so... you can ignore my thoughts on this.

Go Riley!

[dckingsfan]

Did anyone like Sion James?

From our Round 2 Thread:

My sneaky pick that matches our profile...Sion James
Basically a poor man's Desmond Bane. Maybe Dillion Brooks-esque?
- Build like a LB and gets downhill
- Hard worker with High IQ with elite assist numbers (AST%, AST:TOV, AST/USG%)
- Much improved shooter (31% first 3 years, 40% last 2 years)
- Great defensive feel/tenacity

He wasn't even close to being on my radar... nicely done!

[Northwest Roddy]

I was team Maluach so i get an Ernie Grunfeld for my grade.

[tontoz]

The Nets stink. Whoever coaches that team will be fired when they inevitably stay at the bottom.

Their draft was bizarre. Their best player available in their eyes looks like a soft wing player.

Wasn't Traore someone of interest from posters on this Wizards board?

Traore was widely viewed as a top 5 pick in a lot of mocks prior to the season but then he struggled and fell like a stone once the season started. I don't remember much talk about him leading up to the draft. Someone did mention that he played better late in the season.