2025 NBA Draft Discussion Part 7

[WuTang_CMB]

good breakdown on high hips

https://youtu.be/xpkviAIATcI?t=2937

[Dalek]

Danny Wolf is fun to watch, if we can somehow get a mid to late 1st I’d love to get him. I’m tempted to even pick him at 9 if all our top guys are pick above 9th. Or trade back and get him.

I mean, look at the guy play. He could be a monster.

Watch on YouTube

He is my favorite at 9 but I think the consensus is against it because he is a bit older and a non-traditional lotto guy.

I just think you don't ever see guys with 7"2 wingspan and 250 lbs move the way he does.

He levelled up after playing on a crappy Yale team and became a centrepiece of a Big10 offense.

His feet are are good enough to switch.

His passing is next level if he scales back usage.

He is very articulate in discussing plays and he seems wired to play good basketball.

He is willing to step up as a star. Problem is the shooting is only flashes for now, so he has to develop that.

[BoyzNTheHood]

I don't think RJ has that value.

How come Raps fans hate RJ so much?

He’s 24, from Toronto, solid triple threat scorer, gets to the ft line, on a semi reasonable deal for his upside, cares more than anyone else on the team, decent enough defender (esp after putting up with Derozans terrible D for so long)

It’s really sad to see how disrespected he is by raps fans

I don't hate RJ by any means, I just don't think he vaults you into the top 3 of a draft is all.

This puts things into perspective. RJ Barrett can’t move you up 6 picks in a draft class to #3. The same RJ Barrett who was a top 3 pick himself. The same RJ Barrett, who as a prospect, would go top 2-3 in this class as well!

[Buff]

You never said we build around Maluach, but you said he is a championship calibre player, which to me, championship calibre player are towards star players.

You keep missing my point. I'll give you a clear example: OG... is he a "star"? not really, but he can be the 3+D on a championship team. he will not be the MVP but he will play his role at the championship level. Is that clearer?

Role players are not because they can be replaced. would you call Ibaka a championship calibre player? Would you call Norm Powell a championship player?

Yes, they both are championship calibre bench players. Any team with them coming off the bench can win a ship.

If Maluach is a high end role player, there are also other options in that tier, and we can look for better fit. We do not have a dynamic guard to use Maluach, so his fit is in question. But I think we are hoping for a player who can create at 9.

That's what it is, you have your preferences (who do think can be a better championship caliber role player at 9?) and I'm not here to make you change your mind

[720]

Danny Wolf is fun to watch, if we can somehow get a mid to late 1st I’d love to get him. I’m tempted to even pick him at 9 if all our top guys are pick above 9th. Or trade back and get him.

I mean, look at the guy play. He could be a monster.

Watch on YouTube

He is my favorite at 9 but I think the consensus is against it because he is a bit older and a non-traditional lotto guy.

I just think you don't ever see guys with 7"2 wingspan and 250 lbs move the way he does.

He levelled up after playing on a crappy Yale team and became a centrepiece of a Big10 offense.

His feet are are good enough to switch.

His passing is next level if he scales back usage.

He is very articulate in discussing plays and he seems wired to play good basketball.

He is willing to step up as a star. Problem is the shooting is only flashes for now, so he has to develop that.

I hope he has a good workout for us.

He could contribute for us right away and his skillset and physicals lend to the notion that he could develop even more to much higher levels. Usually with 3-4 year guys they’re sorta limited by something, be it height, agility/speed, etc. I don’t see that with him. He could be a star someday with the right development.

He just turned 21, he’s three years younger get than Scottie.

[Clutch0z24]

Read on Twitter

I wish this guy would fall to us.

I know alot of people say hes "GTJR" or whatever....I think he has potential to be a legit playmaker one day....Guy you can give the ball and he can get you buckets or set guys up...Ofc it would take development....But he already has elite shot making ability.....

Tre would be the one guy id give up a few assets to try and move up in this draft to get... if a team in that 5th/6th range wanna make a move...And Tre is still on the board id make the call and see what we could do to swap picks.

[Yallbecrazy]

Danny Wolf is fun to watch, if we can somehow get a mid to late 1st I’d love to get him. I’m tempted to even pick him at 9 if all our top guys are pick above 9th. Or trade back and get him.

I mean, look at the guy play. He could be a monster.

Watch on YouTube

He is my favorite at 9 but I think the consensus is against it because he is a bit older and a non-traditional lotto guy.

