2025 Draft Prospect Thread

[fatlever]

Some really good draft scouting videos are out there on YouTube. These have well produced videos, showing strengths and areas for improvement. The creators are Hoop Intellect and Derek Parker. I find their insights (which utilize observations taken from scouts) to be helpful.

The challenge of course is evaluating players we’d have to pick 3 thru 7. Via these breakdowns, I find those players eligible both attractive and concerning. Looking at the “need improvement” highlights, each player’s kryptonite is evident. Kon K’s defense, Tre’s handle, etc. Check them out as we await the arrival of Monday night’s staged lottery announcements.

been sticking mostly to derek parker's youtube videos.

[JustBuzzin]

God, I hope we land 1 or 2. Would be so refreshingly weird to have consensus here. We even have my man UNCNYC on the Flagg Harper wagon.

Harper definitely gives me Cunningham vibes. I would be equally as happy with Harper as I would with Flagg. Those 2 are the big fish of this draft and could totally change the outlook of our franchise.

This idea that would would pass on Harper because we have Melo is crazy. They both big tall guards who both can play in the same backcourt. My only fear is the Hornets would do something stupid like try to trade Harper just to get someone who fits better with Melo.

[JMAC3]

A few draft prospect tidbits I have come across reading different mocks.

"Despite his explosive athleticism, Edgecombe was surprisingly inefficient at the rim—shooting just 53.8% at the basket and 44.5% on layups. He also struggled as a mid-range scorer, connecting on only 25% of his pull-up jumpers. That inability to convert in the paint and off the bounce tempers some of the scoring upside. His three-point shot was serviceable but streaky."

[Rich4114]

A few draft prospect tidbits I have come across reading different mocks.

"Despite his explosive athleticism, Edgecombe was surprisingly inefficient at the rim—shooting just 53.8% at the basket and 44.5% on layups. He also struggled as a mid-range scorer, connecting on only 25% of his pull-up jumpers. That inability to convert in the paint and off the bounce tempers some of the scoring upside. His three-point shot was serviceable but streaky."

The one thing that worries me with VJ tbh, but I'd like to think with the tools he has that he can improve that as he develops.

[fatlever]

A few draft prospect tidbits I have come across reading different mocks.

"Despite his explosive athleticism, Edgecombe was surprisingly inefficient at the rim—shooting just 53.8% at the basket and 44.5% on layups. He also struggled as a mid-range scorer, connecting on only 25% of his pull-up jumpers. That inability to convert in the paint and off the bounce tempers some of the scoring upside. His three-point shot was serviceable but streaky."

curious how that compares to the other guys - ace, harper, tre, fears, kon
how much should we blame bad offense/structure for some of these numbers?
ft rate? number of drives/attempts?
how did vj's numbers compare in fiba with more spacing?

[JMAC3]

"There are a few areas where Harper needs to grow. First, he lacks a reliable in-between game—he doesn’t have much of a floater package, which limits his options when bigs sit back in drop coverage. He also struggles shooting off the dribble, hitting just 28% on pull-up jumpers and 29% on threes off the bounce. Developing into a more consistent off-the-dribble shooter will be key for his long-term upside as a primary initiator.

Harper is also very left-hand dominant. Defenders were able to shade him and force him to his right, and while he still found ways to score, improving his ability to drive and pass with his off-hand will make him less predictable. As a playmaker, he showed flashes, but there were times he overcomplicated possessions and missed opportunities to simplify the game for teammates."

[JMAC3]

Also, heard on the Sam Vecenie Youtube

"Ace Bailey shot 39% on catch and shoot 3s"

[MPM]

Flagg, Harper, Bailey remain my locked-in-place top 3 despite lowkey Bailey bashing being a bit fashionable of late. Too good of a prospect to pass on. Legit size, legit athletic, legit shot.

[yosemiteben]

I'm scared of VJ Edgecombe primarily due to size concerns, he better do measurements at the combine or I think I'm a hard out.

[JustBuzzin]

I'm scared of VJ Edgecombe primarily due to size concerns, he better do measurements at the combine or I think I'm a hard out.

He's definitely closer to 6'3.

I don't like his size or his mentality. I'm seeing a lot of Wade comps for him. He's not that kind of player. Wade was a relentless attacker. VJ often goes stretches were you don't even notice he's on the court. Either you have the killer mentality or you don't. The more I watch him the more he screams role player. If we drafting him with a top 5 pick I think it would be a huge mistake. I'm seeing some mocks with him as high as #3.

I'm out on 6'3 smaller sg's. You have to be really special for me to take you that high and I just don't see special with VJ.

[UNCNYC]

My UNCNYC prediction, I bet these guys

Jase Richardson, Milos Uzan, Maxime Raynaud, Carter Bryant, Walter Clayton JR, Ben Saraf.