I just think you don't ever see guys with 7"2 wingspan and 250 lbs move the way he does.

He levelled up after playing on a crappy Yale team and became a centrepiece of a Big10 offense.

His feet are are good enough to switch.

His passing is next level if he scales back usage.

He is very articulate in discussing plays and he seems wired to play good basketball.

He is willing to step up as a star. Problem is the shooting is only flashes for now, so he has to develop that.

I think his defense is underrated, but still projects to be below average at the NBA level. He is a career 64.6% ft shooter who shot under 60% last season. Fairly high turnover rate too so I'm not sold on his offense especially as an upper classman.

[raptor jesus]

I found that the Danny Wolf highlight experience was much different the Danny Wolf full-game experience. I was blown away by his highlights, but when I watched full Michigan games, he was not good. He consistently made very poor decisions with the ball i.e. really bad turnovers; and he played much smaller than his 7 foot frame e.g. soft around the basket and on the glass. I would maybe take a shot on him in the 20s.

[greekman]

how does a team 4 games under 500 end up with the first pick ? the other texas team gets 34 wins and gets 2nd pick ? dallas had 28 more wins than washington with the 6th pick. none of the 6 worst teams that were out of contention for almost the whole year made the top 3.

[nivisi9]

Kasparas getting so little love, but this guy is a stud.
Edgecombe I think if Philly trades the pick or trades down goes 3.

Edgecombe only PG I would take over Kasparas.

Would love to see us maybe ship out RJ and 9 for 3 and filler.

I don't think RJ has that value.

How come Raps fans hate RJ so much?

He’s 24, from Toronto, solid triple threat scorer, gets to the ft line, on a semi reasonable deal for his upside, cares more than anyone else on the team, decent enough defender (esp after putting up with Derozans terrible D for so long)

It’s really sad to see how disrespected he is by raps fans

he has terrible analytics, can't shoot, suspect defender, empty stats, undersized for natural position, doesn't impact winning

It's why he's apparently still seen as a negative asset around the league according to Zach Lowe, front offices aren't dumb

[WuTang_CMB]

flashes

Read on Twitter

[raptor jesus]

Digging into some of the international guys:

Essengue. I don't think I'd take him top 10 because there's too many limitations/question marks for me. But I get some of the hype, he looks like he was built in a lab.

Traore. I don't really see what he does well enough to warrant a lottery pick. Looks like a jack-of-all trades master-of-none guard, not particularly explosive. Not sure he'll ever be a starter.

Beringer. Reminds me of young, skinny JV as a screener/finisher. He moves much better than JV defensively, but doesn't have JV's offensive skillset. I think he's being a bit underrated, and could go late lottery.

[Pointgod]

Queen?

Jak as well has been scattered through out the top 10 in mocks. I don't see the big drop off when you add those two names in.

The top 5 (Flagg, Harper, Bailey, Edgecomb, Johnson) have the most potential to be an allstar/borderline allstar contributors to their teams.

After that there’s a lot of players with significant question marks about their talent or long term projects.

I wouldn't group them all into the same class.

Flagg is a tier of his own
Harper below him

The other 3 have higher potential than the rest of the lottery but also have bust potential.

I also don't think the gap from 3-12 is that big tbh.

Flagg and Harper have franchise potential, Ace, Edgecomb and Johnson all have all-star potential (remember Bradley Beal was an all-star) based on talent alone. I’ve been listening to a lot of draft content and I’ve never heard any serious person say any of the 3 have high bust potential.

If you look at the top 5, all of them have self creation ability and outside of the top 5 the only guys that have high self creation ability projected to go lottery are Queen, Kasparov, Fears, Denim and maybe Knueppel but they all also come with way more question marks than the projected top 5.

[ciueli]

I don't think RJ has that value.

How come Raps fans hate RJ so much?

He’s 24, from Toronto, solid triple threat scorer, gets to the ft line, on a semi reasonable deal for his upside, cares more than anyone else on the team, decent enough defender (esp after putting up with Derozans terrible D for so long)

It’s really sad to see how disrespected he is by raps fans

he has terrible analytics, can't shoot, suspect defender, empty stats, undersized for natural position, doesn't impact winning

It's why he's apparently still seen as a negative asset around the league according to Zach Lowe, front offices aren't dumb

The cap math isn't there to make this type of trade work anyway, RJ makes almost $28M next season so Philly would need to send us right around that to make it work since we are right at the tax line. They don't have the mid-size contracts to do that as all their money it tied up in Embiid, PG, and Maxey.

[Tripod]

flashes

Read on Twitter

Seems like he would slot in perfectly to any version of the Raps going forward.

A taller, bigger Ochai along IQ, BI, SB, Yak seems to fit perfect.

Then let RJ start in games that BI, SB or CB miss with injury. Plus RJ scoring off the bench would be nice to have.

Then draft an older C at 39 who can be the backup C and learn from YAk who you re-sign and Chomche keeps getting mote minutes and reps in 905....C pipeline complete.

[Grew]

Read on Twitter

I really hope they trade the pick. VJ dunking on us 4 times a year for the next decade with that trash franchise would suck.

[Pointgod]

Read on Twitter

I wish this guy would fall to us.

I know alot of people say hes "GTJR" or whatever....I think he has potential to be a legit playmaker one day....Guy you can give the ball and he can get you buckets or set guys up...Ofc it would take development....But he already has elite shot making ability.....

Tre would be the one guy id give up a few assets to try and move up in this draft to get... if a team in that 5th/6th range wanna make a move...And Tre is still on the board id make the call and see what we could do to swap picks.

I’d argue anyone that compares him to GTJ is an idiot to put nicely. Johnson and Knoeppel have been mentioned as best shooters in the draft and like you said Johnson can also self create. He’s a legit 6’6 too so we’re not talking Cam Thomas here.

He’d be the perfect guy to put next to an offensive hub because he can play off ball, but also can create his own shot as well.

[Yallbecrazy]

Read on Twitter

I really hope they trade the pick. VJ dunking on us 4 times a year for the next decade with that trash franchise would suck.

Keep it and take Bailey who will bust more often than not in my opinion.

[Yallbecrazy]

I wish this guy would fall to us.

I know alot of people say hes "GTJR" or whatever....I think he has potential to be a legit playmaker one day....Guy you can give the ball and he can get you buckets or set guys up...Ofc it would take development....But he already has elite shot making ability.....

Tre would be the one guy id give up a few assets to try and move up in this draft to get... if a team in that 5th/6th range wanna make a move...And Tre is still on the board id make the call and see what we could do to swap picks.

I’d argue anyone that compares him to GTJ is an idiot to put nicely. Johnson and Knoeppel have been mentioned as best shooters in the draft and like you said Johnson can also self create. He’s a legit 6’6 too so we’re not talking Cam Thomas here.

He’d be the perfect guy to put next to an offensive hub because he can play off ball, but also can create his own shot as well.

He's compared to GTJ because of the lack of defense and rebounding. He's a playmaker at least so he has that going for him, but he also doesn't get to the rim just like GTJ.

I think a taller Anfernee Simons is a good comparison.

[Dalek]

Danny Wolf is fun to watch, if we can somehow get a mid to late 1st I’d love to get him. I’m tempted to even pick him at 9 if all our top guys are pick above 9th. Or trade back and get him.

I mean, look at the guy play. He could be a monster.

Watch on YouTube

He is my favorite at 9 but I think the consensus is against it because he is a bit older and a non-traditional lotto guy.

I just think you don't ever see guys with 7"2 wingspan and 250 lbs move the way he does.

He levelled up after playing on a crappy Yale team and became a centrepiece of a Big10 offense.

His feet are are good enough to switch.

His passing is next level if he scales back usage.

He is very articulate in discussing plays and he seems wired to play good basketball.

He is willing to step up as a star. Problem is the shooting is only flashes for now, so he has to develop that.

I think his defense is underrated, but still projects to be below average at the NBA level. He is a career 64.6% ft shooter who shot under 60% last season. Fairly high turnover rate too so I'm not sold on his offense especially as an upper classman.

I mean guys like Derik Queen get a pass and Wolf exceeded him in measurements and defensive metrics.

For sure there are question marks, but he passes the eye test for me. There is outlier skills and Danny Wolf even goes beyond that with his handle and pick and roll capability. It's a bit like Hedo but in a near 7fter body. At worst you are getting a young Kelly Olynyk which worked well in a bench role for Toronto, and I think Wolf is bigger and has more potential. They really need to see him in a competitive workout setting.

The only C I would rate higher is Sorber but so hard to commit on a guy who had a major injury.