HAVE A COMBINE BETTER CAREERS THAN

Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, VJ Edgecomb, Ace Bailey, and whomover other lottery guys thrown in

The problem with that is none of the guys you mentioned have all star potential.

Flagg can be 25 8 and 5 2 way Harper can have a Cunningham type of career. None of the guys you predict will make a single all star game. Make it make sense UNCNYC.

Sent from my SM-S936U using RealGM mobile app

I simplify things in that if it makes sense to ME that's all that matters

[fatlever]

Is there a free site where you can look up shot charts, shot locations, feel goal percentage by shot location for college players? I don't see it on basketball reference. Everything else looks like paid subscription tier. We need somebody with a synergy subscription.

[Chapelchilla]

I would be very happy with Harper too. He can go hard to the basket from either side and create on the way there. That is a skillset we sorely lack. He also looks sturdy and tough, another thing we lack (Miles excluded). As long as we get top 2, I will be thrilled.

[yosemiteben]

I'm scared of VJ Edgecombe primarily due to size concerns, he better do measurements at the combine or I think I'm a hard out.

He's definitely closer to 6'3.

I don't like his size or his mentality. I'm seeing a lot of Wade comps for him. He's not that kind of player. Wade was a relentless attacker. VJ often goes stretches were you don't even notice he's on the court. Either you have the killer mentality or you don't. The more I watch him the more he screams role player. If we drafting him with a top 5 pick I think it would be a huge mistake. I'm seeing some mocks with him as high as #3.

I'm out on 6'3 smaller sg's. You have to be really special for me to take you that high and I just don't see special with VJ.

I tend to agree on the size points, but on the production / impact point he has extremely similar stats to Wade's sophomore year (technically his first year because he sat out his freshman year). Can't say I watched either of them much so can't really speak to that, but the similarity in statistical performance is pretty striking.

[UNCNYC]

My UNCNYC prediction, I bet these guys

Jase Richardson, Milos Uzan, Maxime Raynaud, Carter Bryant, Walter Clayton JR, Ben Saraf.

HAVE A COMBINE BETTER CAREERS THAN

Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, VJ Edgecomb, Ace Bailey, and whomover other lottery guys thrown in

The problem with that is none of the guys you mentioned have all star potential.

Flagg can be 25 8 and 5 2 way Harper can have a Cunningham type of career. None of the guys you predict will make a single all star game. Make it make sense UNCNYC.

Sent from my SM-S936U using RealGM mobile app

Watch on YouTube

[JustBuzzin]

Imagine have 2 PGs in the same backcourt. Melo goes to the bench we still have a PG on the floor and vice versa.

Those 2 playing with a shooter like Miller has potential a trio. I think we would have to address the pieces around them maybe add a defensive pf to help Mark on the defensive side of the ball.

[Rich4114]

I found this extremely interesting and telling:

Read on Twitter

[Rich4114]

On the above, I'd weigh more heavily on the HC Rim FG% than the HC Rim Frequency % (though it still matters very much). But on pretty high volume, Harper is above and beyond everyone else. The VJ numbers are alarming but when you look at Ace's and Tre's I think those numbers are so low because they're good shooters and scored mostly off jumpers and threes.

[JMAC3]

I still think VJ can be a really good player, but I think a lot of his red flags are getting overlooked by the masses.
From a fit standpoint, I think he makes a lot of sense for the Hornets and ultimately I would be fine with that selection in a lot of scenarios.
He is a good on ball defender with steals and blocks, so he would be our point of attack defensive guard next to Melo.
He gives us an explosive athlete something that I think we could use more of.
Offensively I think he is solid and be a solid 15 ppg scorer during his rookie contract.

However, the concerns do limit his upside for me when it comes to his size, finishing and shot making.
I might ultimately lean to guys that I feel might have bigger upsides in Bailey, Fears or maybe even Tre Johnson.

[JMAC3]

Ace Bailey might be a top 10 scorer in the midrange from Day 1 in the NBA.
- his footwork, high release, tough shot making is stuff that really isn't teachable and he is doing it at age 18.
- Yes the midrange isn't popular in todays analytics but the players who are really good at it can still dominate the game from that.
Derozan, SGA, Durant, Booker, JDub... the guys who can do it well are really hard to stop, but the problem with midrange in the NBA is most guys are terrible at it.

The question is do you take someone who has that much skill and touch and just hope they get bigger and stronger to be able to get to the bucket more frequently. In my opinion the answer is yes, his skillset is pretty special especially for his size.

The handle and passing are things that I think can be improved upon, especially if from the early days of his career he can still run, jump, defend and make open threes. That will be enough to get him on the court and he can slowly blossom the other skills over time.